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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Margherita Gerolimetto (Department of Statistics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari); Stefano Magrini (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari); |
| Abstract: | Conditional distributions for the analysis of convergence are usually estimated using a standard kernel smoother but this is known to be biased. Hyndman et al. (1996) thus suggest a conditional density estimator with a mean function specified by a local polynomial smoother, i.e. one with better bias properties. However, even in this case, the estimated conditional mean might be incorrect when observations are spatially dependent. Consequently, in this paper we study per capita income inequalities among European Functional Regions and U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas through a distribution dynamics approach in which the conditional mean is estimated via a procedure that allows for spatial dependence (Gerolimetto and Magrini, 2009). |
| Keywords: | Regional convergence, Distribution dynamics, Nonparametric smoothing, Spatial dependence |
| JEL: | R10 O40 C14 C21 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2010_12&r=geo |
| By: | Andrés Rodríguez-Pose (IMDEA Social Sciences Institute); Fabrice Comptour (College of Europe, Bruges) |
| Abstract: | The analysis of clusters has attracted considerable interest over the last few decades. The articulation of clusters into complex networks and systems of innovation – generally known as regional innovation systems – has, in particular, been associated with the delivery of greater innovation and growth. However, despite the growing economic and policy relevance of clusters, little systematic research has been conducted into their association with other factors promoting innovation and economic growth. This paper addresses this issue by looking at the relationship between innovation and economic growth in 152 regions of Europe during the period between 1995 and 2006. Using an econometric model with a static and a dynamic dimension, the results of the analysis highlight that: a) regional growth through innovation in Europe is fundamentally connected to the presence of an adequate socioeconomic environment and, in particular, to the existence of a well-trained and educated pool of workers; b) the presence of clusters matters for regional growth, but only in combination with a good ‘social filter’, and this association wanes in time; c) more traditional R&D variables have a weak initial connection to economic development, but this connection increases over time and, is, once again, contingent on the existence of adequate socioeconomic conditions. |
| Keywords: | clusters; regional innovation systems; innovation; regional economic growth; socioeconomic conditions; regions; European Union |
| Date: | 2010–07–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imd:wpaper:wp2010-15&r=geo |
| By: | Sergey Lychagin; Joris Pinkse; Margaret E. Slade; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | We simultaneously assess the contributions to productivity of three sources of research and development spillovers: geographic, technology and product–market proximity. To do this, we construct a new measure of geographic proximity that is based on the distribution of a firm’s inventor locations rather than its headquarters, and we report both parametric and semiparametric estimates of our geographic– distance functions. We find that: i) Geographic space matters even after conditioning on horizontal and technological spillovers; ii) Technological proximity matters; iii) Product–market proximity is less important; iv) Locations of researchers are more important than headquarters but both have explanatory power; and v) Geographic markets are very local. |
| JEL: | C23 L60 O33 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:16188&r=geo |
| By: | Gerald Munyoro; John H. Ll Dewhurst |
| Abstract: | Industrial clustering policy is now an integral part of economic development planning in most advanced economies. However, there have been concerns in some quarters over the ability of an industrial cluster-based development strategy to deliver its promised economic benefits and this has been increasingly been blamed on the failure by governments to identify industrial clusters. In a study published in 2001, the DTI identified clusters across the UK based on the comparative scale and significance of industrial sectors. The study identified thirteen industrial clusters in Scotland. However the clusters identified are not a homogeneous set and they seem to vary in terms of their geographic concentration within Scotland. This paper examines the spatial distribution of industries within Scotland, thereby identifying more localised clusters. The study follows as closely as possible the DTI methodology which was used to identify such concentrations of economic activity with particular attention directed towards the thirteen clusters identified by the DTI. The paper concludes with some remarks of the general problem of identifying the existence of industrial clusters. |
| Keywords: | Industrial Clusters, Scottish economy, Travel-to-work areas |
| JEL: | L23 R12 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dun:dpaper:237&r=geo |
| By: | Michael T. Owyang; Jeremy M. Piger; Howard J. Wall |
| Abstract: | The national economy is often described as having a business cycle over which aggregate output enters and exits distinct expansion and recession phases. Analogously, national employment cycles in and out of its own expansion and contraction phases, which are closely related to the business cycle. This paper estimates city-level employment cycles for 58 large U.S. cities and documents the substantial cross-city variation in the timing, lengths, and frequencies of their employment contractions. It also shows how the spread of city-level contractions associated with U.S. recessions has tended to follow recession-specific geographic patterns. In addition, cities within the same state or region have tended to have similar employment cycles. There is no evidence, however, that similarities in employment cycles are related to similarities in industry mix. This suggests that the U.S. employment and business cycles has a spatial dimension that is independent of broad industry-level fluctuations. |
| Keywords: | Employment (Economic theory) ; Business cycles |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2010-019&r=geo |
| By: | Christian Helmers; Manasa Patnam |
| Abstract: | This paper identifies the effect of neighborhood peer groups on childhood skill acquisition using observational data. We incorporate spatial peer interaction, defined as a child’s nearest geographical neighbors, into a production function of child cognitive development in Andhra Pradesh, India. Our peer group construction takes the form of directed networks, whose structure allows us to identify peer effects and enables us to disentangle endogenous effects from contextual effects. We exploit variation over time to avoid confounding correlated with social effects. Our results suggest that spatial peer and neighborhood effects are strongly positively associated with a child’s cognitive skill formation. These peer effects hold even when we consider an alternative IV-based identification strategy and different variations to network size. Further, we find that the presence of peer groups helps provide insurance against the negative impact of idiosyncratic shocks to child learning. |
| Keywords: | Children, peer effects, cognitive skills, India |
| JEL: | C21 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:10-13&r=geo |
| By: | REINSTADLER Anne; RAY Jean-Claude |
| Abstract: | The analysis of the at-risk-of-poverty determinants can be improved by taking into account factors at macro (regional) level. This hypothesis has already been made in previous research, at country-level, on cross-sectional data. We use longitudinal data in this analysis in order to get more precise estimated parameters, and we test if the regional unemployment rate and the regional GDP affect the individual at-risk-of-poverty status. The countries taken into account are those present in the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) dataset. |
| Keywords: | income poverty; EU-SILC; multilevel models; longitudinal data |
| JEL: | I32 |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2010-13&r=geo |
| By: | Regina T. Riphahn |
| Abstract: | In response to increased international policy attention to youth unemployment this study investigates post-secondary school transitions of school leavers. Multinomial log it models are estimated for male and female German youth. The models control for individual, parent, and household characteristics, for those of the youth’s region of residence and local labor markets. The findings suggest that immigrant youth has particularly low participation rates in continued education, and that youth unemployment is centered in high unemployment states and metropolitan areas. Recent changes in academic benefit policies do not seem to be correlated with changes in academic enrollment, whereas men’s transitions to the military do reflect recent changes in defense policies. [IZA DP No. 99] |
| Keywords: | School-to-Work, youth unemployment, local labor markets |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2648&r=geo |