|
on Economic Geography |
| By: | Agnes Benassy-Quere; Maylis Coupet; Thierry Mayer |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we contribute to the literature on the determinants of FDI in developing countries and re-evaluate the role of the quality of institutions on FDI. We use a newly available database, with unprecedented detail on institutions of a set of 52 countries, and compare the results with matched variables from more familiar datasets. The paper controls for the correlation between institutions and GDP per capita of the host country, and also accounts for potential endogeneity of institutions. Finally, we evaluate whether proximity of institutions between the host and the origin country raises bilateral FDI. |
| Keywords: | FDI; gravity model; institutions; developing countries; relocation |
| JEL: | F23 R3 |
| Date: | 2005–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cii:cepidt:2005-05&r=geo |
| By: | Nicolas Marchetti |
| Abstract: | <P>Depuis les années 1970-1980, les réactions d’opposition à la localisation d’équipements dangereux ou générateurs de nuisances se sont diversifiées, intensifiées et structurées au point de devenir un problème capital pour la société. <P> Forgé aux États-Unis et analysé comme un véritable syndrome affectant nos démocraties, l’acronyme NIMBY caractérise de plus en plus fréquemment ces conflits de localisation. Il découle d’une métaphore qui parle d’elle-même: « Not in my backyard ! », en français: « Pas dans ma cour ! » Cet acronyme est censé traduire l’attitude d’opposition d’une population locale vis-à-vis d’un projet lorsque celui-ci est susceptible d’entraîner certaines nuisances ou modifications, réelles ou supposées, du cadre de vie. En Europe, l’intensification des conflits de localisation est plus récente et l’appellation NIMBY entre peu à peu dans le langage courant. <P> Longtemps circonscrites aux projets d’implantation d’équipements considérés comme très polluants ou très risqués, les réactions d’opposition se sont généralisées et affectent à présent un nombre considérable de projets publics comme privés : parcs éoliens, décharges, incinérateurs, stations d’épuration et, plus récemment, les projets de prisons, de centres d’aide ou d’accueil destinés aux publics déshérités : demandeurs d’asile, toxicomanes... Les exemples de conflits NIMBY au Québec sont nombreux : localisation d’un port méthanier à Beaumont, implantation d’une compostière géante dans la municipalité régionale de comte de Roussillon, construction d’un parc éolien dans le nord du Québec. <P> Les risques liés à la multiplication des conflits NIMBY sont nombreux. En matière d’environnement, les victoires des militants NIMBY « ici » peuvent toujours provoquer ou aggraver les problèmes « ailleurs ». En matière d’équipement ou de services, du fait qu’elle contribue à retarder une constante et nécessaire adéquation entre l’offre et la demande, la multiplication des manifestations du syndrome NIMBY peut entraîner un sous-équipement chronique de certains espaces. Enfin, en matière d’aménagement du territoire, les situations de blocage dues à ce syndrome peuvent être à l’origine de phénomènes de relégation spatiale. <P> Ce Rapport bourgogne présente une vue d’ensemble du syndrome NIMBY et des mécanismes proposés par les économistes pour le surmonter. Concernant ce dernier aspect, du point de vue de l’auteur, les procédures centralisées doivent être abandonnées car elles ne laissent qu’une place trop limitée à la participation du citoyen. Elles doivent être remplacées par des procédures faisant appel au marché. Différents mécanismes théoriques peuvent alors être envisagés : la négociation, les enchères, les assurances ou encore les loteries. Ces mécanismes s’avèrent, sous certaines hypothèses, relativement efficaces. Il convient cependant de les manipuler avec précaution car ils peuvent, dans certains cas, déboucher sur des résultats difficilement applicables. L’auteur s’inquiète également du fait que les travaux sur le sujet sont rarement pluridisciplinaires. |
| Date: | 2005–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirbur:2005rb-05&r=geo |
| By: | Yoonsoo Lee |
| Abstract: | Competition among state and local governments to lure businesses has attracted considerable interest from economists, as well as legislators and policymakers. This paper quantifies the role of plant relocations in the geographic redistribution of manufacturing employment and examines the effectiveness of state development policy. Only a few studies have looked at how manufacturing firms geographically locate their production facilities and have used either small manufacturing samples or small geographic regions. This paper provides broader evidence of the impact of plant relocations using confidential establishment level data from the U.S. Census Longitudinal Research Database (LRD), covering the full population of manufacturing establishments in the United States over the period 1972 to 1992. This paper finds a relatively small role for relocation in explaining the disparity of manufacturing employment growth rates across states. Moreover, it finds evidence of very weak effects of incentive programs on plant relocations. |
| Keywords: | Industrial location ; Manufactures ; Regional planning |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwp:0415&r=geo |
| By: | Ben R. Craig; William E. Jackson, III; James B. Thomson |
| Abstract: | Increasingly policymakers are looking to the small business sector as a potential engine of economic growth. Policies to promote small businesses include tax relief, direct subsidies, and indirect subsidies through government lending programs. Encouraging lending to small business is the primary policy objective of the Small Business Administration (SBA) loan-guarantee program. Using a panel data set of SBA-guaranteed loans we assess whether SBA-guaranteed lending has an observable impact on local and regional economic performance. |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwp:0503&r=geo |
