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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Guido Tabellini |
| Date: | 2005–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cla:levrem:122247000000000795&r=geo |
| By: | Michael Fritsch; Pamela Mueller |
| Abstract: | We investigate regional differences in the level and the development of regional new business formation activity. There is a pronounced variance of start-up rates across the regions. The level of regional new firm formation is rather path-dependent so that changes are relatively small. The main factors determining the level of regional start-ups are innovation and entrepreneurship. These factors also seem to be responsible for changes in the level of regional new business formation. In addition, unemployment plays a role. Steering innovation and creating an entrepreneurial atmosphere could be an appropriate starting point for policy measures that try to promote start-ups. Our empirical evidence strongly suggests that such measures may have significant effect only in the long run. |
| Keywords: | New businesses, entrepreneurship, growth regimes, time lags |
| JEL: | M13 O1 O18 R11 |
| Date: | 2005–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esi:egpdis:2005-02&r=geo |
| By: | Artz, Georgeanne M.; Orazem, Peter |
| Abstract: | As population changes, counties’ rural or urban designation also changes.This affects perceptions of rural growth. Since the fastest growing counties grow out of their rural status, use of the most recent rural designation excludes the most successful rural counties. Average economic performance of the counties remaining rural significantly understates the true performance of rural counties. This paper illustrates that choice of rural code (called the Beale code) can alter conclusions regarding the magnitude and even the sign of factors believed to influence growth. Most strikingly, the estimated impact of human capital on rural growth is completely reversed when the sample is based on end-of-period rather than start-of-period rural status. The use of short time frames such as a single decade to evaluate relative growth across counties can also yield misleading inferences. |
| JEL: | R0 |
| Date: | 2005–01–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12224&r=geo |
| By: | Belke, Ansgar (University of Hohenheim and IZA Bonn); Heine, Jens M. (zeb/rolfes.schierenbeck.associates) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the degree of correlation of EU regional employment cycles and attempts to show whether these cycles reflect changing patterns of specialisation. By focusing on the regional level and by employing three different indicators of similarity of sectoral structure, it improves on existing studies. A dynamic panel data model is estimated pairs of regions by within groups, i.e., by a standard fixed effects estimator. Special attention is paid to capture the rich dynamics which are typical of employment data. The key finding is that employment growth is more synchronised when regions look alike in their sectoral structure. |
| Keywords: | regional employment, European Union, regional business cycles, specialisation, synchronicity |
| JEL: | E32 F15 R23 |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1439&r=geo |
| By: | Heckman, James J. (University of Chicago, American Bar Foundation, University College London and IZA Bonn); Masterov, Dimitriy V. (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | This paper argues that skill formation is a life-cycle process and develops the implications of this insight for Scottish social policy. Families are major producers of skills, and a successful policy needs to promote effective families and to supplement failing ones. We present evidence that early disadvantages produce severe later disadvantages that are hard to remedy. We also show that cognitive ability is not the only determinant of education, labor market outcomes and pathological behavior like crime. Abilities differ in their malleability over the life-cycle, with noncognitive skills being more malleable at later ages. This has important implications for the design of policy. The gaps in skills and abilities open up early, and schooling merely widens them. Additional university tuition subsidies or improvements in school quality are not warranted by Scottish evidence. Company-sponsored job training yields a higher return for the most able and so this form of investment will exacerbate the gaps it is intended to close. For the same reason, public job training is not likely to help adult workers whose skills are rendered obsolete by skill-biased technological change. Targeted early interventions, however, have proven to be very effective in compensating for the effect of neglect. |
| Keywords: | Scotland, education, training, family, policy |
| JEL: | J31 I21 I22 I28 |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1444&r=geo |
| By: | Uwe Deichmann (World Bank); Kai Kaiser; Somik V. Lall (World Bank); Zmarak Shalizi (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | How effective are public interventions in addressing significant regional disparities in formal manufacturing concentration in a developing economy? Deichmann, Kaiser, Lall, and Shalizi examine the aggregate and sectoral geographic concentration of manufacturing industries for Indonesia, and estimate the impact of factors influencing location choice at the firm level. They distinguish between natural advantage, including infrastructure endowments, wage rates, and natural resource endowments, and production externalities, arising from the co-location of firms in the same or complementary industries. The methodology pays special attention to empirically distinguishing the impact of measured production externalities from unobserved local characteristics. Depending on the sector, the authors find that a mix of both forms of regional advantage explains the geographic distribution of firms. Based on the estimated location choice model, they illustrate the potential impacts of policy interventions on manufacturing distribution by simulating the effectiveness of transport improvements on relocation of firms. The findings suggest that improvements in transport infrastructure may only have limited effects in attracting industry to secondary industrial centers outside of Java, especially in sectors already established in leading regions. The findings underscore the challenges for addressing the industrial fortunes of lagging regions, either through local decentralized policy interventions or national policies focused on infrastructure development. This paper—a product of the Infrastructure and Environment Team, Development Research Group—is part of a larger effort in the group to examine the impacts of spatial policy interventions on the location and performance of economic activity. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure; Industry; Urban Development |
