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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Ugo FRATESI ([n.a.]) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effects of national regional policy choices on domestic and foreign regions to detect the different interests at play. The analysis starts from a new 2-country-4-region model with agglomeration economies, an immobile production factor and a mobile one, allowing the study of international capital and profit flows moreover, different assumptions on bilateral transport costs allow to obtain results in different spatial settings. It is shown that concurrent and often conflicting interests co-exist, especially when agglomeration economies are strong. The other key variables influencing the results are the characteristics and specificities of regions, which can be introduced in the model, and the existence of peripheral regions. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration economies, Efficiency and Equity, Peripherality, Regional Policy, Territorial Characteristics |
| JEL: | E61 H79 R13 R58 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:344&r=geo |
| By: | Francesco Pecci (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Elisa Montresor (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Nicola Pontarollo (Department of Economics (University of Verona)) |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:07/2010&r=geo |
| By: | Francesco Pecci (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Elisa Montresor (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Nicola Pontarollo (Department of Economics (University of Verona)) |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:08/2010&r=geo |
| By: | Guido Ascari (Università di Pavia); Andrea Vaona (Department of Economics (University of Verona)) |
| Abstract: | Regional patterns of inflation persistence have received attention only at a very coarse level of territorial disaggregation, that of EMU member states. However economic disparities within EMU member states are an equally important policy issue. This paper considers a country with a large regional divide, i.e., Italy, at a fine level of territorial disaggregation (NUTS3). Our results show that economically backward regions display greater inflation persistence. Moreover, we show that higher persistence is linked to a lower degree of competitiveness in the retail sector. Finally, the inflation persistence at the national level does not present any geographical aggregation bias, because it equals the mean of inflation persistence of provincial data. |
| Keywords: | inflation persistence, retail sector, regions |
| JEL: | E0 E30 R0 R10 |
| Date: | 2010–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:04/2010&r=geo |
| By: | Michael Iacono; David Levinson (Nexus (Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems) Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | Regional location factors, with measures of regional accessibility foremost among them, exert a strong influence on urban property markets. While accessibility represents an important regional-scale factor, more local influences such as proximity to urban highway links may also positively or negatively influence the desirability of a location. In this paper, we use a cross-section of home sales in Hennepin County, Minnesota from the years 2001 through 2004, along with a set of disaggregate regional accessibility measures, to estimate the value of access to employment and resident workers. We also estimate the (dis)amenity effects of locations near major freeway links that have recently undergone, or were scheduled to undergo (as of the time period covered by the home sales), major construction to add capacity. The richness of the home sales data set allows us to control for a number of structural attributes, as well as some site characteristics, while additional neighborhood characteristics (such as income levels and local educational quality) are added from supplemental data sources. Empirical results indicate that households highly value employment access, while access to other resident workers (i.e. competition for jobs) is considered a disamenity. Proximity to local highway access points is positively associated with sale price, while proximity to the highway link itself is negatively associated with price. The paper concludes with some implications for research and practice of the concept and measurement of the relationship between location and land value. |
| Keywords: | Transportation Ð Economics, Land Value, Accessibility, Hennepin County (MN) |
| JEL: | R41 R48 R53 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nex:wpaper:hennepinhedonics&r=geo |
| By: | Dorosh, Paul; Wang, Hyoung-Gun; You, Liang; Schmidt, Emily |
| Abstract: | This study examines the relationship between transport infrastructure and agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa using new data obtained from geographic information systems (GIS). First, the authors analyze the impact of road connectivity on crop production and choice of technology. Second, they explore the impact of investments that reduce road travel times. Finally, they show how this type of analysis can be used to compare cost-benefit ratios for alternative road investments in terms of agricultural output per dollar invested. The authors find that agricultural production is highly correlated with proximity (as measured by travel time) to urban markets. Likewise, adoption of high-productive/high-input technology is negatively correlated with travel time to urban centers. There is therefore substantial scope for increasing agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in more remote areas. Total crop production relative to potential production is 45 percent for areas within four hours’ travel time from a city of 100,000 people. In contrast, it is just 5 percent for areas more than eight hours away. Low population densities and long travel times to urban centers sharply constrain production. Reducing transport costs and travel times to these areas would expand the feasible market size for these regions. Compared to West Africa, East Africa has lower population density, smaller local markets, lower road connectivity, and lower average crop production per unit area. Unlike in East Africa, reducing travel time does not significantly increase the adoption of high-input/high-yield technology in West Africa. This may be because West Africa already has a relatively well-connected road network. