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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | George R. Crowley (Department of Economics, West Virginia University); Russell S. Sobel (Department of Economics, West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | This paper reexamines whether fiscal decentralization constrains Leviathan government. Using panel data for Pennsylvania, we compare actual property tax rates to the Leviathan revenue-maximizing rates for municipalities, school districts, and counties. Using spatial econometric methods we also estimate the degree of spatial dependence at the three levels of local government. We find that fiscal decentralization results in stronger intergovernmental competition and lower tax rates. We also find evidence of collusion among school districts that exhibit high interdependence but also high tax rates. This calls into question the current literature's blind use of spatial dependence as a measure of intergovernmental competition. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal decentralization, Leviathan, Tax competition |
| JEL: | H77 H73 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wvu:wpaper:10-16&r=ure |
| By: | Mark J. Kutzbach |
| Abstract: | This analysis attributes economies of agglomeration to either labor market pooling or employer-based productivity spillovers by distinguishing the effect of access to workers, measured by place-of-residence, from the effect of access to employers. New establishment location choices serve as a measure of productivity advantages, while census tract level data on access to same-industry employment, other-industry employment, and specialized workers, as well as metropolitan area fixed effects, measure sources of agglomeration and other locational characteristics. The four industries included are selected so that each relies on a workforce with a specialized occupation that is identifiable by place-of-residence, and that productivity and cost advantages are the primary drivers of location choice. The results show that both access to specialized workers and access to same-industry employers contribute to economies of agglomeration at an intra-urban spatial scale, and that the magnitude of the worker effect is large relative to employer-based productivity spillovers. |
| Keywords: | Economies of Agglomeration; Labor Market Pooling; Commuting |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:10-21&r=ure |
| By: | Marco Percoco (Department of Institutional Analysis and Public Management and CERTeT Bocconi University) |
| Abstract: | In recent years a growing body of literature has begun to consider the possible presence of path dependence in the development processes of countries. This phenomenon has always been recognized in regional and urban studies because the path of development almost naturally follows a history-dependent spatial diffusion influenced by both physical geography and the quality of institutions. In this paper, I consider the case of firm concentration in Italy and its impact on local development. A large and growing literature has argued in favour of persisting effects of past institutions on current outcomes. Hence, in order to identify the impact of firm density on income, I use instruments from the history of a set of Italian cities: namely the presence of a university and status as a free-city state in the Early Middle Ages. I first show that those two variables had an important effect on the process of urban development between 1300 and 1861, together with favourable geographic conditions. Then, when I use these instruments to predict firm density, I find that the elasticity of income to firm density is close to 0.1. This result is interpreted as providing evidence of the historical roots of agglomeration economies in Italy. |
| Keywords: | Path dependence, Urban development, Geography, Institutions, Firm density |
| JEL: | O18 R12 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2010.110&r=ure |
| By: | Card, David; Dooley, Martin; Payne, Abigail |
| Abstract: | The province of Ontario has two publicly funded school systems: secular schools (known as public schools) that are open to all students, and separate schools that are limited to children with Catholic backgrounds. A simple model of inter-system competition predicts that incentives for effort are higher in areas where there are more Catholic families who are relatively uncommitted to one system or the other. We measure the willingness of Catholic families to switch systems by studying the effect of school openings on enrollment at nearby schools in the competing system. The results suggest that families in rapidly growing areas have the weakest attachment to a particular system. We then relate student test score gains between 3rd and 6th grade to measures of potential cross-system competition. We find that competition for Catholic students has a significant effect on test outcomes in both systems, particularly in fast-growing areas. Our estimates imply that expanding competition to all students would raise average test scores in 6th grade by 6-8% of a standard deviation. |
| Keywords: | School Competition, School Choice, Student Performance |
| JEL: | I20 I21 H41 |
| Date: | 2010–09–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2010-28&r=ure |
| By: | Jim MacGee (University of Western Ontario) |
