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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2021‒04‒05
twelve papers chosen by Andreas Koch Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Ron Boschma; |
| Abstract: | Non-local linkages are considered to be crucial for innovation in regions because they provide access to new knowledge and ideas. This helps places to avoid or overcome lock-in situations. The cluster literature has focused on gatekeepers that may diffuse non-local knowledge to cluster firms. In the global city literature, this gatekeeping role is taken up by multinational enterprises and knowledge-intensive-business-services. However, little attention has yet been focused on the nature of these non-local linkages. Not all non-linkages matter for the capacity of a region to innovate. What matters in particular is the extent to which types of knowledge that flow through non-local linkages are complementary to the local knowledge base. What matters is not being connected to other regions per se, but being linked to regions that give access to complementary capabilities. Also inflows of external agents are crucial for regional innovation, especially for more radical innovations. |
| Keywords: | non-local linkages, geography of innovation, relatedness, global innovation networks, complementary inter-regional linkages |
| JEL: | O25 O38 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2113&r=all |
| By: | Stuart Donovan (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Thomas de Graaff (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Henri de Groot (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Carl Koopmans (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | A large body of literature considers the productive advantages of cities, or “agglomeration economies†. Most empirical studies report positive agglomeration economies, although large variation exists in the magnitude of estimates. We use a meta-analysis to explore this variation, drawing on 6,684 estimates from 295 studies that cover 54 countries and span six decades. Using rich data and robust methods, we unify and extend earlier reviews. For our preferred combination of study attributes, we find agglomeration elasticities are likely to lie in the range 2.7–6.4%. Our findings confirm the controls enabled by detailed data give rise to smaller estimates. We also document several trends, with overall estimates rising from 1980–2000 and then falling. Estimates for manufacturing sectors, in contrast, fell for the entire six decades covered by our data. We speculate on possible causes of these trends, such as urban congestion, technological shocks, freight costs, and regulatory settings. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, meta-analysis, urbanisation, cities, productivity |
| JEL: | R12 C11 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20210026&r=all |
| By: | Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M.; Nitsch, Volker; Wendland, Nicolai |
| Abstract: | For a complete cost-benefit analysis of durable infrastructures, it is important to understand how the value of non-market goods such as transit time and environmental quality changes as incomes rise in the long-run. We use difference-in-differences and spatial differencing to estimate the land price capitalization effects of metro rail in Berlin, Germany today and a century ago. Over this period, the negative implicit hedonic price of rail noise tripled. Our results imply income elasticities of the value of noise reduction and transport access of 2.2 and 1.4, substantially exceeding cross-sectional contingent valuation estimates. |
| Keywords: | accessibility; spatial differencing; noise; difference-in-differences; income elasticity; land price |
| JEL: | R12 R14 R41 N73 N74 |
| Date: | 2019–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:101736&r=all |
| By: | Sergio Destefanis (Università di Salerno); Mario Di Serio (Università di Salerno); Matteo Fragetta (Università di Salerno) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the multipliers of different types of government spending in the 20 Italian administrative regions throughout 1994–2016. We estimate region-specific multipliers through a Bayesian random effect panel vector autoregressive model. We find that the EU structural funds, compared to the other types of government spending, provide the largest and most pervasively significant GDP multipliers, whereas the effectiveness of nationally funded government investment and government consumption shocks is limited to certain regions. We also find substitutability between EU structural funds and other expenditure variables, which runs counter to the principle of additionality of the EU cohesion policy. An exploratory analysis of the distribution of multipliers across regions and expenditure types suggests that multiplier values are positively associated with the amount of unused resources as well as with the region size. |
| Keywords: | EU structural funds, government consumption, government investment, Bayesian Vector Autoregressive Model |
| JEL: | C33 E62 H50 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahy:wpaper:wp4&r=all |
| By: | David Chilosi (Department of Political Economy, King’s College London); Carlo Ciccarelli (Department of Economics and Finance, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata) |
| Abstract: | Structural transformation is a key indicator of economic development. This paper reconstructs and examines spatial patterns of the occupational structure in pre-unification Italy, combining direct observations and urbanization rates. In 1861, the agricultural labour share was higher in Southern Italy than in the Centre and North. During the Risorgimento, provincial wages converged within the Centre-North. The predicted Centre-North/South GDP per capita ratio declined in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as the Centre-North stagnated and the South grew slowly. Southern Italy forged ahead of China after, and fell behind Britain before, the Centre-North did, but by pre-modern standards it nonetheless emerged as a middle-high income area. |
| Keywords: | occupational structure, economic growth, regional inequality, Italy: pre-1861 |