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Climate Change and Agriculture,Regional Economic Development,Economic Theory&Research |
| Date: | 2010–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5385&r=geo |
| By: | Di Addario, Sabrina (Bank of Italy); Vuri, Daniela (University of Rome Tor Vergata) |
| Abstract: | We analyze empirically the effects of urban agglomeration on Italian college graduates’ work possibilities as entrepreneurs three years after graduation. We find that each 100,000 inhabitant-increase in the size of the individual’s province of work reduces the chances of being an entrepreneur by 0.2-0.3 percent. This result holds after controlling for regional fixed effects and is robust to instrumenting urbanization. Province’s competition, urban amenities and dis-amenities, cost of labor, earning differentials between employees and self-employed workers, unemployment rates and value added per capita account for 40 percent of the negative urbanization penalty. Our result cannot be explained by the presence of negative large-city differentials in returns to education either. In fact, as long as they succeed in entering the largest markets, young entrepreneurs are able to reap-off the benefits of urbanization externalities: every 100,000-inhabitant increase in the province's population raises entrepreneurs' net monthly income by 0.2-0.3 percent. |
| Keywords: | labor market transitions, urbanization |
| JEL: | R12 J24 J21 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5098&r=geo |
| By: | NELLES Jennifer |
| Abstract: | In this complex and highly interconnected world, one government rarely possesses full capability in any given policy area. It is therefore vital to understand how governments can work together to achieve collective goals. This paper examines how horizontal cooperation between local governments emerges in metropolitan regions. It tests a theoretical framework that unites the two dominant, but so far isolated, approaches to regional governance and cooperation in four cases: the Toronto and Waterloo city-regions in Canada, and the Frankfurt and Rhein-Neckar regions in Germany. Findings demonstrate the inconsistency of the systemic and intervening factors that anchor the two dominant approaches and propose an alternative approach – civic capital – to explain observed patterns of cooperation. Finally, the paper reflects on the theoretical and policy implications of these findings for research in comparative politics and regional governance. |
| Keywords: | regional governance; intermunicipal cooperation; civic capital; regional development; regional marketing |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2010-18&r=geo |
| By: | Pavithra Parthasarathi; Hartwig Hochmair; David Levinson (Nexus (Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems) Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | This research analyzes the influence of network structure on household spatial patterns, as measured by activity spaces. The analysis uses street network and travel survey data from the Twin Cities and South Florida to compile measures of network structure. Statistical regression models test the relationship between network structure and travel. The results show that network design does influence travel, after controlling for other non-network based measures. Results from this analysis can be used to understand how changes in network can be used to bring about desired changes in travel behavior. |
| Keywords: | Transportation Geography, Network Structure, Circuity, Accessibility |
| JEL: | R41 R48 R53 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nex:wpaper:activityspaces&r=geo |
| By: | Vincent Breteau (LVMT - Laboratoire Ville, Mobilité, Transports - INRETS - Université Paris-Est - Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées); Fabien Leurent (LVMT - Laboratoire Ville, Mobilité, Transports - INRETS - Université Paris-Est - Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées) |
| Abstract: | We model a city in which jobs are exogenous and distributed across an extended business area in which transport has a nonzero cost. Households are homogeneous in terms of utility and gross income, but each household chooses its residential location on the basis of its place of employment, which is deemed to be fixed. Equilibrium conditions for this residential location market are established. It is shown that there is an equilibrium that is unique (for a closed city with absentee landlords). Households' utility and dwelling size increase the farther the workplace is from the centre, whereas land rent decreases. Within a simplified framework, the model is resolved analytically and we establish the sensitivity of the endogenous variables to the city's characteristic parameters. Two extreme cases are highlighted: the “quasi-monocentric” city where net income decreases with distance from the centre, versus the “eccentric” city, where net income increases with distance from the centre. |
