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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Laurent Gobillon (INED); Thierry Magnac (University of Toulouse (GREMAQ, IDEI) and IZA); Harris Selod (INRA-LEA, PSE, CREST and CEPR) |
| Abstract: | There are large spatial disparities in unemployment durations across the 1,300 municipalities in the Ile-de-France region (Paris Greater Area). In order to characterize these imbalances, we estimate a proportional hazard model stratified by municipality on an exhaustive dataset of all unemployment spells starting in the first semester of 1996. This model allows us to recover a survival function for each municipality that is purged of individual observed heterogeneity. We show that only 30% of the disparities in the observed determinants of the survival rates relate to individual variables. Nearly 70% of the remaining disparities are captured by local indicators, mainly segregation indices. |
| Keywords: | economic geography, unemployment, duration models, urban economics |
| JEL: | C41 J64 R23 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2848&r=ure |
| By: | David Card (UC Berkeley) |
| Abstract: | In the past 25 years immigration has re-emerged as a driving force in the size and composition of U.S. cities. This paper describes the effects of immigration on overall population growth and the skill composition of cities, focusing on the connection between immigrant inflows and the relative number of less-skilled workers in the local population. The labor market impacts of immigrant arrivals can be offset by outflows of natives and earlier generations of immigrants. Empirically, however, these offsetting flows are small, so most cities with higher rates of immigration have experienced overall population growth and a rising share of the less-skilled. These supply shifts are associated with a modest widening of the wage gap between more- and less-skilled natives, coupled with a positive effect on average native wages. Beyond the labor market, immigrant arrivals also affect rents and housing prices, government revenues and expenses, and the composition of neighborhoods and schools. The effect on rents is the same magnitude as the effect on average wages, implying that the average “rent burden” (the ratio of rents to incomes) is roughly constant. The local fiscal effects of increased immigration also appear to be relatively small. The neighborhood and school externalities posed by the presence of low-income and minority families may be larger, and may be a key factor in understanding native reactions to immigration. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Labour Market Impact, Skill Groups |
| JEL: | J21 J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:0711&r=ure |
| By: | Jordi Jofre-Montseny (Grup en Federalisme Fiscal i Economia Regional(Institut de Recerca en Economia - IEB), Departament d'Economia Política i Hisenda Pública, Universitat de Barcelona); Albert Solé-Ollé (Grup en Federalisme Fiscal i Economia Regional(Institut de Recerca en Economia - IEB), Departament d'Economia Política i Hisenda Pública, Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses empirically how differences in local taxes affect the intraregional location of new manufacturing plants. These effects are examined within the random profit maximization framework while accounting for the presence of different types of agglomeration economies (localization/ urbanization/ Jacobs’ economies) at the municipal level. We look at the location decision of more than 10,000 establishments locating between 1996 and 2003 across more than 400 municipalities in Catalonia, a Spanish region. It is necessary to restrict the choice set to the local labor market and, above all, to control for agglomeration economies so as to identify the effects of taxes on the location of new establishments. |
| Keywords: | Local taxes, Agglomeration economies, Firm location. |
| JEL: | R3 H32 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:xrp:wpaper:xreap2007-05&r=ure |
| By: | Sarah J. Reber |
| Abstract: | An important goal of the desegregation of schools following the Supreme Court's decision in Brown vs. Board of Education was to improve the quality of the schools black children attended. This paper uses a new dataset to examine the effects of desegregation on public and private enrollment and the system of school finance for Louisiana. I show that the system of school finance in Louisiana had long favored whites in high black enrollment share districts. Because of this system, whites in districts with high black enrollment shares stood to lose the most from desegregation, as the gap between white student-teacher ratios and black student-teacher ratios in those districts was higher. Given the importance of districts' black enrollment share in the system of finance and the potential impact of desegregation, I examine how changes in public and private enrollment, the local property tax base, and per-pupil revenue relate to the initial black enrollment share. The analysis suggests that the Jim-Crow system of school finance -- which had prevailed for over 60 years -- unraveled as the schools desegregated. While desegregation did induce some "white flight" and reduce the local property tax base slightly, the policies had the intended effect of reducing black-white gaps in school resources, as increased funding allowed districts to "level up" average spending in integrated schools to that previously experienced only in the white schools. |
| JEL: | H71 H72 H75 I22 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13192&r=ure |
| By: | Lapo Valentina |
