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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2019‒03‒25
seven papers chosen by Andreas Koch Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Patrizio Lecca (European Commission - JRC); Martin Christensen (European Commission - JRC); Andrea Conte (European Commission - JRC); Giovanni Mandras (European Commission - JRC); Simone Salotti (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The paper illustrates the effect of a permanent demand-side shock in the perturbed regions and the associated spillover effects in the non-perturbed regions using the RHOMOLO spatial-numerical general equilibrium model of the EU economy. We test to what extent gradual upward pressure on wages generated by a domestic increase in demand alters the magnitude of the economic impacts in the long-run and the degree to which this could result in changes in trade patterns. We also assess the size and the direction of the effects with varying trade substitution elasticities and under both perfectly and imperfectly competitive product markets. |
| Keywords: | rhomolo, region, growth, regional development policies, Regional policy spillovers, spatial general equilibrium |
| JEL: | J31 R12 R23 R58 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:termod:201903&r=all |
| By: | Coll Martínez, Eva; Méndez Ortega, Carles, |
| Abstract: | The present paper investigates the location patterns and the effects co-working spaces (CWS) generate on the urban context. The focus is on Barcelona, one of the most important creative hubs in Europe in terms of knowledge-based, creative, digital, and sharing economy, and the city hosting the largest number of co-working spaces in Spain. The paper addresses three main questions: 1) Which are the location patterns of co-working spaces in Barcelona? 2) Do CWS agglomerate in the same areas? And, 3) Do CWS coagglomerate with specific firm activities? To do that, this paper uses open data on Barcelona neighbourhoods’ socioeconomic composition provided by the Statistics Department of the Council of Barcelona and micro-geographic data of private CWS and creative labs in Barcelona. By using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Kd functions of agglomeration and coagglomeration, results show that CWS are highly concentrated in central areas of Barcelona where there are greater chances to meet customers and suppliers, the proximity to urban amenities and the fact of being associated to an specific place-image. Moreover, they coagglomerate with specific kinds of firms and to those most related to creative industries. These results are relevant when assessing what it should be the actual goal of urban policies in Barcelona. Keywords: co-working spaces, distance-based methods, agglomeration, coagglomeration, Barcelona. JEL: R00, R39, Z00 |
| Keywords: | Localització industrial, Barcelona, 332 - Economia regional i territorial. Economia del sòl i de la vivenda, |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/351588&r=all |
| By: | Marco Baudino (Université Côte d'Azur, France; GREDEG CNRS) |
| Abstract: | This paper relies upon some of the assumptions of the classical Alonso-Muth-Mills model in order to construct a spatial framework of rural-to-urban migration; specifically, it develops a spatial framework of migration where rural workers are uniformly distributed throughout a rural area, which it develops around a monocentric nuclear urban area. The spatial interactions between the rural and the urban areas are modeled via the two spatial variables of the rural rents and productivity spillover, whose effects of propagation from the urban to the rural area depend on the distance of the rural area from the urban area. From the model, it emerges how the rural rents affect the final levels of congestion in both the two areas, so that the urbanization level of the market solution can be inferior or superior with respect to the urbanization level set by the city planner. On the other hand, the inclusion of spatial variables does not seem to produce scenarios for urban growth which significantly differ from the ones detected in previous studies. Ultimately, these findings suggest the need for a city planner to design policies affecting the level of rural rents in order to modify the desired level of rural-to-urban migration, and hence the desired trade-off between urban growth and congestion. |
| Keywords: | Alonso-Muth-Mills model, Spatial analysis, Migration |
| JEL: | R12 R23 O43 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2019-12&r=all |
| By: | Kate Preston (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); David C Maré (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Arthur Grimes (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Stuart Donovan (Vrije Universiteit) |
| Abstract: | We analyse which factors attract people and firms (and hence jobs) to different settlements across New Zealand. Using theoretically consistent measures derived within the urban economics literature, we compile quality of life and quality of business indicators for 130 ‘cities’ (settlements) from 1976 to 2013, using census rent and wage data. Our analyses both include and exclude the three largest cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch). Places that are attractive to live in tend to be sunny, dry and near water (i.e. the sea or a lake). Since the mid-1990s, attractive places have also had relatively high shares of the workforce engaged in education and (to a lesser extent) health. Attractive places have high employment shares in the food, accommodation, arts and recreation service sectors; however (unlike for education and health) we find no evidence that quality of life is related to changes in employment share for these sectors. The quality of business is highest in larger cities, and this relationship is especially strong when the country’s three largest cities are included in the analysis. |