| Abstract: | Can a US-style housing bust happen in Canada? Recent swings in Canadian house prices have raised concerns about the possibility. To evaluate the likelihood of a US style housing market crash in Canada, this paper examines what caused the US housing boom and bust from 2000 to 2009. A decline in underwriting standards played an essential role in the US housing market boom and dramatic bust. While monetary policy was very similar in both countries from 2000 to 2008, housing markets (especially the subprime component) were structured and regulated differently in each. Canadian housing policies, which avoided the sharp decline in underwriting standards seen in the US, worked well in reducing the possibility of a housing bust in Canada during 2008-2009, and continue to mitigate the risk of a massive wave of defaults in the future. |
| Keywords: | Financial Services, housing bust, real estate, Canadian housing policies, US-style housing bust |
| JEL: | G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdh:ebrief:105&r=ure |
| By: | Giulio Bottazzi; Ugo Gragnolati |
| Abstract: | Are the observed spatial distributions of firms decided mostly by market-mediated, economy-wide locational forces, or rather by non-pecuniary, sector-specific ones? This work finds that the latter kind of forces weight systematically more than the former in deciding firm location. The analysis uses Italian data on a variety of manufacturing and service sectors spatially disaggregated at the level of Local Labor Systems. |
| Keywords: | Industrial Location, Sector-specific Agglomeration, Urbanization Economy, Maximum Likelihood Estimation |
| JEL: | L1 C31 R3 |
| Date: | 2010–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2010/16&r=ure |
| By: | Anja Dettmann (Department of Geography, Philipps University Marburg); Thomas Brenner (Department of Geography, Philipps University Marburg) |
| Abstract: | Spatial proximity is assumed in the literature to be a prerequisite and trigger for cooperation and, subsequently, innovation. This paper examines conceptually the role of proximity between actors for cooperation activities. Using theories and findings from social psychology and combining them with geographical issues, it provides new insights into the emergence and development of professional collaborative relationships and the role that spatial proximity plays. Thereby the paper stays on the level of individuals (micro-level) and explains how the willingness to collaborate emerges and how local partner priorities are developed. |
| Keywords: | Collaboration, Partner Choice, Proximity, Innovation, Geography |
| JEL: | L14 O32 R10 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2010-03&r=ure |
| By: | Rebecca Allen; Simon Burgess; Leigh McKenna |
| Abstract: | We analyse the initial impact of a major school admission reform in Brighton and Hove. The new system incorporated a lottery for oversubscribed places and new catchment areas. We examine the post-reform changes in school composition. We locate the major winners and losers in terms of the quality of school attended. We match similar cities and conduct a difference-in-difference analysis of the policy change. We see no significant change in student sorting: if anything, the point estimates suggest a rise in socio-economic segregation. We do see a significant weakening of the dependence of school attended on student’s prior attainment. |
| Keywords: | school lottery, segregation, school admissions reforms |
| JEL: | I20 I28 |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:10/244&r=ure |
| By: | Jaba, Elisabeta; Balan, Christiana; Roman, Mihai; Roman, Monica |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the spatial distribution of unemployment by gender, in the counties of Romania, in 2008.The Lorenz curve and Gini index are used to identify a pattern of spatial concentration of unemployment, differentiated by gender. Evaluation of gender differences in unemployment spatial concentration model shows significant differences. There is a greater spatial concentration of unemployment for female population. Based on results of grouping counties by cluster analysis applied for unemployment rate, one could explain the gender differences in spatial concentration correlated with spatial distribution of the workforce and the characteristics of territorial development of counties in Romania. |
| Keywords: | unemployment; spatial concentration; gender discrepancies; cluster analysis; regional development; Romania |
| JEL: | E24 J21 R11 |
| Date: | 2010–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:25161&r=ure |
| By: | Barrios, Erniel B.; Lavado, Rouselle F. |
| Abstract: | The stochastic frontier model with heterogeneous technical efficiency explained by exogenous variables is augmented with a sparse spatial autoregressive component for a cross-section data, and a spatial-temporal component for a panel data. An estimation procedure that takes advantage of the additivity of the model is proposed, computational advantages over simultaneous maximum likelihood estimation of all parameters is exhibited. The technical efficiency estimates are comparable to existing models and estimation procedures based on maximum likelihood methods. A spatial or spatial-temporal component can improve estimates of technical efficiency in a production frontier that is usually biased downwards. |
