nep-geo New Economics Papers
on Economic Geography
Issue of 2017‒07‒02
seven papers chosen by
Andreas Koch
Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung

  1. Finding the Consumer Center of St. Petersburg? By Konstantin A. Kholodilin; Irina Krylova; Darya Kryutchenko
  2. Regional Input-Output Matrices, an Application to Manufacturing Exports in Mexico By Chiquiar Daniel; Alvarado Jorge; Quiroga Miroslava; Torre Cepeda Leonardo E.
  3. What explains Regional Imbalances in Infrastructure?: Evidence from Indian States. By Mohanty, Biswajit; Bhanumurthy, N. R.; Dastidar, Ananya Ghosh
  4. How Do Regional Interactions in Space Affect China’s Mitigation Targets and Economic Development? By Wang Lu; Hao Yu; Wei Yi-Ming
  5. Airport Noise in Atlanta: The Inequality of Sound By Cohen, Jeffrey P.; Coughlin, Cletus C.; Crews, Jonas C.
  6. Zoning in reunified Berlin By Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt; Wolfgang Maennig; Felix J. Richter
  7. Valuing Sunshine By David Fleming; Arthur Grimes; Laurent Lebreton; David C Maré; Peter Nunns

  1. By: Konstantin A. Kholodilin (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Irina Krylova (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Darya Kryutchenko (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)
    Abstract: In the urban economics, the distribution of people and real estate prices depends on the location of the central business district. As distance from the city center increases, both prices and population density diminish, for travel costs increase in terms of time and money. As manufacturing gradually leaves the cities, the importance of consumer amenities as attractors of population to the urban areas increases. The role of the business center is being taken over by the consumer center. This paper identies the location of the consumer center of St. Petersburg - the second largest city in Russia and its former capital. For this purpose using data from open sources on the Internet regarding the location of dierent types of urban amenities, the indices of their spatial density are computed. Using weights based on coefficients of spatial variation and surveys, the individual indices are aggregated to two general centrality indices. Their unique maxima correspond to the city center of St. Petersburg, which is located on Nevsky prospekt, between Fontanka river and Liteinyi prospekt.
    Keywords: St. Petersburg; urban amenities; consumer city center; 2D kernel density estimation.
    JEL: R14 R15 C43
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:165/ec/2017&r=geo
  2. By: Chiquiar Daniel; Alvarado Jorge; Quiroga Miroslava; Torre Cepeda Leonardo E.
    Abstract: Based on the national Input-Output Matrix (IOM) 2012 calculated by INEGI, we use Flegg's approach to estimate four regional Input-Output Matrices (RIOMs) using Banco de México's regionalization (Northern, North-Central, Central and Southern). The RIOMs are employed to evaluate the impact on regional gross output, value added and employment resulting from a 10,000 million dollar shock on Mexican manufacturing exports. The results show that the effects on the absolute values of gross output, value added and employment in the North are clearly larger than those estimated for the other regions. Another finding is that the total effects of the regional shocks tend to concentrate in the manufacturing sector, with the highest concentration observed in the North, and the lowest in the South. We also find that indirect effects of these shocks tend to be larger in regions far from the US border.
    Keywords: Input-Output Model;Regional Analysis;Multiplier Effects;Exports
    JEL: R11 R12 R15
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdm:wpaper:2017-09&r=geo
  3. By: Mohanty, Biswajit (A.B. College, Bhadrak, Odisha); Bhanumurthy, N. R. (National Institute of Public Finance and Policy); Dastidar, Ananya Ghosh (University of Delhi)
    Abstract: The literature on regional growth suggests that divergences in infrastructure is a major factor behind the wide and persistent regional growth imbalances in India. Using a state infrastructure-expenditure function, the paper examines the possible factors that determine infrastructure expenditure and its implication for regional imbalance in infrastructure creation across 14 major Indian states. We, in the present study, find that factors such as resource mobilization, per capita income, and population density may result in unequal infrastructure expenditure across states. We also find that factors such as more spending by the infrastructure-deficit states, political stability, and positive spatial dependence in infrastructure expenditure among states have a balancing effect on infrastructure creation across regions. These results suggest the need for augmenting the financial capacity of the infrastructure-deficit states and strengthening the positive spatial dependence among states through creation of interstate infrastructure networks (railways, national highways etc.) and conducive investment climate, which could boost competition among states for better infrastructure creation.
    Keywords: infrastructure ; regional imbalance ; spatial dependence ; Indian states
    JEL: H54 R11 R12 C31
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:npf:wpaper:17/197&r=geo
  4. By: Wang Lu (Beijing Institute of Technology); Hao Yu (Beijing Institute of Technology); Wei Yi-Ming (Beijing Institute of Technology)
