|
on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Adelaja, Soji; Gibson, Melissa |
| Abstract: | Local schools are primarily funded through local property tax revenues, which are tied to property values and the distribution of value ranges within a community. Values, in turn, depend on the mix of lot sizes and building attributes (improvement characteristics), which are affected by zoning. Since lot size restrictions limit the size characteristics of homes (bedrooms, garages, building square footage, etc), it should constrain the number of school age kids emanating from a given homestead and that a school district services. Each home, depending on lot size, should exhibit differential impacts on school district revenues. Similarly, if lot size and the magnitude of other housing characteristics impact on the number of kids emanating from a home, then each home would generate differential costs on the school district. This paper argues that the number of school age kids from a given home is endogenous to lot size. It therefore posits that an optimal lot size exists within a community that would maximize school district revenues, minimize school district costs or optimize the combination of both. A theoretical framework is developed to guide the specification of net revenue functions for school districts. By applying data from a school district in Michigan, net revenue functions are estimated as functions of lot size and other exogenous factors. The result suggests that net revenue is only feasibly optimal at lot sizes below approximately 0.18 acres. One implication is that school districts, which typically do not engage themselves in the process of local land use decision making, might consider the promotion of density and compact development as being in their best interest. |
| Keywords: | Optimal lot size, zoning, school finances, district revenues and costs, Land Economics/Use, Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:6412&r=ure |
| By: | David Albouy |
| Abstract: | The standard revealed-preference hedonic estimate of a city's quality of life is proportional to that city's cost-of-living relative to its wage-level. Adjusting the standard hedonic model to account for federal taxes, non-housing costs, and non-labor income produces quality-of-life estimates different from the existing literature. The adjusted model produces city rankings positively correlated with those in the popular literature, and predicts how housing costs rise with wage levels, controlling for amenities. Mild seasons, sunshine, and coastal location account for most quality-of-life differences; once these amenities are accounted for, quality of life does not depend on city size, contrary to previous findings. |
| JEL: | H4 J3 Q51 Q54 R1 |
| Date: | 2008–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14472&r=ure |
| By: | Hye Jin Rho; Dean Baker; Danilo Pelletiere |
| Abstract: | This report compares the ownership and rental costs in 100 major U.S. metropolitan areas. Extending the work from a previous CEPR/NLIHC paper, "The Cost of Maintaining Ownership in the Current Crisis: Comparisons in 20 Cities," this study, while demonstrating the wide diversity in housing markets across the nation, finds that in many areas, homeownership costs are in line with rental costs. In these areas, it is practical and desirable to focus on policies that keep homeowners in their homes. The report goes on to show that in bubble-inflated markets, however, homeownership is not only a costly and risky proposition, but continuing price declines mean that homeowners will not accrue any equity. The authors suggest that policy makers should be sure to consider affordable rental options as part of the solution when drafting proposals to help households in these markets. |
| Keywords: | housing bubble, homeownership, housing policy |
| JEL: | G G21 G28 R R21 L85 |
| Date: | 2008–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epo:papers:2008-14&r=ure |
| By: | Dean Baker; Danilo Pelletiere; Hye Jin Rho |
| Abstract: | This report compares the ownership and rental costs in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas. The study finds that in many markets, homeownership costs are in line with rental costs. In these areas, it is practical and desirable to focus on policies that keep homeowners in their homes. The report goes on to show that in bubble-inflated markets, however, homeownership is not only a costly and risky proposition, but continuing price declines mean that homeowners will not accrue any equity. The authors suggest that policy makers should be sure to consider affordable rental options as part of the solution when drafting proposals to help households in these markets. |
| Keywords: | housing bubble, homeownership, housing policy |
| JEL: | G G21 G28 R R21 L85 |
| Date: | 2008–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epo:papers:2008-12&r=ure |
| By: | Samarasinghe, Oshadhi; Sharp, Basil |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of flood hazard zone location on residential property values. The study utilises data from over 2,000 private residential property sales occurred during 2006 in North Shore City, New Zealand. A spatial autoregressive hedonic model is developed to provide efficient estimates of the marginal effect of flood prone risks on property values. Our results suggest that a property located within a flood hazard zone sells for 4.3% less than an equivalent property located outside the flood hazard zone. Given the median house price, estimated discount associated with flood risks is approximately NZ$22,000. |