| Keywords: | Residential Location ; Land Markets ; Commuting |
| Date: | 2010–07–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00505490_v1&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:2010-13&r=geo |
| By: | Yingling Fan; Andrew Guthrie; David Levinson (Nexus (Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems) Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | This study examines transit's role in promoting social equity by assessing impacts of recent transit changes in the Twin Cities, including opening of the Hiawatha light rail line, on job accessibility among workers of different wage categories. Geo-spatial and descriptive analyses are employed to examine the magnitude of the accessibility changes and where changes occur. This study also uses regression analysis to estimate block-level before- and after-LRT accessibility as a function of the block's locational characteristics and demographic composition. The analysis finds that proximity to light rail stations and bus stops offering direct rail connections are associated with large, statistically significant gains in accessibility to low-wage jobs. These gains stand out from changes in accessibility for the transit system as a whole. The paper concludes by discussing implications of the study results for informing more equitable transit polices in the future. |
| Keywords: | Transportation equity, transit, light rail, bus, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul |
| JEL: | R41 R48 R53 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nex:wpaper:transit-labor-accessibility&r=geo |
| By: | Astrid Krenz; Gerhard Rübel |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the development of Industrial Localization and Countries\' Specialization Patterns in the European Union, to explain the driving forces behind and to find out dynamic tendencies. We extend existing research work by using a broader data set, covering a longer period of time and by applying several econometric methods in order to explain Localization and Specialization. Explanatory variables are derived from Traditional Trade Theory, New Trade Theories and the New Economic Geography. Taking EU-KLEMS data for 14 European countries covering 20 industries over the period from 1970 to 2005 we compute both regional and locational Gini coefficients. There is a clear increase in Industrial Concentration but only a slight increase in Countries\' Specialization in the EU evident over time. Especially, low technology or labor intensive industries experienced the highest increase in Industrial Concentration. New Trade Theory and New Economic Geography can explain both Industrial Concentration and Countries\' Specialization in the EU best. As regards Countries\' Specialization our results indicate that trade costs seem to have declined so much and European liberalization has proceeded so far that dispersion among countries occurs again. We show that it\'s important to consider multicollinearity problems of variables. Furthermore, we test for cointegration between our regression variables. For the EU, results of an error correction modeling framework show that imbalances in European Countries\' Specialization are being set off at a rate of about 68 to 105 percent (according to the regression framework taken) within the next period. New Economic Geography is the best explanatory force within the error correction model. Adjustments rates for Sweden and Italy appear to be much lower than for the EU as a whole. These results might be valuable for understanding agglomeration processes in the EU. Also, as European Integration continues to progress, it is important to know how and how quickly countries will specialize and industries will agglomerate. |
| Keywords: | New Economic Geography, Concentration, Specialization, European Integration, Cointegration |
| JEL: | C50 F14 F15 |
| Date: | 2010–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:cegedp:106&r=geo |
| By: | OMRANI Hichem; CHARIF Omar; KLEIN Olivier; GERBER Philippe |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we propose a general visual analytic approach to synthesis very large spatial data and discover interesting knowledge and unknown patterns from complex data based on Origin-Destination (OD) matrices. The research studies of Tobler constitute a good basis in this topic. This paper is interested in the proposal of 2 methods entitled respectively ”Weighted Linear Directional Mean: WLDM” and ”DS-WLDM”. The latter incorporates the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence with WLDM. Both of the developed methods are an extension of ”Linear Directional Mean: LDM” for mobility modeling. With classical techniques such as LDM among others, the results of data mapping are not intelligible and easy to interpret. However with both WLDM and DS-WLDM methods it is easy to discover knowledge without losing a lot of information which is one of the interests of this paper. This proposal is generic and it intends to be applied for data mapping such as for geographical presentation of social and demographic information (e.g. mobility of people, goods and information) according to multiple spatial scales (e.g. locality, district, municipality). It could be applied also in transportation field (e.g. traffic flow). For the application, administrative data is used in order to evaluate spatial and temporal aspects of the daily and the residential mobility of workers in Luxembourg and its bordering areas. |
