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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2019‒05‒20
seven papers chosen by Andreas Koch Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Fuchs, Michaela (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Rossen, Anja (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Weyh, Antje (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Wydra-Somaggio, Gabriele (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "This paper provides first-time evidence on the magnitude and determinants of regional differences in the gender pay gap (GPG) in Germany. Using a comprehensive data set of all full-time employees, we conduct Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions for Germany and its regions to explain the regional variation of the GPG with theory-based individual, job-related and regional characteristics. Our results provide several novel insights into the regional dimension of the GPG. First, men's wages are more strongly correlated with the regional GPG than those of women, indicating that their wages drive the regional variation in the GPG much more than the wages of women. Second, the decomposition results reveal pronounced differences in the impact of the individual and job-related characteristics between the regions. Whereas job-related characteristics are important in regions with a high GPG, individual characteristics rather come into play in regions with a low or negative GPG. The results underscore the role played by the establishment composition in a region and the kind of jobs provided for the regional GPG. Women earn more than men in regions with a weak local economic structure and the absence of large firms providing well-paid manufacturing jobs. In regions with a high GPG, in contrast, men usually benefit from such jobs. The third result relates to the validity of the theoretical determinants of the GPG in regional respect. In contrast to the clear-cut decomposition results at the national level, at the regional level their validity mainly applies to specific subsets of regions. We conclude that analyses at the national level come too short in precisely explaining the regional variation of the GPG." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Lohnunterschied, erwerbstätige Frauen, erwerbstätige Männer, Vollzeitarbeit, sozialversicherungspflichtige Arbeitnehmer, regionale Disparität, regionaler Vergleich, Landkreis, Wirtschaftsstruktur, geschlechtsspezifische Faktoren |
| JEL: | J31 R23 J16 |
| Date: | 2019–04–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201911&r=all |
| By: | Sebastian Weinand; Ludwig von Auer |
| Abstract: | Over the last three decades the supply of economic statistics has vastly improved. Unfortunately, statistics on regional price levels (sub- national purchasing power parities) have been exempt from this positive trend, even though they are indispensable for meaningful spatial comparisons of regional output, income, wages, productivity, standards of living, and poverty. To improve the situation, our paper demonstrates that a highly disaggregated and reliable regional price index can be compiled from data that already exist. We use the micro price data that have been collected for Germany’s Consumer Price Index in May 2016. For the computation we introduce a multi-stage version of the Country-Product-Dummy method. The unique quality of our price data set allows us to depart from previous spatial price comparisons and to compare only exactly identical products. We find that the price levels of the 402 counties and cities of Germany are largely driven by the cost of housing and to a much lesser degree by the prices of goods and services. The overall price level in the most expensive region, Munich, is about 27 percent higher than in the cheapest region. Our results also reveal strong spatial autocorrelation. |
| Keywords: | spatial price comparison, regional price index, PPP, CPD-method, hedonic regression, consumer price data |
| JEL: | C21 C43 E31 O18 R10 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsw:rswwps:rswwps268&r=all |
| By: | Rainald Borck (University of Potsdam, CESifo, DIW Berlin); Philipp Schrauth (University of Potsdam) |
| Abstract: | We use panel data from Germany to analyze the effect of population density on urban air pollution (nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and ozone). To address unobserved heterogeneity and omitted variables, we present long difference/fixed effects estimates and instrumental variables estimates, using historical population and soil quality as instruments. Our preferred estimates imply that a one-standard deviation increase in population density increases air pollution by 3-12%. |
| Keywords: | population density, air pollution |
| JEL: | Q53 R12 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pot:cepadp:08&r=all |
| By: | Muge Adalet McGowan; Juan Antona San Millán |
| Abstract: | Spain is a highly decentralised country, making the effective implementation of national reforms dependent on regional policies. Some regional disparities are high and need to be reduced. High regional dispersion in education and job outcomes, compounded by low inter-regional mobility, emerge as key drivers of regional inequalities in income and wellbeing. Lifelong learning programmes that take into account regional specific needs would help foster regional skills and attract firms to lagging regions. Ensuring full portability of social and housing benefits across regions, by providing temporary assistance either by the region of origin or the central government, would improve inter-regional mobility. At the same time, barriers to achieving a truly single market limit productivity growth of regions, including the most advanced. Reducing regulatory barriers and better innovation policies would boost productivity. Effective intergovernmental coordination bodies and a well designed interregional fiscal equalisation system will be key to ensuring that regions have the incentives to implement policies for inclusive growth. |