| Keywords: | technical efficiency, stochastic frontier model, Philippines, spatial externalities, spatial-temporal model, backfitting |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2010-08&r=ure |
| By: | Valeria Costantini (University of Roma III); Massimiliano Mazzanti (University of Ferrara, University of Bologna and CERIS-CNR); Anna Montini (University of Bologna) |
| Abstract: | The achievement of positive environmental performance at national level could strongly depend on differences in local capabilities of both institutions and the private business sector. Environmental regulation alone is a weak instrument if the institutional and business environment cannot transform regulation strengths into opportunities. In this paper, we use the new environmental accounting matrix for polluting emissions now available for the 20 Italian Regions that covers 24 sectors and combines a shift-share approach with spatial econometric modelling. We provide evidence of the role played by internal innovation, innovation spillovers and regional policies in shaping the geographical distribution of environmental performance achievements. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Performance, Technological Innovation, Regional Spillovers, Polluting Emissions, Italian Regions |
| JEL: | Q53 Q55 Q56 R15 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2010.108&r=ure |
| By: | Mishra, Bhawani P. |
| Abstract: | Paper Presented on 41st Annual and Conference Mid-Continent Regional Science Association (MCRSA), June 3-5, 2010 St. Louis, MO |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, panel data, Metropolitan area., Community/Rural/Urban Development, |
| Date: | 2010–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:miscpa:93896&r=ure |
| By: | Gagnepain, Philippe; Ivaldi, Marc |
| Abstract: | We consider a framework of contractual interactions between urban transport authorities and transport operators. We estimate simultaneously the choice of contract by the authorities and the effect of regulation on the cost reducing activity of the operators. We test whether regulatory schemes currently implemented in the industry are the observable items of a more general menu of second best contracts. We suggest that the generation process of the data we have in hand is better explained by the political aspects of regulation. Moreover, the cost reducing effort of the operators is greater under fixed-price regimes, compared to the cost-plus case. |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:22667&r=ure |
| By: | Sergey Lychagin; Joris Pinkse; Margaret E. Slade; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | We simultaneously assess the contributions to productivity of three sources of research anddevelopment spillovers: geographic, technology and product- market proximity. To do this,we construct a new measure of geographic proximity that is based on the distribution of afirm's inventor locations rather than its headquarters, and we report both parametric andsemiparametric estimates of our geographic-distance functions. We find that: i) Geographicspace matters even after conditioning on horizontal and technological spillovers; ii)Technological proximity matters; iii) Product-market proximity is less important; iv)Locations of researchers are more important than headquarters but both have explanatorypower; and v) Geographic markets are very local. |
| Keywords: | geographic proximity, R&D spillovers, semiparametric and technological proximity |
| JEL: | C23 L60 O33 |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0991&r=ure |
| By: | Ingrid Gould Ellen; Katherine M. O'Regan |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether the economic gains experienced by low-income neighborhoods in the 1990s followed patterns of classic gentrification (as frequently assumed) – that is, through the in migration of higher income white, households, and out migration (or displacement) of the original lower income, usually minority residents, spurring racial transition in the process. Using the internal Census version of the American Housing Survey, we find no evidence of heightened displacement, even among the most vulnerable, original residents. While the entrance of higher income households was an important source of income gains, original residents also experienced differential gains in income, and reported greater increases in their satisfaction with their neighborhood than found in other low-income neighborhoods. Finally, gaining neighborhoods were able to avoid the losses of white households that non-gaining low income tracts experienced, and were thereby more racially stable rather than less. |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:10-19&r=ure |
| By: | Polasek, Wolfgang (Department of Economics and Finance, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Austria, and Faculty of Science, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal); Sellner, Richard (Department of Economics and Finance, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Austria) |
