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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2015‒10‒25
twelve papers chosen by Andreas Koch Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Brülhart, Marius; Carrère, Céline; Robert-Nicoud, Frédéric |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of changes in trade openness on wages and employment of different-sized towns. To this end, we develop a multi-region model of intra-national adjustment to trade shocks. In equilibrium, small towns have more elastic labor-force responses than large towns. We test this prediction using fine-grained regional data for Austria and the fall of the Iron Curtain as a quasi-experimental setting for the exploration of trade-induced spatial effects. We find improved access to foreign markets to boost both employment and nominal wages, but large towns tend to have larger wage responses and smaller employment responses than small towns. The welfare gains of immobile factors are estimated to be 40% higher in border towns compared to interior towns. |
| Keywords: | city size; natural experiment; spatial adjustment; trade liberalization |
| JEL: | F15 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10886&r=all |
| By: | Edward L. Glaeser; Giacomo A. M. Ponzetto; Yimei Zou |
| Abstract: | Should China build mega-cities or a network of linked middle-sized metropolises? Can Europe's mid-sized cities compete with global agglomeration by forging stronger inter-urban links? This paper examines these questions within a model of recombinant growth and endogenous local amenities. Three primary factors determine the trade-off between networks and big cities: local returns to scale in innovation, the elasticity of housing supply, and the importance of local amenities. Even if there are global increasing returns, the returns to local scale in innovation may be decreasing, and that makes networks more appealing than mega-cities. Inelastic housing supply makes it harder to supply more space in dense confines, which perhaps explains why networks are more popular in regulated Europe than in the American Sunbelt. Larger cities can dominate networks because of amenities, as long as the benefits of scale overwhelm the downsides of density. In our framework, the skilled are more likely to prefer mega-cities than the less skilled, and the long-run benefits of either mega-cities or networks may be quite different from the short-run benefits. |
| Keywords: | Cities, Networks, Growth, Migration |
| JEL: | R10 R58 F15 O18 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1489&r=all |
| By: | Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio (University of Zaragoza); Molina, José Alberto (University of Zaragoza); Velilla, Jorge (University of Zaragoza) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we propose a new spatial framework to model excess commuting of workers and we show empirical differences between the self-employed and employees in the US. In a theoretical framework where self-employed workers minimize their commuting time, employees do not minimize their commuting time because they lack full information, and thus the difference between the time devoted to commuting by self-employed workers and employees is modeled as wasteful commuting (i.e., excess commuting). We first formulate a microeconomic framework for commuting by modeling the location of individuals in urban cores surrounded by rings. Using the American Time Use Survey for the years 2003-2013, our empirical results show that employees spend twelve more minutes per day, or forty percent of the average commuting time, compared to their self-employed counterparts. This is consistent with our "diana" model, in that location is an important factor. |
| Keywords: | excess commuting, urban cores, American Time Use Survey, self-employed workers, employees |
| JEL: | R20 R41 J64 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9425&r=all |
| By: | Badi H. Baltagi (Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, 426 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244); Long Liu (Department of Economics, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, TX 78249-0633) |
| Abstract: | This paper revisits the joint and conditional Lagrange Multiplier tests derived by Debarsy and Ertur (2010) for a fixed effects spatial lag regression model with spatial auto-regressive error, and derives these tests using artificial Double Length Regressions (DLR). These DLR tests and their corresponding LM tests are compared using an empirical example and a Monte Carlo simulation. |
| Keywords: | Double Length Regresson; Spatial Lag Dependence; Spatial Error Dependence; Artificial Regressions; Panel Data; Fixed Effects |
| JEL: | C12 R15 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:max:cprwps:183&r=all |
| By: | Niccolò Innocenti (Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa); Luciana Lazzeretti (Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa) |
| Abstract: | The aim of the present research is to investigate, for the Italian case, the role and importance of Related variety to foster employment growth. The Related Variety approach received increasing attention in the literature, as it tried to identify the key drivers for economic development at regional and national level. This work supports the study of economic and local development from a related-variety approach’s perspective, focusing on the need to have some degree of cognitive proximity at local level to foster innovation and economic development covering the period 1991-2011 for the Italian case. The results underline that variety has a positive impact on employment growth, and related variety matters even more. |
| Keywords: | related variety, unrelated variety, employment growth. |
| JEL: | R11 O10 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpmmos:wp2015_04.rdf&r=all |
| By: | Stuetzer, Michael; Obschonka, Martin; Audretsch, David B.; Wyrwich, Michael; Rentfrow, Peter J.; Coombes, Mike; Shaw-Taylor, Leigh; Satchell, Max |