| Keywords: | Flood hazard, Spatial hedonic, Amenity value, Land Economics/Use, Q15, Q51, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare08:6013&r=ure |
| By: | Carlos Medina; Leonardo Morales; Jairo Nuñez |
| Abstract: | We use data from Bogotá and Medellín to describe key quality of life indicators of each city and illustrate their spatial segregation at the census sector level and present evidence that the main two Colombian cities are highly spatially segregated according to their education levels and access to education, coverage of public services, households headed by women and key demographic variables like their levels of adolescent pregnancy. Not surprisingly, our estimated quality of life indexes resemble the mentioned segregation patterns in each city. We present evidence that the spatial agglomeration is statistically significant for each of the variables enumerated. We estimate hedonic models of house values and life satisfaction for Bogotá and Medellín and find that the importance of the average level of education at the census sector level to determine house prices is striking. We also compare hedonic models for Bogotá and Medellín. Bogotá is better endowed than Medellín in the variables included in the analysis, in particular, it has higher education levels, and additionally, education is more equally distributed within census sectors. Bogotá has also better access to gas, and has in general houses with better conditions. The models based on house values and life satisfaction approaches used in this article lead to similar conclusions in the aggregate when comparing their implied quality of life indexes. Although each approach allows us to rank the specific determinants of quality of life, and these determinant depend on the approach, their implied aggregated indexes suggest that they are just different faces of the same story. From a policy perspective, the evidence suggests that redesigning the current socioeconomic stratification system in a way that still allows reaching the poorest while preventing segregation to deepen, might be among the most important challenge to face in order to improve quality of life in main Colombian cities. |
| Date: | 2008–11–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000094:005126&r=ure |
| By: | Cho, Seong-Hoon; Lambert, Dayton M.; Roberts, Roland K.; Kim, Seung Gyu |
| Abstract: | This research evaluates the effects of a hypothetical land value tax as a smart growth policy to curtail urban sprawl in the mid-sized metropolitan areas of the Southeastern United States. The effectiveness of a hypothetical land value tax on moderating urban sprawl is determined by changes in demand for neighborhood open space, and its relationships with lot size and proximity to the central business district (CBD). Achieving this goal will (1) provide applied researchers with an empirical foundation from which the spatial dynamics of urban sprawl in local housing markets can be measured, and (2) provide policy makers, especially in the large and mid-sized metro areas of the Southeast, with an ex ante instrument through which alternative incentives targeting open space preservation can be evaluated. We estimate the effects of a hypothetical land value tax on urban sprawl gauged through the three metrics of demand for neighborhood open space, lot size, and proximity to the CBD by comparing the forecasted values of the demand for these goods under alternative land value taxation schemes. The first is a €ܲegular property taxÂ€Ý when the tax rates on the assessed values of land and structures are identical. The second is a hypothetical €ܬand value taxÂ€Ý that places more weight on the value of land than on the value of structures, holding annual total county tax revenue constant. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:6150&r=ure |
| By: | Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M.; Wendlan, Nicolai |
| Abstract: | Over the recent decades, scholars and planning practitioners have developed strategies for directed urban decentralization, which aim at the optimization of urban commuting patterns by allowing households to locate closer to job opportunities. However, given ongoing changes in the socioeconomic framework, households are becoming less likely to choose their residences with respect to location of the workplace. In order to optimize trip patterns with respect to public transport and to simultaneously promote sustainable urban growth, we therefore suggest a strategy of Directed Urban Concentration, which purports the generation of very strong (employment) sub-centers, if not multiple central business districts (CBDs), as a complementary strategy to established approaches of mixed and multifunctional land use. In an empirical analysis we show that in the case of Berlin, Germany, the emergence of the second CBD during the first half of the past century was largely driven by market access generated by rail-based public transport. Our results suggest that city planners could successfully promote the emergence of new urban economic cores with focal transport nodes that are equivalently well-connected to their hinterlands as well as to the existing CBD. |
| Keywords: | Directed urban concentration; urban transport; market access; urban planning; Berlin |
