We estimate returns to scale in the U.K. economy from 1998 - 2014. We show that across firms productivity and returns to scale are negatively related, and overall returns to scale have increased whilst productivity has declined. To reconcile these empirical results, we develop a heterogeneous firm dynamics model with endogenous returns to scale. Our main result is that rising returns to scale in variable production, as opposed to changing fixed costs, can cause returns to scale to increase whilst productivity declines. The mechanism relies on greater increasing returns in variable production weakening firm selection, which allows low-productivity firms to survive. The same would not hold if returns to scale were driven by rising fixed cost. Overall the results suggest that changing marginal costs, rather than fixed costs, explain the puzzle of rising returns to scale but weak productivity in several advanced economies.

Which firms are using automation technologies, and what are the effects on firms and the aggregate economy? Using Italian survey data on adoption of cutting-edge technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, I compile a set of novel findings. Firms that automate are larger, pay higher wages, and are more productive. Technology adopters grow faster once they start using automation technologies. I embed technology adoption in a heterogeneous firm model to investigate the aggregate implications of automation. The model reconciles the firm-level evidence of technology adoption boosting firm size, with the various macro studies suggesting a negative overall effect on employment.

We estimate returns to scale in the UK using firm-level data and production function estimation. We follow various methodologies, including the control function approach (e.g. Ackerberg, Caves and Frazer 2015) and the cost share approach (e.g. Gandhi, Navarro and Rivers 2020). Returns to scale is estimated over time, across industries and regions, and over the firm age and size distribution. We find evidence of returns to scale slightly above unity, and that it has risen over time.

This project investigates racial discrimination in the elite sport labour market. There is evidence of discrimination on the basis of race across many jobs, in terms of earnings and career progression. There is also significant evidence of racism in British football, among fans, in management, and in the administrative structures. However, there is as yet no research on whether racism is embedded in the earnings structure of footballers. I propose an analysis of earnings of British footballers, with a clear focus on the following question. Do Black players get paid the same as comparable White players? It seems reasonable to think that in the highly competitive and globally popular Premier League, racist payment regimes would be competed away. However, to the extent that decision-makers do themselves hold racist views (implicitly or not), it is possible that such outcomes occur.

We study product market power in the UK using administrative data from the UK business survey. Our data covers 1998-2014 with 40,000 firms per year accounting for 80% of UK output. We estimate firm-level markups, and present results on the aggregate and sectoral trends. We show evidence of rising markups, and increasing markup dispersion. We also show that markups and productivity are negatively related.

There is concern about robots taking our jobs. This analysis looks at the impact of industrial robot adoption in the UK. Using a novel instrument to deal with endogeneity of robot adoption, estimates suggest that higher robot use is associated with increased employment and some evidence of a positive effect on part-time pay, contrary to evidence from other countries. However, there is a large amount of heterogeneity across industries. The results show that industrial robots have directly replaced workers in automobile manufacturing. On the other hand, they have had positive effects on other areas of the labour market such as services.