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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Stefano Basilico (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Economics Department); Uwe Cantner (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Economics Department, and University of Southern Denmark, Odense); Holger Graf (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Economics Department) |
| Abstract: | Cluster policies aim at improving collaboration between co-located actors to address systemic failures. As yet, cluster policy evaluations are mainly concerned with effects on firm performance. Some recent studies move to the system level by assessing how the structure of actor-based knowledge networks is affected by such policies. We continue in that direction and analyze how technology-based regional knowledge spaces structurally respond to the introduction of a cluster policy. Taking the example of the German BioRegio contest, we examine how such knowledge spaces in winning and non-winning regions evolved before, during and after the policy. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we identify treatment effects of increased knowledge space embeddedness of biotechnology only in the post-treatment period. Our findings imply that cluster policies can have long-term structural effects typically not accounted for in policy evaluations. |
| Keywords: | BioRegio contest, network analysis, knowledge space, difference in differences, patents |
| JEL: | O31 O38 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2021-011&r= |
| By: | Olof Ejermo; Katrin Hussinger; Basheer Kalash; Torben Schubert |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effect of the Öresund Bridge, a combined railway and motorway bridge between Swedish Malmö and the Danish capital Copenhagen, on inventive activity in the region of Malmö. Applying difference-in-difference estimation on individual-level data, our findings suggest that the Öresund Bridge led to a significant increase in the number of patents per individual in the Malmö region as compared to the two other major regions in Sweden, Gothenburg and Stockholm. We show that a key mechanism is the attraction of highly qualified workers to the Malmö region following the construction of the bridge. |
| Keywords: | Transportation infrastructure, innovation, Öresund Bridge, cross-border regions, patents; inventors, agglomeration effects |
| JEL: | O31 O33 R11 L91 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7ell01j45s8loqtvgom5ci9i3h&r= |
| By: | Rob Euwals (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis); Harro van Heuvelen (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis); Gerdien Meijerink (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis); Jan Möhlmann (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis); Simon Rabaté (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis) |
| Abstract: | Contrary to other studies, we find no robust effect of an increase in trade with China and Central European (CEE) countries on local employment, wages and inequality in the Netherlands. If there is an effect, it is small, with positive effects of increased exports counteracting the negative effects of increased imports. One of the reasons why we find different results for the Netherlands is the fact that the Dutch manufacturing industry was already undergoing changes well before the emergence of China and the CEE countries and became less sensitive to import competition from China or the CEE countries. In addition, the Netherlands has collective wage negotiations, which may help to explain that we do not find any effects on wages. While the effect of increased trade with China and the CEE countries on manufacturing jobs is limited, it can create uncertainty for workers. The negative effect of import competition and the positive impact of export opportunities on manufacturing jobs also point to adjustments across industries and regions. Transitioning workers to new types of work can be difficult for these workers, as they are (temporarily) unemployed and may need to move to other regions. |
| JEL: | F16 J31 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:426.rdf&r= |
| By: | Emanuela Sirtori (CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies); Alessandra Caputo (CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies); Domenico Scalera (Department of Law and Economics. University of Sannio, Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at identifying geographical patterns of Biopharma transformation trends in the EU over the period 2000-2016 through an analysis of cross-regional and cross-sectoral linkages. To this purpose, information on co-patenting, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures and alliances is used to carry out a network analysis at region level. Results show an increasing involvement of European regions in cross-sectoral Biopharma operations. However, while the network displays a tendency to enlarge toward the East (Poland) and West (Spain), a significant reduction in the activity of peripheral nodes in the Southern and Northern borders of the network is observed. More recently, the overall interconnectedness of the network slightly decreases; the network becomes sparser, showing a propensity toward regionalisation of cross-sectoral linkages. Finally, by exploiting information on the location of companies and inventors involved in cross-sectoral operations, the investigation allows pinpointing regional communities and their evolution throughout the yearsClassification-JEL: O18, R11, R58 |
| Keywords: | Biopharmaceutical industry, Cross-sectoral linkages, Emerging Industries, Network analysis |
| JEL: | R11 R12 L14 L65 |
| Date: | 2021–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mst:wpaper:202101&r= |
| By: | Cameron LAPOINT; SAKABE Shogo |
| Abstract: | We estimate the dynamic effects of place-based tax incentives on local investment, job creation, and firm relocation decisions using a series of policy experiments in Japan as our laboratory. The Japanese government rolled out the Technopolis program between 1984 and 1989, offering firms bonus depreciation rates as high as 30% towards tangible capital investment in economically peripheral regions. A follow-up policy enacted in 1989 expanded the set of eligible areas and increased bonus depreciation for firms in certain non-tradable industries. Using detailed multi-plant firm balance sheet data and several staggered difference-in-differences (DD) approaches, we find both policies generated employment and investment in building construction and non-real estate assets, with little evidence of spillovers to ineligible firms in treated areas. The effects are driven by more financially constrained firms and firms which rely on relatively long-lived assets such as buildings in their operations. Our results point to the importance of providing large and immediate rather than deferred financial incentives for inducing firms to make irreversible investments in struggling regions. |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:21059&r= |