| By: | Robert W. Gilmer; Jesus Cañas |
| Abstract: | The U.S.–Mexico border provides a number of examples of pairs of neighboring cities, one in the U.S. and the other in Mexico. The advent of the North American Industrial Classification System provides a new opportunity to look at these cities using a common industrial classification system. Using U.S. data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis, and comparable information from the 1999 Mexican economic census, we were able to compare employment by industry sector in city pairs that are located along the Texas–Mexico border: El Paso–Juarez, Laredo–Nuevo Laredo, Brownsville–Matamoros, and McAllen–Reynosa. ; This paper focuses on the distribution of employment in border city pairs. It is primarily descriptive in nature, but looks at industrial structure from several perspectives. First, we look at each city as part of its own national economy, then as part of the combined U.S.–Mexico economy. Second, we demonstrate that each city-pair has a distribution of employment by industry that complements the sister city. Different wage levels, distinct legal and regulatory systems and unlike stages of development provide each city with unique opportunities to specialize in the local marketplace. Finally, we interpret the role of these cities as part of a combined US-Mexico economy. The chief economic role played by all city-pairs is that of a manufacturing center, driven largely by maquiladora activity and its support industries. |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddwp:05-03&r=geo |
| By: | Jordan Rappaport |
| Abstract: | Population density varies widely across U.S. cities. A calibrated general equilibrium model in which productivity and quality-of-life differ across locations can account for such variation. Individuals derive utility from consumption of a traded good, a nontraded good, leisure, and quality-of-life. The traded and nontraded goods are produced by combining mobile labor, mobile capital, and non-mobile land. An eight-fold increase in population density requires an approximate 50 percent productivity differential or an approximate 20 percent compensating differential. A thirty-two-fold increase in population density requires an approximate 95 percent productivity differential or a 33 percent compensating differential. Empirical evidence suggests productivity and quality-of-life differentials of this magnitude are plausible. The model implies that broad-based technological progress can induce substantial migration to localities with high quality-of-life. |
| Keywords: | Productivity ; Population ; Quality of life ; Cities and towns |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedkrw:rwp04-12&r=geo |
| By: | Christopher H. Wheeler |
| Abstract: | The surge in U.S. wage inequality over the past several decades is now commonly attributed to an increase in the returns paid to skill. Although theories differ with respect to why, specifically, this increase has come about, many agree that it is strongly tied to the increase in the relative supply of skilled (i.e. highly educated) workers in the U.S. labor market. A greater supply of skilled labor, for example, may have induced skill-biased technological change or generated greater stratification of workers by skill across firms or jobs. Given that metropolitan areas in the U.S. have long possessed more educated populations than non-metropolitan areas, these theories suggest that the rise in both the returns to skill and wage inequality should have been particularly pronounced in cities. Evidence from the U.S. Census over the period 1950 to 1990 supports both implications. |
| Keywords: | Wages ; Regional economics |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2004-020&r=geo |
| By: | Christopher H. Wheeler |
| Abstract: | Empirically, large employers have been shown to devote greater resources to filling vacancies than small employers. Following this evidence, this paper offers a theory of producer size based on labor market search, whereby a key factor in the determination of producer's total employment is the ease with which workers can be found to fill jobs that are, periodically, vacated. Since the geographic localization of industry has long been conjectured to facilitate the search process, the model provides an explanation for the observed positive association between average producer size and the magnitude of an industry's presence within local labor markets. |
| Keywords: | Regional economics ; Labor market |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2004-021&r=geo |
| By: | Christopher H. Wheeler |
| Abstract: | While the productivity gains associated with the geographic concentration of industry (i.e. localization) are by now well-documented, little work has considered how those gains are distributed across individual workers. This paper offers evidence on the connection between total employment and the relative wage earnings of high- and low-skill workers (i.e. inequality) within two-digit manufacturing industries across the states and a collection of metropolitan areas in the U.S. between 1970 and 1990. Using two different measures - 90-10 percentile gaps in both overall and residual wages - I find that wage dispersion falls substantially as industry employment expands. Results from a simple decomposition of this relationship into average plant-size and plant-count components indicate overwhelmingly that average plant size is the primary driving mechanism. Although not necessarily inconsistent with theories appealing to intermediate inputs or technological spillovers, such findings are particularly supportive of Marshall's (1920) labor market pooling explanation for localization. |
| Keywords: | Wages ; Regional economics |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2004-023&r=geo |
| By: | Christopher H. Wheeler |