| Keywords: | Mobility modeling; data mapping; spatial mobility; geographic knowledge discovery; location uncertainty; daily and residential mobility |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2010-16&r=geo |
| By: | Astrid Krenz |
| Abstract: | Services sectors\' agglomeration in the European Union, its development over time, its driving factors and dynamic tendencies will be empirically investigated in this study. Locational gini coefficients are computed taking EU-KLEMS data for 14 European countries covering 22 services sectors over the period from 1970 to 2005. Services sectors\' agglomeration in the European Union decreased over the years between 1970 and 2005. Analysis shows that for most of the services sectors considered agglomeration decreased over time, leading to further dispersion of economic activities. Only the branches of retail trade, other water transport and financial intermediation record a significant increase in agglomeration. Agglomeration tendencies of services sectors can be best explained by Traditional and New Trade Theories, New Economic Geography appears to be not relevant. Theoretical work, incorporating services sectors\' activities in New Economic Geography models, is scarce and as Empirics show there is a justified reason for lack of research in that area. In a further step the interaction between industrial and services sectors\' agglomeration is investigated. Non-stationarity of variables is being checked for and error correction methods or regression in differences is employed. There exist several interactions between services and industrial sectors\' agglomeration in the European Union. In particular, agglomeration in retail trade is positively influenced by an increase in agglomeration in textiles industries over the years between 1970 and 2005. The existence of interaction effects justifies further enhancement of theoretical models. Further, the results are important for understanding agglomeration processes in the EU; interactions between services and industrial sectors are indicative for a highly dynamic region which might attract other activities, as well. |
| Keywords: | Services, Agglomeration, New Economic Geography, European Integration |
| JEL: | C50 F12 F14 F15 L80 |
| Date: | 2010–07–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:got:cegedp:107&r=geo |
| By: | R. RATHELOT (Crest); P. SILLARD (Secrétariat Général Comité interministériel des villes) |
| Abstract: | Most studies about the geographical location of a phenomenon or a population first aggregate data according to administrative boundaries which are generally not related to the issue. When the population under study is rare, and when the sample is not exhaustive, these aggregation choices often lead the results. In this study, we use non-parametric kernel techniques to estimate ratios of population densities. Using this kind of method is not technically costly and allows one to obtain the optimal trade-off between variance and bias. We apply this technique to the distribution of immigrants over the French territory, using data form population censures between 1968 to 1999. Another contribution of this work is to propose a concentration index based on the density ratios obtained in the first step. |
| Keywords: | spatial concentration, geographical location, segregation indices, non-parametric estimation, immigration |
| JEL: | J15 R00 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crs:wpdeee:g2010-11&r=geo |
| By: | Pavithra Parthasarathi; David Levinson (Nexus (Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems) Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | This research develops quantitative measures that capture various aspects of underlying network structure, using aggregate level travel data from fifty metropolitan areas across the U.S. The influence of these measures on system performance is then tested using statistical regression models. The results corroborate that the quantitative measures of network structure affect the system performance. The results from this analysis can be used to develop network design guidelines that can be used to address current transportation problems. |
| Keywords: | Network structure, mobility, congestion, accessibility, travel behavior, transportation geography |
| JEL: | R41 R48 R53 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nex:wpaper:metropolitanmobility&r=geo |
| By: | Andrea Vaona (Department of Economics (University of Verona)) |
| Abstract: | Considering a sample of 71 Italian metropolitan areas, this paper goes beyond the assumption that there exists a unique core inflationary process in a macroeconomy. We show that local long-run inflation rates can display remarkable variability. On the one hand they are negatively correlated with productivity growth, on the other the less competitive is the local retail sector and the higher is long-run inflation. |
| Keywords: | purchasing power parity, long-run inflation, Balassa-Samuelson model, Kaldor-Verdoorn model. |
| JEL: | R1 E31 F49 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:12/2010&r=geo |
| By: | David Levinson; Arthur Huang (Nexus (Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems) Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a positive theory of network connectivity, seeking to explain the micro-foundations of alternative network topologies as the result of self-interested actors. By building roads, landowners hope to increase their parcelsÕ accessibility and economic value. A simulation model is performed on a grid-like land use layer with a downtown in the center, whose structure resembles the early form of many Midwest- ern and Western (US) cities. The topological attributes for the networks are evaluated. This research posits that road networks experience an evolutionary process where a tree-like structure first emerges around the centered parcel before the network pushes outward to the periphery. In addition, road network topology undergoes clear phase changes as the economic values of parcels vary. The results demonstrate that even without a centralized authority, road networks have the property of self-organization and evolution, and, that in the absence of intervention, the tree-like or web-like nature of networks is a result of the underlying economics. |
