|
on Economic Geography |
|
Issue of 2026–09–21
five papers chosen by Andreas Koch, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Chang Liu; Kohei Takeda |
| Abstract: | Structural transformation from manufacturing to services varies sharply across US regions. We document that regions with universities, especially highly ranked research institutions, experience faster growth in high-skill services, larger increases in the college wage premium, and a greater concentration of new work. We develop a task-based theory in which universities affect local economies by supplying college labor and adding new tasks. Our quantitative analysis shows that new tasks concentrated in top university regions account for a substantial part of regional differences in high-skill-service growth and the college wage premium increase between 1980 and 2015. |
| Keywords: | structural transformation, skill premium, new task, economic geography |
| Date: | 2026–08–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2211 |
| By: | Tomoya Mori; Miki Ogawa |
| Abstract: | When a country's population declines, the aggregate economy appears to contract on the intensive margin: industrial diversity intact, every industry a little smaller. At the regional level, contraction is uneven and takes the extensive form: entire industries disappear, one after another. The relevant unit is the city: industries are nested by size - the hierarchy property of industrial location - each viable only above a minimum population. Necessity industries' thresholds bunch at the low end, so a city's industry count - and its jobs - is sharply concave in size (concavity on jobs). A modest loss pushes a small city below many thresholds at once; a large core sheds a few specialized industries, one at a time. Lost industries consolidate upward to the next city large enough to host them; for the worker it means a step down to a lower-paid local job. To recover that income, workers move up to the apex - the only city hosting the full industry range. Studying Japan - two decades ahead of the OECD, Tokyo at its apex - with worker-level panel data on the young workers who carry the migration, a wage regression in real, housing-inclusive wages identifies a Tokyo-bound migration incentive that varies by origin, following concavity on jobs. |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2609.09859 |
| By: | Butzin, Anna; Flögel, Franz; Meyer, Kerstin; Rabadjieva, Maria |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the interplay between university entrepreneurial ecosystems (UEE) and regional entrepreneurial ecosystems (REE) in knowledge-based regional development, focusing on their permeability, boundaries, and complementarities. Using qualitative data from 176 events attended by startups from UEE and REE in the German Ruhr region, the research reveals an asymmetric permeability: UEE startups frequently engage with REE events to access market knowledge and managerial skills, while REE startups rarely participate in UEE activities beyond recruiting graduates. Both ecosystems deliver similar types of entrepreneurial knowledge, such as managerial and funding insights, but differ in their emphasis. UEEs focus more on market insights linked to technology commercialisation, whereas REEs emphasise marketing knowledge reflecting closer market proximity. The findings highlight the REE's nurturing role by providing practical support and market access for the UEE startups. The study suggests fostering greater inclusivity of UEEs to benefit a broader range of founders and recommends hybrid event formats combining UEE and REE resources to enhance regional innovation dynamics. |
| Keywords: | university entrepreneurial ecosystems, regional development, knowledge transfer, entrepreneurial ecosystems |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iatdps:343531 |
| By: | Nicola Caravaggio; Giuliano Resce; Agapito Emanuele Santangelo |
| Abstract: | This paper develops the Municipal Equitable and Sustainable Well-being Index (MESWI) for all Italian municipalities, extending the 12-domain BES framework to the local level through 49 indicators. Results reveal substantial territorial heterogeneity that regional and provincial statistics may conceal. The North-South divide remains the dominant geographical pattern and is considerably stronger than the difference between inner and non-inner areas. At the same time, municipalities within the same regions and territorial categories display markedly different well-being profiles. Remoteness is associated with weaker services and socio-economic opportunities but also with stronger environmental performance. The MESWI provides a fine-grained picture of multidimensional well-being and a potential information base for the programming, monitoring and evaluation of place-based policies. |
| Date: | 2026–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2608.26426 |
| By: | Mateo Cacho Uzal (Banco de España); M. Daniela Filip (Banco de España); Diana Posada Restrepo (Banco de España) |
| Abstract: | En este documento se analizan las dinámicas de convergencia del PIB per cápita entre 98 regiones de España, Alemania, Francia e Italia durante el período 1998-2025. Empleando la metodología de Phillips y Sul (2007, 2009) se identifican seis clubes de convergencia. Los resultados revelan una heterogeneidad estructural: los clubes más avanzados, integrados principalmente por regiones alemanas, presentan niveles de PIB per cápita persistentemente superiores a la media muestral. Los clubes intermedios y bajos, compuestos en su mayoría por regiones francesas, italianas y españolas, convergen hacia equilibrios de menor renta relativa. Para estimar los determinantes del crecimiento de cada región se emplea un modelo de panel dinámico heterogéneo con efectos comunes. Los resultados sugieren que las disparidades regionales europeas no solo responden a diferencias en dotaciones de factores, sino también a la distinta capacidad de las regiones para convertir dichas dotaciones en crecimiento económico. En particular, el papel del capital humano y el stock de capital físico destacan como elementos clave en la explicación de estas divergencias. |
| Keywords: | convergencia regional, clubes de convergencia, NUTS 2, DCCEMG, capital físico, capital humano |
| JEL: | O47 R11 C33 O15 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:opaper:2615 |