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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Hicks, Michael |
| Abstract: | The author examines the role highway infrastructure and local property tax rate variability play in retail agglomeration in Indiana from 1988 through 2003. To account for data errors and the potential endogeneity of taxes and infrastructure on retail agglomeration, he introduces a unique identification strategy that exploits the entrance timing and location of Wal-Mart stores in Indiana. Using a time-series cross-sectional model of Indiana’s 92 counties from 1988 through 2003, he estimates the impact highway infrastructure, property taxes, and big-box competition have in creating regional agglomerations. Among two separate specifications and a full and rural-only set of the data, the author finds considerable agreement in the results. In the full sample, he finds no relationship between property tax rates or highway infrastructure and retail agglomeration. Within the non-metropolitan statistical area (MSA) counties, this relationship is very modest, though it possesses considerable statistical certainty. Highway impacts within the non-MSA counties are significant and positively related to retail agglomeration, with the presence of highways explaining about 10 percent of total agglomeration variability. (JEL R11, R53) |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure; endogeneity; taxation; Wal-Mart |
| JEL: | R52 R11 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:52&r=ure |
| By: | Feng, Li |
| Abstract: | Increases in the school-age population, maximum class size requirements in various states and the No Child Left Behind Act’s mandate of a “highly qualified teacher” in every classroom collectively will increase the demand for teachers. However, public school teachers are exiting the profession in large numbers. This poses a serious challenge for policymakers. In this paper I analyze the determinants of teacher attrition using matched teacher-student class-level information for all Florida public school teachers. In addition to teacher demographics and school characteristics employed in previous studies, I include a number of variables measuring the characteristics of the specific students assigned to each teacher. The results indicate that classroom characteristics, such as students’ performance on standardized tests and the average number of disciplinary incidents, play a larger role than school average student characteristics in determining teacher attrition. Teacher pay has a positive influence on retention, while the results for class size are mixed. There is also some evidence that more able teachers are more likely to exit the teaching profession. These findings suggest that in addition to salary, classroom assignment is an important factor when considering policies to promote teacher retention and teacher quality. |
| Keywords: | Teacher Turnover; Classroom Environment; Students' Test Scores |
| JEL: | J63 J45 I21 |
| Date: | 2005–11–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:589&r=ure |
| By: | Tovmo Per; Revelli Federico (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether the production efficiency of Norwegian local governments exhibits a spatial pattern that is compatible with the hypothesis of yardstick competition. In order to check whether yardstick competition is really responsible far the observed spatial pattern, and to rule out alternative theoretical explanations, the paper exploits unique information from a survey on Norwegian local governments, where local public officials are explicitly asked whether they compare their own performances in the provision of public services to those of other governments (benchmarking). Merging the latter information - "declared" yardstick competition - with the observed interdependence in local efficiency measures - "revealed" yardstick competition - the paper provides evidence that comparative performance evaluation generates spatial auto-correlation in local efficiency indicators. |
| Date: | 2006–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:200605&r=ure |
| By: | Segre Giovanna; Russo Antonio Paolo |
| Date: | 2005–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:eblawp:200505&r=ure |
| By: | Abdel-Kader Mohamed; Giaccaria Paolo |
| Date: | 2005–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:eblawp:200504&r=ure |
| By: | Leitao, Joao |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to reveal the role played by open innovation schemes in the development of new competitive advantages. Furthermore, it aims to present a normative model for networking knowledge clusters, that is, traditional clusters that are applied to the case of the Cova da Beira region (Portugal) such as Agro-Food, Textile, and Public Sector; and a set of emergent clusters that include Bioscience, Biotechnology, Multimedia, Tourism, Health, and Knowledge. In this paper, the basic framework about clusters was expanded, taking as reference the studies of Porter (1985, 1990, 1998, 2005), Feldman (1994), Porter and Stern (2001), and Furman, Porter and Stern (2002). The problematic related to open innovation schemes is integrated in this framework in order to reveal the importance of building new kinds of open innovation networks that don’t involve the geographic concentration of the enterprises. After making a literature review in order to present the analytical framework that includes the clusters theory, a normative model is presented through the development of a case study applied to the Cova da Beira region (Portugal). This option is due to the existence of a local University that has historically interfaced the launching of open-innovation spin-offs into local and international clusters networks. The present paper reveals a high degree of originality, since it contributes to the introduction of the concept of open innovation into the literature about clusters. The main point is that open innovation provides two main implications to build up and leverage both internal and external knowledge into international clusters networks. First, this study presents a basic implication for several agents such as, entrepreneurs, researchers, and policy makers; that is, universities are principals in interfacing the sources of open innovation and the transfer of processes of knowledge into the international clusters networks. Second, it promotes the inclusion of the issue related to the creation of international and institutional networks in the short agenda of the referred agents in order to promote the introduction of new open innovation schemes. |
| Keywords: | Clusters; Entrepreneurship; Institutional Networks; Open Innovation. |
| JEL: | R3 M13 R11 M20 |
