|
on Economic Geography |
| By: | Duygu Buyukyazici; Leonardo Mazzoni; Massimo Riccaboni; Francesco Serti |
| Abstract: | We quantify the general equilibrium effects on economic growth of improving the quality of institutions at the regional level in the context of the implementation of the European Cohesion Policy for the European Union and the UK. The direct impact of changes in the quality of government is integrated in a general equilibrium model to analyse the system-wide economic effects resulting from additional endogenous mechanisms and feedback effects. The results reveal a significant direct effect as well as considerable system-wide benefits from improved government quality on economic growth. A small 5% increase in government quality across European Union regions increases the impact of Cohesion investment by up to 7% in the short run and 3% in the long run. The exact magnitude of the gains depends on various local factors, including the initial endowments of public capital, the level of government quality, and the degree of persistence over time. inked to higher mortality. Accounting for a host of potential confounders, we find robust support that regions with lower levels of both social and political trust are associated with higher excess mortality, along with citizen polarization in institutional trust in some models. On the ideological make-up regional parliaments, we find that, ceteris paribus, those that lean more ‘tan’ on the ‘gal-tan’ spectrum yielded higher excess mortality. Moreover, although we find limited evidence of elite polarization driving excess deaths on the left-right or gal-tan spectrums, partisan differences on the attitudes towards the EU demonstrated significantly higher deaths, which we argue proxies for (anti)populism. Overall, we find that both lower citizen-level trust and populist elite-level ideological characteristics of regional parliaments are associated with higher excess mortality in European regions during the first wave of the pandemic. |
| Keywords: | Skill relatedness; Economic complexity; Industrial specialisation; Regional capabilities; Regional diversification. |
| JEL: | J24 O18 R10 R23 |
| Date: | 2022–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2207&r= |
| By: | von Borries, Alvaro (CIRCLE, Lund University); Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Lundquist, Karl-Johan (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we explore the (changing) spatial concentration of low-income jobs throughout the last 30 years in Sweden, a period that has been characterized by the rise of what has become known as the knowledge economy. In particular, we describe (map) and try to understand what drives the concentration of low-income jobs in certain regions and how that has changed in time. We observe an overall decrease of the prevalence of low-income jobs during the last three decades. Moreover, regions have also converged, meaning that the great differentiator between places is less and less about how many low-income jobs they host, but how many very well paid there are. We also find that labor market polarization does not seem to lead to a greater incidence of low-income jobs when measured against a threshold related to the national income distribution, but, as expected, it does when we move towards a regional threshold, thus accounting for regional income differences. Finally, regions with a larger knowledge economy have tended to have a lower incidence of low-income jobs, both measured with respect to the national and to the regional income. This points towards the knowledge economy being a source of regional prosperity either through the upgrading of jobs or rising the wages of low- income workers. Despite all the discourse about the degradation of the Nordic model, we provide some evidence for it to be still working in Sweden under this new and complex knowledge-dominated era. |
| Keywords: | low-income jobs; regional development; inequality; knowledge economy; labor market polarization |
| JEL: | D31 J21 P25 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2022–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2022_004&r= |
| By: | Berbée, Paul; Braun, Sebastian Till; Franke, Richard |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that 19th-century industrialization is an important determinant of the significant changes in Germany's economic geography observed in recent decades. Using novel data on regional economic activity, we establish that almost half of West Germany's 163 labor markets experienced a reversal of fortune between 1926 and 2019, i.e., they moved from the lower to the upper median of the income distribution or vice versa. Economic decline is concentrated in northern Germany, economic ascent in the south. Exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in access to coal, we show that early industrialization turned from an advantage for economic development to a burden after World War II. The (time-varying) effect of industrialization explains most of the decline in regional inequality observed in the 1960s and 1970s and about half of the current North-South gap in economic development. |
| Keywords: | Industrialization,Economic development,Regional Inequality |
| JEL: | N91 N92 O14 R12 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:250876&r= |
| By: | Pedro Elosegui (BCRA); Marcos Herrera-Gómez (IELDE - UNSa/CONICET); Jorge Colina ((Instituto para el Desarrollo Social Argentino) |
| 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: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoz:wpaper:103&r= |
| By: | Stojcic, Nebojsa; Pylak, Korneliusz; Jurlina Alibegovic, Dubravka |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of a decade-long large public entrepreneurial infrastructure investment programme in an emerging European economy. Using a unique dataset, we examine the short-run firm, city and inter-city effects of entrepreneurial zones (EZs). EZs have a positive impact on business investment, sales and especially export revenues of firms located within them. Positive economic effects of EZs are limited on host and neighbouring towns and cities, decrease with distance and eventually become negative. This points to the localised nature of EZs effects and their potential for spatial redistribution and clustering of economic activity. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurial zones; spillover effects; firm performance; exports; economic incentives; emerging economies |
| JEL: | L26 O12 R38 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:112395&r= |
| By: | Jaiswal, Sreeja; Bensch, Gunther; Navalkar, Aniket; Jayaraman, T. |
