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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Nowotny, Klaus (University of Salzburg) |
| Abstract: | The economic literature provides ample evidence that immigration of highly skilled workers is beneficial for the host economy. Yet, when compared to countries such as the USA or Canada, Europe receives a lower share of migrants with tertiary education, raising concerns that the EU does not attract enough highly skilled migrants. There is, however, considerable heterogeneity in the share of highly-skilled migrants across EU-15 countries which is even more pronounced at the regional level. This paper uses this heterogeneity to investigate the economic, labor market and institutional factors that make regions and countries attractive for highly skilled migrants vis-a-vis low-skill migrants. Controlling for a variety of regional characteristics, the regressions show both similarities and differences in the determinants of location choice between high- and low-skilled migrants and possible directions for migration policy. |
| Keywords: | highly-skilled migration; regional location decisions; institutions; migration policy |
| JEL: | C35 F22 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–08–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:sbgwpe:2013_003&r=geo |
| By: | Jan Eeckhout (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Roberto Pinheiro; Kurt Schmidheiny |
| Abstract: | We investigate the role of complementarities in production and skill mobility across cities. We propose a general equilibrium model of location choice by heterogeneously skilled workers, and consider different degrees of complementarities between the skills of workers. The nature of the complementarities determines the equilibrium skill distribution across cities. We prove that with extreme-skill complementarity, the skill distribution has fatter tails in large cities; with top-skill complementarity, there is first-order stochastic dominance. Using the model to back out skills from wage and housing price data, we find robust evidence of fat tails in large cities. Big cities have big inequality. This pattern of spatial sorting is consistent with extreme-skill complementarity: the productivity of high skilled workers and of the providers of low skilled services is mutually enhanced. |
| Keywords: | complementarity, cities, sorting, price-theoretic measure of skills, population mobility, city size, matching theory, general equilibrium, skill distribution |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:13/18&r=geo |
| By: | Enrique Moral-Benito (Bank of Spain) |
| Abstract: | We use a unique administrative dataset of Spanish exporters to document the existence of exporters' geographical agglomeration by export-destination. We reveal that firms selling to countries with worse business regulations, dissimilar language and different currency tend to cluster signicantly more. We then assess the implications of exporters' geographical agglomeration for firms' behaviour and for the estimated welfare gains from trade. On the one hand, we find that exporters engage in more stable trade relationships with those countries that are the export-destinations of nearby firms. On the other, we introduce agglomeration in a model of international trade a la Melitz (2003). Using our Spanish firm-level data, we find that relative to a model without agglomeration, accounting for this phenomenon increases by 44% the elasticity of welfare with respect to fixed trade-costs. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed013:85&r=geo |
| By: | Ca' Zorzi, Michele; Chudik, Alexander |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the influence of aggregating across space when (i) testing the PPP theory or more generally pair-wise cointegration and (ii) evaluating the PPP puzzle. Our contribution is threefold: we show that aggregating foreign data and applying an ADF test may lead to erroneously reject the PPP hypothesis. We then show, on the basis of theoretical arguments as well as Monte Carlo experiments, that a sizable bias in the estimates of half-life deviations to PPP may be due to the effect of aggregation across space. We finally illustrate empirically the importance of spatial considerations when estimating the speed of price convergence among euro area countries. JEL Classification: C23, F41 |
| Keywords: | aggregation across space, cointegration, Half-life estimates, PPP, price convergence |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20131534&r=geo |
| By: | Serafinelli, Michel |
| Abstract: | I present direct evidence on the role of firm-to-firm labor mobility in enhancing the productivity of firms located near highly productive firms. Using matched employer-employee and balance sheet data for the Veneto region of Italy, I identify a set of high-wage firms (HWF) and show they are more productive than other firms. I then show that hiring a worker with HWF experience increases the productivity of other (non-HWF) firms. A simulation indicates that worker flows explain 10-15 percent of the productivity gains experienced by other firms when HWFs in the same industry are added to a local labor market. |
| Keywords: | productivity, agglomeration advantages, linked employer-employee data, labor mobility. |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J61 R2 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–06–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:49055&r=geo |
| By: | Hartmut Lehmann; Maria Giulia Silvagni |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses convergence in per capita gross regional product of Russia’s regions during the period 1995-2010, when regional data are available. Using a panel regression framework we find no evidence for beta-convergence. Instead we find divergence, which is, however, attenuated over time. Robustness checks that use regional real income instead of gross regional product confirm this outcome as do non-parametric estimates of convergence, namely estimates using Markov transition probability matrices and stochastic kernel plots of regional relative income. Decompositions of regional income and gross regional product also find no sigma-convergence of Russian regions. These decompositions point to the geographical concentration of extractive activities in the Urals and of business services and of the public administration in the Moscow area as the main culprit for this lack of convergence. They also establish that despite reforms to equalize provisions of public goods across Russia, the social services sector of the public administration, education and health still do not have the expected equalizing impact on regional income.<P>Y a-t-il convergence entre régions de Russie ? : Exploration des preuves empiriques: 1995-2010<BR>Cet article analyse la convergence du produit régional brut per capita entre régions de Russie au cours de la période 1995-2010, lorsque les données régionales sont disponibles. En utilisant une régression de panel, nous ne trouvons aucune preuve de bêta-convergence. Nous trouvons au contraire une divergence qui s’atténue toutefois au fil du temps. Nous confirmons ces résultats avec deux tests de robustesse : un qui utilise le revenu régional réel au lieu du produit régional brut, un autre basé sur des estimations non paramétriques de convergence, à savoir des estimations des matrices de probabilité de transition de Markov et une représentation de kernel stochastiques du revenu régional relatif. Des décompositions du revenu régional et du produit régional brut ne montrent pas non plus de sigma-convergence entre régions russes. Ces décompositions soulignent la concentration géographique des activités extractives dans l'Oural et de services aux entreprises et de l'administration publique dans la région de Moscou comme les principaux responsables de ce manque de convergence. Elles établissent également que malgré les réformes pour égaliser les provisions de biens publics à travers la Russie, le secteur des services sociaux de l'administration publique, l'éducation et la santé n'ont toujours pas l'impact attendu sur l'égalisation des revenus régionaux. |
| Keywords: | convergence, Russian regions, regional inequality decomposition, regional distribution dynamics, convergence, régions russes, décomposition inter-régionale de l'inégalité, dynamique de distribution régionale |
| JEL: | O47 P25 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–08–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1083-en&r=geo |
| By: | Grimes, Arthur (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Tarrant, Nicholas (GT Research and Consulting) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents a comprehensive database for the populations of 60 New Zealand towns and cities (henceforth “towns”). Populations are provided for every tenth year from 1926 through to 2006. New Zealand towns have experienced very different growth rates over this period. Economic geography theories posit that people migrate to (and from) places according to a few key factors. In order to analyse the determinants of urban growth empirically, we need a comprehensive database of urban populations over time, as provided here. |
| Keywords: | New Zealand population, urban growth |
| JEL: | R23 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:13_07&r=geo |