|
on Economic Geography |
| By: | Geenhuizen, Marina van (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Nijkamp, Peter |
| Abstract: | In the development of modern urban systems we are facing a shift from central cities as the major location of coordination functions, high-order services and innovative activities, to interconnected nodes at some distance in a larger metropolitan area. However, which cities in the emerging new spatial constellation qualify to become such a node is not yet clear, and depends also on the organizing capacity of the municipalities involved. In the present paper we address spread over a larger metropolitan area from the point of view of place-bound versus footloose behaviour of young, innovative firms as the drivers of economic renewal in this area. A theoretical review of location needs and footlooseness is followed by an empirical contribution to identify whether an increased footlooseness of such companies is emerging in the Netherlands. The results prompt the need for a more thorough reflection on related policy issues. The policy part of the paper addresses in particular some evolutionary views to understand why urban policymaking is subject to various systemic constraints, while next some empirical results on weaknesses in the urban organizing capacity to benefit from a shift towards a global metropolitan area are highlighted. In this context we focus the attention specifically on policies dealing with information and communication technology. |
| Keywords: | World cities; agglomeration theory; resource-based theory; footlooseness; urban organizing capacity; ICT |
| JEL: | R30 R50 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2005-11&r=geo |
| By: | José Castro Caldas; Manuel Mira Godinho; Ricardo Pais Mamede |
| Abstract: | Local increasing returns associated with static and dynamic scale effects, knowledge spillovers, polarisation effects and the distance that separates different regions are among the most important driving forces behind the dynamics of economic and technological convergence. This paper puts forward a computational simulation model that seeks to integrate these factors. The modelling exercise was designed to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between the aspects underlying the specific trajectories of regional technological accumulation and the aggregate convergence/divergence patterns stemming from these trajectories. Analysis of the simulation’s results allows us to draw several conclusions. Firstly, it is shown that the opportunities for interaction and the resulting knowledge spillovers are a necessary but not sufficient condition for convergence. Moreover, up to a certain point, an increase in the opportunities for interaction between regions may lead to further divergence. Secondly, when spatial friction in the interactions is either relatively low or high, regions which could be “losers” for a given initial distribution of technological capabilities may become “winners” for another one (“history matters”). Conversely, for intermediate levels of spatial friction leading to central polarisation, history is largely irrelevant – irrespective of the initial space distribution of technological capability and sequence of chance events, a polarised centre-periphery pattern emerges. Finally, when spatial distance imposes high friction on interactions between regions, and when they do not have to be very similar in their levels of technological capabilities in order to learn from each other, regions in the core of “continental masses” benefit in terms of increased technological capability (“space matters”). |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:isegwp:wp122005&r=geo |
| By: | Brock,W.A.; Xepapadeas,A. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:200511&r=geo |
| By: | Cracolici, M. Francesca (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Nijkamp, Peter |
| Abstract: | Tourism has become a wide-spread phenomenon in our age and a focal point of economic policy of many regions competing for the favours of tourists. Consequently, competitiveness of tourist destinations has received increasing interest in economic research with a view to the identification of the user attractiveness of a tourist area. The present paper is inspired by the conceptual competitiveness model developed by Crouch and Ritchie and presents an attempt to assess the relative attractiveness of tourist destinations on the basis of aggregate tourist strength of competing destinations. The main novelty of the present work is formed by the micro-based foundation of tourism attractiveness of competing areas (regions, cities, sites, etc.). The methodology deployed here uses individual survey questionnaires on the tourist' evaluation of the supply of tourist facilities and attributes in a given area (the 'regional tourist profile') as the basis for constructing an aggregate expression for the relative attractiveness of this area. The paper seeks then to estimate the competitive attractiveness of Southern regions in Italy and compares next findings on tourist effectiveness with results on tourist efficiency from a previous study |
| Keywords: | Tourism; Italy; Competition |
| JEL: | L83 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2005-9&r=geo |
| By: | Brock,W.A.; Xepapadeas,A. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Social Systems Research Institute) |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:att:wimass:200417&r=geo |
| By: | Amnon Frenkel |
| Abstract: | The spatial aspects of high-rise buildings in the Tel Aviv metropolitan region in Israel are examined, using empirical data gathered through a field survey. A multinomial logic model is employed to test the hypotheses concerning the cyclic model in the development of the metropolitan region. The results support empirical evidence of the dispersal of high-rise buildings in space, indicating an initial process of convergence in the Tel Aviv metropolitan pattern. The study points out that intensive high-rise building is expected to develop extensively in the future, particularly in the core and inner-ring cities. A classic negative gradient pattern is indicated in the dispersal of intensive high-rise building, moving from the core area toward the outskirts of the metropolitan region. In contrast, the classic pattern between center and fringes does not hold within the built-up areas of the cities. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p171&r=geo |