| Abstract: | There is mounting evidence demonstrating that entrepreneurship is spatially clustered and that these spatial differences are quite persistent over long periods of time. However, especially the sources of that persistence are not yet well-understood, and it is largely unclear whether persistent differences in entrepreneurship are reflected in differences in entrepreneurship culture across space as it is often argued in the literature. We approach the cluster phenomenon by theorizing that a historically high regional presence of large-scale firms negatively affects entrepreneurship, due to low levels of human capital and entrepreneurial skills, fewer opportunities for entry and entrepreneurship inhibiting formal and informal institutions. These effects can become self-perpetuating over time, ultimately resulting in persistent low levels of entrepreneurship activity and entrepreneurship culture. Using data from Great Britain, we analyze this long-term imprinting effect by using the distance to coalfields as an exogenous instrument for the regional presence of large-scale industries. IV regressions show that British regions with high employment shares of large-scale industries in the 19th century, due to spatial proximity to coalfields, have lower entrepreneurship rates and weaker entrepreneurship culture today. We control for an array of competing hypotheses like agglomeration forces, the regional knowledge stock, climate, and soil quality. Our main results are robust with respect to inclusion of these control variables and various other modifications which demonstrates the credibility of our empirical identification strategy. A mediation analysis reveals that a substantial part of the impact of large-scale industries on entrepreneurship is through human capital. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; entrepreneurship culture; Industrial Revolution; industry structure; personality |
| JEL: | L26 L64 N13 N53 N94 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:67424&r=all |
| By: | Emeline Bezin (Paris School of Economics (PSE), France); Fabien Moizeau (CREM, UMR CNRS 6211, University of Rennes 1, France) |
| Abstract: | We consider the relationship between intergenerational mobility and urban segregation. To this end, we develop a model of neighbourhood formation and preference transmission. The key feature here is that the incentives the parents have to transmit their trait to their children depend on the endogenous social composition of the neighbourhood. When the urban equilibrium that emerges at each date is segregated, some urban areas are characterized by better social mobility prospects than others. Segregation also generates some persistence of socio-economic status within dynasties. We show that there exist multiple history-dependent steady-states in the joint dynamics of segregation and the distribution of culture traits. Further, segregation has ambiguous eects for long run efficiency. We show that depending on the degree of substitutability between the two instruments of socialization (i.e, individual eort and residential choice), integration may emerge endogenously and be efficient. This suggests public policies that would produce neighbourhood socio-economic compositions that are more favourable to the transmission of particular cultural traits, such as for instance group-based policies. |
| Keywords: | cultural transmission, peer effects, residential segregation, human capital inequality |
| JEL: | D31 I24 R23 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201513&r=all |
| By: | Saint-Paul, Gilles |
| Abstract: | This paper provides some elements to explain the observed takeover in some urban areas of a new kind of elite associated with new economy jobs, also known as "bourgeois bohème" (bobos). This takeover has been associated with greater investment in urban amenities and "clean" means of transport, with adverse effects on commuting time. The model allows us to explain those developments by productivity is growth in the new economy, and by the differences in production processes between the new and old economies. The consequences of bobo takeover for house prices and employment of unskilled service workers are also discussed. A bunkerized equilibrium in which skilled workers in the old economy no longer reside in the city and have been replaced by service workers is studied. In such an equilibrium urban amenities are at their maximum and commuting flows have been eliminated. For some parameter values, bobos are better-off under bunkerization, in which case they may gain by favoring it with a "diversity" subsidy for unskilled workers to reside in the city. |
| Keywords: | bobos; bunkerization; local public goods; New economy; residential choice; urban amenities; urban voting models |
| JEL: | H7 R3 R4 R5 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10879&r=all |
| By: | William Larson (Federal Housing Finance Agency); Anthony M. Yezer |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a new open-city urban simulation model capable of showing the urban form and energy consumption effects of variation in city size. The model is able to consider city size differences caused by wage and amenity differentials, both with and without housing and land use regulation. The surprising conclusion is that per-capita energy use is relatively invariant to city size when growth is driven by wages but falls modestly with growth induced by rising amenity. Common land use policies, specifically density limits and greenbelts, can positively or negatively affect both city welfare and energy use. |
| Keywords: | urban simulation, congestion, commuting, gasoline, greenbelt |
| JEL: | Q40 R14 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2015-15&r=all |
| By: | Anastasios Xepapadeas; Athanasios Yannacopoulos |
