|
on Economic Geography |
| By: | KOCH, Wilfried (LEG - CNRS UMR 5118 - Université de Bourgogne) |
| Abstract: | Recent theoretical and empirical work generally often focus on the interdependence of nations and regions underlying that the economy of one country or region is not independent of the economies of others. However, these models generally ignores the impact of location and neighborhood in explaining growth. This paper presents an augmented Solow model that includes spatial externalities and spatial interdependence among economies. I obtain a spatial econometric reduce form which allows testing the effects of the rate of saving, the rate of population growth and the location on income per capita and on the conditional convergence process in Europe. |
| Keywords: | Solow growth model ; technological interdependence,; spatial externalities ; spatial dependence ; regional disparities |
| JEL: | C31 R11 O4 |
| Date: | 2006–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lat:legeco:2006-02&r=geo |
| By: | Jeffrey P. Cohen; Cletus C. Coughlin |
| Abstract: | Despite the refrain that housing prices are determined by "location, location, and location," no prior studies of airport noise and housing prices have incorporated spatial econometric techniques. We compare various spatial econometric models and estimation methods in a hedonic price framework to examine the impact of noise on 2003 housing values in the neighborhoods near the Atlanta airport. Strong evidence is presented that spatial effects are important and that these effects are best captured by a model that includes both spatial autocorrelation and autoregressive parameters. Modeling the spatial effects should yield airport noise parameter estimates that are more efficient and that are not subject to specification bias. Another key result is that the inclusion of spatial effects magnifies the negative price impacts of airport noise. |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2006-026&r=geo |
| By: | NA (NA) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a study of errors in forecasting the population of Metropolitan Statistical Areas and the Primary MSAs of Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas and New England MAs. The forecasts are for the year 2000 and are based on a semi-structural model estimated by Mills and Lubelle using 1970 to 1990 census data on population, employment and relative real wages. This model allows the testing of regional effects on population and employment growth. The year 2000 forecasts are for 321 MSAs as they were defined in 1990. Actual year 2000 populations for these MSAs are constructed using the MSA components lists for 1990. Forecast errors are constructed for these “historic” MSAs. The forecast errors for the entire set of cities are examined for regional patterns. A subset of 77 cities is examined more carefully using the State of the Nations Cities (SONC) data base prepared by the Center for Urban Policy Research. SONC contains observations on 2000 demographic and socioeconomic variables for all 77 MSAs in the data set. Selected variables will be used to test a model of forecast areas developed for this project to determine if there are systematic relationships between selected variables and the forecast errors and to determine if a semi-structural model based on urban characteristics variables can improve urban population forecasts. |
| Date: | 2005–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bsu:wpaper:200510&r=geo |
| By: | Minfeng Deng |
| Abstract: | One of the key assumptions in spatial econometric modelling is that the spatial process is isotropic, which means that direction is irrelevant in the specification of the spatial structure. On one hand, this assumption largely reduces the complexity of the spatial models and facilitates estimation and interpretation; on the other hand, it appears rather restrictive and hard to justify in many empirical applications. In this paper a very general anisotropic spatial model, which allows for a high level of flexibility in the spatial structure, is proposed. This new model can be estimated using maximum likelihood and its asymptotic properties are well understood. When the model is applied to the well-known 1970 Boston housing prices data, it significantly outperforms the isotropic spatial lag model. It also provides interesting additional insights into the price determination process in the properties market. |
| Keywords: | Anisotropy, spatial econometrics, maximum likelihoods estimation, housing prices. |
| JEL: | C21 R15 R31 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msh:ebswps:2006-7&r=geo |
| By: | Michela Lacangellera; Paolo Mariani |
| Abstract: | A strategy of exploratory multidimensional statistical analysis about key attributes of banking services is proposed. A static perspective, showing customers evaluation of banking offer as a whole, is followed by a dynamic view, analyzing regional paths across the considered waves, according to the importance and evaluation of the service attributes. |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mis:wpaper:20050601&r=geo |
| By: | Holger Graf (University of Jena, Faculty of Economics); Tobias Henning |