| Abstract: | A large body of research has established a positive connection between an industry's productivity and the magnitude of its presence within locally defined geographic areas. This paper examines the extent to which this relationship can be explained by a micro-level underpinning commonly associated with productivity: establishment scale. Looking at data on two-digit manufacturing across a sample of U.S. metropolitan areas, I find two primary results. First, average plant size - defined in terms of numbers of workers - increases substantially as an industry's employment in a metropolitan area rises. Second, results from a decomposition of localization effects on labor earnings into plant-size and plant-count components reveal that the widely observed, positive association between a worker's wage and the total employment in his or her own metropolitan area-industry derives predominantly from the former, not the latter. Localization economies, therefore, appear to be the product of plant-level organization rather than pure population effects. |
| Keywords: | Industrial productivity ; Regional economics |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2004-024&r=geo |
| By: | Russell Hillberry; David Hummels |
| Abstract: | A large literature has shown that geographic frictions reduce trade, but has not clarified precisely why. We provide insights into why such frictions matter by examining which parts of trade these frictions reduce most. Using data that tracks manufacturers' shipments within the United States on an exceptionally fine grid, we find that the pattern of shipments is extremely localized. Shipments within 5-digit zip codes, which have a median radius of just 4 miles, are 3 times larger than shipments outside the zip code. We decompose aggregate shipments into extensive and intensive margins, and show that distance and other frictions reduce aggregate trade values primarily by reducing the number of commodities shipped and the number of establishments shipping. We consider two broad reasons for these facts and conclude that trade in intermediate goods is the most likely explanation for highly localized shipments and the dominant role of the extensive margin. In addition, we find no evidence of state-level home bias when distances are measured precisely and trade is observed over a very fine grid. |
| JEL: | F1 R3 |
| Date: | 2005–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11339&r=geo |
| By: | Jan Bruha; Delia Ionascu; Byeongju Jeong |
| Abstract: | We examine the role of organized labor in the restructuring experience of two coal mining regions in the 1990’s: Ostrava in the Czech Republic and the Jiu Valley region in Romania. Under similar external circumstances, the Ostrava region undertook gradual restructuring from early on whereas in Jiu Valley there was no restructuring until 1997, followed by massive layoffs over two years. We conduct a quantitative exercise that accounts for the mine productivity, the labor market conditions, and the constraints in compensating the laid-off miners. We show that the delay in restructuring in Jiu Valley was inefficient: gradual restructuring with compensation would have benefited both the miners and the government. The proximate reason for the delay was the Jiu Valley miners’ action against restructuring. We interpret their action in part as a behavioral pattern under a perceived threat to their livelihood. This accords with their history of militancy in contrast to Ostravian miners. |
| Keywords: | organized labor; restructuring; coal; transition; welfare |
| JEL: | O17 J50 P31 R11 |
| Date: | 2005–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wdi:papers:2005-773&r=geo |
| By: | Petri Böckerman (Labour Institute for Economic Research); Edvard Johansson (The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy); Satu Helakorpi (National Public Health Institute); Ritva Prättälä (National Public Health Institute); Erkki Vartiainen Antti Uutela (National Public Health Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the relationship between obesity and economic conditions in Finland, using individual microdata from 1978 to 2002. The results reveal that an improvement in regional economic conditions measured by the employment-to-population ratio produces a decrease in obesity over the period of investigation, other things being equal. This effect arises from the decline in the height-adjusted weight of people who are deeply overweight, (BMI>35). In addition, the effect is strongest for the people in later middle age (aged 45-65). The incidence of obesity is unrelated to the regional growth rate. All in all, the Finnish evidence presented does not support the conclusions reported for the USA, according to which temporary economic slowdowns are good for health. In contrast, at least overweight increases during slumps. |
| Keywords: | overweight, business cycles, health |
| JEL: | E32 I12 R11 |
| Date: | 2005–05–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpla:0505011&r=geo |
| By: | Petri Böckerman (Labour Institute for Economic Research); Eero Lehto (Labour Institute for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&As) from the regional perspective. The Finnish firm-level evidence reveals that geographical closeness matters a lot for M&As within a single country. Thus, a great number of domestic M&As occur within narrowly defined regions. Interestingly, domestic M&As reinforce the core-periphery dimension. The results from matched firm-level data show that the strong ability by an acquiring company to monitor the target (measured by the knowledge embodied in human capital) is able to support M&As that occur across distant locations. |
| Keywords: | mergers, acquisitions, monitoring, agglomeration |
| JEL: | G34 R12 |
| Date: | 2005–05–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0505002&r=geo |
| By: | P Nair (ICFAI University); Deepak Kumar (ICFAI University Press) |