| Abstract: | Railways are a key infrastructure that facilitates trade and regional integration with potential consequences on local development and the environment in hitherto backward regions. In this article, we study the medium- to long-term socio-economic and environmental infrastructure impacts for the case of the Konkan Railway, which is one of the biggest railway construction endeavours in independent India. We employ a quasi-experimental mixed-methods design to explore the impact of the Konkan Railway on population, workforce composition and land cover types using census and satellite data. We find that the Konkan Railway led to an increase in the female-to-male sex ratio and a negative effect on the share of male workers among the working population. In combination with qualitative evidence, this suggests that the railway access has reinforced the pre-existing pattern of high levels of male migration. We also find an increase in population and the workforce participation rate without disparate workforce effects across sectors suggesting that the railway had moderate effects across the local economies. In terms of land use, the analysis could not substantiate concerns regarding substantive loss of forest cover induced by the railways. The findings encourage policy makers - in assessing the effects of transport infrastructure - to take into consideration the impact on migration, labour mobility and labour market outcomes in sending and receiving regions. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure,railway access,migration,impact evaluation,mixed methods,India |
| JEL: | N75 O18 O40 R11 R41 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:936&r= |
| By: | Hollingsworth, Alex; Jaworski, Taylor; Kitchens, Carl; Rudik, Ivan (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | We develop a spatial equilibrium model to evaluate the efficiency and distributional impacts of the leading air quality regulation in the United States: the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). We link our economic model to an integrated assessment model for air pollutants which allows us to capture endogenous changes in emissions, amenities, labor, and production. Our results show that the NAAQS generate over $23 billion of annual welfare gains. This is roughly 80 percent of welfare gains of the second-best NAAQS design, but only 25 percent of the first-best emission pricing policy. The NAAQS benefits are concentrated in a small set of cities, impose substantial costs on manufacturing workers, improve amenities in counties in compliance with the NAAQS, and reduce emissions in compliance counties through general equilibrium channels. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for geographic reallocation and equilibrium responses when quantifying the effects of environmental regulation. |
| Date: | 2022–03–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:x6fuw&r= |
| By: | Michaels, Guy; Lin, Yatang; McDermott, Thomas K. J. |
| Abstract: | Construction on low elevation coastal zones is risky for both residents and taxpayers who bail them out, especially when sea levels are rising. We study this construction using spatially disaggregated data on the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts. We document nine stylized facts, including a sizeable rise in the share of coastal housing built on flood-prone land from 1990-2010, which concentrated particularly in densely populated areas. To explain our findings, we develop a model of a monocentric coastal city, which we then use to explore the consequences of sea level rise and government policies. |
| Keywords: | cities; climate change; sea level rise |
| JEL: | R11 Q54 R14 |
| Date: | 2021–04–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:114428&r= |
| By: | Schmidt, Sebastian; Kinne, Jan; Lautenbach, Sven; Blaschke, Thomas; Lenz, David; Resch, Bernd |
| Abstract: | This Discussion Paper deals with the issue of greenwashing, i.e. the false portrayal of companies as environmentally friendly. The analysis focuses on the US metal industry, which is a major emission source of sulfur dioxide (SO2), one of the most harmful air pollutants. One way to monitor the distribution of atmospheric SO2 concentrations is through satellite data from the Sentinel-5P programme, which represents a major advance due to its unprecedented spatial resolution. In this paper, Sentinel-5P remote sensing data was combined with a plant-level firm database to investigate the relationship between the US metal industry and SO2 concentrations using a spatial regression analysis. Additionally, this study considered web text data, classifying companies based on their websites in order to depict their self-portrayal on the topic of sustainability. In doing so, we investigated the topic of greenwashing, i.e. whether or not a positive self-portrayal regarding sustainability is related to lower local SO2 concentrations. Our results indicated a general, positive correlation between the number of employees in the metal industry and local SO2 concentrations. The web-based analysis showed that only 8% of companies in the metal industry could be classified as engaged in sustainability based on their websites. The regression analyses indicated that these self-reported 'sustainable' companies had a weaker effect on local SO2 concentrations compared to their 'non-sustainable' counterparts, which we interpreted as an indication of the absence of general greenwashing in the US metal industry. However, the large share of firms without a website and lack of specificity of the text classification model were limitations to our methodology. |
| Keywords: | Sentinel-5P,air pollution,natural language processing,spatial regression |
| JEL: | Q53 Q56 R11 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:22006&r= |
| By: | Odmaa Narantungalag (School of Economics and Finance, Massey University, Palmerston North) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the local economic impacts of a large-scale copper-gold mine in Mongolia. Employing household data from 2008 to 2016, we find positive economic effects of the mine and its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. A ten percent increase in mining activities resulted in 2.2 and 2.3 percent increases in income and food consumption, respectively. Mining activities enabled households to increase their medical expenditures, while sickness did not increase significantly. In contrast, education expenditures reduced while educational attainments improved in mining areas. Both expenditure patterns indicate that large-scale extractive industries can generate positive welfare outcomes for residents, and CSR activities further enhance the mining sector’s traditional benefits. |
| Keywords: | Mining, Natural Resources, Regional Economy, and Economic Development |
| JEL: | L72 O12 O13 Q32 R11 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mas:dpaper:2101&r= |