|
on Economic Geography |
| By: | Sabrina Di Addario; Eleonora Patacchini |
| Abstract: | We analyze empirically the impact of urban agglomeration on Italian wages. Using micro-data from the Bank of Italy`s Survey of Household Income and Wealth for the years 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2002 on more than 22,000 employees distributed to 242 randomly drawn local labor markets (30 percent of the total), we test whether the structure of wages varies with urban scale. We find that every additional 100 employees per square kilometer (100,000 inhabitants) in the local labor market raises earnings by 0.4-0.6 percent (0.1 percent) and that employees working in large cities earn, on average, 2-3 percent higher wages than those in the rest of the economy. The application of spatial data analysis techniques enables us to state that this effect is present only in the large cities surrounded by low-populated areas. We also find that urbanization does not affect returns to experience and that it reduces returns to education and to tenure with current firm, while providing a premium to managers, worker supervisors, and office workers. |
| Keywords: | Wage Differentials, Urbanization, Agglomeration Externalities, Population Clustering, Spatial Autocorrelation |
| JEL: | R12 J31 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:243&r=geo |
| By: | Thomas Brenner |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the frequency of observing a certain number of firms or employees in a region for a given industry. Various predictions for these frequencies are deduced from theoretical considerations. Then, the empirical distributions of 198 industries in Germany are analysed. It is found that different kinds of industries show quite different distributions. |
| Keywords: | industry study, spatial distribution, local industrial clusters. |
| JEL: | C12 L60 R12 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esi:evopap:2005-16&r=geo |
| By: | Jesús Rodríguez López (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Diego Martínez López (Centro de Estudios Andaluces y Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Diego Romero de Ávila Torrijos (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates several issues concerning persistence in inequalities of relative income per capita among the Spanish regions over 1980-2002. For that purpose we take a Bayesian approach which extends the work by Canova and Marcet (1995). Firstly, we study to what extent there exists a fixed effect bias in the standard cross-section estimates, and we find that the speed of convergence is indeed underestimated. Secondly, we provide a battery of results in which steady states and convergence rates have been obtained for a continuum of prior distributions. Finally, we also deal with persistence in inequalites by determining whether initial conditions matter in the distribution of regional steady states, and our conclusion is that regional disparities tend to persist over time in Spain. |
| Keywords: | Convergence, Inequalities, Bayesian Econometrics, Gibbs sampling. |
| JEL: | C11 O47 R11 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pab:wpaper:06.07&r=geo |
| By: | J. Ignacio García-Pérez (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide & Fundación Centro de Estudios Andaluces); Yolanda Rebollo Sanz (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide) |
| Abstract: | We study the use of permanent and temporary contracts across Spanish regions during the period 1995-2001. First we show that there are significant differences among the regional rates of permanent employment and that these differences tend to persist over time. To understand the underlying factors behind these observed differences we estimate a binary choice model for the individual probability of having a permanent contract, taking advantage of the panel data dimension of the Spanish Labour Force Survey. Our main results are that unit labour cost differentials, and thus labour productivity and total labour cost differentials, partially explain the divergence of regional permanent employment rates. Moreover, compared to the influence of regional fixed effects and other possible explanations such as sector specialisation or the presence of small firms in the region, unit labour costs explain more than two thirds of the observed variance in the permanent employment rate across Spanish regions, once all the relevant heterogeneity is taken into account. |
| Keywords: | Temporary Employment, Unit Labour Costs, Random Effects, Spanish Regions. |
| JEL: | C23 J23 J31 J41 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pab:wpaper:06.11&r=geo |
| By: | Paulo Reis Mourão (Universidade do Minho - NIPE) |
| Abstract: | This work aims at testing the hypothesis “The economic development level of a region influences the presence of professional soccer teams in the country’s first league, which have their head offices in that region”. Using a rational choice model and working with binary time-series cross-section data, this work focuses on the Portuguese case, from 1970 to 1999. The results corroborate the main importance of three factors, which increase the probability that a municipality has the head office of a team that plays in the first league: the per capita revenue, the level of infrastructures and the demographic dimension. |
| Keywords: | Regional development; Sports; BTSCS; logit models |
| JEL: | R11 R33 L83 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nip:nipewp:1/2006&r=geo |
| By: | Antonio G. CALAFATI (Universita' Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Economia); Francesca MAZZONI |
| Abstract: | In order to determine the degree of similarity among 'local development trajectories' the paper conducts a preliminary comparative analysis of the development trajectories of the major local systems in the Marche Region in the period 1951-2001. It shows that there have been marked differences among the economic performances of these local systems – with regard to both the rates of change and time profiles of the trajectories. It also shows that there are substantial differences among local systems' economic sub-structures. These findings seem to raise severe doubts as to the scientific correctness of assuming Regions as 'units of analysis'. Moreover, they raise doubts about consideration of Regions as 'units of regulation': indeed, the structures of local systems are so different to require specific development strategies. The results obtained for the Marche Region suggest that the comparative analysis of local systems' economic performances should be extended to other Italian Regions as well. |
