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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2026–04–27
nine papers chosen by Andreas Koch, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Margherita Gerolimetto (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Stefano Magrini (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Alessandro Spiganti (University of Genoa) |
| Abstract: | We study the causal effect of the local supply of sector-specific innovators on patenting activity across US metropolitan areas, distinguishing between innovators active in carbon-intensive ("brown") and environmentally sustainable ("green") technological fields. Using USPTO patent data from 1990 to 2016, we document a marked shift in the geography of green innovation: while brown patenting has long been concentrated in established hubs, green patents — initially more dispersed — have increasingly converged toward the same locations. We build a theoretical framework in which local patenting activity is driven by the supply of green and brown innovators, investigating how their interaction shapes the innovation process. Empirically, we address endogeneity using a shift-share instrument that combines predetermined local technological specialization with exogenous shocks to foreign innovation across CPC sections. We find that a one-unit increase in the local supply of brown innovators raises patenting activity by approximately 0.8%, an effect that is robust across specifications. Together, these findings suggest that green innovation is becoming increasingly embedded in existing agglomeration ecosystems, with important implications for place-based climate policy. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, climate change, innovation, spatial distribution, patents |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O44 O47 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2026:14 |
| By: | Holtemöller, Oliver; Schult, Christoph; Solms, Anna |
| Abstract: | Many countries and regions remain below the level of economic activity of the world's most advanced economies. Some countries form growth clubs, some are stuck in the middle-income trap, and some stay on a very low level of economic activity. Although this situation is well documented on the country level, there is less evidence at the sub-national level within countries. We estimate county-level capital stocks and price indices and provide a comprehensive county-level data set for Germany. We find no evidence of convergence across all counties even if we condition on important drivers of long-term growth such as physical and human capital accumulation. Instead, we identify five convergence clubs, using endogenous clustering. We analyze differences in growth paths and describe the identified clusters based on variations in contributions of capital, labor, and total factor productivity to economic growth. Additionally, we examine the role of migration for regional development and find that net migration has in particular contributed to growth in richer regions. |
| Keywords: | convergence clubs, growth accounting, regional economic growth |
| JEL: | C23 O47 R11 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:340108 |
| By: | Luisa Alamá-Sabater (Universitat Jaume I and IIDL); Joan Crespo (Universitat de València and INTECO); Miguel A. Márquez (Universidad de Extremadura); Emili Tortosa-Ausina (Universitat Jaume I, IIDL and Ivie) |
| Abstract: | This article examines the interaction between innovation and employment and population dynamics through the development of a system of simultaneous equations. The model is ap- plied to a panel dataset of 271 European NUTS-2 regions. The results reveal strong bidi- rectional feedbacks between innovation and employment, while population dynamics operate indirectly through employment rather than exerting a direct effect on innovation. Innovation is found to follow jobs rather than people, indicating that the concentration of economic ac- tivity and labor interactions, not demographic size per se, constitute the primary drivers of regional innovative capacity. These mutually reinforcing dynamics give rise to virtuous and vicious cycles that contribute to persistent regional disparities. By opening the black box of employment–population–innovation interactions, the paper provides a structural foundation for designing more effective population, innovation, and employment policies. In particular, the analysis demonstrates that policies targeting a single dimension, whether business climate, quality of life, or innovation support, are unlikely to succeed in isolation. |
| Keywords: | nnovation, population-employment dynamics, European Union, NUTS2, spatial effects, territorial development |
| JEL: | C3 O18 O21 R1 R23 R3 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:2605 |
| By: | Kalee E. Burns; Julie L. Hotchkiss |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role that homophily might play in explaining racial/ethnic disparities in the labor market. We find that Black and Hispanic workers are less responsive than White workers to changes in job opportunities, but responsiveness increases when those opportunities present themselves in locations with a higher share own-race population. The analysis makes use of restricted American Community Survey data, accessible through the Federal Statistical Research Data Centers, allowing us to include commuting zones that may otherwise not be identified because of suppressed location information in the public data |
| Keywords: | regional labor markets; regional migration; geographic mobility; racial disparities; migration policy; migration costs; social costs; homophily; place-based; people-based; geographic mismatch |
| JEL: | R22 J61 J15 J18 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:26-22 |
| By: | Michael Fritsch (Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH)); Michael Wyrwich (University of Groningen, and Friedrich Schiller University Jena) |
