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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2026–04–13
five papers chosen by Andreas Koch, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Alessio Chiodin (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Matteo Manera (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Department of Economics, Management and Statistics-DEMS, University of Milano-Bicocca); Paolo Maranzano (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Department of Economics, Management and Statistics-DEMS, University of Milano-Bicocca); Gianluca Monturano (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Department of Economics, Management and Business Law, University of Bari) |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic generated highly heterogeneous economic effects across territories, reflecting differences in local production structures and spatial organization. This paper examines the geography of short-run economic fragility during the first wave of the pandemic by identifying spatially-coherent clusters of municipalities exposed to lockdown-induced shutdowns. Using municipal-level data on Italian suspended firms, workers, and value added in Spring 2020, we apply a Ward-like hierarchical clustering approach under spatial constraints that combines socio-economic dissimilarities with geographical proximity. We first analyze Lombardy, the region most severely affected during the initial phase, and then extend the analysis to the entire Italian territory. The results show that clustering based solely on socio-economic variables mainly reflects differences in economic scale, while incorporating spatial information reveals coherent territorial structures. Industrial and peripheral municipalities appear to be more exposed to shutdown measures than large service-oriented urban centers. At the national level, spatial partitions reproduce Italy’s hierarchical territorial structure, from the North–South divide to intermediate macro-regions. These findings highlight the role of spatially targeted policies and the importance of pre-existing territorial structures in shaping the economic impact of systemic shocks. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, Economic fragility, Spatial clustering, Spatial Econometrics |
| JEL: | R12 R15 C38 O18 D22 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2026.10 |
| By: | Sébastien Bourdin (Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School); Jérôme Picault (Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres); Arnaud Simon (Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres) |
| Abstract: | The development of home ownership in the second half of the 20th century has been perceived as an asset and a significant contributor to wealth accumulation. However, rising property prices and increasingly stringent mortgage lending criteria have placed this model under pressure, particularly for younger generations. Recent territorial reforms and expansionary monetary policies, such as the European Central Bank's quantitative easing (QE) programme, have produced asymmetric effects on regional housing markets. This study applies a spatial econometric model to French departments to investigate how these developments have disproportionately benefited departments located near new regional capitals, thereby exacerbating disparities between these centres and their peripheral territories. By incorporating a spatial perspective, this analysis enriches our understanding of the dynamics between housing finance and regional development while shedding light on the implications of these transformations for financial stability and regional planning policy. |
| Keywords: | Regional disparities, Housing lending market, Monetary policy, Territorial reform, Economic geography |
| Date: | 2025–09–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05568167 |
| By: | NAGAMUNE, TAKESHI (Niimi University) |
| Abstract: | The traditional economic base model in regional science argues that tradable industries promote regional development by earning income from outside the region and generating multiplier effects within the local economy. Within this theoretical framework, manufacturing has long been considered the primary export base. However, following the influential work of Moretti and others, recent empirical analyses demonstrate that industries fostering innovation and creative activities also exhibit substantial employment multipliers. This suggests that industries and occupations engaged in creative and intellectual activities can serve as new drivers of regional growth. This study focuses on municipalities in Japan, where the tertiarization of industry has advanced. Using industry and occupation classifications from Census data, we define “creative industries and occupations” and estimate their local employment multiplier effects through regression analysis. The empirical results confirm that these creative sectors exert a positive and statistically significant multiplier effect on regional economies, indicating their potential contribution to regional economic development. These findings demonstrate that promoting creative industries can complement traditional manufacturing-oriented strategies. They also provide empirical evidence—based on Japanese municipal-level data—to support the international discourse that knowledge- and creativity-based industries drive regional transformation. |
| Date: | 2026–03–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:x2vcy_v1 |
| By: | Qian, Zeyi (Clark University); Suzuki, Kensuke (Clark University); Zhang, Junfu (Clark University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines sectoral growth patterns across Chinese provinces during the country’s economic takeoff in the early 2000s, following major policy reforms including trade liberalization, infrastructure expansion, business climate improvements, and relaxed rural-to-urban migration restrictions. We develop a multi-sector, multi-region spatial general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms á la Melitz-Chaney to analyze how these reforms interacted to shape regional economic growth. We quantify the model for the Chinese economy and conduct counterfactuals to identify the key mechanisms driving regional development. We find that reductions in trade costs and lowered entry barriers facilitate firm entry and intensify competition. Together, these factors shape regional specialization and China’s overall economic growth. Our decomposition exercises reveal that lowered business entry costs played a larger role than the reduction in trade costs in promoting the growth of real wages, especially in inland provinces. This operates through a selection effect, where more productive firms expand and force the least productive ones to exit, and through increased variety, which effectively lowers the price index. |
| Keywords: | regional economic growth, trade costs, entry costs, Melitz-Chaney model, China’s manufacturing |
| JEL: | F12 R12 L60 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18507 |
| By: | S{\l}awomir Ku\'zmar |
| Abstract: | The rapid expansion of remote work following the last pandemic has renewed interest in whether spatial decoupling of residence from workplace can contribute to rebalancing regional development across the European Union. This paper examines four interrelated dimensions of remote work-induced residential mobility using the R-MAP survey dataset, a large-scale cross-sectional survey of over 7, 400 remote workers across Europe collected in 2024. First, the spatial direction of post-2020 relocations is analysed, revealing that mobility occurs overwhelmingly within the same urbanisation tier, with urban-to-urban moves accounting for 67% of all relocations. Counter-urban flows to- ward rural areas remain marginal at just 2% of moves, though their relative demograph- ic impact on small rural populations is non-trivial. Second, the motivational structure of relocation decisions is examined, showing that quality-of-life considerations dominate (cited by 78% of movers), followed by economic and housing factors (70%), while digital infrastructure ranks among the least cited reasons. Third, amenity preferences are compared across residential contexts, documenting striking convergence between urban and rural remote workers, with statistically significant differences emerging only for public transport and restaurant access. Fourth, logistic regression models reveal that remote work intensity is a consistent positive predictor of relocation probability, with a transition from 50% to fully remote work associated with a 6.5 percentage point in- crease in relocation likelihood. Age, education, and industry sector also shape mobility patterns. Overall, the findings suggest that remote work primarily stretches metropolitan systems and reinforces peri-urban zones rather than triggering large-scale redistribution toward structurally weaker peripheral regions. |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2604.08252 |