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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2015‒09‒05
eighteen papers chosen by Andreas Koch Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Gilles Duranton; William R. Kerr |
| Abstract: | This review discusses frontier topics in economic geography as they relate to firms and agglomeration economies. We focus on areas where empirical research is scarce but possible. We first outline a conceptual framework for city formation that allows us to contemplate what empiricists might study when using firm-level data to compare the functioning of cities and industries with each other. We then examine a second model of the internal structure of a cluster to examine possibilities with firm-level data for better exposing the internal operations of clusters. An overwhelming theme of our review is the vast scope for enhancements of our picture of agglomeration with the new data that are emerging. |
| JEL: | J2 J6 L1 L2 L6 O1 O3 R10 R3 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21452&r=all |
| By: | Dominik Heinisch; Önder Nomaler; Guido Buenstorf; Koen Frenken; Harry Lintsen |
| Abstract: | It has long been argued that geographic co-location supports knowledge spillovers. More recently, this argument has been challenged by showing that knowledge spillovers mainly flow through social networks, which may or may not be localized at various geographic scales. We further scrutinize the conjecture of geographically bounded knowledge spillovers by focusing on knowledge flows between academia and industry. Looking into citations to non-patent literature (NPL) in 2,385 Dutch polymer patents, we find that citation lags are shorter on average if Dutch rather than foreign NPLs are cited. However, when excluding individual and organizational self-citations, geographically proximate NPLs no longer diffuse faster than foreign NPLs. This suggests that knowledge is not “in the air” but transferred by mobile individuals and/or direct university-industry collaboration. Our findings moreover suggest an important role of international conferences in the diffusion of recent scientific knowledge. |
| Keywords: | Non-patent literature, citation lags, knowledge spillovers, university-industry interaction, polymer industry. |
| JEL: | O33 R10 L65 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1526&r=all |
| By: | Eickelpasch, Alexander (DIW Berlin); Hirte, Georg (TU Dresden); Stephan, Andreas (The Ratio institute and Jönköping university) |
| Abstract: | Our study provides evidence for rms' evaluation of location quality. We use a 2004 survey of 6,000 East German rms that contained questions on the importance and assessment of 15 dierent location factors ranging from closeness to customers and suppliers, transport infrastructure, and proximity to research institutions and universities, as well as questions about the local nancial institutions and region's \image". The results show (1) a great deal of heterogeneity in terms of which rm- or regional-level characteristics are important in the evaluation of a speci c location factor, (2) that the model's explanatory power is, overall, low and thus neither location characteristics nor internal factors are fully re ected in the perceptions, (3) that a rm's business situation and whether a location factor is considered important have explanatory power for perception. One policy-relevant conclusion that we derive from these ndings is that location policy should consider rms' perception of a speci c location in addition to improving the actual attributes of that location. |
| Keywords: | Location Factors; Multi-Equation System; Perception Bias; Survey Data |
| JEL: | R12 |
| Date: | 2015–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0257&r=all |
| By: | Plechero, Monica (DEAMS – University of Trieste, Italy & CIRCLE, Lund University); Chaminade , Cristina (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | Recently, there has been a rise of contributions in innovation and economic geography studies on how firms from specific industries and regional innovation systems (RISs) rely on international networks to innovate. So far, the focus has been on single cases, firms located in well-known RISs and international linkages, without really distinguishing those with geographically close partners from those with partners from distant locations. Using primary firm-level data, this article compares the patterns of collaboration for innovation in a selection of Swedish, Norwegian, Chinese and Indian regions with an ICT cluster specialization. The results show that firms in RISs in emerging economies tend to link more to innovation networks with a real global character, particularly in relation to new-to-the-world innovation. It also shows that firms in the most successful RISs in ICT clusters rely more than others on networks with organizations in close proximity. |
| Keywords: | Globalization; innovation networks; developed economies; emerging economies; China; India; Sweden; Norway; regional innovation system; cluster specialization; ICT; new-to-the-world innovation |
