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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Ernest Miguélez (Economics and Statistics Division, WIPO and AQR-IREA); Rosina Moreno (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | The goal of this paper is twofold: first, we aim to assess the role played by inventors’ cross-regional mobility and collaborations in fostering knowledge diffusion across regions and subsequent innovation. Second, we intend to evaluate the feasibility of using mobility and co-patenting information to build cross-regional interaction matrices to be used within the spatial econometrics toolbox. To do so, we depart from a knowledge production function where regional innovation intensity is a function not only of the own regional innovation inputs but also external accessible knowledge stocks gained through interregional interactions. Differently from much of the previous literature, cross-section gravity models of mobility and co-patents are estimated to use the fitted values to build our ‘spatial’ weights matrices, which characterize the intensity of knowledge interactions across a panel of 269 regions covering most European countries over 6 years. |
| Keywords: | inventors’ spatial mobility, co-patenting, gravity models, weights matrix, knowledge production function. JEL classification: C8, J61, O31, O33, R0. |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201314&r=geo |
| By: | Aiello, Francesco; Pupo, Valeria; Ricotta, Fernanda |
| Abstract: | Sectoral and territorial specificities affect the firm’s capabilities of being productive. While there is a wide consensus on this, a quantitative measure of the these effects has been lacking. To this end, we combine a dataset of Italian firms with some meso regional and sectoral variables and apply a cross-classified model that allows for a clear distinction between firm, region-specific and sector-specific effects. After observing a marked TFP heterogeneity across firms, the paper addresses the issue of understanding how much differences in firms’ productivity depend on regional localisation and sector specificities. Results refer to 2004-2006 and are threefold. Firstly, they confirm that the main source of firm variety is mostly due to differences revealed at individual level. Secondly, we find that sector is more important than location in explaining firms’ TFP. Lastly, the results show that firm TFP increases when it belongs to more innovative sectors. Similarly, companies get benefits from belonging to sectors where there is a high proportion of firms using R&D public support and a high propensity to collaborate in innovative projects. |
| Keywords: | Total Factor Productivity, Firms’ Heterogeneity, Sectoral innovation, Geography, Cross-Classified Models |
| JEL: | L25 L60 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–07–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48573&r=geo |
| By: | Rafael Boix (Departament d’Estructura Econòmica, Facultat d’Economia, Universitat de València); José Luis Hervás-Oliver (Departament d’Organització d’Empreses, Universitat Politecnica de València); Blanca De Miguel-Molina (Departament d’Organització d’Empreses, Universitat Politecnica de València) |
| Abstract: | The occurrence of creative service industries (CSI) is a strong determinant of differences in wealth amongst European regions. However, it is unknown if the strong effects are limited to occurring within regional boundaries or whether there are spillover effects into neighbouring regions. The purpose of this paper is to assess the existence of CSI spillover effects on the wealth of neighbouring regions. CSI and spillovers are integrated into both an empirical model and an endogenous growth model. Both models are estimated for a sample of 250 regions in the European Union in 2008. We find that most of the effects of CSI take place within regions, although there is also evidence that CSI has indirect spillovers across regions. |
| Keywords: | creative industries; creative services; regional growth; spatial spillovers; spatial econometrics |
| JEL: | R11 R12 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:1315&r=geo |
| By: | Commendatore, Pasquale; Michetti, Elisabetta; Purificato, Francesco |
| Abstract: | The New Economic Geography (NEG) literature has paid little attention to the role of the banking industry in affecting where firms decide to locate their business. Within the framework of the NEG, this paper aims to fill this gap by studying the impact of the degree of regional financial development on the spatial distribution of economic activity. In order to explore this issue, we modify the standard Footloose Entrepreneur (FE) model by introducing a banking sector, while preserving all the other usual assumptions. We show that the existence of a banking sector enhances the agglomeration forces; so that, when regions are symmetric, a Core-Periphery outcome is more likely. When regions are characterised by different levels of financial development this result is reinforced and entrepreneurs are more likely to migrate towards the region where the banking sector is characterized by a higher degree of competition / lower degree of concentration and the interest rate is lower. |
| Keywords: | Local financial development, Banks, Agglomeration, Firm location |
| JEL: | G10 G21 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–07–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48425&r=geo |
| By: | Ferdinand Rauch |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that Zipf's Law for cities can emerge as a property of a clustering process. If initially uniformly distributed people chose their location based on a specific gravity equation as found in trade studies, they will form cities that follow Zipf's Law in expected value. This view of cities as spatial agglomerations is supported empirically by the observation that larger cities are surrounded by larger hinterland areas and larger countryside populations. |
| Keywords: | Zipf's Law for cities, distribution of city sizes |
| JEL: | R12 |
| Date: | 2013–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:656&r=geo |
| By: | Fidel Perez-Sebastian; Ohad Raveh |
| Abstract: | Natural resource abundance is a blessing for some countries, but a curse for othes. We show that differences across countries in the degree of fiscal decentralisation can contribute to this divergent outcome. First, the paper presents a unified theory that combines political and market mechanisms to illustrate why natural resource booms can create negative effects in fiscally decentralized nations. Thereafter, we employ Sachs and Warner's cross-sectional data, and also construct a new panel-data sample to test the hypothesis. Results support the joint effect of the two variables. |
| Keywords: | Natural resources, economic growth, fiscal decentralization, agglomeration economies, tax competition |
| JEL: | O13 O18 O40 Q32 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:112&r=geo |
| By: | Gobillon, Laurent (INED, France); Magnac, Thierry (University of Toulouse I) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the use of interactive effect or linear factor models in regional policy evaluation. We contrast treatment effect estimates obtained by Bai (2009)'s least squares method with the popular difference in difference estimates as well as with estimates obtained using synthetic control approaches as developed by Abadie and coauthors. We show that difference in differences are generically biased and we derive the support conditions that are required for the application of synthetic controls. We construct an extensive set of Monte Carlo experiments to compare the performance of these estimation methods in small samples. As an empirical illustration, we also apply them to the evaluation of the impact on local unemployment of an enterprise zone policy implemented in France in the 1990s. |
| Keywords: | policy evaluation, linear factor models, synthetic controls, economic geography, enterprise zones |
| JEL: | C21 C23 H53 J64 R11 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7493&r=geo |
| By: | Alexander De Juan (GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies); André Bank (GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies) |
| Abstract: | Is violent opposition less likely to occur in subnational regions that have been treated preferentially by the respective country’s ruling elite? Many authoritarian regimes try to secure political support by providing critical segments of the population with privileged access to economic or political rents. This study is interested in the effects of this strategy. Our empirical analysis is based on crowdsourcing data on the number and geospatial distribution of fatalities in the Syrian civil war. We also use satellite images of the earth at night to measure spatial variations in access to electricity across Syrian subdistricts; these data are complemented with information from the last Syrian population census. Estimations of fixed - effects logit models confirm the hypothesis that the risk of violence has been lower in subdistricts that had been favored by the ruling regime in terms of preferential access to electricity in times of power shortages. |
| Keywords: | Regime cooptation, geographical distribution of violence, Syria, civil war, crowdsourcing data, nightlights |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gig:wpaper:222&r=geo |