| JEL: | N74 N94 R29 R33 R41 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:11572&r=ure |
| By: | Tilak Abeysinghe (Department of Economics, National University of Singapore); Jiaying Gu (Department of Economics, National University of Singapore) |
| Abstract: | The existing measures of housing affordability are essentially short-run indicators that compare current income with property prices. Taking into consideration that a housing purchase is a long-horizon decision and the property price reflects the discounted present value of future mortgage payments, we develop a housing affordability index as the ratio of lifetime income to housing price. Lifetime income is computed by obtaining the predicted income from a regression over the working life from age 20 to 64 for each birth cohort for which limited data were available. Lifetime income of Singapore households by three income quantiles (lower, median, and upper quartiles) shed new light on the increasing income inequality. The affordability index reveals informative trends and cycles in housing affordability both in the public and private sectors. We argue why residential property price escalations need to be avoided by showing that such price increases do not necessarily create a net wealth effect for the aggregate of households |
| Keywords: | lifetime income inequality, long-run housing affordability, wealth effect, price effect |
| JEL: | R21 D31 D91 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sca:scaewp:0807&r=ure |
| By: | Esther Duflo; Pascaline Dupas; Michael Kremer |
| Abstract: | This paper provides experimental evidence on the impact of tracking primary school students by initial achievement. In the presence of positive spillover effects from academically proficient peers, tracking may be beneficial for strong students but hurt weaker ones. However, tracking may help everybody if heterogeneous classes make it difficult to teach at a level appropriate to most students. We test these competing claims using a randomized evaluation in Kenya. One hundred and twenty one primary schools which all had a single grade one class received funds to hire an extra teacher to split that class into two sections. In 60 randomly selected schools, students were randomly assigned to sections. In the remaining 61 schools, students were ranked by prior achievement (measured by their first term grades), and the top and bottom halves of the class were assigned to different sections. After 18 months, students in tracking schools scored 0.14 standard deviations higher than students in non-tracking schools, and this effect persisted one year after the program ended. Furthermore, students at all levels of the distribution benefited from tracking. A regression discontinuity analysis shows that in tracking schools scores of students near the median of the pre-test distribution score are independent of whether they were assigned to the top or bottom section. In contrast, in non-tracking schools we find that on average, students benefit from having academically stronger peers. This suggests that tracking was beneficial because it helped teachers focus their teaching to a level appropriate to most students in the class. |
| JEL: | I20 O1 |
| Date: | 2008–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14475&r=ure |
| By: | Kuethe, Todd H.; Foster, Kenneth A.; Florax, Raymond J.G.M. |
| Abstract: | The following paper outlines a new econometric model designed to capture both the temporal and spatial dynamics of housing prices. The paper combines existing spatial econometric techniques with a model that allows parameters to evolve over time. In addition, we provide an empirical application to the price effects of confined animal feeding operations to a data set of residential real estate in Tippecanoe County, Indiana from 1993 through 2006. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:6306&r=ure |
| By: | Sarmiento, Camilo; Wilson, William W. |
| Abstract: | This article estimates factors that impact location decisions by new ethanol plants using logistic regression analysis and spatial correlation techniques. The results indicate that location decisions are impacted by the agricultural characteristics of a county, competition, and state-level subsidies. Spatial competition is particularly important. Existence of a competing ethanol plant reduces the likelihood of making a positive location decision and this impact decreases with distance. State-level subsidies are significant and a very important factor impacting ethanol location decisions. |
| Keywords: | ethanol, location decisions, spatial correlation, Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2008–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:6175&r=ure |
| By: | Rafael, González-Val |
| Abstract: | This work presents a simple method for calculating deviations regarding city size and the size which would correspond to it with a Pareto exponent equal to one unit (Zipf’s Law). Recent works show that when considering the entire sample without size restrictions, the estimated Pareto exponent tends to be much lower than one. Our aim is to analyse the distribution element by element, taking data from all American cities in 2000, and explain the deviation of the size predicted by Zipf’s Law and the real size of each city, using variables for each city of per capita income, distribution of employment among sectors, individuals by level of education, etc.; explicative variables which attempt to capture the influence of local externalities. To do this a Multinomial Logit Model is used. |
