Conference Agenda

This paper investigates the causal relationship between high-skilled migration and national innovation performance in Europe. Using a panel dataset covering 22 European countries from 1995 to 2018, we employ a shift-share instrumental variable based on historical settlement patterns to address endogeneity concerns. Our findings provide robust evidence that inflows of high-skilled migrants significantly enhance innovation, as measured by patent applications. The effect is heterogeneous: countries with higher GDP levels exhibit stronger innovation gains. Further heterogeneous analyses across patent categories show that the positive impact is concentrated in knowledge-intensive fields, particularly computer technology. Overall, our results underscore the important role of high-skilled migrants in strengthening Europe’s innovation capacity and suggest that migration policy can serve as an effective tool for improving technological competitiveness.

Innovation and economic growth in advanced economies increasingly depend on intangible assets such as patents and trademarks. This study examines the causal effect of information provision on firms’ propensity to apply for a trademark. We combine a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with Difference-in-Differences (DD) analysis using administrative register data. In the RCT, the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) sends randomly selected firms letters containing different types and levels of information about trademarks. We evaluate the impact of the campaign by comparing changes in the trademark application rates across groups receiving no information, standard information, or enhanced information. Beyond measuring overall increases in applications, the study identifies which specific messages are most effective and which types of firms are most responsive to the intervention. Our findings confirm a modest positive response. Information about protective properties of trademarks works for the whole sample; sole proprietors respond more heavily to standard information.

This paper examines the effects of the European Union’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), introduced in 2014 and effective 2017, on firm performance. The directive requires listed firms above a size threshold to disclose environmental, social, and diversity-related information. Exploiting this threshold in a difference-in-differences design, we compare firms just above and below the cutoff before and after implementation, using data from Orbis and LSEG. We find evidence that firm scale declines following the reform, with reductions in revenue, employment, and total assets, alongside a decrease in stock market value. At the same time, the NFRD increases the likelihood that mandated firms receive ESG ratings. Conditional on having a rating, treated firms receive higher ESG scores relative to control firms. Overall, the results suggest that the directive imposes adjustment costs while improving measured corporate responsibility. Future work will quantify these costs and benefits to inform the design of sustainability disclosure policy.