| JEL: | E01 N13 N93 O47 R12 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:workqs:qse_47&r=all |
| By: | Marie-Laure Cabon-Dhersin (CREAM - Centre de Recherche en Economie Appliquée à la Mondialisation - UNIROUEN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - IRIHS - Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire Homme et Société - UNIROUEN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université); Romain Gibert (CREAM - Centre de Recherche en Economie Appliquée à la Mondialisation - UNIROUEN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - IRIHS - Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire Homme et Société - UNIROUEN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we compare the distributions of socially optimal public funding between private and public research sectors in cooperative and non-cooperative R&D settings in the presence of externalities. We show that the proportion of public funding allocated to the private sector research always increases with the level of inter-firm spillovers but decreases with the concentration of the industry. This share is smaller (larger) when firms cooperate in R&D than when they do not for high (low) spillovers. Moreover, increases in public knowledge externalities to the private sector due to a closer proximity between the two research sectors increase the share allocated to the public sector regardless of whether firms cooperate or not in R&D. |
| Keywords: | public and private research,Knowledge public exter-nalities,Spillovers,R&D Cooperation,Oligopoly,proximity,Public policy |
| Date: | 2020–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02006489&r=all |
| By: | Yan Ji; Songyuan Teng; Robert Townsend |
| Abstract: | We develop a heterogeneous-agent model with local spatial markets to study the relationships among bank expansion, growth, and inequality. In the model, households choose their occupations, consumption, and holdings of loans and portfolio assets that vary by liquidity. Banks choose the locations of new branches, which affect the financial frictions facing households across regions. We calibrate the model using a geographic information system to evaluate the rapid bank expansion in Thailand between 1986-1996. The model quantifies the sources of growth and inequality over time and across space and the potential role of digital banking in substantially reducing regional heterogeneity. |
| JEL: | C54 E23 E44 F43 O11 O16 R11 R13 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28582&r=all |
| By: | Jeremy Atack; Robert A. Margo; Paul Rhode |
| Abstract: | During the nineteenth century the United States urbanized – the share of the population living in urban areas increased – and industrialized – the share of the labor force in manufacturing increased. Our survey of the literature and analyses of census data suggests that a key reason was the development of a nationwide transportation system, especially the railroad. Coupled with changes in manufacturing technology and organizational form, the “transportation revolution” increased demand for manufacturing labor in urban locations. Labor supply responded and because of agglomeration economies, population density and the size and number of urban places increased. Although our focus is on the US experience, a causal role for transportation is likely for other economies that experienced historical industrialization and urbanization. |
| JEL: | N61 N91 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28597&r=all |
| By: | Apablaza, Mauricio; Sehnbruch, Kirsten; González, Pablo; Mendez Pineda, Rocio |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a multi-dimensional methodology for measuring the quality of employment (QoE) across Chile's regions using household survey data from 1996 – 2017. The paper shows how much a regional perspective can add to an analysis of the QoE and how it can inform policy makers in a way that goes beyond traditional variables such as participation or unemployment rates, which are not always good indicators of labour market performance in developing countries with large informal sectors. Building on previous work that measures QoE deprivation, we use the Alkire/Foster (AF) method to construct a synthetic indicator of the quality of employment (QoE) at an individual level. We select three dimensions that must be considered as both instrumentally and intrinsically important to workers: income, job security and employment conditions. Job security is then divided into two sub-dimensions (occupational status and job tenure), as is employment conditions (social security affiliation and excessive working hours). A threshold is then established within each dimension and sub-dimension to determine whether a person is deprived or not within each dimension, before calculating composite levels of deprivation. The results generated by this index highlight important differences between Chile's regions, but also a process of convergence, which has been driven by employment regulation on minimum wages and the statutory working week in particular. National policies such as the improvement of educational standards have also contributed to this process. On the one hand, this paper illustrates the importance of public policies in labour market performance, and on the other, the index also enables policy makers to focus more precisely on the most vulnerable groups of workers in the labour market. This paper opens up important avenues for future research: once a QoE index has been developed, it can be used to track workers' employment trajectories using either panel or administrative data. This would allow policy makers to understand, whether and to what extent workers become trapped in poor quality jobs, and what active labour market policies could do to help them. |
| Keywords: | quality of employment; Latin America; labour markets; capability approach; Alkire/Foster method; multi-dimensional index |
| JEL: | N0 R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2021–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:109819&r=all |