| JEL: | O18 O33 |
| Date: | 2015–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2015_029&r=all |
| By: | Antoine Gervais (University of Notre Dame); J. Bradford Jensen (University of Notre Dame) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we use a unique dataset on the distribution of output and demand across regions of the United States to estimate trade costs for 969 service and manufacturing industries. Our estimation method is a natural extension of the gravity model of trade and identifies trade costs in the absence of trade data. The estimated trade costs are higher on average for service industries, but there is considerable variation across industries within sectors. Using the trade cost estimates, we classify industries into tradable and nontradable categories. We find that accounting for tradable service industries nearly doubles the international exposure of the US economy, tradable services value added is unevenly distributed across geographical regions, labor productivity and wages are higher on average for tradable industries, and potential welfare gains from trade liberalization in the service sector are sizable. |
| Keywords: | Service sector, international trade, trade costs, monopolistic competition |
| JEL: | F1 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp15-12&r=all |
| By: | Bjuggren, Per-Olof (The Ratio institute and Jönköping School of Economics.); Elmoznino Laufer, Michel (The Ratio institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the importance of bank loans for the financing of startups and how location matters for expansion plans and financing. We will show that there has not been sufficient attention paid to legal form when distinguishing between the external and internal financing of startups. The focus will be on the corporate form of business and the implications of this legal form for what can be considered external financing. In the analysis of how location matters, we will draw upon the literature about agglomeration and knowledge spillovers. The two main questions posed are: How does the corporate form matter for what can be considered the external financing of startups, and how does location matter for expansion plans and financing? To provide empirical answers to these questions, both survey data and registry data have been used. The survey data are from a questionnaire sent out to startups listed in the files of the Swedish Jobs and Society Foundation. We looked at corporations founded during the period 2009-2013 that family firms in terms of ownership structure. The survey indicated that bank loans are rare and had to be backed up with personal assets used as collateral and personal guarantees of repayment for the majority of the firms who had used bank loans. Essentially, the entrepreneur personally takes most of the business risk. Bank loans have, to a large extent, the character of internal financing. Combining registry data with the qualitative data from the survey, we used regression analysis to further study differences due to location. The regression analysis showed that the degree of urbanization matters for plans for expansion. In the three most urbanized areas, the startup firms had plans to expand their business both at home and abroad. In the other urbanized areas, the focus was on expansion at home. |
| Keywords: | startups; bank loans; asymmetric information; the corporate form of business; agglomeration; functional region |
| JEL: | G21 G32 L26 M13 R12 R58 |
| Date: | 2015–06–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0255&r=all |
| By: | Antoine Gervais |
| Abstract: | This paper uses data on US manufacturing firms to study a new extensive margin, the reallocation of resources that takes place within surviving firms as they open and close establishments in different regions. To motivate the empirical analysis, I extend existing models of industry dynamics to include production-location decisions within firms. The empirical results provide support for the mechanisms emphasized by the theoretical model. In the data, only about 3 percent of firms make the same product in more than one region, but these multiregional firms are more productive on average compared to single-region firms, and they account for about two-thirds of output. The results also show that "region-switching" is pervasive among multiregional firms, is correlated with changes in firm characteristics, and leads to a more efficient allocation of resources within firms. |
| Keywords: | Multiregional firms, firm heterogeneity, industry dynamics, monopolistic competition, proximity-concentration tradeoff. |
| JEL: | L2 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:15-22&r=all |
| By: | Maani, Sholeh A. (University of Auckland); Wang, Xingang (University of Auckland); Rogers, Alan (University of Auckland) |