| By: | Pedro Elosegui (Central Bank of Argentina); Marcos Herrera-Gómez (CONICET-IELDE, Universidad Nacional de Salta); Jorge Colina (Institute for the Argentine Social Development (IDESA)) |
| Abstract: | This paper is part of a broader agenda and constitutes a first step to empirically understand the main determinants of the inter-provincial trade in Argentina. We use a novel database of regional trade flows between the 24 Argentinean provinces for 2017. Using a structural gravity model and novel econometric techniques we analyze the main variables influencing trade between the provinces. In addition to the traditional variables of the canonical gravity model we add some variables of interest that ca possible affect trade between sub national jurisdictions. With an especial focus in financial flows we analyze the impact of co-participation transfers, income distribution and household’s payment methods, among other variables that may be correlated with formal trade. Additionally, we analyze the potential impact of trade concentration in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) and Buenos Aires. Trade flows are analyzed considering both, origin and destination. The results indicate that national transfers from the redistribution federal arrangement are an important determinant of inter provincial trade generating relevant (and negative in the origin) spillover effects between the provinces. Also, the concentration in CABA and Buenos Aires discourages inter-provincial trade. |
| Keywords: | gravity model, spatial interactions, redistribution federal arrangement |
| JEL: | R10 F14 C21 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcr:wpaper:202194&r= |
| By: | German-Soto, Vicente; Gluschenko, Konstantin |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine economic growth in Mexican states over 1940–2015, focusing on the issue of their convergence interpreted as catching-up. A nonlinear econometric model with asymptotically decaying trends of the income gap is applied for the analysis. Particular cases of the baseline model capture other types of the income gap dynamics, namely, time-invariance, zero gap, and deterministic divergence. We analyze convergence of every state to the national level and convergence in each of 496 state pairs. Both analyses suggest one or other type of regularity to be peculiar to roughly 40% of income gap time series. Convergence is found in 6% to 15% of cases. Depending on approach to choosing among competing versions of the model, we find 55 or 76 convergence clubs; an individual club includes 3 to 7 members. The clubs heavily overlap, which makes interpretation of the pattern obtained to be a daunting task. |
| Keywords: | regional convergence; nonlinear model; unit root; convergence club |
| JEL: | C51 R11 |
| Date: | 2021–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:109015&r= |
| By: | Pierluigi Sacco |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 crisis has provided an opportunity to rethink the Veneto Region’s economic strategy. This paper examines the links between cultural and creative sectors and the regional manufacturing economy of the Veneto Region in the North of Italy, highlighting the important role that cultural production, and in particular Venice, can play in the region’s post-pandemic recovery strategies. |
| JEL: | O31 R12 Z18 |
| Date: | 2021–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2021/04-en&r= |
| By: | Bruno T. Rocha; Nuno Afonso; Patrícia C. Melo; João de Abreu e Silva |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the factors that influenced the allocation of motorways across municipalities in mainland Portugal over the period from 1981 to 2011. Our analysis, based on Poisson Pseudo-maximum Likelihood models, suggests that population size and market potential in 1981 are important determinants of motorway density in 2011. Likewise, physical and geographical variables also help explain the spatial distribution of motorway investment, as terrain ruggedness, distance to the coast, and distance to the border with Spain are negatively associated with motorway density. In addition, we consider the influence of the proximity to historical and pre-existing transport networks on the allocation of motorways; we find that municipalities that are closer to the 1800’s itineraries, the main roads of the 1945’s National Road Plan, and 1981’s train stations appear to have higher motorway densities in 2011, but this effect is concentrated in the vast and sparsely populated area of the country that excludes what we term the highdensity Portuguese “blue banana”. Interestingly, it is also only in this low-density region that partisan alignment between the municipal and the national levels of government appears to affect the allocation of transport investment, which suggests that motorways are more of a political asset in more remote or less urbanised areas. |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:remwps:wp01842021&r= |
| By: | Gutiérrez, Eduardo; Moral-Benito, Enrique; Oto-Peralías, Daniel (Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Ramos, Roberto |
| Abstract: | We exploit the GEOSTAT 2011 population grid to document that Spain presents the lowest density of settlements among European countries. Only a small fraction of the Spanish territory is inhabited, particularly in its southern half, which goes hand in hand with a high degree of population concentration. We uncover through standard regression analysis and spatial regression discontinuity that this anomaly cannot be accounted for by adverse geographic and climatic conditions. The second part of the paper takes a historical perspective on Spain's settlement patterns by showing that the spatial distribution of the population has been very persistent in the last two centuries, and that the abnormally low density of settlements with respect to European neighbors was already visible in the 19th century, which indicates that this phenomenon has not emerged recently as a consequence of the transformations associated with industrialization and tertiarization. Using data on ancient sites, we find that Spain did not feature scarcity of settlements in comparison to other countries in pre-medieval times, suggesting that its current anomalous settlement pattern has not always existed and is therefore not intrinsic to its geography. |
| Date: | 2021–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:f4de6&r= |