| By: | Martine Gadille (LEST - Laboratoire d'économie et de sociologie du travail - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay; Alena Siarheyeva |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on Pôles de compétitivité-the French competitiveness clusters (FCC)-which mobilize national and regional actors and resources for innovation. By reviewing the literature (academic, web and news articles, and official reports) published on the subject, the synthesis emphasizes a collective learning process leading to institutional change reflected by legitimation of SMEs as full-fledged innovation actor. Through reflexive governance of certain poles, centered on their own sustainability, the policy has produced learning at local and national level. It has generated knowledge that has brought transformation of operational tools and societal representations in support of innovation of SMEs. The originality of the article is to show that in the French societal context, new place dependencies within the Pôles are characterized by emergence of a new innovation model of SMEs mainly through collaboration with public research. This model differs from the innovation model of SMEs staying outside of the poles. It is built through intermediary organizations that offer regional filters for national and regional policy adaptation. A major limitation of the policy is the difficulty to enhance cooperation between innovative SMEs and leader firms in the territory mainly because of a lack of social regulation over the protection and share of knowledge assets. The paper contributes to the research on clusters in general. |
| Keywords: | Clusters,Competitiveness,Cooperation,SME,Knowledge,R&D,Innovation |
| Date: | 2021–03–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03168926&r=all |
| By: | Pierre Courtioux (Paris School of Business, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Tristan-Pierre Maury (EDHEC - EDHEC Business School); Johan Seux (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This article is the first quantitative and exhaustive analysis of social segregation in French universities. Over the period 2006-2016, we calculate the Normalized Exposure index of very advantaged and disavantaged students for each French "académies" and levels of education (one-year degree, two-year degree, Bachelor and Master). At the national level, values of Normalized Exposure index reveal the existence of social segregation in French universities, although at lower levels than those highlighted by other articles on secondary education. The geographical analysis of segregation shows that the levels of segregation are not systematically higher in the Île-de-France's "académies" or in those linked to a large agglomeration (Lyon, Aix-Marseille, Lille) as it is the case for secondary school: the overall level of segregation depends little on the size of the "académie". However, the level of social segregation proper to advantaged students is positively related to the share of students that come from other "académies". Eventually, we study the levels of segregation by education level: there is a decrease in segregation between the one-year and two-year tertiary degrees, a well as between Bachelor and Master degrees at the national level. However, this averall trend does not seem to be carried by all "académies", but only by a limited number. In addition, there is an important variability of segregation across education levels as far as one "académie" can be characterized by low level of segregation for certain education levels and important ones for others. |
| Abstract: | Nous analysons la ségrégation sociale à l'Université en France sur la période 2006-2016. Sur la base de l'indice d'exposition normalisé, nous montrons qu'au niveau national, la ségrégation se fixe à des niveaux plus faibles que ceux mis en évidence par d'autres travaux pour l'enseignement secondaire et que contrairement à ce dernier les niveaux de ségrégation ne sont pas systématiquement plus élevés dans les académies d'Île-de-France ou dans celles liées à une grande agglomération (Lyon, Aix-Marseille, Lille). Nous montrons également que le niveau de ségrégation à l'Université baisse avec le niveau de diplôme au niveau national. Toutefois, cette tendance globale ne semble pas portée par l'ensemble des académies, mais plutôt par un nombre limité de grandes académies. Par ailleurs, nous montrons une très grande variabilité de la ségrégation au cours du cursus par académie, avec des académies peu ségrégées pour certains niveaux d'études et fortement pour d'autres. |
| Keywords: | regional diversity,segregation index,university,diversité régionale,indice de ségrégation,université |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03167787&r=all |
| By: | Margarian, Anne |
| Abstract: | The "Corona Crisis" caused by the Covid-19 virus has led to distortions in many labour markets in 2020 and may have exacerbated pre-existing social inequalities. This study asks to what extent different regions and types of regions are affected differently by the labour market effects of the Corona crisis. Using various descriptive analyses at the district level, the influence of the settlement structure, the economic structure and the income power of locations on the "Corona effects" in the labour market is examined. Key indicators of short-and medium-term dynamics are the share of short-time work as well as changes in 2020 compared to 2019 in cumulative entries into and exits from unemployment, in the same entries and exits in December ("compensation effect"), and in the unemployment rate. It can be shown that especially locations without initial structural problems have come through the Corona year 2020 relatively well. However, there is a danger that in the course of the Corona crisis, especially in the agglomeration areas, the inequality between persons and groups of persons within the labour markets will increase further and lastingly. According to the results, the Corona crisis could also contribute to an increase in disparities between locations with comparable settlement structures, at least in the medium term. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital, Public Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2021–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwp:310242&r=all |