    Abstract: China is faced with the big challenge of maintaining a remarkable economic growth in an environmental friendly manner; that is why forecasting the turning point is of necessity. Traditional econometric approaches do not consider the spatial dependence that inevitably exists in the economic units, which probably risks misspecification and generating a biased estimation result. This paper firstly constructs Theil index to measure the intra-and inter regional inequality of CO2 emissions, we find that difference in emissions between regions is narrowed but gap within the Western China is sharply expanding. Then the Spatial Durbin model is employed to shape the relationship between mitigation and economic growth using the panel data of 29 provinces ranging from 1995 to 2011. Results show that the peak of per capita carbon dioxide emissions in China would be seen when GDP per capita reaches between $USD 21594 to 24737 (at 2000 constant price), much smaller when compared with the estimations of models which ignore the spatial dependence. This implies that territorial policy and industry transfer, on one hand would favor those underdeveloped regions with investment, technology and labors transfer; on the other hand enables developed regions more potential to mitigation, thus, chances are that China achieves the emissions peak of carbon dioxide earlier than conventional wisdom.
    Keywords: Mitigation, Economic growth, Spatial Interaction, Spatial Durbin Model
    JEL: C31 P48 Q54
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2017.21&r=geo
  5. By: Cohen, Jeffrey P. (University of Connecticut); Coughlin, Cletus C. (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis); Crews, Jonas C. (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
    Abstract: We examine how changes in the geographic concentrations of Hispanic and African-American populations are correlated with changes in probabilities of airport noise, in Atlanta, during 2003 and 2012. We estimate ordered probit and locally weighted ordered probit regressions for three different noise categories to determine the correlations between these two demographic groups and the aircraft noise levels experienced by people in individual houses that sold. Then we determine the average coefficient for all houses sold in each Census block group, and we plot each year’s coefficients for each block group against the percentiles of the minority population. While the absolute level of noise has declined over the geographic area considered in 2012 compared with 2003, we find that the distribution of noise coefficients among Hispanics and blacks became more inequitable in 2012 compared with 2003. At least two potential mechanisms could generate these correlations. Due to residential mobility, income and preferences could combine to produce a concentration of minorities in certain neighborhoods. Or, perhaps noisier flight paths are imposed upon higher minority neighborhoods as a result of discrimination. Our findings contribute to the broader literature on environmental justice, even though we cannot definitively infer the mechanisms at work.
    Keywords: Airport Noise; Spatial Heterogeneity; Environmental Justice; Ordered Probit; Locally Weighted Regression
    JEL: C25 Q53 R41
    Date: 2017–06–26
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2017-015&r=geo
  6. By: Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt (Department of Geography and Environment & Spatial Economics Research Centre (SERC), London School of Economics (LSE)); Wolfgang Maennig (Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg); Felix J. Richter (Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg)
    Abstract: While urban renewal programs have become widely used policy measures to target urban devel-opment less is known about the reasons why certain areas are more responsive to policy inter-ventions than others. With this study we address some of these issues by analyzing an urban re-newal program in Berlin, Germany, with 22 designated renewal zones between 1990 and 2012. We separately estimate the effects of the renewal policy on property prices for each respective redevelopment area by comparing price developments in these areas to a series of runner-up areas and to geographically close transactions. We find a considerable amount of heterogeneity. While some areas profit form the renewal policies, there are several areas which develop quite differently and end up with a decrease in property prices due to the urban renewal policy.
    Keywords: Urban, renewal, revitalization, area level, hedonic, policy evaluation
    JEL: D62 H23 R21 R31
    Date: 2017–06–27
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hce:wpaper:059&r=geo
  7. By: David Fleming (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Arthur Grimes (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Laurent Lebreton (The Modelling House); David C Maré (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Peter Nunns (MRCagney)
    Abstract: Sunlight influences people’s real estate decisions, but city intensification may reduce sunlight exposure for neighbouring properties, causing a negative externality. There are hitherto no rigorous estimates of the cost of this externality. Using over 5,000 observations on house sales in Wellington, New Zealand, we derive the willingness to pay for an extra daily hour of sun, on average, across the year. After controlling for locational sorting and other considerations in an hedonic regression, we find that each extra daily hour of sunlight exposure is associated with a 2.4% increase in house sale price. This estimate is robust to a variety of alternative specifications. Our results can be used to price negative externalities caused by new development, so replacing inflexible regulations designed to address impacts of development on neighbours’ sunshine.
    Keywords: Sunlight, house prices, hedonic model, views, elevation
    JEL: R30 R31 N50
    Date: 2017–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:17_13&r=geo

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