| Abstract: | Flow data across regions can be modeled by spatial econometric models, see LeSage and Pace (2009). Recently, regional studies became interested in the aggregation and disaggregation of flow models, because trade data cannot be obtained at a disaggregated level but data are published on an aggregate level. Furthermore, missing data in disaggregated flow models occur quite often since detailed measurements are often not possible at all observation points in time and space. In this paper we develop classical and Bayesian methods to complete flow data. The Chow and Lin (1971) method was developed for completing disaggregated incomplete time series data. We will extend this method in a general framework to spatially correlated flow data using the cross-sectional Chow-Lin method of Polasek et al. (2009). The missing disaggregated data can be obtained either by feasible GLS prediction or by a Bayesian (posterior) predictive density. |
| Keywords: | Missing values in spatial econometrics, MCMC, non-spatial Chow-Lin (CL) and spatial Chow-Lin (SCL) methods, spatial internal flow (SIF) models, origin and destination (OD) data |
| JEL: | C11 C15 C52 E17 R12 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ihs:ihsesp:255&r=ure |
| By: | Argentino Pessoa (CEF.UP, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the most important theoretical foundations of the spatial competitiveness conception, dealing with three levels of competitiveness: the country, the region and the tourism destination. Consequently, it draws attention to the main aspects that such concepts of competitiveness must include and it links the regional competitiveness with the related concept of cluster. Therefore, section 2 reviews the key aspects of competitiveness at the first level highlighting the role of the main forces acting at the national level. Section 3 extends the concept to the regional level, highlighting the critical aspects that must be considered when policy tries to increase the competitiveness of a particular region. Section 4 analyses the possibilities of extending the competitiveness concept to tourism destinations. Next, the paper analyses the literature on policy advice and discuss the inconsistency between the theory and the policy designed to promote regional competitiveness. Finally, the paper presents some concluding remarks on regional policy applied to depressed regions. |
| Keywords: | clusters, competitiveness, regional policy, tourism |
| JEL: | Q25 Q28 R19 R58 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:386&r=ure |
| By: | Paul Bloxham (Reserve Bank of Australia); Christopher Kent (Reserve Bank of Australia); Michael Robson (Reserve Bank of Australia) |
| Abstract: | The long-running debate about the role of monetary policy in responding to rising asset prices has received renewed attention in the wake of the global financial crisis.This paper contributes to this debate by describing the Australian experience of a cycle in house prices and credit from 2002 to 2004, and discussing the role played by various policies during this episode. In particluar, it focuses on the efforts by the Reserve Bank of Australia to draw attention to the risks associated with large, ongoing increases in housing prices and household borrowing. |
| Keywords: | asset prices; credit growth; lending standards; monetary policy; regulatory policy |
| JEL: | E58 G28 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rba:rbardp:rdp2010-06&r=ure |
| By: | Chloe DUVIVIER |
| Abstract: | We study whether rural areas close to urban centers enjoy a more productive agricultural sector than remote ones. We try to answer three questions: (1) Do rural areas close to urban centers and remote areas share the same agricultural technology? (2) Are rural areas close to urban center technically more efficient? (3) Do they enjoy a faster technical progress? The empirical examination is realized at the county level on a sample covering three provinces of the south-east of China from 2002 to 2007. Several interesting results are obtained. On the one hand, the type of agricultural technology adopted varies with the distance between the rural area and the urban center. On the other hand, urban proximity has a positive effect on agricultural productivity. Finally, our results confirm a previous finding: the most important component of total factor productivity growth in China is technical progress, whereas technical efficiency decreases it. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural productivity, urban proximity, latent class stochastic frontier model, technical change. |
| JEL: | R11 Q10 O18 O13 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdi:wpaper:1195&r=ure |
| By: | Dubravka Jurlina Alibegovic (The Institute of Economics, Zagreb); Suncana Slijepcevic (The Institute of Economics, Zagreb) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the role of performance measurement at the sub-national government level in Croatia as one of the crucial factors that lead to the improvement of implementation of local and regional policies. The analysis is based on the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Public Financial Management (PEFA PFM) Performance Measurement Framework. Three performance indicators are used for measuring the credibility of the sub-national budget. The first performance indicator measures the differences between aggregate expenditure outturns and the original approved budget at the sub-national government level in Croatia. The second performance indicator is used to examine the difference between the composition of expenditure outturn and the original approved budget at the sub-national government level in Croatia. The third indicator measures the deviation of aggregate revenue outturn from the original