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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Don J. Webber (Department of Business Economics, Auckland University of Technology and Department of Economics, UWE, Bristol); Michael Horswell (Faculty of the Built and Natural Environment, University of the West of England, UK) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an investigation into the static and dynamic spatial pattern of aggregate labour productivity across England and Wales at the district and unit authority level. This analysis is complemented by plant-level regressions to identify the contribution of industrial sectors to each NUTS1 region’s average labour productivity. Using data for 1998 and 2005, our exploratory data analysis illustrates that there are stable spatial patterns in levels of labour productivity and that labour productivity change does not appear to be spatially dependent, at least not at this spatial scale. Furthermore the economic importance of different sectors to different regions evolves over time, which makes regional industrial policy formation problematic. |
| Keywords: | Labour productivity; districts and local authorities; sectors; spatial autocorrelation |
| JEL: | R39 |
| Date: | 2009–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwe:wpaper:0912&r=geo |
| By: | Nijkamp, Peter |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship has been a topical issue in the business administration literature, but in the past decade a wave of interest can be observed on the role of entrepreneurship in the economic growth literature. This paper aims to highlight the various contributions to the entrepreneurship literature from the perspective of regional economic development. After a broad overview, particular attention is given to the regional action space of entrepreneurs, including their social and spatial network involvement. The paper concludes with a future research agenda. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, regional growth, action space, networks, SME, virtual organization, innovation |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:rp2009-08&r=geo |
| By: | Michael Kuhn (Vienna Institute of Demography); Carsten Ochsen (University of Rostock) |
| Abstract: | Against the backdrop of an ongoing debate in most countries about the geographic (mal-)distribution of physician practices, we develop a theoretical and empirical framework to analyze how physician supply at regional level depends on demographic (population size, age struc- ture, fertility and migration) and geographic determinants. Particular attention is given (i) to local population change as a predictor of fu- ture demand for physician services, (ii) to the way in which the age- structure of the (potential patient) population and regional structure interact in shaping the pro tability of treating the local population, and (iii) to cross-regional correlations in physician supply. Using re- gional data for Germany, we examine econometrically the determinants of regional physician supply. We nd it to be negatively related to both the population share 60+ and the population share 20- in rural areas. While both population shares tend to have a less negative impact in urban areas, a pronounced positive e¤ect arises only for the share 20- in regions with agglomeration character. Net migration and natural balance turn out to be signi cant positive as long-run determinants only, indicating thus their role as predictors of future demand. On av- erage, cross-regional spillovers in demand do not seem to be important determinants of regional supply. |
| Keywords: | age structure, physician supply, regional population ageing, regional migration, overlapping generations, panel data, spatial model |
| JEL: | I11 J44 J10 R23 C33 C31 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ros:wpaper:105&r=geo |
| By: | Barbara Despiney (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I) |
| Abstract: | The chapter concentrates on the positive development dynamics of "industrial districts" based on the network of Small an Medium-Sized firms in Poland.The crux of the matter is to establish whether or not industrial districts constitute a model for the regenaration of local and regional economies in Central European Countries. |
| Keywords: | regional development; industrial clusters; Poland |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00374435_v1&r=geo |
| By: | Andra C. Ghent; Michael T. Owyang |
| Abstract: | We analyze the relationship between housing and the business cycle in a set of 36 US cities. Most surprisingly, we find that falls in house prices are often not followed by declines in employment. We also find that the leading indicator property of residential investment is not consistent across cities and that, at the national level, the leading indicator property of residential investment is not robust to including financial factors as control variables. |
| Keywords: | Housing ; Housing - Prices ; Business cycles |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2009-007&r=geo |
| By: | Michael T. Owyang; Sarah Zubairy |
| Abstract: | We simultaneously identify two government spending shocks: military spending shocks as defined by Ramey (2008) and federal spending shocks as defined by Perotti (2008). We analyze the effect of these shocks on state-level personal income and employment. We find regional patterns in the manner in which both shocks affect state-level variables. Moreover, we find differences in the propagation mechanisms for military versus nonmilitary spending shocks. The former benefits economies with larger manufacturing and retail sectors and states that receive military contracts. While nonmilitary shocks also benefit states with the proper industrial mix, they appear to stimulate economic activity in more-urban, lower-income states. |
| Keywords: | Government spending policy ; Expenditures, Public |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2009-006&r=geo |
| By: | J. Vernon Henderson; Adam Storeygard; David N. Weil |
| Abstract: | GDP growth is often measured poorly for countries and rarely measured at all for cities. We propose a readily available proxy: satellite data on lights at night. Our statistical framework uses light growth to supplement existing income growth measures. The framework is applied to countries with the lowest quality income data, resulting in estimates of growth that differ substantially from established estimates. We then consider a longstanding debate: do increases in local agricultural productivity increase city incomes? For African cities, we find that exogenous gricultural productivity shocks (high rainfall years) have substantial effects on local urban economic activity. |
| JEL: | E01 O47 Q1 R11 |
| Date: | 2009–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15199&r=geo |
| By: | Krupka, Douglas J. (IZA); Noonan, Douglas S. (Georgia Tech) |
| Abstract: | Neighborhoods are the result of a complicated interplay between residential choice, housing supply and the influences of the larger metropolitan system on its constituent parts. We model this interplay as a system of reduced-form equations in order to examine the effects of a generous spatially targeted economic development program (the federal Empowerment Zone program) on neighborhood characteristics, especially housing values. This system of equations approach allows us to compute direct effects of the policy intervention as well as the effects mediated through non-price channels such as changes in the housing stock or neighborhood demographics. In the process, we are able to shed light on the rich simultaneity among neighborhood characteristics, including housing prices. |
| Keywords: | economic development, simultaneity |
| JEL: | R0 R21 R31 R38 R58 |
| Date: | 2009–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4308&r=geo |
| By: | Giardina, Emilio; Cavalieri, Marina; Guccio, Calogero; Mazza, Isidoro |
| Abstract: | In the last decade, Italy has experienced a considerable decentralization of functions to the regions. This transformation has been especially relevant for the National Health System that has de facto assumed a federal system design. The federal reform aimed at disciplining public health expenditure, which drains a substantial share of the budget of Italian regions and is among the main causes of the regional deficits. Political economic analysis, however, suggests that impact of federalism on public expenditure depends on central and local government strategies to win in the electoral competition. Results derived in this preliminary study indicate that political competition actually works as a tool of fiscal discipline; it shows a restraining effect on public health expenditure. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal federalism; local budget; multi-level policy-making; public expenditure; political competition; health economics |
| JEL: | H51 H72 I18 D78 D72 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:16437&r=geo |