| Abstract: | Universities and public research organizations are said to be an integrative and essential element of a functioning innovation system as they play a vital role not only in the generation of new technological knowledge, but also in its diffusion. We analyse four East German local networks of innovators which differ in structure and innovative performance and investigate the characteristic role of public research within these local systems by applying methods of social network analysis. Our results show that universities and non-university institutions of public research are key actors in all regional networks of innovators both in terms of patent output and in terms of centrality of their position in the networks. Further we find the 'thicker' networks to have more central public research organizations. Higher centrality of public research compared to private actors may be due to the fact that universities are explicitly designed to give away their knowledge and that they increasingly face the need to raise external funds. |
| Keywords: | Innovator Networks; Public research; R+D Cooperation; Mobility |
| JEL: | O31 Z13 R11 |
| Date: | 2006–05–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jen:jenasw:2006-19&r=geo |
| By: | Randall Eberts; George Erickcek; Jack Kleinhenz |
| Abstract: | The Fund for Our Economic Future (The Fund) is a multiyear collaborative effort “to encourage and advance a common and highly focused regional economic development agenda that can lead to a long-term economic transformation of the Northeast Ohio (NEO) economy.” One of the strategies pursued by the Fund is to create and regularly update Dashboard Indicators for the Northeast Ohio Regional Economy. The Dashboard is intended to provide a framework for understanding the regional economic process and to track the region’s economic progress. This report presents the methodology used to construct and design the dashboard. The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is publishing this paper as part of our working paper series in order to further academic discussion of regional economic growth factors. |
| Keywords: | Regional economics ; Economic development ; Economic conditions - Ohio |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwp:0605&r=geo |
| By: | Beckstead, Desmond; Brown, Mark |
| Abstract: | In recent years, cities have become increasingly interested in their ability to generate, attract and retain human capital. One measure of human capital is employment in science- and engineering-based occupations. This paper provides a comparison of the employment shares of these specialized occupations across Canadian and U.S. cities by using data from the Canadian and the U.S. censuses from 1980-1981 and 2000-2001. The paper, therefore, provides a perspective on how Canadian cities performed relative to their U.S. counterparts over a twenty-year period. It also seeks to evaluate how cities of different sizes have performed, because large cities may be advantaged over smaller cities in terms of factors influencing both the demand for, and supply of, scientists and engineers. |
| Keywords: | Labour, Science and technology, Occupations, Innovation |
| Date: | 2006–05–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp1e:2006012e&r=geo |
| By: | Imerman, Mark D.; Eathington, Liesl; Jintanakul, Kanlaya; Otto, Daniel |
| Abstract: | This report provides a spatial representation of hospital geography in Iowa and of the decisions of patients to patronize hospitals. It begins with a brief analysis of hospital proximity and hospital proximity’s relationship to population distributions and existing hospital capacity. This is followed with a discussion of hospital capacity as a proxy for the supply of hospital services and the construction of hospital service area gravity models based upon capacity. Patient patronage of hospitals is then presented as a proxy of demand for hospital services, and gravity models are estimated on the basis of patronage. Having defined proxies for both the supply of and demand for hospital services and estimated patronage areas with respect to both, the analysis then turns to an investigation of where patients actually go for health care services. A simple visual analysis is done by mapping patients’ locations of residence and coding residence points to identify hospitals actually visited. The next step is to informally evaluate the expectation that patients will patronize their local (within an estimated service area) or nearest (if they reside outside of any service area) hospital. This is done with respect to type of patient (inpatient or outpatient) and by type of diagnosis. This investigation is based on hospital proximity, size, and patronage rather than qualitative evaluations of healthcare adequacy. Evaluation of health care quality is beyond the expertise of the authors. The analysis is based on visual interpretations and simple groupings of mapped data rather than on geostatistical analysis. The results provide a preliminary evaluation of data sources that have not previously been examined in detail. These preliminary results may identify areas of interest for further study. Data was obtained through the 2002 Iowa Hospital Association Inpatient and Outpatient Databases, which provide information on actual patient patronage of Iowa hospitals. Patient patronage reveals individual decisions made in the context of current health care pricing, quality, and availability. |
| Keywords: | Healthcare, Hospital |
| JEL: | I0 I1 L8 |
| Date: | 2006–05–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12630&r=geo |
| By: | Tung Liu (Department of Economics, Ball State University); Kui-Wai Li (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR) |
| Abstract: | The paper discusses China’s post-reform regional economic growth imbalance relative to input disparity in technology, physical and human capital. Institutional sources of finance and types of ownership are used to construct physical capital. Technology is measured by investment in innovation, and human capital is constructed from schooling years per capita. The results show that domestic bank loans and foreign-owned enterprises are important in coastal provinces, while state appropriation and state-owned enterprises are important in inner provinces. Technology and foreign investment have a larger impact on output growth in coastal provinces. Human capital is endogenous for coastal provinces, but is exogenous for inner provinces. |
