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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2025–02–10
three papers chosen by Andreas Koch, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Clare A. Balboni; Joseph S. Shapiro |
| Abstract: | How do environmental goods and policies shape spatial patterns of economic activity? How will climate change modify these impacts over the coming decades? How do agglomeration, commuting, and other spatial forces and policies affect environmental quality? We distill theoretical and empirical research linking urban, regional, and spatial economics to the environment. We present stylized facts on spatial environmental economics, describe insights from canonical environmental models and spatial models, and discuss the building blocks for papers and the research frontier in enviro-spatial economics. Most enviro-spatial research remains bifurcated into either primarily environmental or spatial papers. Research is only beginning to realize potential insights from more closely combining spatial and environmental approaches. |
| JEL: | F18 F64 H23 J61 O18 Q50 R11 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33377 |
| By: | Diogo Baerlocher (University of South Florida); Diego Firmino (Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco); Guilherme Lambais (Lusíada University of Lisbon); Eustaquio Reis (Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada); Henrique Veras (Universidade Federal de Pernambuco) |
| Abstract: | Following the discovery of gold in 1694 in Brazil, pathways were constructed to connect coastal settlements to mining regions in the unpopulated interior. While these pathways initially facilitated the creation of road towns, their influence faded by the late nineteenth century. With the mid-twentieth-century demographic and industrial transition, regions with higher historical road density experienced renewed population growth and greater migrant inflows. We argue that this resurgence reflects the role of road towns in fostering early urbanization and structural transformation. Using an extended Rosen-Roback-Glaeser framework, we estimate strong agglomeration spillovers, suggesting that Brazil’s spatial economy exhibits multiple steady states and historical path dependence. |
| Keywords: | Historical Roads, Geography, Multiple Equilibria, Path Dependence, Persistence, Population Density |
| JEL: | R12 N96 O18 O43 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usf:wpaper:2025-01 |
| By: | Robert Gold; Jakob Lehr |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that regional policies can decrease populist support. We focus on the "development objective" ("Objective-1") of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), meant to support lagging-behind regions. For causal inference, we exploit three sources of quasi-exogenous variation in a Regression-Discontinuity-Design (RDD), a Difference-in- Differences framework (DiD), and with matching techniques. Using NUTS3-level panel data on the outcomes of elections to the EU parliament, observed over the period 1999-2019, we consistently find that Objective-1 transfers reduces the vote share of right-fringe parties by about 2.5 pp. Left-fringe party support is not affected. Complementary analyses of individual-level survey data from the Eurobarometer show that the European Union’s regional policy increases trust in democratic institutions and decreases discontent with the EU. |
| Keywords: | Populism, Regional Policies, European Integration, Regression Discontinuity Design |
| JEL: | D72 H54 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_638 |