Labor market spillovers of a large plant opening. Evidence from the oil industry

Abstract We examine the labor market spillovers associated with the establishment of a large oil extraction facility in a peripheral commuting zone in Southern Italy, focusing on the period of physical investment. Employing a synthetic difference-in-differences design with commuting zone-level census data, we find no evidence of an impact on overall employment or the total number of establishments. However, we estimate positive effects in sectors supplying goods and services to the oil industry and among large firms. As for the latter finding, we estimate positive within-firm employment effects using social security micro-data.