| Abstract: | Does the purpose of the regional government influence the inter-regional tax competition under spatial concentration? Is the any regional government the effective one? The base of theoretical analyses is the agglomeration theory of new economic geography. It is proposed to build agglomeration model under the inter-regional tax competition, which takes into account the aims of the regional governments, and to test econometrically the tax competition and purposes of the administration in Russian regions |
| JEL: | R12 |
| Date: | 2007–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eer:wpalle:07-01e&r=ure |
| By: | Rainald Borck (University of Munich and DIW Berlin); Michael Pflüger (University of Passau, DIW Berlin and IZA); Matthias Wrede (RWTH Aachen University and CESifo) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a simple theory of geographical mobility which simultaneously explains people’s choice of residences in space and the location of industry. Residences are chosen on the basis of the utility which mobile households obtain across locations. The spatial pattern of industry is determined by the location decision of a scarce essential factor of production which seeks to obtain the highest possible economic return. Our theory comprehends applications to commuting and physical capital mobility. Referring to the decline in mobility costs, we are able to explain that long-distance commuting and foreign direct investment have increased and that industrial activity has become more concentrated both within as well as across countries. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, labour mobility, capital mobility, industry location, migration, commuting |
| JEL: | F12 F21 F22 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2862&r=ure |
| By: | Henry G. Overman; Patricia Rice; Anthony J. Venables |
| Abstract: | We develop a diagrammatic framework that can be used to study the economic linkagesbetween regions or cities. Hitherto, such linkages have not been the primary focus of eitherthe theoretical or empirical literatures. We show that our general framework can be used tointerpret both the New Economic Geography and Urban Systems literatures to help usunderstand spatial economic linkages. We then extend the theoretical framework to allow usto consider a number of additional issues which may be particularly important for analyzingthe impact of policy. Such policy analysis will also require empirical work to identify thenature of key relationships. In a final section, we consider what the existing empiricalliterature can tell us about these relationships. |
| Keywords: | Spatial linkages, Urban systems, New Economic Geography, Urban and regional policy |
| JEL: | R00 R58 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0805&r=ure |
| By: | Baycan-Levent, Tuzin (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Nijkamp, Peter |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses the attention on the importance of urban green areas in the context of urban sustainability policy. Special attention is given to the conditions that are responsible for successful urban green space planning. Based on a systematic extensive data base on relevant attributes of urban green in 23 European cities, our study aims to identify the critical success factors for the effective provision and maintenance of green spaces in the city, by using a multidimensional principal component analysis. By means of this comparative analysis, it is possible to specify transferable policy lessons on urban green spaces. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2007-10&r=ure |
| By: | Sarah J. Reber |
| Abstract: | The desegregation of Southern schools following the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown decision was perhaps the most important innovation in U.S. education policy in the 20th century. This paper assesses the effects of desegregation on its intended beneficiaries, black students. In Louisiana, substantial reductions in segregation between 1965 and 1970 were accompanied by large increases in per-pupil funding. This additional funding was used to "level up" school spending in integrated schools to the level previously experienced only in the white schools. The effects of desegregation on the educational experiences of black students differed substantially depending on the black share of enrollment in the district. For historical reasons, blacks in districts with higher black enrollment shares experienced larger increases in funding, compared to their counterparts in lower black enrollment share districts. On the other hand, blacks in high black enrollment share districts saw smaller increases in exposure to whites (who were higher-income). Blacks in high black enrollment share districts experienced larger improvements in educational attainment, suggesting that the increase in funding associated with desegregation was more important than the increased exposure to whites. A simple cost-benefit calculation suggests that the additional school spending was more than offset by higher earnings due to increased educational attainment. Using a different source of variation and methodology, the results of this paper are consistent with earlier work suggesting that desegregation improved educational attainment for blacks and sheds new light on the potential mechanism behind this improvement in Louisiana: increased funding for blacks' schools. |
| JEL: | I2 J18 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13193&r=ure |