| Keywords: | Mainland China, regional disparity, physical and human capital, productivity |
| JEL: | C22 I22 O18 O47 O53 P24 |
| Date: | 2005–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bsu:wpaper:200502&r=geo |
| By: | Anzelika Zaiceva |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the causal effect of geographic labour mobility on income. The returns to German East-West migration and commuting are estimated exploiting the structure of centrally planned economies and a "natural experiment" of German reunification for identification. I find that migration premium is insignificantly different from zero, the returns for commuters equal to four percent of the mean of the total income, and the local average treatment effects for compliers are insignificant. In addition, estimation results suggest no positive self-selection for migrants, and some evidence of positive self-selection for commuters. Based on these results, moving West does not appear to be a highly rewarded option in Germany. |
| Keywords: | returns to geographic mobility, causality, treatment effects |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J62 R23 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp580&r=geo |
| By: | NA (NA) |
| Abstract: | The major goal of the research presented here is to test the usefulness of a different way of conceptualizing broad regions of the United States. The census regions are often used to group MSAs for various types of studies. The alternative regions are defined based on access to ocean, Great Lakes, or river ports. The usefulness of this set of regions is compared to that of the census regions using both a dummy variable approach and an index of disparity approach. This paper presents a statistical test of the hypothesis that access to port facilities could and did positively influence urban growth between 1970 and 1990. The rationale for the hypothesis is that the expansion of trade resulting from the North American Free Trade Association, various steps accomplished under GATT and the WTO, and the United States' leading role as a free trade advocate has increased the advantage of expanding economic activity in coastal regions. |
| Date: | 2005–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bsu:wpaper:200509&r=geo |
| By: | David A. Jaeger (Department of Economics, College of William and Mary) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents where immigrants who enter the U.S. with different types of visas ("green cards") choose to live initially and what determines those location choices. Using population data on immigrants from the Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1971 to 2000, matched to data on state characteristics from the Integrated Public Use Microsamples of the U.S. Census, I estimate conditional logit models with the 48 contiguous U.S. states as the choice set. Like previous researchers, I estimate that immigrants have a higher probability of moving to states where individuals from their region of birth represent a larger share of the state population, with relatives of legal permanent residents responding most to this factor. I also find that, in general, immigrants in all admission categories respond to labor market conditions when choosing where to live, but that these effects were the largest for male employment-based immigrants and, surprisingly, refugees. |
| Keywords: | admission categories, immigrants, settlement patterns, conditional logit |
| JEL: | J61 J18 C35 |
| Date: | 2006–05–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwm:wpaper:29&r=geo |
| By: | Alice Shiu (Hong Kong Polytechnic University); Almas Heshmati (TEPP, Seoul National University, RATIO Institute and IZA Bonn) |
| Abstract: | We present in this paper the panel econometrics estimation approach of measuring the technical change and total factor productivity (TFP) growth of 30 Chinese provinces during the period of 1993 to 2003. The random effects model with heteroscedastic variances has been used for the estimation of the translog production functions. Two alternative formulations of technical change measured by the single time trend and the general index approach are used. Based on the measures of technical change, estimates of TFP growth could be obtained and its determinants were examined using regression analysis. The parametric TFP growth measure is compared with the non-parametric Solow residual. TFP has recorded positive growth for all provinces during the sample period. Regional breakdown shows that the eastern and central regions have higher average TFP growth when compared with the western region. Foreign direct investment (FDI) and information and communication technology (ICT) investment are found to be significant factors contributing to the TFP difference. While these two factors are found to have significant influence on TFP, their influence on production is relatively small compared to traditional inputs of production. |
| Keywords: | technical change, TFP growth, provinces, China, ICT, FDI, infrastructure |
| JEL: | C23 D24 E22 O18 O47 |
| Date: | 2006–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2133&r=geo |
| By: | Reinhold Kosfeld; Christian Dreger; Hans-Friedrich Eckey |