| Date: | 2005–01–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3477&r=geo |
| By: | Thomas M Fullerton Jr (University of Texas at El Paso); Luis Bernardo Torres Ruiz (Banco de Mexico & University of Colorado) |
| Abstract: | Greater economic integration between developing and higher income economies has led to increased 'north-south' business cycle linkages. This study applies a linear transfer function ARIMA approach to analyze regional maquiladora payroll dynamics in a non-border region of Mexico. Statistically significant responses occur as functions of variations in the exchange rate, real wages, foreign investment, and United States industrial activity. Simulation testing is also conducted as another means of empirical model verification. |
| Keywords: | Maquiladora Payrolls, International Business Cycle Transmission, Applied Econometrics |
| JEL: | O19 |
| Date: | 2005–01–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpdc:0501006&r=geo |
| By: | DR. GODWIN CHUKWUDUM NWAOBI (QUANTITATIVE ECONOMIC RESEARCH BUREAU, NIGERIA) |
| Abstract: | THIS PAPER ENUNERATES THE SEQUENTIAL HISTORIC ORIGIN OF OSUMENYI VILLAGE AND ITS CULTURAL, RELIGIOUS AND ECONOMIC PRACTICES. IN OTHERWORDS, THE PAPER WILL HELP TO CLARIFY SOME OF THE SOCIO-POLITICAL CHANGES AND ECONOMIC CHANGES THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN OSUMENYI'S HISTORY. THE PAPER RECOMMENDS THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO EXPOIT THE IMPORTANT ECONOMIC CROPS FOUND AT OSUMENYI WHILE PROVIDING ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURES TO THE PEOPLE. |
| Keywords: | OSUMENYI, AMAKOM, NNEWI, ANAMBRA, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, CUSTOMS, RELIGION, AGRICULTURE, TRADE |
| JEL: | H70 Z10 R50 R10 N00 |
| Date: | 2005–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0501001&r=geo |
| By: | Mark V. Janikas (San Diego State University); Sergio J. Rey (San Diego State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between spatial clustering and inequality at the county scale with overall state per capita income in the U.S. over the period 1969-2000. For each of the 48 coterminous states we examine measures of inequality and spatial clustering and explore how a state's overall income level may be influenced by, or influence, these measures. Our exploratory analysis utilizes the open- source package Space-Time Analysis of Regional Systems (STARS) to illustrate some new techniques for analyzing regional income dynamics. The results provide insight into the possible relationships between inequality, clustering and relative income levels, and generates a number of interesting avenues for future research. |
| Keywords: | spatial clustering; spatial dependence; inequality; convergence; geocomputation |
| JEL: | C21 O18 O51 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2005–01–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0501002&r=geo |
| By: | Reinhold Kosfeld (Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, University of Kassel); Christian Dreger (Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH)) |
| Abstract: | Changes in production, employment and unemployment are closely related over the course of the business cycle. However, as exemplified by the laws of Verdoorn (1949, 1993) and Okun (1962, 1970), thresholds seem to be present in the relationship. Due to capacity reserves of the firms, output growth must exceed certain levels for the creation of new jobs or a fall in the unemployment rate. In order to get efficient estimates of these bounds, we take a wide range of information into account. In particular, thresholds for employment and unemployment are determined on the grounds of 180 German regional labour markets. To capture cross section dependencies, a spatial SUR model is built up utilizing the eigenfunction decomposition approach suggested by Griffith (1996, 2000). The results indicate, that minimum output growth sufficient for a rise in employment is below the level which is needed for a simultaneous drop in the unemployment rate. Especially, the thresholds turn out to be about 1.2 and 2.2 percent, respectively. The ordering is related both to demographic changes and institutional settings on the labour market, such as the working of the unemployment benefit system. If spatial effects are not controlled for, the thresholds seem to be overrated. |
| Keywords: | Threshold employment and unemployment, regional labour markets, spatial filtering techniques, spatial SUR analysis |
| JEL: | C21 C23 E24 E32 |
| Date: | 2004–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kas:wpaper:52/04&r=geo |
| By: | Hans-Friedrich Eckey (Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, University of Kassel); Reinhold Kosfeld (Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, University of Kassel) |
| Abstract: | The standard model of New Economic Geography (NEG) presents a synthesis of polarization and neo-classical theories. Within a monopolistic competition framework it aims to explain processes of concentration and deconcentration of manufacturing in a two-sector economy. In this paper the effects of several assumptions of spatial agglomeration processes are addressed. In particular, we investigate the effects of transport costs for agricultural goods, spatial spillovers, the presence of non-tradable services and limited mobility of the labour force. It becomes clear that the tendency towards deconcentration of manufacturing is more marked - the higher the transport costs for agricultural goods, - the stronger the positive spillovers across the regions, - the more income spent on services, - the more limited the mobility of the labour force. |
| Keywords: | Neue Ökonomische Geographie, Transportkosten, nicht handelbare Dienstleistungen, Spillovers |
| JEL: | R10 R12 |
| Date: | 2004–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kas:wpaper:65/04&r=geo |