approved budget at the sub-national government level in Croatia. A significant divergence of budgetary outturns from the original approved budget, both on the revenue and expenditure side of the budget, confirms the hypothesis about low credibility of the budget at the sub-national level in Croatia. The paper also analyzes the impact of expenditure structure on the performance of the sub-national government level in Croatia. The results presented in this paper identify the main policies which the sub-national government uses to encourage local and regional development in Croatia. However, the results show that the budget does not incorporate any aspects of strategic planning, which is necessary to achieve local and regional development. The substantial difference between planned and realized budgetary expenditures is a key obstacle to faster local and regional development. |
| Keywords: | local and regional development, local and regional policy, performance measurement, Croatia |
| JEL: | R51 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iez:wpaper:1002&r=ure |
| By: | Orazio Attanasio (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London); Costas Meghir (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London); Ana Santiago (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Inter-American Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | <p><p><p>In this paper we use an economic model to analyse data from a major social experiment, namely PROGRESA in Mexico, and to evaluate its impact on school participation. In the process we also show the usefulness of using experimental data to estimate a structural economic model. The evaluation sample includes data from villages where the program was implemented and where it was not. The allocation was randomised for evaluation purposes. We estimate a structural model of education choices and argue that without such a framework it is impossible to evaluate the effect of the program and, especially, possible changes to its structure. We also argue that the randomized component of the data allows us to identify a more flexible model that is better suited to evaluate the program. We find that the program has a positive effect on the enrollment of children, especially after primary school; this result is well replicated by the parsimonious structural model. We also find that a revenue neutral change in the program that would increase the grant for secondary school children while eliminating for the primary school children would have a substantially larger effect on enrollment of the latter, while having minor effects on the former.</p></p></p> |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:10/14&r=ure |
| By: | Carly Cheevers (UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland); Orla Doyle (UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland); Kelly McNamara (UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland) |
| Abstract: | Successful transition and adjustment to school life is critical for a child's future success. To ease this transition a child needs to arrive equipped with the necessary skills for school. The extent of a child’s behavioural problems is one indicator of his or her level of adjustment and school readiness. A factor which is consistently associated with such behaviours is parenting practices. This study examined the role of maternal parenting behaviours on externalising and internalising behaviours displayed by children in their first year of schooling. As children living in low socioeconomic status (SES) families are at risk of both adverse parenting behaviours and childhood behavioural difficulties, the study focuses on a low SES cohort. Mothers (n = 197) reported parenting behaviours using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ; Robinson, Mandelco, Olsen, & Hart, 2001). Teachers (n = 21) rated children on how frequently they engaged in fifteen behaviours. These behaviours were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis, eliciting two externalising behaviour factors (aggressive and defiant; hyperactive and inattentive) and one internalising behaviour factor. Bivariate analyses revealed that authoritarian parenting is associated with aggressive and defiant behaviours and that permissive parenting and maternal education is associated with hyperactive and inattentive behaviours. Only the latter result remains significant in the multivariate analysis. Finally, no relationships were found between parenting practices and child internalising behaviours. Parenting behaviours explained a small proportion of the variance in child externalising behaviours, highlighting the need to educate parents in effective parenting practices. |
| JEL: | C10 C11 C23 L11 L65 |
| Date: | 2010–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201039&r=ure |
| By: | Dominique Gusbin; Bruno Hoornaert; Inge Mayeres; Maud Nautet |
| Abstract: | This Working Paper describes the methodological changes in the Modal and Time Choice module of the PLANET model, further to the endogenisation of short see shipping for international transport and the splitting of the Bus-Tram-Metro aggregate into three distinct transport modes. |
| JEL: | R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2010–06–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpb:wpaper:1016&r=ure |