| By: | Jean Bourdon (IREDU, University of Bourgogne); Markus Frölich (SIAW, University of St. Gallen, IFAU Uppsala and IZA); Katharina Michaelowa (University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | Primary school enrolment rates are very low in francophone Africa. In order to enhance education supply, many countries have launched large teacher recruitment programmes in recent years, whereby teachers are no longer engaged on civil servant positions, but on the basis of (fixed-term) contracts typically implying considerably lower salaries and a sharply reduced duration of professional training. While this policy has led to a boost of primary enrolment, there is a concern about a loss in the quality of education. In this paper we analyse the impact on educational quality, by estimating nonparametrically the quantile treatment effects for Niger, Togo and Mali, based on very informative data, comparable across these countries. We find that contract teachers do relatively better for low ability children in low grades than for high ability children in higher grades. When positive treatment effects were found, they tended to be more positive at the low to medium quantiles; when negative effects were found they tended to be more pronounced at the high ability quantiles. Hence, overall it seems that contract teachers do a relatively better job for teaching students with learning difficulties than for teaching the ‘more advanced’ children. This implies that contract teachers tend to reduce inequalities in student outcomes. At the same time, we also observe clear differences between the countries. We find that, overall, effects are positive in Mali, somewhat mixed in Togo (with positive effects in 2nd and negative effects in 5th grade) and negative in Niger. This ordering is consistent with theoretical expectations derived from a closer examination of the different ways of implementation of the contract teacher programme in the three countries. In Mali and, to some extent, in Togo, the contract teacher system works more through the local communities. This may have led to closer monitoring and more effective hiring of contract teachers. In Niger, the system was changed in a centralized way with all contract teachers being public employees, so that there is no reason to expect much impact on local monitoring. In addition, the extremely fat hiring of huge numbers of contract teachers may also have contributed to relatively poor performance in Niger. These results are expected to be relevant for other sub-Saharan African countries, too, as well as for the design of new contract teacher programmes in the future. |
| Keywords: | teacher incentives, quantile treatment effects, nonparametric estimation |
| JEL: | O15 I21 C14 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2844&r=ure |
| By: | Marco Percoco (Bocconi University) |
| Abstract: | The paper reviews urban transport policies in Italian cities and their impact on the concentration of NO2 and PM10. Using parametric and non-parametric techniques, it finds no significant effect of the policy actions currently implemented. Further, it finds evidence of a weak positive impact of plans adoption. These results are interpreted as evidence of positive externalities among actions. Finally, by also discussing case studies, the paper points out the absence of economic instruments and argues that significant welfare gains would derive from their adoption. |
| Keywords: | Urban Transport Policies, Traffic Externalities, Pollution Abatement |
| JEL: | Q53 R41 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2007.59&r=ure |
| By: | Ruben Mercado; Antonio Páez; K. Bruce Newbold |
| Abstract: | As countries face the challenges posed by rising numbers of older persons, the need to reassess their respective policies to address transport needs in aging societies is increasingly recognized in relation to health and sustainability goals. This paper proposes the examination of six interrelated policy areas affecting elderly mobility in a country or administrative region. A general survey of policy developments in each of these areas could improve current strategies and existing processes in the planning and implementation of mobility services that will be responsive to both elderly and the general population now and in the future. These include: 1) general transport policy framework; 2) travel mode preference; 3) alternative transport infrastructure stock and investments; 4) housing-land-use-transportation linkage; 5) research and technology applications that improve travel mode and environment; and 6) institutional and legal reforms. These policy areas are discussed and given concrete elucidation in the case of Ontario, Canada. Reflections and recommendations for further research and policy action deemed critical in the case region are highlighted. |
| Keywords: | transportation, aging, regional policy, Canada |
| JEL: | R42 R58 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:sedapp:187&r=ure |
| By: | Jan Rouwendal (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Peter Nijkamp (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the empirical research that has been generated by Oswald’s thesis, which claims that there is a causal relationship from homeownership to unemployment. The literature confirms a decreasing effect of homeownership on geographical mobility of workers, but does not in general confirm that homeowners have longer unemployment spells or higher unemployment rates. Even though this finding is related to heterogeneity in the labour force and associated selectivity effects, there are clear indications that there is also an effect of homeownership on the search for jobs on the local labour market, especially for highly leveraged homeowners. To offer an integrated representation of the various forces at work, this paper proposes an umbrella model with endogenous search intensity that is consistent with much of the empirical evidence. In particular, it predicts lower geographical mobility of homeowners as well as higher exit rates from unemployment by acceptance of jobs on the local labour market. |