| Keywords: | development strategies, development trajectories, local systems |
| JEL: | O12 O18 R10 R11 |
| Date: | 2006–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:252&r=geo |
| By: | J. Ignacio García-Pérez (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Juan F. Jimeno (Bank of Spain, Research Division) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an approximation to the measurement of public sector wage gaps in Spanish regions. By using data from the European Community Household Panel, it is shown that the balance between what private firms pay in the local market and what the public sector pays, differs substantially in different areas of the country. Public sector wage differences among Spanish regions are mostly due to differences in returns, not to differences in characteristics or to selection effects, and are not constant across gender, educational levels, or occupations. Moreover, in those regions where Regional Governments have a higher weight in public employment, public wage gaps are higher and public employers pay higher returns. There also seems to be a cross-regional positive correlation between public wage gaps and unemployment, and a negative one between labour productivity and public wage gaps. Hence, a tentative conclusion is that the incentives to select into the public sector are higher in the low productivity regions, precisely those where scarcity of human capital in the private sector may be the most important factor for explaining economic backwardness. |
| Keywords: | public sector, wage differentials, switching regressions, Spanish regions. |
| JEL: | J31 H73 H83 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pab:wpaper:06.10&r=geo |
| By: | Mangematin, V.; Rip, A.; Delemarle, A.; Robinson, D.K.R. |
| Abstract: | In the case of new technologies like nanotechnology, institutional entrepreneurs appear who have to act at different levels (organizational, regional, national) at the same time. We reconstruct, in some detail, the history of two cases, in Grenoble and in Twente/Netherlands. An intriguing finding is that institutional entrepreneurs build their environment before changing their institution. They first mobilize European support to convince local and national levels before actual cluster building occurs. Only later will there be reactions against any de-institutionalisation caused at the base location. The Dutch case shows another notable finding: when mobilizing support the entrepreneur will have to agree to further conditions, and then ends up in a different situation (a broad national consortium) than originally envisaged (the final cluster involved a collaboration of Twente with two other centres). In general, an institutional entrepreneur attempts to create momentum, and when this is achieved, he has to follow rather than lead it. |
| Keywords: | INSTITUTIONAL ENTREPRENEUR; DEINSTITUTIONALISATION; CLUSTER; LOCATION; EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES; PROMISE; NANOTECHNOLOGY |
| JEL: | M13 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rea:gaelwp:200515&r=geo |
| By: | Thomas J. Holmes |
| Abstract: | Unionism in the United States is contagious; it spills out of coal mines and steel mills into other establishments in the neighborhood, like hospitals and supermarkets. The geographic spillover of unionism is documented here using a newly constructed establishment level data on unionism that is rich in geographic detail. A strong connection is found between unionism of health care establishments today and proximity to unionized coal mines and steel mills from the 1950s. |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedmsr:368&r=geo |
| By: | Marvin M. Smith; Christy Chung Hevener |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the results of a Philadelphia Fed study that analyzes whether the community development efforts of a nonprofit in Camden, NJ, have an effect on local neighborhoods |
| Keywords: | Home ownership ; Housing |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpcd:05-02&r=geo |
| By: | Sabrina Di Addario |
| Abstract: | I analyze empirically the effects of both urban and industrial agglomeration on men`s and women`s search behavior and on the efficiency of matching. The analysis is based on the Italian Labor Force Survey micro-data, which covers 520 randomly drawn Local Labor Market Areas (66 per cent of the total) over the four quarters of 2002. I compute transition probabilities from non-employment to employment by jointly estimating the probability of searching and the probability of finding a job conditional on having searched, and I test whether these are affected by urbanization, industry localization, labor pooling and family network quality. In general, the main results indicate that urbanization and labor pooling raise job seekers` chances of finding employment (conditional on having searched), while industry localization and family network quality increase only men`s. Moreover, neither urban nor industrial agglomeration affect non-employed indvidiual`s search behavior; although men with thicker family networks search more intensively. |
| Keywords: | Labour Market Transitions, Search Intensity, Urbanization, Industrial Localization |
| JEL: | J64 R00 J60 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:235&r=geo |
| By: | André Braz Golgher (Cedeplar-UFMG) |