| Abstract: | Economic growth has traditionally been analyzed in the temporal domain, while the spatial dimension is captured by cross-country income differences. Data suggest great inequality in income per capita across countries, and a slight but noticeable increase in inequality across nations (Acemoglu 2009). Seeking to explore the mechanism underlying the temporal evolution of the cross sectional distribution of economies, we develop a spatial growth model where saving rates are exogenous. Capital movements across locations are governed by a mechanism under which capital moves towards locations of relatively higher marginal productivity, with a velocity determined by the existing stock of capital. This mechanism leads to a capital accumulation equation augmented by a nonlinear diffusion term, which characterizes spatial movements. Our results suggest that under diminishing returns the growth process leads to a stable spatially non-homogenous distribution for per capita capital and income in the long run. Insufficient savings may lead to the emergence of persistent poverty cores where capital stock is depleted in some locations. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, space, capital flows, nonlinear diffusion, Solow model, steady state distributions, stability. |
| JEL: | O4 R1 C6 |
| Date: | 2015–09–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:1514&r=all |
| By: | Goswami,Arti Grover; Lall,Somik V. |
| Abstract: | Over the last century, the urban spatial structure of cities has transformed dramatically from the traditional monocentric configuration to varying forms of decentralized organization. This paper reviews the theory and empirical evidence to understand the urban morphology of jobs and land use within a city. This survey highlights four broad insights: (i) The evolution of monocentric to polycentric centers has been accompanied by structural changes in the city. (ii) The internal geography of a city is an outcome of the trade-off between the pull from agglomeration economies and the push from congestion. (iii) The presence of externalities implies that the equilibrium spatial organization achieved by profit-maximizing firms may not necessarily be optimal. This justifies the role of public policy in addressing the associated market failures. (iv) The productive edge and competitiveness of a city can be enhanced by introducing policies that increase the overall connectivity to take advantage of economic opportunities across the metropolitan area. The survey also puts together a wide range of policy instruments that are useful in closing the gap between equilibrium urban spatial structure and the optimal outcome. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,National Urban Development Policies&Strategies,Urban Housing and Land Settlements,Environmental Economics&Policies,Urban Slums Upgrading |
| Date: | 2015–10–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7453&r=all |
| By: | Neumeier, Stefan |
| Abstract: | Die Erreichbarkeit von Einrichtungen der Grundversorgung spielt sowohl für Wohnstandortent-scheidungen als auch für die individuelle Lebenssituation der in einer Region lebenden Bürger eine wichtige Rolle. Erreichbarkeitsverhältnisse bestimmen neben der Qualität des Infrastruktur-angebots den regionalen Versorgungsgrad mit Infrastruktur und sind daher ein wichtiger Faktor der regionalen Entwicklung. Auch für die Diskussion über die Sicherung der Daseinsvorsorge sind aktuelle Informationen über deren Erreichbarkeit notwendig, um sich vor dem Hintergrund des normativen Anspruches gleichwertiger Lebensbedingungen in allen Landesteilen ein sachliches und realistisches Bild über die derzeitige Situation als Ausgangsbasis für ggf. notwendige Politik-maßnahmen/-interventionen machen zu können. Vor diesem Hintergrund befasst sich die vorlie-gende Studie mit Ambulanten Pflegediensten, die Leistungen nach dem Sozialgesetzbuch Elftes Buch (SGB XI) anbieten als eine - insbesondere in ländlichen Räumen - wichtige Schlüsseldienst-leistung für die Bürger. Dazu wird anhand der Analyse der lokalen Verteilung Ambulanter Pflege-dienste in Deutschland, die Leistungen nach SGB XI anbieten, auf Basis eines rasterbasierten GIS-Erreichbarkeitsmodells ein einfacher generischer Erreichbarkeitsindikator ermittelt, der flächen-deckend für Deutschland Rückschlüsse auf die lokale Verteilung Ambulanter Pflegedienste nach SGB XI ermöglicht. Als Ergebnis lässt sich festhalten, dass in Deutschland ein Ambulanter Pflege-dienst im Durchschnitt bei 50 km/h 5,8 Minuten zurücklegt um seine Kunden zu erreichen. Aller-dings zeigt eine regionalisierte Betrachtung, dass vor allem in ländlichen Räumen größere Entfer-nungen zurückgelegt werden müssen. Nichtsdestotrotz können 94 % der Bürger bei einer durch-schnittlichen Geschwindigkeit von 50 km/h innerhalb längstens 10 Minuten Fahrzeit durch einen Ambulanten Pflegedienst erreicht werden. Dies entspricht ca. 95 % der pflegebedürftigen Perso-nen, die Ambulante Pflegedienstleistungen nach SGB XI in Anspruch nehmen. |
| Abstract: | Accessibility is as important for location decision and regional development as it is for the individual life situation of the citizens. The reason is that accessibility determines the regional quality and provision of infrastructure. Considering the normative political claim to provide comparable living conditions in all regions of Germany actual empirically sound information about the accessibility of services of general interest are important in order to get an objective and realistic impression about the current situation which can function as input for future policy actions and interventions. The study focuses on the availability of ambulant nursing services according to the Eleventh Book of the Code of Social Law (SGB XI) by analysing the regional distribution of ambulant nursing services based on a raster-based GIS accessibility analysis. Thereby the study especially focuses on the regional distribution of nursing services in rural areas. It can be concluded, that in Germany a nursing service needs on average 5.8 minutes at an average speed of 50 km/h to reach its customers. A regionalized analysis shows that in rural areas the distances to be covered are slightly greater than in urban areas. Nevertheless according to the accessibility model 94 % of the people can be reached by an nursing service within 10 minutes driving time at an average speed of 50 km/h. That corresponds to ca. 95 % of the people in need of nursing services. |
| Keywords: | Entwicklung ländlicher Räume,medizinische Versorgung,Ambulante Pflege-dienste nach SGB XI,Rasterbasierte GIS-Erreichbarkeitsanalyse,rural development,medicare,ambulant nursing services according to the Eleventh Book of the Code of Social Law,raster based GIS-accessibility analysis |
| JEL: | R12 C19 L81 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:jhtiwp:47&r=all |