| By: | Shin-Kun Peng (Academia Sinica); Takatoshi Tabuchi (Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | We propose location-then-variety competition for amulti-productandmulti-store oligopoly,in which the number of firms, the number of stores and their location, and the number of varieties are endogenously determined. We show that ascompared to price-then-variety competition, location-then-variety competition with multi-stores yields a much richer set of equilibrium outcomes, such as market segmentation, interlacing, sandwich and enclosure. |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2005cf360&r=geo |
| By: | Wouter Vermeulen; Jos Van Ommeren |
| Abstract: | We investigate the interaction of regional population and employment in a simultaneous model. A focus on regional time series allows us to innovate in two ways on the ongoing causality debate in the literature. Firstly, a dynamic specification is proposed that generalizes the often assumed lagged adjustment process and enables to identify both short and long-term effects. We argue that the long-run relationship between population and employment should be interpreted as a labour market equilibrium. A second improvement on current empirical evidence is the use of region and time-specific fixed effects. Because by applying these panel data techniques, unobserved heterogeneity on the regional level and national trends are controlled for, the identification of regional population-employment interaction is substantially less troubled by an omitted variables problem. The model is estimated on almost three decades of annual data for regions in The Netherlands. This dataset is unique because it includes internal migration, so that we can disentangle net migration and exogenous natural population increase in order to model population adjustment more accurately. Reflecting the geographical structure of the country, which is characterised by overlapping urban areas, we allow for interregional commuting. Our main findings are that in The Netherlands, employment growth responds to deviations from regional labour market equilibria, but net internal migration is only slightly affected by regional employment in the short run. This implies that equilibrium on regional labour markets is restored through adjustment of employment instead of population. It also illustrates the additional insight into dynamic adjustment processes that can be gained from distinguishing both short and long-run effects, the importance of which is confirmed by rejection of the lagged adjustment process hypothesis for our data. Finally, the dominance of supply side factors in the employment equation casts doubt on appropriateness of traditional regional export base and multiplier models, which heavily rely on the assumption that local factor supply constraints are absent. |
| Date: | 2004–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p256&r=geo |
| By: | Holger Strulik (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the interactive impact of subsistence consumption and child mortality on fertility choice and child expenditure. It offers an explanation for why mankind multiplies at higher rates at geographically unfavorable, tropical locations. In a macro-economic framework it proposes an indirect channel of geography’s influence on economic performance. It explains why it are the world’s unfavorably located regions where we observe exceedingly slow (if not stalled) economic development and demographic transition. |
| Keywords: | demographic transition; geography; health; cross-country divergence |
| JEL: | J10 J13 O11 O12 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kuiedp:0515&r=geo |
| By: | Noriko Ishikawa (Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University); Mototsugu Fukushige (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | Regional tourism policies in Japan have been undergoing major structural changes. We investigate the extent to which residents of the Amami Islands expect the municipality to take the initiative in implementing or financing tourism development policies. A binary choice approach is used to model individual survey responses in terms of respondents' socioeconomic characteristics. Residents who expect the municipality to promote tourism and industrial development have a significantly different socioeconomic status. Respondents most likely to expect the municipality to take the lead in policy making include executive officers or employees of a private company, the unemployed, the self-employed, or part-time workers. Government employees are not likely to have this expectation. In terms of the funding authority, the likelihood that a resident expects the municipality to take an industrial development initiative increases as the annual income per resident increases. |
| Keywords: | Tourism Development, Industrial Development, Residents' Attitudes |
| JEL: | O23 R58 Q56 L83 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:0528&r=geo |
| By: | Antonio J. Trujillo; John A. Vernon; Laura Rodriguez Wong; Gustavo Angeles |
| Abstract: | White seniors report better health than Black seniors in urban areas in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This is the case even after controlling for baseline health conditions and several demographic, socio-economic and family support characteristics. Furthermore, adjusted racial disparities in self-reported health are larger than the disparities found using alternative measures of functional health. Our empirical research in this paper suggests that the two most important factors driving racial disparities in health among seniors (in our sample) are historical differences in rural living conditions and current income. Present economic conditions are more relevant to racial disparities among poor seniors than among rich seniors. Moreover, racial differences in health not attributable to observable characteristics are more important when comparing individuals in the upper half of the income distribution. |
| JEL: | J1 I1 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11690&r=geo |
| By: | Christopher McGrory Klyza; Andrew Savage; Jonathan Isham |