| Abstract: | The Government of AP , India , needs to rethink its Infrastructure strategy in the light of current state priority. Unless these are in line with state priorities, the strategies will not work and will perpetually be at cross purposes. The current direction taken by the state appears to point towards the development of rural infrastructure,such as irrigation facility and linkages. The paper attempts to assess the need for these linkages and evolve broad policies to be implemented by these strategies. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure Policy |
| JEL: | R |
| Date: | 2005–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0505005&r=geo |
| By: | P Nair (ICFAI University); Deepak Kumar (ICFAI University Press) |
| Abstract: | The Suburban Railway system in Mumbai is perhaps the most complex, densely loaded and intensively utilized system in the world. Due to the magnitude of the project and the need for continuous assistance and involvement of the Government of Maharashtra, a separate corporation, the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) was set up jointly between the Ministry of Railways and the Government of Maharashtra. MRVC has made substantial improvements in the Mumbai suburban railway system since its inception, but it has to go a long way. This paper discusses the developments and the challenges of MRVC and a brief description of suburban systems of different Indian metro cities has also been presented. |
| Keywords: | Urban Transport Project |
| JEL: | R |
| Date: | 2005–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0505006&r=geo |
| By: | N Janardhan Rao (ICFAI University Press); Deepak Kumar (ICFAI University Press) |
| Abstract: | Vallarpadam Container Terminal Project (VCTP) will be a unique one in infrastructure to boost the containerization in India. The establishment of VCTP will help in bringing larger ships to India and therefore will decrease the dependence on foreign ports. |
| Keywords: | Vallarpadam Container Terminal Project |
| JEL: | R |
| Date: | 2005–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0505007&r=geo |
| By: | Deepak Kumar (ICFAI University Press); AP Maurya (Baak of Maharasthra , India) |
| Abstract: | The online data management system for on-farm trials (WebFarm) is a prototype software to customize recording of on-farm trials under the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi. The prototype WebFarm is a three-layered design. Client Side is the Interface Layer, implemented in HTML and JavaScript. Server Side is the Application Layer connecting the client side layer and the database and is implemented in Java Server Pages.Database layer is implemented using Microsoft Access 2000. The developed WebFarm can be implemented as a network-based system with a server, so that information is available online. WebFarm runs on any node of the Internet through a browser. Security features are provided in such a way that only the administrator can access the database. It has facilities for browsing and searching the information and online help for smooth navigation. There is a provision for interacting with the System Administrator through e-mail. This will reduce the delay in receiving the data. Further, IASRI can distribute the work, like—checking of schedules, coding of data and converting data to electronic form to various centers conducting on-farm trials. As a result, they can be directly used for statistical analysis. |
| Keywords: | Online Data Management System |
| JEL: | R |
| Date: | 2005–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0505008&r=geo |
| By: | Almos T. Tassonyi (Ontario Ministry of Finance, Strategic Policy Unit, Property Tax Policy Branch) |
| Abstract: | Subnational governments are faced with increased pressure to initiate policies to further local economic development. This paper traces the changes in the theory and practice of local development initiatives in North America. The paper uses Ontario and its municipal sector as a case study of the transition from an emphasis on physical accommodation to the current emphasis on broader amenities. |
| Keywords: | Regional development policy, subsidies |
| JEL: | R11 H25 |
| Date: | 2005–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttp:itpwps:0511&r=geo |
| By: | Eliana Baici (SEMEQ Department - Faculty of Economics - University of Eastern Piedmont); Giorgia Casalone (SEMEQ Department - Faculty of Economics - University of Eastern Piedmont) |
| Abstract: | Since Solow’s (1957) contribution, human capital has a central role in the debate on economic growth as a leading long period development factor. If from a theoretical point of view the role of human capital on economic growth both directly and throughout its use in R&D activities is fully accepted, from an empirical perspective the results are much more controversial, strictly depending on the quality of data. A recent analysis by Aghion and Cohen (2004) put in evidence that high-level human capital has a positive effect on economic performance only if a country is close to the technological frontier: countries that are far from this frontier, specialised in traditional sectors, can growth, almost in the short run, even exploiting medium-level human capital. This analysis lead to consider the link between human capital and growth with a greater detail, trying to disclose the effect of different human capitals in a country, such as Italy, traditionally oriented toward a low/medium technology production. Using, beyond the usual proxies of human capital, some measures of its quality and of its interrelation with R&D sector, we would like to give a new contribution to the analysis of regional growth in Italy in the period 1980-2001. The panel approach, here adopted, allows us to take account of the temporal variability and to check for omitted variable specific for regions and persistent over time. |
| Keywords: | human capital, labour productivity, regional growth, panel estimations |
| JEL: | C23 J24 O40 R11 |
| Date: | 2005–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upo:upopwp:101&r=geo |