| Keywords: | Cities; Zipf’s Law; deviations; Pareto distribution; Multinomial logit |
| JEL: | C16 R00 R12 |
| Date: | 2008–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:11504&r=ure |
| By: | Klaesson, Johan (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Johansson, Börje (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | A major characteristic of the economic development in European and North America during the past 10-15 years is a fast expansion of the producer-service sector. This paper considers the location dynamics of two categories of firms: contact-intensive producer-service suppliers and other firms, where the latter form the rest of the economy. Urban regions are decomposed into urban areas, and the latter into zones. In the theoretical framework firms have randomchoice preferences and respond in a non-linear way to time distances in their contact efforts. They make their location decisions in response to local, intra-regional and extra-regional access to market demand. This leads to a non-linear system that over time generates cumulative change processes of growth and decline. The econometric analysis makes use of information about time distances between zones in urban areas as well as between urban areas in the same agglomeration and between urban areas in different agglomerations. This information is employed in an econometric model that depicts for each urban area how the number of jobs in different sectors change in response to the access to customers’ purchasing power in the entire set of urban areas. The estimation results show that the cumulative change processes feature non-linear behaviour. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration; business services; accessibility; non-linear |
| JEL: | L84 R12 R12 |
| Date: | 2008–11–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0153&r=ure |
| By: | Dean Baker; David Rosnick |
| Abstract: | This paper extrapolates from data from the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finance to project household wealth, by wealth quintile, in 2009 under three alternative scenarios. The first scenario assumes that real house prices fall no further than their level as of March 2008. The second scenario assumes that real house prices fall an additional 10 percent as a 2009 average. The third scenario assumes that real house prices fall an additional 20 percent for a 2009 average. The projections show that the vast majority of families will see a substantial reduction in wealth by 2009 in any of these scenarios and that the cohorts just approaching retirement will have very little to support themselves in retirement other than their Social Security. The projections also show that a large number of families will have little or no equity in their homes in 2009. |
| Keywords: | housing bubble, home prices, household wealth |
| JEL: | R21 L85 O51 E E21 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epo:papers:2008-20&r=ure |
| By: | Dean Baker; David Rosnick |
| Abstract: | This paper extrapolates from data from the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finance to project household wealth, by wealth quintile, for the cohort that will be between the ages of 45-54 in 2009 under three alternative scenarios. The first scenario assumes that real house prices fall no further than their level as of March 2008. The second scenario assumes that real house prices fall an additional 10 percent as a 2009 average. The third scenario assumes that real house prices fall an additional 20 percent for a 2009 average. The projections show that the vast majority of families in these age cohorts will have little or no wealth by 2009 in any of these scenarios and that the cohorts just approaching retirement will have very little to support themselves in retirement other than their Social Security. The projections also show that a large number of families in these age cohorts will have little or no equity in their homes in 2009. Finally, the projections show that the renters within the same wealth quintiles in 2004 will have more wealth in 2009 than homeowners in all three scenarios. |
| Keywords: | housing bubble, retirement, home equity, household wealth |
| JEL: | R21 L85 O51 E E21 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epo:papers:2008-18&r=ure |
| By: | Kim, Man-Keun; Harris, Thomas R. |
| Abstract: | The hypothesis that regional size increases regional efficiency is tested in this study. Data Envelopment Analysis and the Directed Acyclic Graph were used to reveal the causal relationship between regional efficiency and region size in terms of population density. Region size and the infrastructure directly cause regional efficiency, and regional efficiency affects regional income indirectly via formulation of Metropolitan area |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:6338&r=ure |
| By: | McCulloch, Neil; Sjahrir, Bambang Suharnoko |
