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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2020‒11‒09
eleven papers chosen by Andreas Koch Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Luisa Alamá-Sabater (Department of Economics and IIDL, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Miguel A. Márquez (Department of Economics, Universidad de Extremadura, Spain); Emili Tortosa-Ausina (IVIE, Valencia and Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain) |
| Abstract: | Grounded in the general equilibrium framework of regional adjustment models, this paper studies how the spatial distribution of sectoral employment can affect the intra-regional spatial location of population, and so affect territorial development. Although spatial interactions, spatial heterogeneity and sectoral heterogeneity have been introduced in these models, no empirical studies can be found that reveal how spatio-sectoral heterogeneity affects the intra-regional distribution of population and jobs. This paper explores this effect through a complex set of interdependencies among the regional population, the employment in the regional economic sectors and their respective regional neighbours within the different regional typologies (urban, semi-urban and rural areas), as suggested by the concept of proximity developed by (58). We use a system of simultaneous equations to focus on the phenomenon of rural depopulation for the 542 municipalities of the Valencian region (Spain). The results provide evidence for the relevance of spatio-sectoral dynamics, suggesting that reversing depopulation in rural areas depends strongly on the services sector. |
| Keywords: | depopulation, neighbours, population dynamics, sectoral employment, spatial effects, territorial development |
| JEL: | C3 O18 O21 R1 R23 R3 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2020/24&r=all |
| By: | Michael Fritsch (Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), Germany); Michael Wyrwich (University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We investigate how initial conditions that existed in East Germany at the end of the socialist regime impact regional development during the turbulent shock transition to a market economic system. Our investigation spans a period of almost 30 years. Both the self-employment rate (an indication of the existence of a pre-socialist entrepreneurial tradition) and the share of the workforce with a tertiary degree have a strong positive effect on regional development. We conclude that knowledge and a tradition of entrepreneurship have long-run positive effects on development in regions that face disruptive shocks. Entrepreneurship and knowledge play a less important role for development across West German regions, where no significant shocks occurred. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, knowledge, economic development, history, transformation, East Germany |
| JEL: | L26 R11 N93 N94 |
| Date: | 2020–10–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2020-017&r=all |
| By: | Lars Mewes; Tom Broekel; ; ; |
| Abstract: | One the one hand, complex technologies o↵er substantial economic benefits, and on the other, they are difficult to invent and to imitate, and they refuse a fast dissemination. This two-sidedness motivates the idea that regions’ competitive advantages and, in consequence, their economic growth, originate in their ability to produce and utilize complex technologies. However, the relationship between technological complexity and regional economic growth has rarely been empirically investigated. Here, we address this pressing issue by assessing the complexity of technological activities in 159 European NUTS 2 regions and relating it to their economic growth from 2000 to 2014. Our empirical results suggest that technological complexity is an important predictor of regional economic growth. A 10% increase in complexity is associated with a 0.45% GDP per capita growth. By showing that technological complexity is important for regional economic growth, our results fuel current policy debates about optimal regional policies such as the Smart Specialization strategy. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge Complexity, Technological Complexity, Regional Economic Growth, Patent Data |
| JEL: | O10 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2049&r=all |
| By: | Gergo Toth; Zoltan Elekes; Adam Whittle; Changjun Lee; Dieter F. Kogler |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the network robustness of the technological capability base of 269 European metropolitan areas against the potential elimination of some of their capabilities. By doing so it provides systematic evidence on how network robustness conditioned the economic resilience of these regions in the context of the 2008 economic crisis. The analysis concerns calls in the relevant literature for more in-depth analysis on the link between regional economic network structures and the resilience of regions to economic shocks. By adopting a network science approach that is novel to economic geographic inquiry, the objective is to stress-test the technological resilience of regions by utilizing information on the co-classification of CPC classes listed on European Patent Office patent documents. Findings from a regression analysis indicate that metropolitan regions with a more robust technological knowledge network structure exhibit higher levels of resilience with respect to changes in employment rates. This finding is robust to various random and targeted elimination strategies concerning the most frequently combined technological capabilities. Regions with high levels of employment in industry but with vulnerable technological capability base are particularly challenged by this aspect of regional economic resilience. |
| Keywords: | regional economic resilience, network robustness, metropolitan regions, technology space |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2048&r=all |
| By: | Galetti, Jefferson Ricardo Bretas; Tessarin, Milene Simone; Morceiro, Paulo César |
