Raffaella Sadun Training within Firms Training investments are essential for improving worker and firm productivity, yet their implementation is often hindered by low participation rates and insufficient worker engagement. This study uses data from three firms—a car manufacturer, a quick-service restaurant chain, and a retail company—to show that variation in training participation among employees is closely tied to differences in middle managers’ behavior and practices. Middle managers who actively engage with their employees and emphasize their well-being and development are associated with significantly higher participation in training programs. These managerial differences significantly influence employee performance and absenteeism, especially during periods of organizational change. Together, these findings underscore the importance of middle managers in bridging the gap between centrally designed HR policies and their effective on-the-ground execution.

Elio Nimier-David Location Effects or Sorting? Evidence from Firm Relocation Abstract: Why are wages in cities like New York or Paris higher than in others? This paper uses firm mobility to separate the role of “location effects” (e.g., local geography, infrastructure, and agglomeration) from the spatial sorting of workers and firms. Using French administrative records and U.S. commercial data, we first document that firm mobility is widespread: 4% of establishments relocate annually. Establishments retain their main activity and structure as they move, but adjust their workforce and wages. Combining firm and worker mobility, we then decompose wage disparities across French commuting zones. We find that spatial wage differences are largely driven by the sorting and co-location of workers and firms: location effects account for only 2–5% of disparities, while differences in the composition of workers and establishments account for around 30% and 15%, respectively. The remaining half is accounted for by the co-location of high-wage workers and firms, especially in cities with high location effects. Revisiting the elasticity of local wages to population density, we find a significant coefficient of 0.007—two to three times lower than estimates not controlling for firm composition.