| By: | Carlos A. Chavez (Departamento de Economia, Universidad de Concepcion Chile); John K. Stranlund (Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst); Walter Gomez (Departamento de Ingenieria Matematica, Universidad de la Frontera Chile) |
| Abstract: | We examine the control of air pollution caused by households burning wood for heating and cooking in the developing world. Since the problem is one of controlling emissions from nonpoint sources, regulations are likely to be directed at household choices of wood consumption and combustion technologies. Moreover, these choices are subtractions from, or contributions to, the pure public good of air quality. Consequently, the efficient policy design is not independent of the distribution of household income. Since it is unrealistic to assume that environmental authorities can make lump sum income transfers part of control policies, efficient control of air pollution caused by wood consumption entails a higher tax on wood consumption and a higher subsidy for more efficient combustion technologies for higher income households. Among other difficulties, implementing a policy to promote the adoption of cleaner combustion technologies must overcome the seemingly paradoxical result that efficient control calls for higher technology subsidies for higher income households. |
| Keywords: | efficiency, urban air pollution, nonpoint pollution, environmental policy, uncertainty |
| JEL: | L51 H23 Q28 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dre:wpaper:2010-2&r=ure |
| By: | Terra McKinnish; T. Kirk White |
| Abstract: | This paper uses confidential Census data, specifically the 1990 and 2000 Census Long Form data, to study the income dispersion of recent cohorts of migrants to mixed-income neighborhoods. If recent in-migrants to mixed-income neighborhoods exhibit high levels of income heterogeneity, this is consistent with stable mixed-income neighborhoods. If, however, mixed-income neighborhoods are comprised of older homogeneous lower-income (higher income) cohorts combined with newer homogeneous higher-income (lower-income) cohorts, this is consistent with neighborhood transition. Our results indicate that neighborhoods with high levels of income dispersion do in fact attract a much more heterogeneous set of in-migrants, particularly from the tails of the income distribution, but that income heterogeneity does tend to erode over time. Our results also suggest that the residents of mixed-income neighborhoods may be less heterogeneous with respect to lifetime income. |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:10-18&r=ure |
| By: | Romano Piras (University of Cagliari) |
| Abstract: | We provide econometric evidence that relative per capita GDP and relative unemployment rates are the main determinants of migration flows across Italian regions from 1970 to 2002. The empirical analysis is based on an accurate study of the dynamic properties of the series. In fact, we deal with the issues of non-stationarity and cointegration and estimate an error correction model in which both the short- and long-run dynamics are modelled at once. The regional unemployment rate is robustly inversely related with net regional migration rate, while per capita GDP is strongly positively linked with it. As far as the accommodating potential of internal migration to regional unbalances, we have detected very little room for such a role. Indeed, the degree of labour mobility across Italian regions cannot be active as an effective equilibrating mechanism. |
| Keywords: | Italy, Labour Migration, Internal Migration, Income Differences, Panel Cointegration |
| JEL: | C23 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2010.115&r=ure |
| By: | Gerlinde Fellner (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics & B.A.); Yoshio Iida (Faculty of Economics, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto, Japan); Sabine Kröger (Laval University, Department of Economics, Quebec, Canada); Erika Seki (Department of Economics, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK) |
| Abstract: | This article experimentally examines voluntary contributions when group members' marginal returns to the public good vary. The experiment implements two marginal return types, low and high, and uses the information that members have about the heterogeneity to identify the applied contribution norm. We find that norms vary with the information environment. If agents are aware of the heterogeneity, contributions increase in general. However, high types contribute more than low types when contributions can be linked to the type of the donor but contribute less otherwise. Low types, on the other hand, contribute more than high types when group members are aware of the heterogeneity but contributions cannot be linked to types. Our results underline the importance of the information structure when persons with different abilities contribute to a joint project, as in the context of teamwork or charitable giving. |
| JEL: | H41 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp133&r=ure |
