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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Steve Gibbons; Henry Overman |
| Abstract: | Average earnings vary widely across the regions of Britain, a fact that has prompted many decades of policies aimed at reducing regional disparities. But as Henry Overman and Steve Gibbons demonstrate, such variation reveals little, especially if we ignore regional differences in the cost of living and availability of local amenities. |
| Keywords: | wage, disparities, labour,Britain, spatial equilibrium, amenity value, housing market |
| JEL: | J31 J60 R11 R23 R29 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:353&r=geo |
| By: | Matthias Duschl (Department of Geography, Philipps University Marburg); Antje Schimke (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)); Thomas Brenner (Department of Geography, Philipps University Marburg); Dennis Luxen (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)) |
| Abstract: | In this paper the relationship between firm growth and external knowledge sources, such as related firms and universities, is studied. The spatial characteristics of these relationships are examined by geolocating firms into a more realistic relational space using travel time distances and using flexible distance decay function specifications. This approach properly accounts for growth relevant knowledge spillovers and allows for estimating their spatial range and functional form. Applying quantile regression techniques on a large sample of German manufacturing firms, we show that the impact of external factors substantially differ along firms’ size, type of knowledge source and growth level. |
| Keywords: | Firm growth, external factors, universities, agglomeration, space, spatial range, distance decay functions, knowledge spillovers, high growth firms, quantile regression |
| JEL: | C31 D92 L25 R11 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2011-03&r=geo |
| By: | Wouter Vermeulen |
| Abstract: | Should constraints on urban expansion be relaxed because of external agglomeration economies? In a system of heterogeneous cities, we demonstrate that second-best land use policy consists of a tax on city creation and a subsidy (tax) on urban development in cities in which the marginal-average productivity gap is above (below) average. However, the implementation of this policy requires coordination at the system level. A tax on city creation does not raise welfare if development taxes are set decentrally by competitive urban developers, nor does correction of these taxes raise welfare if a tax on city creation is unavailable. In the resulting constrained optimal allocation, urban development is subsidized in all cities. The quantitative significance of these findings is explored in an application of our model. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration externalities, growth controls, second-best policy, systems ofcities |
| JEL: | R52 R12 R13 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sercdp:0093&r=geo |
| By: | Catarina Cardoso (School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, UK); Eric J. Pentecost (School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, UK) |
| Abstract: | Potentially one of the most important determinants of regional economic growth and convergence is human capital, although due to a lack of data this factor is frequently omitted from econometric studies. In contrast, this paper constructs three measures of human capital at the NUTS III regional level for Portugal for the period 1991-2008 and then includes these variables in regional growth regressions. The results show that both secondary and higher levels of education have a significant positive effect on regional growth rates which may be regarded as supportive of Portuguese education policy, which over the last three decades has attempted to raise the regional human capital by locating higher education institutions across the country. |
| Keywords: | Human capital, Regional convergence, GMM |
| JEL: | C23 I21 O18 R11 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lbo:lbowps:2011_03&r=geo |
| By: | Lu, Zheng; Flegg, A.Tony; Deng, Xiang |
| Abstract: | This paper elaborates on a method of measuring regional specialization and examines the trend of regional specialization in China, 1987 - 2007. It constructs a simple coefficient incorporating the effect of regional industrial scale, based on location quotients, and then measures the regional specialization of China using official statistical data. The results indicate a remarkable increase in China’s overall regional specialization during this time, as well as obvious regional and industrial differences, i.e., that the regional specialization of eastern coastal China is relatively less than that of the inland. Findings further demonstrate that special-resource-dependent industries are concentrated in regions with resource endowment, whereas industries with strong technical barriers are mainly located in regions with strong research and innovation ability. |
| Keywords: | Regional Specialization; Location Quotients; China |
| JEL: | C69 P25 R12 R11 |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33867&r=geo |
| By: | Arimoto, Yutaka; Nakajima, Kentaro; Okazaki, Tetsuji |
| Abstract: | We examine two sources of productivity improvement in the specialized industrial clusters of the early twentieth century Japanese silk-reeling industry. Agglomeration improves the productivity of each plant through positive externalities, shifting plant-level productivity distribution to the right. Selection expels less productive plants through competition, truncating distribution on the left. We find no evidence confirming a right shift in the distribution in clusters or that agglomeration promotes faster productivity growth. Rather, the distribution in clusters was severely left truncated, even for younger plants. These findings imply that the plant-selection effect was the source of higher productivity in the Japanese silk-reeling clusters. |