| Keywords: | thesis; labour market search; homeownership |
| JEL: | J61 J64 R21 R23 |
| Date: | 2007–06–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20070047&r=ure |
| By: | Daniele Checchi (University of Milan, CEPR and IZA); Luca Flabbi (Georgetown University, CHILD and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Intergenerational mobility in income and education is affected by the influence of parents on children’s school choices. Our focus is on the role played by different school systems in reducing or magnifying the impact of parents on children’s school choices and therefore on intergenerational mobility in general. We compare two apparently similar educational systems, Italy and Germany, to see how the common feature of separate tracks at Secondary School level may produce different impacts on children choices. Using data from a cross-country survey (PISA 2003), we study the impact of parental education on track choice, showing that the greater flexibility of the Italian system (where parents are free to choose the type of track) translates into greater dependence from parental background. These effects are reinforced when moving to post-secondary education, where the aspiration to go to college is affected not only by the school type but also (in the case of Italy only) by parental education. We then move to country-specific data sets (ISTAT 2001 for Italy and GSOEP 2001 and 2002 for Germany) to study the impact of family background on postsecondary school choices: we find this impact is greatly reduced when we control for secondary school tracks. Overall, we estimate large asymmetries by gender, with women’s behavior more independent from family backgrounds than men’s behavior. |
| Keywords: | secondary school tracks, education, intergenerational mobility |
| JEL: | I2 J1 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2876&r=ure |
| By: | Reinhold Kosfeld (Department of Economics, University of Kassel); Hans-Friedrich Eckey (Department of Economics, University of Kassel); Jorgen Lauridsen (Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark) |
| Abstract: | In EU countries, knowledge on spatial disparities in overall price level is extremely scarce. When interregional price disparities are large, however, nominal income measures fail to assess prosperity and the catch-up processes of regions. Despite its importance for regional policy, no official regional price statistic is available as a standard. On account of this gap, this paper deals with the econometric estimation of regional price indices for German NUTS 3 regions. Econometric price models for the consumer price index (CPI) and the housing rent index (HRI) are developed on the ground of utility maximization in a two-goods model. The estimated price indices are used to analyse price disparities in the period 1995-2004 across German NUTS 3 regions. Real income comparisons show that the East/West gap is likely to be substantially larger than assessed from incomplete price data in previous studies. |
| Keywords: | Regional price level, econometric price models, price disparities, real income disparities |
| JEL: | C21 R13 R31 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kas:wpaper:2007-93&r=ure |
| By: | Ian W.H. Parry (Resources for the Future); Kenneth A. Small (Department of Economics, University of California-Irvine) |
| Abstract: | This paper derives intuitive and empirically useful formulas for the optimal pricing of passenger transit and for the welfare effects of adjusting current fare subsidies, for peak and off-peak urban rail and bus systems. The formulas are implemented based on a detailed estimation of parameter values for the metropolitan areas of Washington (D.C.), Los Angeles, and London. Our analysis accounts for congestion, pollution, and accident externalities from automobiles and from transit vehicles; scale economies in transit supply; costs of accessing and waiting for transit service as well as service crowding costs; and agency adjustment of transit frequency, vehicle size, and route network to induced changes in demand for passenger miles. The results support the efficiency case for the large fare subsidies currently applying across mode, period, and city. In almost all cases, fare subsidies of 50% or more of operating costs are welfare improving at the margin, and this finding is robust to alternative assumptions and parameters. |
| Keywords: | Transit subsidies; Scale economies; Traffic congestion; Welfare effects |
| JEL: | R48 H21 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irv:wpaper:060723&r=ure |
| By: | Marisa Hidalgo-Hidalgo (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide) |
| Abstract: | The belief that the behaviour and outcomes of compulsory school students are affected by their peers has been important in shaping education policy. I analyze two polar education systems -tracking and mixing- and propose several criteria for their comparison. The system that maximizes average human capital, I find, depends crucially on the level of complementarity between peer effects and individuals' ability. I also find that when mean innate ability is much higher among the rich than among the poor, the system that best maximizes average human capital is mixing. However, there is no unanimity in the overall population so as to which system to choose. |