| Keywords: | road network, land parcel, network evolution, network growth, phase change, centrality measures, degree centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness cen- trality, network structure, treeness, circuitness, topology |
| JEL: | R41 R48 R53 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nex:wpaper:theoryofconnectivity&r=geo |
| By: | Fabiano COMPAGNUCCI ([n.a.]) |
| Abstract: | [ITALIANO] La necessita' di riaprire il dibattito sull'individuazione delle aree funzionali (i Sistemi o Mercati Locali del Lavoro in Italia - SLL) e di rivederne l'architettura operativa viene oramai sostenuta da numerosi studiosi. Un'operazione preliminare rispetto a tale finalita' Š quella di ripercorrere la genesi dei SLL per capire quale sia stato il costrutto teorico che ne ha ispirato la formalizzazione e verificarne la pertinenza interpretativa nel tempo. Almeno inizialmente, quindi a cavallo fra gli anni '70 e gli anni '80, i SLL sembrano essere in grado di cogliere alcune forme emergenti di organizzazione territoriale, in particolare quelle distrettuali. Col passare del tempo, pero', il territorio si riorganizza secondo modelli urbani, rendendo meno pertinente la validita' interpretativa dei SLL. Ô oramai evidente che, prima di modificare la procedura di regionalizzazione funzionale dell'Istat, bisogna rivederne l'ancoraggio teorico. La categoria di "citta'" potrebbe rappresentare il costrutto teorico di riferimento.<BR>;[ENGLISH] The need to reopen the debate on the identification of functional areas has by now been claimed by several scholars. The aim of this article is to give a contribution to this debate by first describing the genesis of Local Labour Systems (SLL) in order to understand the theoretical construct that has inspired their formalization and verify its interpretative pertinence throughout time. The SLL's seemed to be able to capture emerging forms of territorial organization, particularly the districtual ones, at the turn of the '70s and '80s. Over time, however, the process of territorial reorganization in urban models, affected its validity. To overcome this problem, the concept of functional areas has to be anchored to a different theoretical construct. The concept of city might help us in this way. |
| Keywords: | Citt…, Distretti, Organizzazioen territoriale del processo, Sistemi Locali del Lavoro |
| JEL: | R10 |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:336&r=geo |
| By: | Fabio FIORILLO ([n.a.]); Agnese SACCHI (Universita' Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Economia) |
| Abstract: | The aim of the paper is to analyze a simple model of local public good provision with positive interjurisdictional spillover effects - as the case of environment protection spending - comparing decentralized and centralized system, when spending and taxation decisions are made by nonbenevolent politicians. As in the recent so-called Second Generation Theory (SGT) of fiscal federalism (Seabright, 1996; Besley and Coate, 2002; Lockwood, 2002; Oates, 2005, Weingast, 2009), we adopt a political economy approach to look at the trade-off between centralized and decentralized provision of local public goods. The main differences between our paper and theirs are that we model the public good taking into account two important aspects: the size - in terms of population - of local jurisdictions providing it, which is relevant for the scale effect in the financing mechanism of non-rival public goods; the detail of political opportunistic behaviour introducing a "rent equation" directly into the model to represent the additional gain of "non-benevolent" politicians, who levy higher taxes than the costs of the public goods. Considering these two elements, our results appear to be partially different from the SGT. In particular, the convenience of having decentralization versus centralization changes with the degree of spillovers and the size of regions. Three elements have to be considered: i) the implicit transfers ("cross subsidiation") from high scale economy regions to low scale ones; ii) the free-riding gains in receiving positive externalities; iii) the gain of internalization of externalities. When spillovers linked to public goods provision are low, only the first item is relevant. Thus, smaller regions prefer the centralized solution, since through it they can charge bigger regions for some costs of production. On the contrary, bigger local jurisdictions would like decentralization.When beneficial spillover effects increase (and many regions producing them), the other two factors start to play a crucial role, and the opposite situation takes place. The basic trade-off is between the internalization process and the free-riding tendency, whose efficiency gains are different for large and small local jurisdictions. Hence, from a positive viewpoint, decentralization should not be necessarily pursued only in the absence of externalities, but it depends on the relative size of the local jurisdictions. |
| Keywords: | Decentralization, Free-riding, Local public goods, Rent-seeking behaviour, Spillovers |
| JEL: | D62 D72 H23 H41 H70 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:346&r=geo |