| Abstract: | Do ethnic enclaves assist or hinder immigrants in their economic integration? In this paper we examine the effect of 'ethnic capital' (e.g. ethnic network and ethnic concentration) on immigrants' earnings assimilation. We adopt a "spatial autoregressive network approach" to construct a dynamic network variable from micro-panel-data to capture the effects of spatial-ethnic-specific resource networks for immigrants. The spatial lag structure is combined with a Hausman-Taylor (1981) panel data model, which allows for some endogeneity. We examine the effects of ethnic capital and human capital using an eight-year Australian panel data set (HILDA). Results show that immigrants' labor market integration is significantly affected by the local concentration and resources of their ethnic group. |
| Keywords: | assimilation, ethnic capital, ethnic network, ethnic concentration, spatial autoregressive lag model, panel data |
| JEL: | J30 J31 Z13 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9308&r=all |
| By: | Korpi, Martin (The Ratio institute); Clark, William A.V. (California Center for Population Research, UCLA) |
| Abstract: | Using detailed Swedish full population data on regional migrants, this paper addresses the question of whether the urban wage premium, and “thick” labor market matching effects, are found only among the higher educated or across all educational groups, and whether the urban population threshold for these type of effects varies by educational category. Estimating initial wages, average wage level and wage growth 2001-2009, we find similar matching effects for all educational groups in the three largest metropolitan areas, but very weak effects for cities ranked 4th - 6th in the urban hierarchy. Our findings suggest that positive urban matching effects are not limited to those with higher education, but that there are distinct population thresholds for these type of effects, regardless of educational background. |
| Keywords: | Human capital; urban wage premium; domestic migration; market thickness; mobility; agglomeration economies |
| JEL: | J31 J61 R10 R12 |
| Date: | 2015–08–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0256&r=all |
| By: | Montmartin, B.; Herrera, M.; Massard, N. |
| Abstract: | The French policy-mix for R&D and innovation has deeply evolved in recent years and is nowadays, one of the most generous and market-friendly system in the world. This paper investigates the (evolutive) effects of this policy-mix by using a unique database containing information on the amount of R&D tax credit, regional, national and European subsidies received by firms in all French metropolitan NUTS3 regions over the period 2001-2011. By estimating a Spatial Durbin model with regimes and fixed effects, we provide new evidence on the efficiency of the French policy-mix. First, a yardstick competition between NUTS3 regions for R&D investment driven by negative spatial spillovers is found. Second, it seems that national subsidies are the only instrument able to generate a significant leverage effect on privately-financed R&D. Third, due to the context of spatial competition, the three other policies studied (Tax Credit, Regional and European subsidies) do not generate significant leverage or crowding-out effect. Fourth, we highlight the presence of structural breaks in our data that correspond to the last two important reforms of the French tax credit. Consequently, the effect of R&D policies and especially R&D tax credit are likely to change over time and influence ex-post evaluation results. |
| Keywords: | ADDITIONALITY;FRENCH POLICY-MIX;PRIVATE R&D INVESTMENT;SPATIAL PANEL |
| JEL: | H25 O31 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gbl:wpaper:2015-11&r=all |
| By: | Asatryan, Zareh; Havlik, Annika; Streif, Frank |
| Abstract: | A sizeable literature studies whether governments strategically interact with each other through policy-diffusion, learning, fiscal and yardstick competition. This paper asks whether, in the presence of direct democratic institutions, spatial interactions additionally result from voters' direct actions. The proposed mechanism is that the voters' actions in vetoing a decision or inaugurating a preferred policy by a binding initiative in their jurisdiction can potentially have spillover effects on the actions of voters and special interest groups of neighboring jurisdictions. Utilizing data on around 1,800 voter-petitions across over 12,000 German municipalities in 2002-09, we find that a jurisdiction's probability of hosting a petition is positively driven by the neighbors' direct democratic activity. These effects are persistent, and are stronger for more visible instruments of direct democracy. The interactions are also mostly driven by petitions in same or similiar policy areas, and are stronger in towns with relatively more per capita newspapers. |
| Keywords: | direct democracy,spatial spillovers,policy diffusion,citizen preferences |
| JEL: | D72 D78 R50 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:15054&r=all |
| By: | T. MAYER (Sciences-Po,CEPII et CEPR); T. TREVIEN (Insee) |