| Abstract: | There is little evidence on the relationship between occupational relatedness and regional specialisation in developing countries with high regional inequality and industrial heterogeneity. We compute local synergy, complementarity and similarity relatedness based on 2 514 occupations to estimate their effects on the occupational structure in 558 Brazilian microregions between 2003 and 2018. We find that the three indexes affect the regional specialisation in distinct magnitudes, and they have different effects in different regional and sectoral contexts. Sectoral complementarities affect structural change and strengthen similarity relatedness. The findings shed light on developing countries’ distinct regional contexts rather than ‘one-size-fits-all’ policies. |
| Keywords: | Occupational relatedness; Related variety; Regional specialisation; Developing country |
| JEL: | J21 J24 L23 R12 |
| Date: | 2020–10–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:nereus:2020_012&r=all |
| By: | Silvia Beghelli (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Gianni Guastella (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Stefano Pareglio (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | This study assesses the effects of urban governance structure on the spatial expansion of metropolitan areas. A more fragmented governance structure, represented by a high number of administrative units with decision power on land use per inhabitant, is expected to increase the competition between small towns in the suburbs of metropolitan areas to attract households and workers, which, in turn, induces more land uptake. We study empirically the relationship between administrative fragmentation and the spatial size of cities in a sample of 180 metropolitan areas in the contexts of the US and Europe in the period 2000-2012. Results shed light on the structural differences between the two broad regions and suggest that administrative fragmentation impacts positively on land uptake in both the United States and Europe, although to different extents. |
| Keywords: | Land take, Governance fragmentation, City size, United States and Europe |
| JEL: | R12 R28 R52 |
| Date: | 2019–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2019.26&r=all |
| By: | Monastiriotis, Vassilis; Martelli, Angelo |
| Abstract: | The crisis in Greece led to one of the largest economic shocks in European history. Drawing on micro-data from the Greek Labour Force Survey, we utilize standard micro-econometric methods and non-linear decomposition techniques to measure the size of the shock exerted on the Greek regional and national labor markets and the compositional and price adjustments in response to this. We find elements of economic dynamism, with some sizeable price adjustments in the economy of the Greek capital, Athens; but overall our results show that compositional adjustments (in labor quality/characteristics) have been partial and limited, becoming stronger only in the more recent recovery. Our results suggest a significant metropolitan advantage with regard to economic resilience, coming predominantly from a more efficient functioning of the labor market in metropolitan areas vis-a-vis other regions. Our use of the decomposition techniques for the analysis of macro-level developments in the labor market offers a novel perspective to the application of the decomposition methodology. |
| Keywords: | adjustment; Greek crisis; non-linear decomposition; shock; unemployment risk |
| JEL: | R14 J01 N0 |
| Date: | 2020–10–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:107048&r=all |
| By: | Oshan, Taylor M. |
| Abstract: | Spatial interaction and spatial structure are foundational geographical abstractions, though there is often variation in how they are conceptualized and deployed in quantitative models. In particular, the last five decades have produced an exceptional diversity regarding the role of spatial structure within spatial interaction models. This is explored by outlining the initiation and development of the notion of spatial structure within spatial interaction modeling and critically reviewing four methodological approaches that emerged from ongoing debate about the topic. The outcome is a comprehensive coverage of the past and a sketch of one potential path forward for advancing this longstanding inquiry. |
| Date: | 2020–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:42vxn&r=all |
| By: | José De Sousa; Amélie Guillin; Julie Lochard; Arthur Silve |
| Abstract: | Is culture a determinant of a jurisdiction’s comparative advantage? U.S. states that display a high level of generalized trust specialize in more “complex” industries that use contracts more intensively in their input-output relationships. This pattern is not driven by differences in states’ other observable characteristics or by unobservable time-varying industry- or state-specific factors, and it does not reflect selection by export destination. Theoretical considerations suggest that trust may be endogenous to the location of complex industries. An instrumental variable strategy that leverages the contemporary trust impact of historical racial discrimination confirms that trust factors into the comparative advantage of U.S. states. |
| Keywords: | : Trust, Complexity, Comparative Advantage, Specialization |
| JEL: | F10 Z13 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:crrecr:2010&r=all |
| By: | Soskice, David |
| JEL: | J1 N0 R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2020–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:107102&r=all |
| By: | PUGLIESE Emanuele (European Commission - JRC); TACCHELLA Andrea (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | Economic Complexity is a data driven empirical approach developed to inform the study of territorial development with quantitative metrics. Techniques inspired by complex systems analysis and network theory allow measuring the intangible capabilities necessary for a country or region to be competitive, both in overall terms and in specific markets. We exemplarily analyse the case of Slovakia's industrial and innovation competitiveness by looking at the overall potential of the country and focusing on its Electronics sector. |
| Keywords: | Economic Complexity Economic Forecasting Structural Change Regional Innovation System |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc122086&r=all |