| Keywords: | Peer effects, Tracking, Mixing. |
| JEL: | D63 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pab:wpaper:07.14&r=ure |
| By: | Giacomo De Giorgi (Stanford University); Michele Pellizzari (IGIER-Bocconi and IZA); Silvia Redaelli (Bocconi University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate whether peers’ behavior influences the choice of college major. Using a unique dataset of students at Bocconi University and exploiting the organization of teaching at this institution, we are able to identify the endogenous effect of peers on such decision through a novel identification strategy which solves the common econometric problems of studies of social interactions. Results show that, indeed, one is more likely to choose a major when many of her peers make the same choice. We estimate that, when it diverts students from majors in which they seem to have a relative ability advantage, this effect leads to lower average grades and graduation mark, a penalty that could cost up to 1,117 USD a year in the labor market. |
| Keywords: | peer effects, education, social interaction, reflection |
| JEL: | J0 I21 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2833&r=ure |
| By: | Zoran Ivkovich; Scott Weisbenner |
| Abstract: | We study the relation between households' stock purchases and stock purchases made by their neighbors. A ten percentage point increase in neighbors' purchases of stocks from an industry is associated with a two percentage point increase in households' own purchases of stocks from that industry. The effect is considerably larger for local stocks and among households in more social states. Controlling for area sociability, households' and neighbors' investment style preferences, and the industry composition of local firms, we attribute approximately one-quarter to one-half of the correlation between households' stock purchases and stock purchases made by their neighbors to word-of-mouth communication. |
| JEL: | D14 D83 G11 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13201&r=ure |
| By: | Spyros Konstantopoulos (Northwestern University and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Previous findings from experimental and non-experimental studies have demonstrated that teachers differ in their effectiveness. In addition, evidence from non-experimental studies has indicated that teacher effects can last up to five years. This study used high-quality data from a four-year randomized experiment in which teachers and students were randomly assigned to classes to examine whether teacher effects on student achievement persist over time. Teacher effects are defined as teacher specific residuals adjusted for student and treatment effects. Findings indicate that the teacher effects are cumulative and observed not only in the current or the following grade, but they endure up to three years in early elementary grades. The findings also suggest that teacher effects are important and their additive effects on student achievement are as large as the additive effects of small classes. Finally, teacher effects are larger in reading than in mathematics. |
| Keywords: | teacher effects, experimental data, multi-level models |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2893&r=ure |
| By: | Claudio Ferraz (IPEA, Brazil); Frederico Finan (University of California, Los Angeles and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Political corruption is a concern of many modern democracies. It weakens democratic institutions, restricts public services, and lowers productivity undermining economic development. Yet despite its importance, our understanding of what determines corruption is limited. This paper uses a novel dataset of political corruption in local governments, constructed from reports of an anti-corruption program in Brazil, to test whether the possibility of re-election affects the level of rents extracted by incumbent politicians. Exploiting variation induced by the existence of a term limit, we find that in municipalities where mayors are in their final term, there is significantly more corruption compared to similar municipalities where mayors can still be re-elected. In particular, the share of resources misappropriated is, on average, 57 percent larger in municipalities with lame-duck mayors. The findings suggest that electoral rules that enhance political accountability play a crucial role in constraining politician’s corrupt behavior. |
| Keywords: | accountability, corruption, local governments, re-election |
| JEL: | D72 D78 H41 O17 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2843&r=ure |
| By: | Ludger Wößmann (University of Munich, Ifo Institute, CESifo and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Cross-country evidence on student achievement might be hampered by omitted country characteristics such as language or legal differences. This paper uses cross-state variation in Germany, whose sixteen states share the same language and legal system, but pursue different education policies. The same results found previously across countries hold within Germany: Higher mean student performance is associated with central exams, private school operation, and socio-economic background, but not with spending, while higher equality of opportunity is associated with reduced tracking. In a model that pools German states with OECD countries, these fundamental determinants do not differ significantly between the two samples. |
| Keywords: | student performance, PISA, Germany, education production function, institutional effects in schooling |
| JEL: | I28 L38 L33 H52 D02 D63 J24 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2880&r=ure |
