We investigate the empirical usefulness of a new measure of the degree of competition in a market, proposed by Boone (2000). This measure is based on the reduction in profits that firms experience as a result of cost inefficiencies. We compare this with measures commonly used by policy makers...

We examine whether discretionary government grants influence the location of new plants. Grants have a small effect in attracting plants to specific geographic areas, but their effectiveness increases with agglomeration externalities, measured by the number of other plants in that location in...