| Abstract: | Evaluating the impact of transport infrastructure meets a major challenge since rail lines are not randomly located. We use the natural experiment offered by the opening and progressive extension of the Regional Express Rail (RER) between 1970 and 2000 in the Paris metropolitan region, and in particular the deviation from original plans due to budgetary constraints and technical reasons, in order to identify the causal impact of urban rail transport on firm location, employment and population growth. We use a difference-in-differences approach on a specific subsample, selected to avoid endogeneity bias which occurs when evaluating transportation effects. We find that the increase in employment is 12.8% higher in municipalities connected to the new network compared to the existing suburban rail network. Places located within 20 km from Paris are the only affected. While we find no effect on overall population growth, our results suggest that the commissioning of the RER may have increased the competition for land since high-skilled households are more likely to locate in the vicinity of a RER station. |
| Keywords: | Public policy evaluation, Public transportation, Firm and household location choices |
| JEL: | D04 H43 R42 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crs:wpdeee:g2015-03&r=all |
| By: | Head, Keith; Mayer, Thierry |
| Abstract: | We use disaggregated data on car assembly and trade to estimate a model of multinational production. Our framework delineates four theory-based specifications under which all frictions relevant to multinational production can be structurally estimated. In addition to the trade costs and multinational production frictions emphasized in past work, we incorporate a third friction: regardless of production origin, it is more difficult to make sales in markets that are geographically separated from the brand's headquarters. The estimation transparently recovers internally consistent estimates of each type of friction cost. With structural parameters in hand, we investigate the consequences of three trade integration experiments: TPP, TTIP, and Brexit. We show that each type of friction makes a qualitative and quantitative difference in the reallocation of production caused by economic integration. |
| Keywords: | cars; gravity; multinational production model; regional integration; structural estimation |
| JEL: | F1 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10797&r=all |
| By: | Herrera Gómez, Marcos; Cid, Juan Carlos |
| Abstract: | The relationship between fertility and socioeconomic determinants can be influenced by social behavior at a local level. Using the geographical distance to approximate the social effects, this paper analyzes the spatial heterogeneity of the impact of economic conditions on departmental fertility in Argentina. Using geographically weighted regressions, the role of social interactions is confirmed in the local variability of the explanatory factors. The main determinant for the level of fertility is education, followed by poverty and marital status. In the change of the fertility level, marital status appears as the main factor, followed by education. |
| Keywords: | Fecundidad, Interacciones sociales, GWR, Heterogeneidad espacial |
| JEL: | C21 J13 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66318&r=all |
| By: | Cécile Perret (IREGE - Institut de Recherche en Gestion et en Economie - Université de Savoie) |
| Abstract: | Au travers de la notion de système productif local et de ses variantes, qui permettent de préciser les différentes configurations territoriales en fonction de leur capacité d'apprentissage, de leur capacité d'interaction avec le milieu et de leurs objectifs, cet article présente l'évolution historique du district industriel de la chaussure à Romans-sur-Isère. Il montre également que si la crise des années 80 a frappée Romans-sur-Isère par le déclin de la fabrication locale de la chaussure de luxe, un renouveau productif est envisageable grâce à certaines initiatives locales relevant, pour partie, de l'Économie Sociale et Solidaire (Pôle Sud Archer, Le Soulier français, Made in Romans…). Mots clefs : systèmes productifs locaux, districts industriels, pôles territoriaux de coopération économique, innovations, ESS, industrie de la chaussure, Romans-sur-Isère. |
| Date: | 2015–08–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01186435&r=all |
| By: | Sandrine Emin (Granem - Groupe de Recherche ANgevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - Agrocampus Ouest - Institut National de l'Horticulture et du Paysage); Dominique Sagot-Duvauroux (Granem - Groupe de Recherche ANgevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - Agrocampus Ouest - Institut National de l'Horticulture et du Paysage) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to analyze the conditions for the emergence of collaboration between firms grouped in a creative cluster. According to the school of proximity, the dynamics of a cluster are characterized by the gathering of two forms of proximity: spatial proximity and organized proximity. A quantitative study, a network analysis and a qualitative study were conducted to analyze the contribution of different forms of proximity (social, cognitive, organizational, institutional) to the emergence of collaborations between businesses. We highlight three main results : Collaborations between creative firms need gatekeepers ; They also need specific plans among them the way the place is structured plays a high role ; proximity of values appears as a strong condition of collaborations. |