| Keywords: | Economic geography, Heterogenous firms, Industrial clusters, Productivity |
| JEL: | R12 O18 L10 |
| Date: | 2011–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:primdp:7&r=geo |
| By: | ANA MARIA BONOMI BARUFI (USP/FEA); EDUARDO AMARAL HADDAD (USP/FEA); ANTONIO PAEZ (MCMASTER UNIVERSITY) |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2010:195&r=geo |
| By: | Viviane Luporini; Marta Castilho |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2009:107&r=geo |
| By: | Arthur Amorim Bragança; Mauro Borges Lemos; PedroVasconcelos Maia do Amaral |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2009:89&r=geo |
| By: | Yasusada Murata (Advanced Research Institute for the Sciences and Humanities, Nihon University); Ryo Nakajima (Department of Economics, Yokohama National University); Ryosuke Okamoto (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies); Ryuichi Tamura (Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba) |
| Abstract: | The existence of localized knowledge spillovers found by Jaffe, Trajtenberg and Henderson (1993) has recently been challenged by Thompson and Fox-Kean (2005). To settle this debate, we develop a new approach by incorporating their concepts of control patents into the distance-based test of localization (Duranton and Overman, 2005). Using microgeographic data, we identify localization distance for each technology class while allowing for cross-boundary spillovers, unlike the existing literature where localization is detected at the state or metropolitan statistical area level. We find solid evidence supporting localized knowledge spillovers even when finer controls are used. We further relax the commonly made assumption of perfect controls, and show that the majority of technology classes exhibit localization unless hidden biases induced by imperfect controls are extremely large. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:11-11&r=geo |
| By: | Eduardo Gonçalves; Philipe Scherrer Mendes; Ricardo da SilvaFreguglia |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2009:169&r=geo |
| By: | GERVASIO FERREIRA DOS SANTOS (UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DA BAHIA); EDUARDO A. HADDAD (UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO); GEOFFREY J. D. HEWINGS (UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CAMPAING) |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2010:091&r=geo |
| By: | Okamuro, Hiroyuki; Nishimura, Junichi |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a detailed comparison of the following five cases of Japanese and European clusters in biotechnology: (1) Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster (KBIC) in Kobe (Japan), (2) Fuji Pharma Valley Cluster in Shizuoka Prefecture (Japan), (3) BioM Biotech Cluster in Munich (Germany), (4) BioRegion Rhine-Neckar in Heidelberg (Germany), and (5) Alsace BioValley Cluster in Strasbourg (France). We pay special attention to the cluster policy and its management by each region's core cluster management organization. Information on the focal clusters and the management of cluster policies has been obtained through interviews with the cluster directors and core staff in 2010 and 2011. We find several similarities and differences among the five cases of Japanese and European clusters. We also discuss how the management of cluster policies by the core management organizations may be related with the performance of regional clusters. |
| Keywords: | management, cluster policy, regional cluster, R&D, biotechnology, international comparison |
| JEL: | O32 O38 R58 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2011-7&r=geo |
| By: | De Witte, K.; Van Klaveren, C.; Smets, A. |
| Abstract: | In an attempt to stop the rampant suburbanization, which countries experienced after World War II, a 'new town' policy was enrolled. As a major objective, and related to its origins, new towns were effective in attracting low and medium income households. Nowadays, cities and municipalities experience an increased accountability in which incentives are provided by 'naming and shaming'. This paper focuses on an issue where both historical and local policy come together: early school leaving. Using an iterative matching analysis, it suggests how to account for differences in population and regional characteristics. In other words, how to compare and interpret early school leaving in new towns in a more `fair' way. The results point out that (statistically) mitigating historical differences is necessary, even though this does not necessarily means that 'naming' is replaced by 'shaming'. |
| Keywords: | Urban Economics; New Town; Early School Leaving; Naming and Shaming; Iterative Matching, Urban Planning |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tir:wpaper:39&r=geo |
| By: | Matheus Wemerson Gomes Pereira; Erly Cardoso Teixeira; ÂngeloCosta Gurgel |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2009:120&r=geo |
| By: | Ishizuka, Futaba |
| Abstract: | The change in the ownership structure of enterprises was one of the major features of the Vietnamese economy in the 2000s. Of the three sectors of state, private and FDI, the state sector, which employed the majority of enterprise workers at the beginning of the 2000s, became the smallest by the end of the decade. One of the factors contributing to such phenomenon was SOE restructuring. Earlier SOE restructuring in the early 1990s is said to have resulted in increased economic inequality among provinces. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the impact of the SOE restructuring and related changes in the ownership structure of enterprises on the regional distribution of economic activities in the 2000s. |
| Keywords: | Vietnam, Government enterprises, Industrial management, State owned enterprise, Enterprise |
| JEL: | P31 L32 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper293&r=geo |
| By: | Simone Miyuki Hirakawa; Rodrigo De Losso da Silveira Bueno |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2009:127&r=geo |