| Keywords: | Amenities; quality of life; quality of business; rents; wages; New Zealand; settlements |
| JEL: | R11 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:18_14&r=all |
| By: | Jorge Diaz-Lanchas (European Commission - JRC); Carlos Llano (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Lawrence R. Klein Institute); José Luis Zofio (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Erasmus Research Institute of Management) |
| Abstract: | Empirical evidence is lagging behind in explaining trade agglomerations in short distances. Departing from a novel micro-database on road freight shipments within Spain for the period 2003-2007, we decompose cities (municipal) trade flows into the extensive and intensive margins to assess trade frictions and trade concentration by way of a unique generalized transport cost measure and three internal borders, NUTS-5 (municipal), NUTS-3 (provincial) and NUTS-2 (regional). We discover a stark accumulation of trade flows up to a transport cost value of e189 (170km approx.) and conclude that this high density is not explained by the existence of administrative borders effects but to significant changes in the trade-to-transport costs relationship. To support this hypothesis, we propose and adopt an endogenous Chow test to identify significant thresholds at which trade flows change structurally with distance. These breakpoints allow us to split the sample when controlling for internal borders, and define trade market areas corresponding to specific transport costs values that consistently portrait an urban hierarchical system of cities, thereby providing clear evidence of the predictions made by the central place theory. |
| Keywords: | rhomolo, region, growth, municipal freight flows, generalized transport costs, breakpoints, market areas, urban hierarchy, central place theory |
| JEL: | F14 F15 O18 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:termod:201902&r=all |
| By: | Lampón, Jesús F. |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses production relocation patterns in conditions of uncertainty. Analysis of the Spanish automobile components industry during the recent economic global crisis shows that the number of relocations was comparatively lower than in the period before the crisis. Uncertainty weighs more than the advantages derived from the operational flexibility of multinationals in relocation decisions. The main drivers of relocation in the sector are the search for lower labour costs and corporate restructuring. When there is uncertainty, these are conditioned by relocation costs and the risks inherent in such processes. The main implication of the research is that it helps identify the vulnerability of a region in relocation processes. This is key for defining public policies to prevent relocation and avoid its impact on regions that have traditionally suffered such processes. |
| Keywords: | Production relocation; location theory; automotive industry; economic crisis; uncertainty |
| JEL: | F23 M16 |
| Date: | 2019–03–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:92738&r=all |
| By: | Elham Erfanian (Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University); Alan R. Collins (Division of Resource Economics and Management, West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | According to the World Health Organization, 235 million people around the world currently suffer from asthma, which includes approximately 25 million in the United States. There is substantial epidemiological evidence indicating linkages between outdoor air pollution and asthma symptoms, more specifically between concentrations of particulate matter and asthma. Using county level data for 2001-2014, a spatial panel framework is imposed based upon prevailing wind patterns to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of PM2.5 concentration levels on asthma hospitalization in Pennsylvania. This model controls for population density, precipitation, smoking rate, and population demographic variables. Results show that PM2.5 concentrations as measured at the county level have positive direct and indirect effects on asthma hospitalization. A one-unit increase in PM2.5 in one Pennsylvania county will add, on average $1.29M ($754,656 direct and $539,040 indirect) to total annual asthma hospitalization costs with the state of Pennsylvania. This study highlights the need for realistic and accurate impact analyses of ambient air pollution on asthma that reflects the impacts on neighboring regions as well. In order to capture the spillover effects of health-related impacts from PM2.5 pollution, a wind direction algorithm to identify appropriate neighbors is important. |
| Keywords: | PM2.5 concentrations, Asthma, Spatial econometrics, Wind pattern weight matrix, Spillover effects |
| JEL: | Q53 I18 Q40 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rri:wpaper:2019wp01&r=all |