| Abstract: | L’objectif de cet article est d’analyser les conditions de l’émergence des collaborations entre un ensemble de firmes co-localisées appartenant aux industries culturelles et créatives. En nous appuyant sur l’économie des proximités, nous confirmons, à partir d’une analyse exhaustive des coopérations développées entre 50 entreprises créatives regroupées au sein d’un même bâtiment, que la proximité géographique ne se convertit en coopération qu’à la condition qu’elle s’accompagne d’autres formes de proximité dites socio-économiques. Trois résultats principaux se dégagent de notre travail : (1) la nécessité de personnalités Gatekeeper chargées de faire le lien entre les acteurs, (2) le rôle des dispositifs spécifiques de mise en connexion des acteurs (configuration des lieux, routines, protocoles…) dans le développement des collaborations et (3) l’intérêt d’identifier plus formellement une proximité de valeurs au sein des catégories existantes de proximités socio-économiques. |
| Date: | 2015–08–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01186333&r=all |
| By: | Olivier Bouba-Olga (CRIEF - Centre de Recherche sur l'Intégration Economique et Financière - Université de Poitiers); Michel Grossetti (LISST - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités, Sociétés, Territoires - CNRS - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - UTM - Université Toulouse 2 Le Mirail) |
| Abstract: | Les réformes territoriales en cours font la part belle à la métropolisation, considérée comme l’horizon indépassable de la croissance économique. Ce type de discours croît trouver des fondements solides dans les travaux de Davezies et ses collaborateurs, d’une part (Davezies, 2008, 2012 ; Davezies et Pech, 2014) et dans les travaux de l’économie géographique, d’autre part (Combes et al., 2009 ; Martin, 2011 ; Combes et Lafourcade, 2012 ; Askenazy et Martin, 2015), ensemble de fondements dont nous avons montré ailleurs la grande fragilité (Bouba-Olga et Grossetti, 2015). L’objectif de cette communication est d’adopter une autre perspective, en insistant sur les potentiels de création de richesse et d’emploi qui existent bien au-delà de quelques métropoles. Dit autrement, la thèse que nous défendons est qu’il n’existe pas de modèle unique de développement territorial, mais des configurations territoriales variées, liées à l'histoire des territoires, aux ressources auxquelles les acteurs peuvent accéder et aux réseaux de relations (économiques, sociales, …) entre ces acteurs, autant d’éléments que nous proposons d’analyser au prisme des travaux en termes de proximité (Bouba-Olga et Grossetti, 2008 ; Bouba-Olga et al., 2014) et dont nous tirons les conséquences en termes d’action publique. |
| Date: | 2015–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01183470&r=all |
| By: | Dominique Sagot-Duvauroux (Granem - Groupe de Recherche ANgevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - Agrocampus Ouest - Institut National de l'Horticulture et du Paysage) |
| Abstract: | Clusters créatifs, quartiers culturels, villes créatives… Depuis quelques années, ces termes n’apparaissent plus seulement dans la littérature académique mais également dans le discours des responsables politiques pour qualifier une stratégie de développement d’un territoire qui s’appuie sur les industries créatives. Les exemples de villes qui ont relancé leur économie grâce à des investissements dans la culture (Bilbao, Nantes, Lille…) et à l’opposé le constat de villes mortes de ne pas avoir su envisager à temps leur reconversion (Détroit aux Etats-Unis par exemple) sont largement commentés. Ces termes prêtent cependant à confusion dans la mesure où ils renvoient à des réalités et des analyses sensiblement différentes. Le terme de « cluster » par exemple est issu de l’économie industrielle et décrit une concentration d’entreprises appartenant à une même filière sur un territoire donnée. Celui de « ville créative » insiste sur l’écosystème que peut représenter une ville pour stimuler l’innovation et la créativité. Clusters créatifs et villes créatives s’inscrivent cependant dans les grandes transformations que connait aujourd’hui l’économie mondiale. L’objet de cet article est de montrer que l’émergence du concept de villes créatives résulte de la convergence de trois corpus théoriques qui se sont longtemps développés en parallèle, l’économie de la culture classique, l’économie des clusters industriels et l’économie créative. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01185250&r=all |