| Abstract: | Indonesia's"big bang"decentralization in 2001 shifted much of the responsibility for local economic development from central government to district and city governments, which today number more than 450. But the performance of these districts has varied widely. This paper attempts to understand the determinants of sub-national (district/city) growth in Indonesia and map how these determinants have changed since before the 1997/98 economic crisis. The authors exploit a rich dataset that includes a wide range of district-level characteristics, including education, population, cultural, economic, and infrastructure variables, as well as a set of variables relating to distance, to try to explain growth. The analysis finds that, after accounting for differences in other variables, poorer districts tend to grow faster than better off districts. Similarly, there is evidence of spatial divergence, in the sense that districts tend to grow faster if their neighbors are growing quickly. However, the quality of the existing district-level data makes it difficult to identify whether endowments or factors related to distance are systematically associated with growth. |
| Keywords: | Achieving Shared Growth,Economic Growth,Economic Theory&Research,Inequality,Nutrition |
| Date: | 2008–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4769&r=ure |
| By: | Kuminoff, Nicolai V. |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a new structural estimator that uses the properties of a market equilibrium, together with information on households and their observed location choices, to recover horizontally differentiated preferences for a vector of local public goods. The estimation is consistent with equilibrium capitalization of local public goods and recognizes that job and house location choices are interrelated. By using set identification to distinguish the identifying power of restrictions on the indirect utility function from the identifying power of assumptions on the distribution of preferences, the estimator provides a new perspective on characteristics-based models of the demand for a differentiated product. The estimator is used to recover distributions of the marginal willingness-to-pay for improved air quality in Northern California€ٳ two largest population centers: the San Francisco and Sacramento metropolitan areas. The average marginal willingness-to-pay increases by up to 190% when job opportunities are included as a dimension of location choice. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare08:5989&r=ure |
| By: | Jonah E. Rockoff; Brian A. Jacob; Thomas J. Kane; Douglas O. Staiger |
| Abstract: | Research on the relationship between teachers' characteristics and teacher effectiveness has been underway for over a century, yet little progress has been made in linking teacher quality with factors observable at the time of hire. However, most research has examined a relatively small set of characteristics that are collected by school administrators in order to satisfy legal requirements and set salaries. To extend this literature, we administered an in-depth survey to new math teachers in New York City and collected information on a number of non-traditional predictors of effectiveness including teaching specific content knowledge, cognitive ability, personality traits, feelings of self-efficacy, and scores on a commercially available teacher selection instrument. Individually, we find that only a few of these predictors have statistically significant relationships with student and teacher outcomes. However, when all of these variables are combined into two primary factors summarizing cognitive and non-cognitive teacher skills, we find that both factors have a modest and statistically significant relationship with student and teacher outcomes, particularly with student test scores. These results suggest that, while there may be no single factor that can predict success in teaching, using a broad set of measures can help schools improve the quality of their teachers. |
| JEL: | I21 J45 |
| Date: | 2008–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14485&r=ure |
| By: | Giuri, Paola; Mariani, Myriam |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the geographical breadth of knowledge spillovers. Previous research suggests that knowledge spillovers benefit from geographical proximity in technologically active and rich regions more than elsewhere. An alternative view explains the geographical breadth of knowledge spillovers as a function of the characteristics and personal networks of the individuals. We test these two competing theories by using information provided directly by the inventors of 6,750 European patents (PatVal-EU survey). Our results confirm the importance of inventors' personal background. However, compared to previous research, we find that the level of education of the inventors is key in shaping the geographical breadth of knowledge spillovers. Highly educated inventors rely more on geographically wide research networks than their less educated peers. This holds after controlling for the mobility of the inventors and for the scientific nature of the research performed. Differently, location matters only in the very rare regions in Europe that perform the bulk of the research in the specific discipline of the inventors. |
| Keywords: | education/geography/inventors/knowledge spillovers/patents |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:dynreg31&r=ure |
| By: | Kuminoff, Nicolai V.; Parmeter, Christopher F.; Pope, Jaren C. |
