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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2014‒07‒28
eight papers chosen by Andreas Koch Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Drivas, Kyriakos; Economidou, Claire; Karkalakos, Sotiris; Tsionas, Efthymios G. |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the diffusion of knowledge and its consequences for local innovation production. In a common framework, we analyze the geographic reach of different channels of knowledge flows that thus far have been studied separately in the literature. To jointly estimate these flows, we develop and apply novel econometric techniques appropriate to the nature of the data. We find that geographic along with technological proximity to be more essential to the operation of market than to non-market channels of knowledge flows. External accessible disembodied knowledge has a strong positive effect on local innovation production as large as that of homegrown knowledge. |
| Keywords: | knowledge flows, patents, citations, inventor mobility, trade, non-linear regression systems |
| JEL: | C11 C33 O30 O51 |
| Date: | 2014–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:57478&r=geo |
| By: | Mathä, Thomas Y.; Porpiglia, Alessandro; Ziegelmeyer, Michael (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA)) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses empirically how cross-border consumption varies across product and services categories and across household characteristics. It focuses on the part of crossborder sales that arise due to work-related cross-border crossings; it analyses the crossborder consumption behaviour of cross-border commuter households residing in Belgium, France and Germany and working in Luxembourg. In total, it is estimated that these households spend €925 million per annum in Luxembourg, reflecting about 17% of their gross annual income from Luxembourg and contributing about 10% to total household final consumption expenditure in Luxembourg. Cross-border consumption expenditure is shown to depend on individual and household characteristics, such as total household income, the number of cross-border commuters in the household, distance between home and work, as well as price level (index) differences between Luxembourg and its neighbouring countries. Cross-border commuters take advantage of existing arbitrage opportunities. |
| JEL: | F15 R12 R23 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–04–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mea:meawpa:14284&r=geo |
| By: | Brunello, Giorgio (University of Padova); Langella, Monica (University of Verona) |
| Abstract: | We ask whether local agglomeration affects how recessions impact on entrepreneurship by comparing the probability of being an entrepreneur before and after the Great 2008 Recession in local labour markets where industrial districts are present and in comparable areas. Using Italian Labour Force quarterly data from 2006 to 2011 and a "difference-in-differences" approach, we find that for males aged 40 to 55, who are more likely to be entrepreneurs, the negative effect of the recession on entrepreneurship has been sharper in areas with industrial districts. After examining alternative explanations – ranging from specialization to access to credit, from propensity to export to the industrial sector – we conclude that our findings are consistent with the view that intense social interaction in industrial districts acts as a multiplier that amplifies the response to shocks. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, recession, Italy, industrial districts |
| JEL: | J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8331&r=geo |
| By: | Joachim Wagner (Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This note uses a tailor-made new data set to investigate for the first time the link between the quality of a firm’s exports and the distance to destination countries for Germany. To anticipate the most important result, it is shown that the quality of exported goods and the distance to destination countries are not statistically positively correlated. |
| Keywords: | Exports, export quality, distance, Germany |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:302&r=geo |
| By: | Tong, Patricia (US Department of the Treasury); Zhou, Li (University of Alberta, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Using administrative tax data that contain information on firm credit take-up and employee residence, we examine the impact of the Empowerment Zone and Renewal Community employment tax credits on local labor. We find modest evidence that zone designation improves labor market outcomes among residents. However, when we specifically estimate the impact of the place-based employment tax credit and disentangle the impact based on where workers live and work, we find strong evidence that the employment tax credits have significant and positive impacts on both zone and non-zone residents employed at firms that claim these credits. We determine that firms claiming the employment tax credit represent a small share of the overall labor demand of zone residents. As a result, utilizing data that include information on which firms receive place-based tax incentives is crucial to evaluate how these policies impact local labor, and evaluations looking at outcomes of broader populations may not be able to identify significant improvements in outcomes if a limited fraction of the population is directly affected. |
| Keywords: | employment tax credits; place-based programs; business incentives; empowerment zones; renewal communities |
| JEL: | H25 J38 R23 R58 |
| Date: | 2014–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2014_006&r=geo |
| By: | Iwasaki, Ichiro; Suganuma, Keiko |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we estimate the growth-enhancing effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Russian regions, paying special attention to the country’s investment boom and the remarkable regional gaps in terms of cumulative direct investments in and after 2003. We also examine possible synergistic effects between FDI and local R&D potential to test the absorptive capacity hypothesis. Our estimation results strongly suggest the remarkable role of FDI in the regional economic growth in Russia. In addition, we found that the positive effect of FDI on growth is not limited to the regions that received a relatively large amount of foreign capital. Furthermore, we detected a surprisingly robust and positive synergistic effect between FDI and local R&D potential, indicating that the absorptive capability is essential for linking FDI and regional economic development in Russia. |
| Keywords: | foreign direct investment (FDI), regional economic growth, R&D potential, absorptive capacity hypothesis, Russia |
| JEL: | F21 O11 P25 P33 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:rrcwps:44&r=geo |
| By: | Rhydian Fôn James (Bangor University); Molly Scott Cato |
| Abstract: | TThis paper develops an answer to the question of what constitutes a resilient region (Bristow, 2010) by arguing that the resilient region can be seen as a prototype bioregion. The transition from a proto-bioregion to a bioregion, and thus from proto-bioregionalism to bioregionalism proper, is examined. The paper begins with a review of the existing literature on regional resilience. The authors then explore the possible heterodox theoretical underpinnings of this approach, drawing on post-Keynesian, Marxian and green economy concepts. The paper’s final section extends the theory to a bioregional conclusion, and discusses the policy approaches that might be applied to extend a resilient region into a bioregion. |
| Keywords: | bioregion; green economy; resilient regions; post-Keynesian |
| JEL: | P16 R1 Q57 B50 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pke:wpaper:pkwp1407&r=geo |
| By: | Brophy, Tim (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Daniels, Reza Che (School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Musundwa, Sibongile (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | Geographical coordinates such as Global Positioning System (GPS) latitude and longitude estimates form the foundation of many spatial statistical methods. gpsbound allows users to (1) import geographical information from the attribute table of a polygon shapefile based on the identified location of GPS coordinates in a Stata dataset, and (2) check that the GPS coordinates lie within the bounds of a polygon demarcated in the shapefile (e.g. enumerator areas, primary sampling units, suburb, city, country). One of the contributions of gpsbound is to allow users to work with spatial data in Stata without ever needing Geographical Information System (GIS) software. |
| Keywords: | Stata ado, GPS coordinates, Bounding box, Point in polygon algorithm |
| JEL: | C63 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:132&r=geo |