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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Marco A. Badilla Maroto; Benjamin Faber; Antoine B. Levy; Mathilde Muñoz |
| Abstract: | We document that migration flows upon retirement are predominantly from richer, more urban to poorer, more rural regions. In theory, the local economic implications of senior in-migration are ambiguous, while empirically there is little existing evidence on whether attracting mobile seniors can be an effective tool to promote economic development among lagging regions. We combine a unique collection of microdata from France with a new empirical strategy to fill this gap. We find that senior inflows have significant positive effects on the local economy over the course of a decade, including increases in the working-age population, total employment, GDP, average incomes, fiscal revenues and housing construction. These effects are particularly pronounced among initially poorer regions. They are accompanied by an increase in the share of services in the local economy, driven by employment growth in health, food services and retail sectors. Combining these estimates with observed region-to-region net migration flows, we find that mobile seniors have become a significant force for reducing the concentration of employment and GDP across regions. |
| JEL: | F15 J60 R23 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34725 |
| By: | Basco, Sergi; Roses, Joan R. |
| Abstract: | The economic impact of pandemics is commonly studied using theoretical models that assume constant returns to scale and no factor movements. This article argues that a new economic geography model with increasing returns to scale and capital mobility better explains the effects of pandemics in modern economies. Our model predicts that pandemics shape where investments are made, leading to long-term impacts on economic development. To test this, we examine the consequences of the Great Influenza Pandemic on credit allocation and structural transformation in Spain from 1915 to 1929. Our research shows that credit growth was lower in regions with high mortality. Quantitatively, a one standard deviation increase in flu-driven mortality decreases credit (per capita) by 13.6%. We also document that this flu-driven reallocation of credit resulted in an increase in relative urban GDP in low mortality rate regions. A one standard deviation increase in flu-driven credit raises relative urban GDP by 9.5%. |
| Keywords: | pandemics; capital mobility; economic geography; structural change |
| JEL: | E32 N10 N30 N90 O11 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:wpaper:128853 |
| By: | Precetti, Josephine |
| Abstract: | France’s railway expansion following the Law of 11 June 1842 significantly reshaped nationwide connectivity and economic opportunities. This dissertation investigates the causal impacts of railway access between 1846 and 1861 on city-level industrial development. Using a dataset combining industrial surveys with digitized railway records, it employs a robust Difference-in-Differences approach, leveraging the quasi-exogenous roll-out of the centrally planned ‘étoile de Legrand’ railway network. Empirical results show railway access increased industrial activity primarily extensively: railway-connected cities saw approximately a 20% rise in the number of factories and workers, especially in labour-intensive sectors like textile in Lille and ceramics in Limoges. Yet, intensive effects such as factory size, productivity, and wages remained statistically and economically negligible. Contrary to theoretical predictions from trade and New Economic Geography models, capital-intensive sectors, such as metallurgy in Lorraine, did not exhibit statistically significant responsiveness. These findings reframe the role of transport infrastructure from being a deterministic catalyst to being better understood as a conditional enabler. While railways expanded market potential, their short to medium term transformative impact critically depended on complementary institutional frameworks notably financial markets and property rights, technological readiness, and regional contexts. Acknowledging the historical data limitations, this study underscores that transport infrastructure alone is insufficient for structural economic upgrading without the appropriate institutional, technological, and human capital conditions in place at the right time. |
| JEL: | N73 R40 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:wpaper:129951 |
| By: | Giorgia Giovannetti; Luca Lodi; Enrico Marvasi |
| Abstract: | Geopolitical tensions are reshaping Global Value Chains (GVCs), yet little is known about the magnitude of these effects and, especially, how they translate into uneven exposures at the subnational level. This paper argues that subnational regions are a critical unit for understanding GVCs and their changes under geopolitical fragmentation. We develop a regional exposure index that links global sensitivities from structural gravity estimations of GVC-related trade with granular regional trade data. Evidence from Italian regions reveals pronounced heterogeneity in both upstream and downstream exposure, depending on sectoral specialization and partner composition. These findings suggest that geopolitical fragmentation not only reshapes GVCs but also reconfigures regional economic vulnerabilities, with direct implications for cohesion, competitiveness, and policy design. |
| Keywords: | Global Value Chains, Regional Development, Gravity, Geopolitical tensions, Trade policy. |
| JEL: | F14 F23 F51 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2026_02.rdf |
| By: | Tate, Anya |
| Abstract: | The late 19th-century reforms to the British patenting system reduced the cost of obtaining a patent from over £100 in 1851 to just £4 by 1883. While increasing accessibility, this cost reduction led to an increase of low-quality patents often replicating previous inventions, raising concerns about the system's effectiveness. As a result, the 1902 policy proposed novelty examination for the first time, increasing the cost by 25%. This paper examines whether the implementation of this policy in 1905 had a differential effect on patenting activity across British regions. Despite the significance of this policy, it has received extremely limited academic attention. This research aims to fill this gap and add to the literature on the regional impacts of patent system reforms in this period. This study employs panel regressions using data on every geocoded patent sealed between 1895-1915 in the PatentCity database with regional employment in 28 industries as controls. Results indicate no change in the regional distribution of patenting activity as a result of the novelty examination. These findings are consistent with those of Nicholas (2011) for the 1883 policy and have important implications for the geography of inventive activity and the distributional impacts of invention policies. |
| JEL: | O30 R10 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:wpaper:129440 |
| By: | Belso-Martinez, Jose Antonio; Díez-Vial, Isabel; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | This article examines the effect of formal and informal institutional settings and of the governance of inter-organizational relationships on innovation at the cluster level. The research primarily relies on quantitative methods, utilizing data obtained from a survey involving 115 firms and 12 in-depth interviews. Supplementary qualitative information from the interviews has also been incorporated into the analysis. The results support the hypothesis that innovative firms should consider not only the impact of different governance modes but also how these modes align with the existing local contexts. Failure to do so may result in firms becoming entrenched in the prevailing practices and products of a specific location. |
| Keywords: | firms; innovation; clusters; institutions; governance; inter-organizational relationships |
| JEL: | M20 O30 D83 |
| Date: | 2024–06–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:122118 |