| Abstract: | Historical structures and developments can have a significant and long-lasting impact on the level and the quality of regional entrepreneurship. One explanation for such effects is the formation of a regional "culture", an informal institution which is long-lasting and influences individual behavior. Another explanation for the long-term effects of historical structures and events is the presence of a collective memory. This article reviews the empirical evidence of the historical roots of regional entrepreneurial activity and its potential explanations. Furthermore, the consequences for the development of theories and the policy implications are discussed. Finally, the article reviews promising avenues for further research. |
| Keywords: | History, persistence, long-term effects, institutions, culture, collective memory |
| JEL: | L26 M13 N9 O1 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–04–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2026-004 |
| By: | Innessa Colaiacovo; Margaret G. Dalton; Sari Pekkala Kerr; William R. Kerr |
| Abstract: | Multiple studies document a local bias of entrepreneurship (LBE) in recent decades, where self-employed entrepreneurs are systematically more likely than wage workers to operate in their region of birth. This paper documents an important new fact: the LBE has been declining in the United States since 1970. The LBE is still present for white men engaged in self-employment, but it no longer exists for the overall U.S.-born workforce. We connect that decline to the transformation of self-employment away from high startup-capital sectors and the reduced opportunity for local self-employed entrepreneurs to achieve high incomes compared to wage work. |
| JEL: | D24 G51 J11 J24 J62 L26 M13 R11 R13 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35088 |
| By: | Atif Ansar; Bent Flyvbjerg; Alexander Budzier |
| Abstract: | Do projects learn across space and time? The Olympics, among the largest publicly funded programmes in the world, offer a unique empirical setting. Theoretically, the Games seem ideal for generating "positive learning curves, " driving down costs from one iteration to the next. In practice, they do not. Drawing on the concept of "myopia of learning, " we argue that spatiotemporality (geographic distance, temporal gaps, and the temporary organisational form of each host committee) combines to block higher-level learning. Our analysis of cost overruns from 1960 to 2024 reveals no sustained improvement over 64 years. Tactical learning abounds, but none aggregates into strategic improvement. We propose four strategies for overcoming the spatiotemporal barrier (incremental, centralising, decentralising, and real options), arguing that radical reform is required. |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2604.17970 |
| By: | Yonggeun Jung |
| Abstract: | Satellite data are increasingly used to measure economic activity, yet port-level trade remains largely unmeasured from space. This paper combines synthetic aperture radar imagery, nighttime lights, and port characteristics to measure monthly port-level maritime trade using only publicly available data. The model achieves strong out-of-sample accuracy for U.S. ports, with satellite signals and port attributes playing complementary roles. While absolute levels are difficult to extrapolate beyond the training domain, percentage changes are reliably recovered, as we confirm through a leave-one-region-out exercise and Monte Carlo simulation. Applying the framework to Russian ports after the 2022 sanctions, we detect shifts consistent with trade reorientation toward the Far East. The approach complements AIS-based methods by remaining robust to strategic signal manipulation. |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2604.15444 |
| By: | Otani, Yuichiro |
| Abstract: | We introduce Satellite Sociology, a framework for observing and interpreting social processes using Earth observation data. The framework treats artificial satellites as devices that capture the material traces through which human activity becomes expressed in space. These traces are not limited to urban environments but include any spatial configurations shaped by human behavior, institutions, and economic processes. A central feature of Satellite Sociology lies in the definition of the unit of analysis. Spatial units—such as buildings, grids, or administrative regions—are not treated as neutral technical choices, but as explicit constructions of the social system under investigation. Different unit definitions yield different representations of social structure, enabling multiple interpretations of the same spatial domain. The framework interprets spatial patterns as observable traces from which underlying behavior can be inferred, and emphasizes the feedback relationship between activity and its spatial manifestations. Spatial configurations both reflect accumulated decisions and influence subsequent behavior, linking observation with process. To illustrate one application, we analyze urban space as an accumulated outcome of social decisions and examine its structural persistence. Using Shinagawa Ward (Tokyo) and Christchurch (New Zealand), we construct two building-level indicators: the Building-Level Vegetation Exposure Index (BVEI) and the Built--Vegetation Imbalance Index (BVII). The results reveal distinct allocation regimes and identify spatial configurations consistent with structural constraints on environmental redistribution. These findings demonstrate how satellite-derived spatial patterns can support inference about the processes that generate and stabilize spatial structure. Satellite Sociology provides a general framework for interpreting spatial data as traces of human activity and for linking Earth observation with sociological analysis. |
| Date: | 2026–04–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:wj2nc_v1 |