| Abstract: | The hedonic pricing model is widely accepted as a method for estimating the marginal willingness to pay for spatially delineated amenities. Empirical applications typically rely on one of three functional forms€Ԭinear, semi-log, and double-log€ԡnd rarely involve rigorous specification testing. This phenomenon is largely due to an influential simulation study by Cropper, Deck and McConnell (CDM) (1988) that found, among other things, that simpler linear specifications outperformed more flexible functional forms in the face of omitted variables. In the 20 years that have elapsed since their study, there have been major computational advances and significant changes in the way hedonic price functions can be estimated. The purpose of our paper is to update and extend the CDM (1988) simulations to investigate current issues in hedonic modeling. Three preliminary results obtained from our theoretically consistent Monte Carlo simulation have been highlighted in this paper: (i) we find that adding spatial fixed effects (census tract dummies) to linear models does improve their performance. This is true both when all attributes are observed, and when some attributes are unobserved, (ii) adding the spatial fixed effects to the more flexible specifications such as the quadratic and quadratic box-cox does not improve their performance when all housing attributes are observed. However, when some housing attributes are unobserved, the spatial fixed effects significantly improves the performance of flexible specifications as well, and (iii) increasing the sample size from CDM€ٳ 200 observations to a sample size of 2000 (which is more representative of modern applications) changes the relative performance of different specifications. |
| Keywords: | Hedonic, Functional Form, Monte Carlo Simulation, Property Value Model, Demand and Price Analysis, Land Economics/Use, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Q15, Q51, Q53, C15, R52, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:6555&r=ure |
| By: | Robert Baade (Department of Economics and Business, Lake Forest College); Robert Baumann (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross); Victor Matheson (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an empirical examination of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our analysis of taxable sales in the counties in which Olympic events took place finds that some sectors such as hotels and restaurants prospered while other retailers such as general merchandisers and department stores suffered. Overall the gains in the hospitality industry are lower than the losses experienced by other sectors in the economy. Given the experience of Utah, potential Olympic hosts should exercise caution before proceeding down the slippery slope of bidding for this event. |
| Keywords: | Olympics, impact analysis, mega-event, tourism, sports |
| JEL: | O18 R53 L83 |
| Date: | 2008–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spe:wpaper:0829&r=ure |
| By: | Frenette, Marc |
| Abstract: | This study estimates the effect of an additional year of schooling (Grade 10) on academic performance, with the particular aim of understanding the role of schooling in shaping the gender and income divides in academic performance. To identify the returns to schooling, the study takes advantage of a setting whereby standardized tests were administered to large samples of students of very close age, but who were in different school grades as a result of school-entry laws, thus creating a sharp discontinuity in school grades. The findings suggest that one additional year of high school (Grade 10) is associated with a large improvement in overall reading and mathematics performance, and that it had a smaller improvement in science performance. However, the improvements are not equally distributed: mathematics scores improve more for boys than for girls, and reading and science scores improve more for lower than for higher income youth. Most importantly, we find no evidence that girls or higher income youth benefit more from an additional year of high school in any test area. These findings suggest that the key to understanding the weaker academic performance of boys and lower income youth may lie in earlier school years, the home or at birth. |
| Keywords: | Education, training and learning, Literacy, Outcomes of education |
| Date: | 2008–11–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp3e:2008317e&r=ure |
| By: | Tanaka, Katsuya; Yoshida, Kentaro; Kawase, Yasushi |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to develop spatially-explicit choice model and investigate its validity and applicability in CA studies. This objective is achieved by applying locally-regressed geographically weighted regression (GWR) and GIS to survey data on hypothetical dogrun facilities (off-leash dog area) in urban recreational parks in Tokyo, Japan. Our results show that spatially-explicit conditional logit model developed in this study outperforms traditional model in terms of data fit and prediction accuracy. Our results also show that marginal willingness-to-pay for various attributes of dogrun facilities has significant spatial variation. Analytical procedure developed in this study can reveal spatially-varying individual preferences on attributes of urban park amenities, and facilitates area-specific decision makings in urban park planning. |
| Keywords: | Choice experiments, conjoint analysis, dogrun, geographically weighted regression, spatial econometrics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:6233&r=ure |
| By: | Dorfman, Jeffrey H.; Patridge, Mark D.; Galloway, Hamilton |