| By: | Riganti, Patrizia (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Nijkamp, Peter |
| Abstract: | Many mature and popular tourist destinations are attracting large volumes of tourist flows. Especially during peak periods this may lead to congestion phenomena in different areas of tourist cities. This paper presents the results of a tourist survey carried out in the city centre of Amsterdam, during the high tourist season (2006), when congestion phenomena are clearly present. In addition to a descriptive and exploratory statistical analysis based on multi-attribute choice analysis, the paper also presents the findings from a statistical choice experiment based on the concept of willingness-to-accept tourism congestion. Various interesting results are discussed, with a specific focus on the question how these results can feed into the policy debate to manage congestion in mature cultural destinations. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2007-9&r=ure |
| By: | Alejandro Grinspun (International Poverty Centre) |
| Abstract: | . |
| Keywords: | Poverty, City, Rocinha, Human Development Index, Life Expectancy at Birth |
| JEL: | B41 D11 D12 E31 I32 O54 |
| Date: | 2005–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:ifocus:7&r=ure |
| By: | Jan Rouwendal (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Jos van Ommeren (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Reimbursement of commuting costs by employers has attracted little attention from economists. We develop a theoretical model of a monopsonistic employer who determines an optimal recruitment policy in a spatial labour market with search frictions and show that partial reimbursement of commuting cost will in general be an element of the recruitment policy. The empirical evidence we offer is consistent with the interpretation of reimbursement as the result of monopsonistic behaviour. The alternative explanation that stresses the role of tax incentives is unlikely to provide a full explanation of the commuting costs reimbursement. |
| Keywords: | monopsonistic labour markets; commuting; spatial labour market analysis |
| JEL: | J33 |
| Date: | 2007–06–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20070044&r=ure |
| By: | Lei Xu; Kao-Lee Liaw |
| Abstract: | Using a multinomial logit model, this paper explains the initial destination choices of skilled-worker immigrants from four South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) who landed in Canada in 1992-2001, based on the micro data of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. We found that their choice pattern, which is characterized by extremely strong concentration in Ontario, was strongly affected by the attractions of (1) co-ethnic communities and (2) long-term income opportunities represented by earned income per capita. The temporal pattern of their choices was subject to the lagged effects of the fluctuations in the spatial pattern of employment opportunities in an economically sensible but relatively mild way. The enhancement of Quebec’s attraction by the Canada/Quebec agreement on immigration dissipated within only a few years. |
| Keywords: | Canadian immigrants, South Asia, destination choices |
| JEL: | R23 F22 O15 J11 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:qseprr:416&r=ure |
| By: | Lei Xu |
| Abstract: | Based on the tabulations of the IMDB, I characterized, explained and compared the 1991-1996 and 1996-2001 inter-CMA migration of the immigrants in Canada. The spatial and temporal patterns were consistent with the neoclassical economic theory and the ethnic enclave theory. In making their decisions on departure and destination choices, the immigrants (both the 1991 landing cohort and 1996 cohort) were responsive to income and employment incentives, as well as the retaining and attracting powers of ethnic communities. This research also discovered an interesting temporal pattern -- while the inter-CMA migration of immigrants accentuated the over representation of the immigrants in Toronto and Vancouver in the 91-96 period, the rise of the “secondary” CMAs led to a spatial dispersal of the immigrants in the 96-01 period. This “new” finding supplements the existing literature on internal migration of Canadian immigrants, which discovered little evidence of an increased dispersion of immigrants over time. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, immigrants, Canada, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) |
| JEL: | R23 F22 O15 J11 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:sedapp:195&r=ure |
| By: | Achim I. Czerny (Workgroup for Infrastructure Policy (WIP), Technische Universität Berlin) |
| Abstract: | Congestion pricing and slot constraints can be used to manage airport congestion. We analyze the effect of uncertainty and complementary airport demand on the choice of regulation instruments. Analysis is based on a model including a single airport and uncertain passenger benefits that is gradually extended such that it includes a two-airport system and uncertain congestion costs. We demonstrate that uncertainty favors the use of congestion pricing while demand complementarity can favor the use of slot constraints. However, congestion pricing is always the right choice from a welfare perspective. We show that unregulated monopolistic airports also choose prices as instruments, but, that monopoly charges are too high. |
| Keywords: | Airports, slots, uncertainty, demand complementarity, stochastic correlation |
| JEL: | D42 L93 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cni:wpaper:2007-01&r=ure |