| By: | Gray, Elie (Toulouse Business School and Toulouse School of Economics (LERNA)); Grimaud, André (Toulouse School of Economics (IDEI, LERNA) and Toulouse Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper exploits the formalization of a circular product differentiation model of Salop (1979) to propose an endogenous growth quality ladder model in which the knowledge inherent in a given sector can spread variously across the sectors of the economy, ranging from local to global influence. Accordingly, this affects the size of the pool of knowledge in which innovations draw themselves on in order to be produced. Therefore, the law of knowledge accumulation, and thus the growth rate of the economy, depend positively on the expected scope of diffusion of innovations, i.e. on the intensity of knowledge spillovers. This approach generalizes the endogenous growth theory as developed in the seminal models of Grossman & Helpman (1991) and Aghion & Howitt (1992), extending their analysis to the possibility of considering stochastic and partial knowledge spillovers. This framework allows us to mitigate the positive externality of knowledge and thus to apprehend the issue of the funding of research with more parsimony. We characterize the set of steady-state Schumpeterian equilibria as a function of the public tools. We provide an explanation for the fact that research effort can either be suboptimal or over-optimal, depending on the expected scope of knowledge. Accordingly, we find that the optimal public tool dedicated to foster R&D activity depends positively on it. |
| Keywords: | Schumpeterian growth, scope of diffusion of innovations, knowledge spillovers |
| JEL: | O30 O31 O41 |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:22693&r=ure |
| By: | Schindler, Felix; Voronkova, Svitlana |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes long-run co-movements between international real estate stock markets and between regions based on bivariate and multivariate tests for cointegration. While the topic has been analyzed in previous studies such as Gallo and Zhang (2009) and Yunus (2009) among others, this paper is of significant contribution to existing studies since we compare results from different cointegration methodologies and explicitly control for instability in cointegration relationships and deviations from normality. Furthermore, the analyzed time period is longer than in previous studies and ranges from 1990 to 2009 covering 20 years. In line with previous studies, the empirical results indicate several cointegration relationships between national real estate stock markets. However, it is also shown that most cointegration relationships are unstable and that the results from cointegration methodologies suggested by Engle and Granger (1987) and Johansen (1988) might be misleading in that common long-run comovements appear to be stronger when structural breaks are considered. Thus, the results indicate that investors would benefit from broadening their investment horizon from their domestic continent to international markets. This particularly applies for the European securitized real estate markets. -- Dieser Aufsatz analysiert die langfristigen Zusammenhänge zwischen 14 internationalen Immobilienaktienmärkten und zwischen drei ökonomischen und geographischen Regionen. Dabei werden sowohl bivariate als auch multivariate Kointegrationsverfahren eingesetzt. Während sich zahlreiche, bisherige Untersuchungen wie z. B. von Gallo und Zhang (2009) und Yunus (2009) mit dieser Thematik befassen, ist der wissenschaftliche Beitrag dieser Studie vor allem im Vergleich verschiedener Kointegrationsverfahren zu sehen. Nach unserem Kenntnisstand handelt es sich bei der Untersuchung um die erste Analyse für internationale Immobilienaktienmärkte, die explizit Strukturbrüche in der Kointegrationsbeziehung und zeitlich variierende Kointegrationsbeziehungen berücksichtigt sowie stochastische Kointegrationsprozesse betrachtet. Außerdem handelt es sich um einen vergleichsweise langen Untersuchungszeitraum von 1990 bis 2009, der nicht nur nicht nur von einem stark wachsenden und steigenden Immobilien(-aktien-)marktumfeld geprägt war, sondern auch die Auswirkungen in Folge der seit dem Jahr 2007 anhaltenden Finanzmarktkrise umfasst. Im Einklang mit bisherigen Untersuchungen deuten die empirischen Ergebnisse auf zahlreiche Kointegrationsbeziehungen zwischen den nationalen Immobilienaktienmärkten hin. Allerdings zeigt sich auch, dass sich die Kointegrationsbeziehungen über die Zeit als instabil erweisen, die Ergebnisse - basierend auf den von Engle und Granger (1987) und Johansen (1988) vorgeschlagenen Verfahren - unzureichend sind und die Kointegrationsbeziehungen zunehmen, wenn Strukturbrücke berücksichtigt werden. Des Weiteren zeigt sich, dass zwischen den nationalen Märkten eines Kontinents mehr Kointegrationsbeziehungen bestehen als zwischen nationalen Märkten verschiedener ökonomischer und geographischer Regionen. Aus Investorensicht deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass die langfristigen Diversifikationspotentiale für Investoren eher in interkontinentalen als in intrakontinentalen Immobilienaktienanlagen zu realisieren sind. Dies trifft vor allem auf den europäischen Markt zu. Des Weiteren wird durch die Analyse deutlich, dass durch Kointegrationsverfahren, die Strukturbrüche unberücksichtigt lassen, langfristige Zusammenhänge und Gleichläufe zwischen den einzelnen nationalen Immobilienaktienmärkten nur unzureichend identifiziert werden und Fehlspezifikationen vorliegen können. |
| Keywords: | international securitized real estate markets,diversification,time-varying cointegration,stochastic cointegration |
| JEL: | C22 C11 G14 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:10051&r=ure |