| Abstract: | We investigate the recently advanced theory that high-technology workers are drawn to high amenity locations and then the high-technology jobs follow the workers. Using a novel data set that tracks high-technology job growth by U.S. county, we estimate spatial parameters of the response of job growth to the level of local natural amenities. We achieve this estimation with a reasonably new class of models, smooth coefficient models. The model is employed in a spatial setting to allow for smooth, but nonparametric response functions to key variables in an otherwise standard regression model. With spatial data this allows for flexible modeling such as a unique place-specific effects to be estimated for each location, and also for the responses to key variables to vary by location. This flexibility is achieved through the non-parametric smoothing rather than by nearest-neighbor type estimators such as in geographically weighted regressions. The resulting model can be estimated in a straightforward application of analytical Bayesian techniques. Our results show that amenities can definitely have a significant effect on high-technology employment growth; however, the effect varies over space and by amenity level. |
| Keywords: | Bayesian econometrics, employment growth, high technology, smooth coefficient models, spatial modeling., Labor and Human Capital, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:6459&r=ure |
| By: | Nijkamp, P. (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Zwetsloot, F.; Wal, S. van der |
| Abstract: | Creative regions are nowadays seen as strategic areas for a fierce – and often global – competition. This paper aims to provide an operational assessment framework for judging the innovation potential of competing regions on the basis of indicators that mirror the indigenous regional creative resources. Various evaluation methods are proposed to assess this innovation potential, on the basis of a set of 9 regions in Europe. The robustness of the findings is tested by applying a meta-multicriteria analysis. |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2008-17&r=ure |
| By: | Mercedes Teruel-Carrizosa (GRIT, Universitat Rovira i Virgili); Agustí Segarra-Blasco (GRIT, Universitat Rovira i Virgili) |
| Abstract: | This article analyses the effect of immigration flows on the growth and efficiency of manufacturing firms in Spanish cities. To date, most studies have tended to focus on the effect immigrants have on labour markets at an aggregate level. Here, however, we undertake an exhaustive analysis at the firm level and report conclusive empirical findings. Ten years ago, Spain began to register massive immigration flows, concentrated above all on its most dynamic and advanced regions. Here, therefore, rather than focusing on the impact this has had on Spain’s labour market (changes to the skill structure of the workforce, increase in labour supply, the displacement of native workers, etc.), we examine the arrival of immigrants in terms of the changes this has meant to the structure of the country’s cities and their amenities. Thus, we argue that the impact of immigration on firm performance should not only be considered in terms of the labour market, but also in terms of how a city’s amenities can affect the performance of firms. Employing a panel data methodology, we show that the increasing pressure brought to bear by immigrants has a positive effect on the evolution of labour productivity and wages and a negative effect on the job evolution of these manufacturing firms. In addition, both small and new firms are more sensitive to the pressures of such immigrant inflows, while foreign market oriented firms report higher productivity levels and a less marked impact of immigration than their counterparts. In this paper, we also present a set of instruments to correct the endogeneity bias, which confirms the effect of local immigration flows on the performance of manufacturing firms. |
| Keywords: | firm growth, firm location, regional effects |
| JEL: | L25 R12 |
| Date: | 2008–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:xrp:wpaper:xreap2008-11&r=ure |
| By: | Kurka, Bernhard; Trippl, Michaela; Maier, Gunther |
| Abstract: | In today's knowledge-based global economy, highly qualified people acting as carriers of knowledge are playing a crucial role for the growth and development of organizations, cities and regions. Top-talent is regarded as the major source of innovation and competitive advantage, particularly in science and research. Highly skilled and educated workers, such as scientists and scholars, who are transferring their embodied knowledge from one place to another through geographical mobility, are referred to as knowledge spillover agents (KSA). Considering this context it is important to develop an understanding of the motivational dynamics, location factors and knowledge flows associated with mobility decisions of scientists and researchers. Based on qualitative data from in-depth interviews with Austrian scientists who are either currently staying abroad or have already returned this explorative study identifies some characteristics of scientific mobility, investigates the most relevant push and pull factors as well as sheds some light on the motivational dynamics at the individual level. acting as carriers of knowledge are playing a crucial role for the growth and development of organizations, cities and regions. Top-talent is regarded as the major source of innovation and competitive advantage, particularly in science and research. Highly skilled and educated workers, such as scientists and scholars, who are transferring their embodied knowledge from one place to another through geographical mobility, are referred to as knowledge spillover agents (KSA). Considering this context it is important to develop an understanding of the motivational dynamics, location factors and knowledge flows associated with mobility decisions of scientists and researchers. Based on qualitative data from in-depth interviews with Austrian scientists who are either currently staying abroad or have already returned this explorative study identifies some characteristics of scientific mobility, investigates the most relevant push and pull factors as well as sheds some light on the motivational dynamics at the individual level. |
