Kaldor's laws and spatial dependence: Evidence for the European regions

In this paper we provide an outline of Kaldor's growth model and test its relevance to the economic experience of European regions during the period 1984-92. Kaldor's first law asserts that manufacturing is the engine of economic growth. His second proposition, also known as Verdoorn's law states that there is a strong positive relation between manufacturing productivity growth and manufacturing output growth. Kaldor's third law holds that overall productivity growth is positively related to manufacturing output growth, and negatively related to employment in non-manufacturing sectors. The empirical results, corrected for the presence of spatial autocorrelation, indicate that Kaldor's second and third laws are compatible with the economic growth of European regions during the period 1984-92.