| Abstract: | This analysis is the first one of four descriptive studies that discussed the migratory process in Brazil. The main objective of this series is to give data support for other complementary and analytically more sophisticated studies. Here migrants and non-migrants are compared in aspects such as: sex, age, race, schooling, income, economic sector, household relations and urbanization degree. These two groups showed some differences and a few of them are cited below. The migrants presented a greater proportion of women than non-migrants. Young people showed greater mobility than elderly ones. When different race groups were compared, it was not observed any clear tendency. Persons with more formal schooling and higher income are overrepresented in the migrants group. The migrant household differs from the non-migrants one. The latter is mainly composed of a nuclear family, while the former show greater proportions of extensive households. |
| JEL: | R23 J11 J60 |
| Date: | 2006–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td282&r=geo |
| By: | André Braz Golgher (Cedeplar-UFMG) |
| Abstract: | This analysis is the second one of four descriptive studies that discussed the migratory process in Brazil. The main objective of this series is to give data support for other complementary and analytically more sophisticated studies. The main objective of this specific discussion is to present the intrastate and interstate flows of migrants for all the Federal Units in Brazil. Some of the main results are presented below. Just two states in Brazil, SP and GO, had a difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants above 100000 howing a clear tendency of populaiton absortion. In the other extreme, three states of the Northeast Region, BA, PE and MA, had figures below -100000. Brazil had more than 5500 municipalities in 2000 and a significant population interchange between them. Mosat pf tje migants chaged their municipality of residence in a intrastate migration or between statres that were neighbors. Other flows were also very numerous, such as: between most of the states in the Northeast region and SP; the ones that had as destiny the southern part of the North Region or the north of the Center-West Region; the one that had as origin MA state and as destiny the North Region. |
| JEL: | R23 J11 J60 |
| Date: | 2006–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td283&r=geo |
| By: | André Braz Golgher (Cedeplar-UFMG) |
| Abstract: | This analysis is the third one of four descriptive studies that discussed the migratory process in Brazil. The main objective of this series is to give data support for other complementary and analytically more sophisticated studies. The main objective of this particular study is to discuss the most numerous flows of migrants, as presented in the second text of this series, for four distinct types of migration: urban-urban, rural-urban, urban-rural and rural-rural. Some of the main obtained results are briefly discussed below. The majority of migrants in Brazil were of the urban-urban type, followed by the rural-urban type, the urban-rural and, lastly, the rural-rural one. The urban-urban flows were the more numerous in all states, but for some of then the proportion was superior to the observed for other states. For instance, in the states of GO, MG, SP, RJ and DF more than 70% of the immigrants were of this type. The rural-urban flows were particularly important for the AP, AL and MA states, with more than 15% of total being of this type. For the urban-rural flows, it was observed that the south/east border of Amazonia had the highest proportions. Finally, MA and RO states had a rural-rural dynamics that was relatively more numerous than in others states. When the intrastate flows were compared to the interstate ones, it was noticed that among the 26 of the Brazilian states (DF was not included in this discussion) 17 had small proportions for the urban-urban type. This indicate that local short distance flows are qualitative different from the others. For the other types of migration, the results did not show a clear tendency and had many regional specificities, as was extensively discussed in the text. |
| JEL: | R23 J11 J60 |
| Date: | 2006–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td284&r=geo |
| By: | André Braz Golgher (Cedeplar-UFMG) |
| Abstract: | This analysis is the last of four descriptive studies that discussed the migratory process in Brazil. The main objective of this series is to give data support for other complementary and analytically more sophisticated studies. The main objective of this particular study is to discuss the most numerous flows of migrants, as presented in the second and third texts of this series, but for municipalities. That includes the discussion about urban/urban, rural/urban, urban/rural and rural/rural flows. Some of the main results are briefly discussed below. Most of the municipalities that presented the largest flows of emigrants also had the biggest flows of immigrants. These municipalities were mainly state capitals with large populations and presented negative net migration. On the other hand, many municipalities showed a large positive number for net migration. Many of these were located in Metropolitan Regions or near them and absorbed immigrants from the metropolitan nucleus. Brazil had many extensive areas of population attraction in the North Region and MT, such as: the axis Manaus/Boa Vista; the area that is composed of Rio Branco, in AC, southwest of RO and south of AM; the north of MT; the southeast of PA; the east of PA; the state of AP; and the area around Palmas. In the Northeast Region, it can be noticed small areas of attraction: around many capitals; in the region near and including Porto Seguro in BA state; about Juazeiro/Petrolina; and others. In the Southeast Region, it can be seen an extensive area of attraction around capitals; in the interior of SP state; in the proximities of Uberlândia, etc. In the South region, three extensive regions shown a large positive net migration: one around Porto Alegre; another is the axis Curitiba/Florianópolis; and the north of PR. In the Center-West Region, it can be noticed areas around Brasília/Goiânia and about Campo Grande. Others regions in Brazil had a large negative number for net migration. These were: the west of AC and of AM; the west of PA; the northeast of PA; part of the interior of MA, of CE, of PB, of BA and of MG; the metropolitan nucleus of RMRJ and of RMSP; the west of the South Region; the west of MS; the south of TO; and the north of GO. |
| JEL: | R23 J11 J60 |
| Date: | 2006–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td285&r=geo |