| Keywords: | growth/innovation |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:dynreg30&r=ure |
| By: | Bahlmann, R.D. (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Huysman, M.H.; Elfring, T.; Groenewegen, P. |
| Abstract: | Recent theorizing in cluster literature emphasizes the importance of inter-cluster knowledge linkages in addition to local knowledge dynamics, enabling new and innovative ideas to flow from one cluster to the other. This paper contributes to this topic by studying inter-cluster knowledge linkages at an individual level of analysis, making use of qualitative social network measures. Central to this case is the Amsterdam New Media-cluster, with a special focus on entrepreneurs engaging in lively inter-cluster exchange of knowledge and debate, resulting in the exchange of new visions and ideas across cluster boundaries. The results reported in this paper provide us with an opportunity to discuss cluster boundaries as a social construction, especially in relation to the knowledge- based view of clusters. |
| Keywords: | inter-cluster knowledge linkages, entrepreneurship, Amsterdam New Media-cluster, Social networks |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2008-13&r=ure |
| By: | Laura Hering; Sandra Poncet |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the role of economic geography in explaining regional wages in China. It investigates the extent to which market proximity can explain the evolution of wages, and through which channels. We construct a complete indicator of market access at the provincial level from data on domestic and international trade flows; this is introduced in a simultaneous-equations system to identify the direct and indirect effect of market access on wages. The estimation results for 29 Chinese provinces over 1995-2002 suggest that access to sources of demand is indeed an important factor shaping regional wage dynamics in China. We investigate three channels through which market access might influence wages beside direct transport-cost savings: export performance, and human and physical capital accumulation. A fair share of benefits seems to come from enhanced export performance and greater accumulation of physical capital. The main source of influence of market access remains direct transport costs. |
| Keywords: | Economic geography; international trade; wage; trade openness; capital accumulation; China |
| JEL: | F12 F15 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2008–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cii:cepidt:2008-20&r=ure |
| By: | Belton, Willie; Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth |
| Abstract: | It has been well documented in the literature that ethnicity matters significantly in the determination of savings. In particular, African-American savings lag far behind that of other ethnic groups. Similarly, the literature also provides evidence of the long-lived nature of institutions and the link between institutions and culture. In this paper, we provide an explanation for the savings gap that still exists between African-Americans and White Americans even after accounting for appropriate factors that can lead to savings differentials. We initially provide evidence that the savings gap exists and persist after including several control variables in a regression analysis. We then provide evidence that the persistent gap can not be attributed solely to racial discrimination but can be explained by the response of culture to institutional scaffolding erected many years earlier. Using a novel within race decomposition we provide evidence that past institutions transmitted through culture can help to explain this persistent saving disparity. |
| Keywords: | Savings gap, Institutions, Race, Culture, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Political Economy, D14, D31, J15, J78, N30, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:37089&r=ure |
| By: | Bonanno, Alessandro; Lopez, Rigoberto A. |
| Abstract: | This paper measures the degree of monopsony power exerted by Wal-Mart over retail workers using a dominant-firm model and data on contiguous U.S. counties where the company operates, presenting for the first time a measure of the anti-competitive behavior of the company. Empirical results show that Wal-Mart€ٳ monopsony power over workers varies significantly across the country, being higher in rural counties, particularly in the south. For instance, Wal-Mart€ٳ buying power index in labor markets in rural southern central states is estimated to be 5% or higher while the impact on northeastern states€٠retail wages is negligible. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea08:6219&r=ure |