| JEL: | D24 E24 I24 J24 J61 J65 O31 |
| Date: | 2019–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1549-en&r=all |
| By: | Jolly, Suyash (Lund University); Grillitsch, Markus (Lund University); Hansen, Teis (Lund University) |
| Abstract: | Despite significant interest in regional industrial restructuring in economic geography, surprisingly scarce attention has been paid to the changing role of agency over time. The current paper develops a framework for understanding the role of multiple types of agents and the agency they exercise for new path development. The framework is employed in a longitudinal study of industry development in Värmland, Sweden, from forestry towards a bio-economy. The analysis highlights how actors exercise very different types of agency in different periods of path development. |
| Keywords: | Bio-economy; Värmland; agency; path development; longitudinal |
| JEL: | B52 L73 L78 O30 P48 Q50 R11 |
| Date: | 2019–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2019_007&r=all |
| By: | Braun, Sebastian Till; Franke, Richard |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the effect of railways on the spatial economic development of a German economy, the Kingdom of Württemberg, during the Industrial Revolution. Our identification strategy compares the economic development of `winning' municipalities that were connected to the railway in 1845-54 to the development of `losing' municipalities that were the runners-up choice for a given railway line between two major towns. Estimates from both differences-in-differences and inverse-probability-weighted models suggest that railway access increased annual population growth by 0.4 percentage points over more than half a century. Railways also increased wages, income and housing values, in line with predictions of economic geography models of transport infrastructure improvements, reduced the gender wage gap, and accelerated the transition away from agriculture. We find little evidence that these effects are driven by localised displacement effects. |
| Keywords: | Railway access, growth, sectoral employment, Industrial Revolution, Württemberg |
| JEL: | N73 N93 O14 R12 R40 |
| Date: | 2019–05–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:93644&r=all |
| By: | Adrián Rodríguez Miranda (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Pablo Galasso (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Pedro Argumedo (Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo (El Salvador)); Sebastián Goinheix (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Camilo Martínez (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Fernando Masi (Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economía Paraguaya (Paraguay)); Santiago Picasso (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Ignacio Rodríguez (Universidad de la Frontera (Chile)); Paulina Sanhuezad (Universidad de la Frontera (Chile)); Belén Servin (Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economía Paraguaya (Paraguay)) |
| Abstract: | This research has two aims. First, it characterizes regional development in the four selected countries. Second, it analyzes cooperation networks between firms and organizations, in 24 clusters in different regions of the four countries. Regarding the first aim, the work analyzes in each region the generation of wealth, the development of small business sector and socioeconomic conditions of the environment, complemented by the identification of the productive specializations in each region. Results show that economic development is not evenly distributed in the territory. Certain sub-national patterns in terms of economic development were found. In addition, there is a strong concentration of economic activity in the regions where the national capitals are located (except for the regions rich in mining or energy resources). The analysis of local business development and the socioeconomic environment shows that, in addition to external factors, a region must develop its own local capacities to take advantage of these external impulses and transform them into local development. Regarding the second objective, the study of 24 cooperation networks in clusters proves that organizations are the key actors to keep the networks connected. On the other hand, the level of cooperation among firms is, on average, low. In this sense, the countries under study do not present, in general, regions with high levels of local business capacity that can be the main support of cooperation networks. Therefore, organizations play an intermediary role between firms and provide access to external sources of innovation that can be disseminated through the network. Finally, the combination of social network analysis with econometric regression techniques revealed a positive relationship between the cooperation in networks and the economic performance of firms. |
| Keywords: | regional development, productive specializations, clusters, social network analysis, business cooperation, Latin America |
| JEL: | O18 O31 O32 O54 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-02-19&r=all |