| Date: | 2006–10–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:488&r=ure |
| By: | Lamieri, Marco; Ietri, Daniele |
| Abstract: | Market is not only the result of the behaviour of agents, as we can find other forms of contact and communication. Many of them are determined by proximity conditions in some kind of space: in this paper we pay a particular attention to relational space, that is the space determined by the relationships between individuals. The paper starts from a brief account on theoretical and empirical literature on social networks. Social networks represent people and their relationships as networks, in which individuals are nodes and the relationships between them are ties. In particular, graph theory is used in literature in order to demonstrate some properties of social networks summarised in the concept of Small Worlds. The concept may be used to explain how some phenomena involving relations among agents have effects on multiple different geographical scales, involving both the local and the global scale. The empirical section of the paper is introduced by a brief summary of simulation techniques in social science and economics as a way to investigate complexity. The model investigates the dynamics of a population of firms (potential innovators) and consumers interacting in a space defined as a social network. Consumers are represented in the model in order to create a competitive environment pushing enterprises into innovative process (we refer to Schumpeter’s definition): from interaction between consumers and firms innovation emerges as a relational good. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; small world; computational economics; network; complexity |
| JEL: | L20 L10 C63 O33 D24 |
| Date: | 2004–04–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:445&r=ure |
| By: | Nien, Benjamin Chih-Chien |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to analyze “central place theory” of spatial economics based on “supply and demand theory” in microeconomics and “field theory” in physics, and also discuss their relationship. Three most important research findings are described below. Firstly, the concept of market equilibrium could be expressed in the mathematical form of physics field theory under proper hypothesis. That is because the most important aspect of field theory model is that complex analysis is taken as a key mathematical tool. If assuming that “imaginary part” is neglected in this model, it is found that this model has the same mathematical structure as supply and demand theory of microeconomics. Secondly, the mathematical model of field theory can be applied to express clearly many concepts of central place theory, or even introduce many new concepts. Thirdly, it could also be taken as a study of combining the Hotelling Model and Moses Model for the location theory in another mathematic approach. |
| Keywords: | Mathematical Economics; Economic Geography; Microeconomics |
| JEL: | D11 D21 R10 |
| Date: | 2006–09–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:390&r=ure |
| By: | Claudio R. Lucinda; Arthur Barrionuevo Filho |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2006:125&r=ure |
| By: | Kumar, Sudesh |
| Abstract: | After the 18th century India has been creating a ground for the SSI industry and they started taking shape of clusters. Headings Introduction and Background provides a bird’s eye view on the background of SSI clusters in India. Chapter one sets forth the literature that is relevant to understand the concept behind successful industry clusters. An effort is made to take a look at factors embedded in regional economies of and concept behind the SSIs clusters. Chapter Two focuses on the peculiarity of sickness in Indian SSI clusters taking an example of UNIDO’s cluster reformation program. Next Chapter Three is based on research and findings on famous Textile cluster of India, Tirupur. Later, Chapter Four of this paper integrates discussions on various elements of the Tirupur industry cluster based on interviews findings with entrepreneurs, using one particular industry cluster in achieving development. It deals with the some elements of Tirupur Cluster that is not paid attention to under the common cluster development program. Chapter Five highlights the selected and major policy implications affecting the SSIs clusters and finally there is the conclusion. |
| Keywords: | Industry Cluster; Development; Economics; Small Scale Industry |
| JEL: | O10 |
| Date: | 2005–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:171&r=ure |
| By: | Dalmazzone Silvana (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | A part of the literature on fiscal federalism aver the years has dealt with environmental policy as a particular case of the supply of public goods. The centrai issue is the identification of criteria on how to allocate powers and functions aver environmental management at different levels of govemment. The main stream of literature focuses on the conditions needed to establish whether pollution standards and regulatory programs should be set and designed by centraI or rather by local governments. This paper provides a review of the debate and explores a few potential limits of the prevailing line of enquiry. |
| Date: | 2006–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:200602&r=ure |
| By: | Lagerlöf, Nils-Petter; Basher, Syed A. |
| Abstract: | We explain per-capita income gaps across US states and Canadian provinces by the following chain of causation. Geography determined where Europeans originally settled: in Northeastern USA, along those segments of the Atlantic coast where the climate was neither too hot (the US South), nor too cold (Canada). Higher population densities in this early settled region have prevailed to this day. This has in turn affected per-capita incomes because densely populated areas are conducive to skill accumulation; indicatively, many of the world’s top universities lie in this region. Our ordinary least-squares regressions show university education having a robust positive and significant effect on per-capita incomes. To control for endogeneity we run various instrumental-variable regressions: some where education today is instrumented with e.g. population density in 1900; and some where different sets of geography variables (e.g. temperature) are used as instruments. Our findings are consistent with the type of causal chain described. |
| Keywords: | Geography; population density; income gaps; Canada; USA |
| JEL: | J0 O3 R00 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:369&r=ure |
| By: | Alexandre A. Porsse; Eduardo A. Haddad; Eduardo P. Ribeiro |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2006:54&r=ure |