| Abstract: | Scholars who have studied local environmental groups and their effects in the United States have tended to agree about three related, stylized facts: that such groups are widespread, that they are pursuing a diverse set of activities, and, at least implicitly, that they are creating social capital that significantly affects environmental policy and outcomes. However, a healthy skepticism of these claims among academics and within the policy community exists due to a lack of significant data to verify them. In this article, (1) we collect and interpret data to demonstrate, in two counties of central Vermont, that local environmental groups are indeed pursuing a diverse set of activities, developing a typology of these groups based on their main focus; (2) we show the groups are developing and maintaining social capital; and (3) we illustrate how these methodologies can enhance the literature on local environmental groups by testing claims about the extent and influence of these groups. |
| Keywords: | local environmental groups, social capital, local organizations, Vermont |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mdl:mdlpap:0407r&r=geo |
| By: | Thomas Liebig; Alfonso Sousa-Poza |
| Abstract: | With the emerging international competition to attract highly skilled migrants, the determinants of their choice of residential location are increasing in importance. Besides expected wages and job opportunities, the costs of migration and the subjective evaluation of a location, two other factors help determine the expected net return from migration: taxes and network effects. Yet empirical research on the effects of these two factors and their interaction on highly skilled migration is lacking. The aim of this paper is to throw some empirical light on the role of these two factors via a case study of Switzerland. For several reasons, Switzerland is a particularly interesting case study for this task. Tax rates are primarily determined at the local level and thus enough variation exists to analyse their influence on migration. Furthermore, in contrast to other European countries, Switzerland has pursued a fairly liberal immigration policy and maintains a unique permit system that has become increasingly skills-focused: more than 35% of all persons with a university degree resident in Switzerland are immigrants. Analysis of the 2000 Swiss census data provides evidence for fiscally-induced migration within Switzerland, particularly with respect to a location choice of highly skilled immigrants. Avec l’émergence d’une compétition internationale pour attirer les migrants hautement qualifiés, les déterminants des choix de lieu de résidence de ces derniers gagnent en importance. En plus des perspectives de salaires et d’emploi, du coût de migration et des appréciations subjectives portées sur ces lieux, deux autres facteurs semblent jouer sur le rendement net attendu de la migration : les impôts et les effets de réseaux. Ceci étant, l’étude de l’impact de ces deux facteurs, ainsi que des effets de leurs interactions, manquent dans les analyses empiriques. Le but de ce papier est d’analyser le rôle de ces deux facteurs à travers l’étude du cas de la Suisse. Pour plusieurs raisons, la Suisse s’avère un pays particulièrement intéressant à étudier à cet égard. Les taux d’imposition sont principalement déterminés au niveau local; d’où l’existence de variations suffisantes pour analyser leur impact sur la migration. De plus, contrairement à d’autres pays européens, la Suisse a poursuivi une politique assez libérale en matière d’immigration et maintient un système unique de permis, qui est devenu de plus en plus ciblé sur les qualifications : plus de 35 % de toutes les personnes détenant un diplôme universitaire qui résident en Suisse sont des immigrés. L’analyse des données du recensement Suisse de 2000 met en évidence la migration intra-Suisse engendrée par des raisons fiscales, concernant plus particulièrement le choix des lieux de résidence des immigrés hautement qualifiés. |
| JEL: | F22 H73 J61 |
| Date: | 2005–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaab:24-en&r=geo |
| By: | Junyi Shen (Osaka School of Interna ional Public Policy, Osaka University); Yusuke Sakata (School of Economics, Kinki University); Yoshizo Hashimoto (Osaka School of Interna ional Public Policy, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | This paper models a transport negative impact on environment as one of attributes of the transport mode. By this modeling, we are able to examine whether individual environmental consciousness has a significant effect on his/her choice of transport mode. A survey data from Saito and Onohara Area in Northern Osaka of Japan is used to estimate the model specified by Heteroscedastic Extreme Value (HEV). Both of the estimated and simulated results imply that individual environmental consciousness does influence his/her decision on transport mode choice. Furthermore, the likelihood ratio tests suggest that both the utility and scale parameters are not equal across sub-samples of university commuters, research-facility commuters, and residents. The details of the comparison across sub-samples suggest that we may learn more from subdividing a whole sample into several sub-samples if we could select them based on their characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Environmental consciousness; Transport mode choice; Stated choice experiment; Heteroscedastic Extreme Value (HEV) model; Value of time saving (VOTS) |
| JEL: | C35 D12 Q51 R41 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:0529&r=geo |
| By: | Erling Røed Larsen (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Indirect taxes on transportation activities that pollute can correct externalities and close the gaps between private and social costs. However, policy makers often find such Pigou taxes difficult to implement because of political resistance due to possibly adverse affects on equity. For this reason it is important to assess the distributional aspects of environmental levies. This article estimates properties of the demand for transportation in parametric and non-parametric analyses of Consumer Expenditure Surveys for the United States, 2000, and finds patterns in the resulting set of Engel curves. Private transportation using air flights and new automobiles have Engel elasticities above unity while public transportation via mass transit has Engel elasticity below unity. The findings can be interpreted in an important way since they show that a differentiated scheme of environmental taxes on transportation may function progressively. A Pigou scheme with larger taxes on modes of transportation that pollute more appears to coincide with larger levies on luxury modes preferred by richer households. |
| Keywords: | consumption patterns; double dividend; Engel curves; environmental levies; equity; externality; indirect taxation; Pigou correction; redistribution; transportation; travel |
| JEL: | D12 D31 H23 R41 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:428&r=geo |