| Abstract: | In this paper, the framework of the aggregated Beveridge curve is used to investigate the effectiveness of the job matching process using German regional labour market data. For a fixed matching technology, the Beveridge curve postulates a negative relationship between the unemployment rate and the rate of vacancies, which is efficiently estimated using spatial econometric techniques. The eigenfunction decomposition approach suggested by Griffith (2000, 2003) is the workhorse to identify spatial and non-spatial components. As the significance of the spatial pattern might vary over time, inference is conducted on the base of a spatial SUR model. Shifts of the Beveridge curve will affect its position, and time series estimates on this parameter are obtained. In contrast to findings for the US and the UK, the results provide serious indication that the degree of job mismatch has increased over the last decade. Although the outward shift of the Beveridge curve can be explained by structural factors such as the evolution of long term unemployment, it is also affected by business cycle fluctuations. The role of cyclical factors threatens the stability property of the curve. The relationship might be inappropriate to investigate policy measures directed to improve the mismatch, such as labour market reforms. |
| Keywords: | Beveridge curve, job mismatch, business cycle, long-term unemployment, spatial SUR model |
| JEL: | C21 C23 E24 E32 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp581&r=geo |
| By: | Kelly Edmiston |
| Abstract: | Nonbusiness bankruptcy filing rates have increased very rapidly over the last couple of decades. In 1980, roughly 15 of every 10,000 Americans filed for bankruptcy protection. By 2004, that number had reached 54 of every 10,000 Americans. These alarming increases in bankruptcy filing rates over the last decade were largely the impetus for the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which went into effect in October, 2005. A substantial literature already exists that seeks to determine the causes of personal bankruptcy, but critical holes in the literature remain. In particular, existing studies offer only weak inferences about the role of stigma in explaining the decision to file for bankruptcy or in explaining regional variation in bankruptcy filing rates. I enhance the existing literature by using innovative approaches to measuring the effects of age and geography, traditional proxies for stigma, and by utilizing a novel proxy for stigma, namely, religious adherence. There is also a lack of consensus on the effects of gambling on bankruptcy, with most research finding no statistically significant relationships. I utilize a unique measure of proximity to gambling establishments and subsequently find more definitive results. The existing literature lacks consensus on the effects of homestead exemptions as well, with some finding positive effects, some finding negative effects, and still others finding no effects. I assert that the explanation of these inconsistent results may lie in endogeneity, and therefore I estimate two-stage models that effectively instrument for homestead exemptions. In addition, I explore the effects on bankruptcy filing rates of factors generally left out of existing studies, including small business and self-employment, a full distribution of age and income, more narrow demographic definitions, disability, lack of health insurance, public assistance, housing and vehicle choices, and additional information on debts and debt service. |
| Keywords: | Bankruptcy |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedkcw:2005-05&r=geo |
| By: | Andrea Morrison (CESPRI and Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods, Università Bocconi, Milano and Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy); Roberta Rabellotti (Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy) |
| Abstract: | A well-grounded empirical and theoretical literature shows that local production systems can benefit from external economies generated by a shared ‘industrial atmosphere’. Many scholars would agree that in contexts as industrial districts, clusters and local systems, economic actions are strongly embedded in social and institutional factors. Nevertheless, many scholars would instead debate about the nature, boundaries and processes underpinning ‘industrial atmosphere’. This paper aims at contributing to this field of studies by entering into the black box of the ‘industrial atmosphere’ reconstructing the informal contacts underpinning collective learning in a local production system. The study is based on empirical evidence collected at firm level in an Italian wine local system and uses methods of network analysis. |
| Keywords: | Social Networks, Knowledge, Industrial Clusters, Wine Sector |
| JEL: | O31 R10 Z13 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cri:cespri:wp174&r=geo |
| By: | Stanley R. Keil (Department of Economics, Ball State University); Lee C. Spector (Department of Economics, Ball State University) |
| Abstract: | Using Alabama county data from 1980 and 1990 censuses and store opening dates, this paper presents an econometric study of the impact of the presence of Wal-Mart's on black-white income and unemployment differentials. It is posited that Wal-Mart changes the competitive nature of the labor market in a way that is beneficial to blacks. After establishing baseline relationships between unemployment and income with respect to demographic and economic variables, the impact of a Wal-Mart is tested by using a dummy variable and a cumulative years variable. Wal-Mart is found to have significantly lowered the relative unemployment rates of blacks in those counties where it is present, but to have had no significant impact on relative incomes after the influences of other social-economic variables are taken into account. |
| Date: | 2005–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bsu:wpaper:200508&r=geo |