| By: | Sanjeev Goyal (University of Cambridge); Andrea Galeotti (University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | The important role of friends, neighbors and colleagues in shaping individual choices has been brought out in a number of studies over the years. The presence of significant ‘local’ influence in shaping individual behavior suggests that firms, governments and developmental agencies should explicitly incorporate it in the design of their marketing and developmental strategies. This paper develops a framework for the study of optimal strategies in the presence of social interaction. We focus on the case of a single player who exerts costly effort to get a set of individuals – engaged in social interaction – to choose a certain action. Our formulation allows for different types of social interaction (ranging from sharing of information to direct adoption externalities) and also allows for the player to have incomplete information concerning the connections among individuals. The analysis starts by showing that incorporating information on social interaction can have large effects on the profits of a player. We then show that an increase in the level and dispersion of social interaction can raise or lower the optimal strategy and profits of the player, depending on the content of the interaction. We then study the value of social network information for the player and find that it depends on the dispersion in social connections. The economic interest of these results is illustrated via a discussion of two economic applications: advertising in the presence of word of mouth communication and seeding a network. |
| Keywords: | Social Interaction, Seeding the Network, Word of Mouth Communication, Diffusion Strategy |
| JEL: | D8 L15 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2007.70&r=ure |
| By: | Singer, Bas P. (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Bossink, Bart A.G.; Van de Putte, J.M. |
| Abstract: | Purpose. The purpose of his paper is to investigate how organisations use a corporate real estate strategy to support their competitive strategy. It provides a theoretical and empirical overview and analysis of effective combinations of firms' real estate- and competitive strategies. Design/methodology/approach. The paper constructs a model that integrates three real estate strategies and three types of competitive strategies. Case studies in ten multinational firms in the Netherlands apply the model, and describe and analyse the combinations of the firms' real estate- and competitive strategies. Findings. A standardisation real estate strategy supports all three competitive strategies: lowest costs, differentiation, and focus. A value-based real estate strategy supports a competitive strategy of differentiation and differentiation-focus, and does not contribute to a competitive strategy of lowest costs, or lowest costs-focus. Finally, an incremental real estate strategy is ambiguous, and does not support any of the three competitive strategies. Originality/value – The paper constructs a literature-based model that combines real estate strategy and competitive strategy. It applies the model in a study of ten cases. Practitioners can use the model to analyse and reconsider the combination of their organisation's real estate strategy and competitive strategy. Academics can use the qualitative research results to design further research that qualifies and quantifies the relationship between various elements of real estate- and competitive strategy. |
| Keywords: | Corporate real estate; Real estate strategy; Corporate strategy; Competitive strategy |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2007-5&r=ure |
| By: | Martin Wörter (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates empirically the impact of diversity on the innovation performance of a firm. We created a measure for diversity that mirrors differences in the resource base of firms within an industry and tested its impact on innovation in addition to more traditional factors like technology-push, demand-pull, and firm-size, based on panel data stemming from three representative cross sectional surveys carried out in the years 1996, 1999, and 2002 respectively. In fact, diversity has a significant positive impact on the innovation intensity of firms and thus supports more theoretical findings in this area. We also find empirical evidence for the technology push and the demand pull hypotheses as well as the importance of competition for innovation. |
| Keywords: | Diversity, Innovation Performance, Evolution of Industries, Jacobs Externalities, Panel data, |
| JEL: | O30 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:07-165&r=ure |
| By: | Matthew J. Higgins; Daniel Levy; Andrew T. Young |
| Abstract: | We use Mississippi county-level data on (per capita) income and the percentages of populations that are Black (henceforth "Black") to examine the relationship between race and economic growth. The analysis is also conditioned on 40 other economic and socio-demographic variables. Given a negative and statistically significant partial correlation between income growth and Black, we ask if it is robust to exhaustive combinations of other conditioning variables (taken 3 at a time). The evidence suggests yes. Since even robust correlation does not imply causation, we then ask if other robust correlates with income growth play a roll in accounting for Black in the data. The answer “yes” is obtained for only one other robust correlate of the "right" sign: the percentage of a population that is below the poverty level. |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emo:wp2003:0701&r=ure |