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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Corinne Autant-Bernard (Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69007, France ; Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne,F-42000, France ; CNRS, GATE Lyon St Etienne, Saint-Etienne, F-42000, France) |
| Abstract: | Preliminary introduced by Anselin, Varga and Acs (1997) spatial econometric tools are widely used in economic geography of innovation. Taking into account spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity of regional innovation, this paper analyzes how these techniques have improved the ability to quantify knowledge spillovers, to measure their spatial extent, and to explore the underlying mechanisms and especially the interactions between geographical and social distance. It is also argued that the recent developments of spatio-dynamic models opens new research lines to investigate the temporal dimension of both spatial knowledge flows and innovation networks, two issues that should rank high in the research agenda of the geography of innovation. |
| Keywords: | Geography of innovation, spatial correlation, spatio‐dynamic panels, innovation networks |
| JEL: | O31 R12 C31 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:1120&r=ure |
| By: | John Cotter; Stuart Gabriel; Richard Roll |
| Abstract: | This paper explores integration and contagion among US metropolitan housing markets. The analysis applies Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price repeat sales indexes from 384 metropolitan areas to estimate a multi-factor model of U.S. housing market integration. It then identifies statistical jumps in metropolitan house price returns as well as MSA contemporaneous and lagged jump correlations. Finally, the paper evaluates contagion in housing markets via parametric assessment of MSA house price spatial dynamics. A R-squared measure reveals an upward trend in MSA housing market integration over the 2000s to approximately .83 in 2010. Among California MSAs, the trend was especially pronounced, as average integration increased from about .55 in 1997 to close to .95 in 2008! The 2000s bubble period similarly was characterized by elevated incidence of statistical jumps in housing returns. Again, jump incidence and MSA jump correlations were especially high in California. Analysis of contagion among California markets indicates that house price returns in San Francisco often led those of surrounding communities; in contrast, southern California MSA house price returns appeared to move largely in lock step. The high levels of housing market integration evidenced in the analysis suggest limited investor opportunity to diversify away MSA-specific housing risk. Further, results suggest that macro and policy shocks propagate through a large number of MSA housing markets. Research findings are relevant to all market participants, including institutional investors in MBS as well as those who regulate housing, the housing GSEs, mortgage lenders, and related financial institutions. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.4119&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | This work aims to study the Portuguese regional agglomeration process, using the linear form the New Economic Geography models that emphasize the importance of spatial factors (distance, costs of transport and communication) in explaining of the concentration of economic activity in certain locations. In a theoretical context, it is intended to explain the complementarily of clustering models, associated with the New Economic Geography, and polarization associated with the Keynesian tradition, describing the mechanisms by which these processes are based. As a summary conclusion, we can say which the agglomeration process shows some signs of concentration in Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (which is evidence of regional divergence in Portugal) and the productivity factor significantly improves the results that explain the regional clustering in Portugal (despite being ignored in the models of New Economic Geography). |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5559&r=ure |
| By: | Nicolas Gravel (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - Université de la Méditerranée - Aix-Marseille II - Université Paul Cézanne - Aix-Marseille III - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - CNRS : UMR6579); Rémy Oddou (Université de Cergy-Pontoise - université de Cergy-Pontoise) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the segregative properties of Tiebout-like endogenous processes of jurisdiction formation in presence of a competitive land market. In the model considered, a continuum of households with different wealth levels and the same preferences for local public goods, private spending and housing choose a location from a finite set. Each location has an initial endowment of housing that is priced competively and that belongs to absentee landlords. Each jurisdiction is also endowed with a specific technology for producing public goods. Households' preferences are assumed to be homothetically separable between local public goods on the one hand and private spending and housing on the other. Public goods provision is financed by a given, but unspecified, mixture of (linear) wealth and housing taxes. We show that stable jurisdiction structures are always segregated by wealth only if households view any public good conditionally on the quantities of the other public goods as either always a gross substitute, or either always a gross complement, to private spending. We also show that, if there are more than one public good, this condition is not sufficient for segregation unless households preferences are additively separable. Since this condition is necessary and sufficient for the segregation of stable jurisdiction structures without land market and with only one public good, our results suggests that introducing a land market does not affect the segregative properties of endogenous jurisdiction formation but that increasing the number of public goods mitigates segregation. |
| Keywords: | Land market; segregation; jurisdictions; local taxes; mobility. |
| Date: | 2011–10–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00634009&r=ure |
| By: | Algan, Yann; Hémet, Camille; Laitin, David |
| Abstract: | This paper demonstrates the effects of ethnic and religious diversity on the quality of public spaces. Its identification strategy relies on the exogeneity of public housing allocations in France, and thereby eliminates the bias from endogenous sorting. The paper uses micro evidence of social interactions within housing blocks from the representative French Housing survey, which allows for a detailed identification of the channels through which diversity operates. Differentiating among three channels of public goods provision, the paper finds that heterogeneity in the housing block leads to low levels of sanctions for anti-social behavior and low levels of collective action to improve housing conditions, but no losses in public safety. |
| Keywords: | Discrimination; Fractionalization; Public Good |
| JEL: | H10 H41 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8621&r=ure |
| By: | Jeske, Karsten; Krueger, Dirk; Mitman, Kurt |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the macroeconomic and distributional effects of government bailout guarantees for Government Sponsored Enterprises (such as Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac) in the mortgage market. In order to do so we construct a model with heterogeneous, infinitely lived households and competitive housing and mortgage markets. Households have the option to default on their mortgages, with the consequence of having their homes foreclosed. We model the bailout guarantee as a government provided and tax-financed mortgage interest rate subsidy. We find that eliminating this subsidy leads to substantially lower equilibrium mortgage origination and increases aggregate welfare, but has little effect on foreclosure rates and housing investment. The interest rate subsidy is a regressive policy: eliminating it benefits low-income and low-asset households who did not own homes or had small mortgages, while lowering the welfare of high-income, high-asset households. |
| Keywords: | Default Risk; Government-Sponsored Enterprises; Housing; Mortgage Market |
| JEL: | E21 G11 R21 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8624&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | With this work we try to analyse the agglomeration process in the Portuguese regions, using the New Economic Geography models. In these models the base idea is that where has increasing returns to scale in the manufactured industry and low transport costs, there is agglomeration. Of referring, as summary conclusion, that with this work the existence of increasing returns to scale and low transport cost, in the Portuguese regions, was proven and as such the existence of agglomeration in Portugal. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5538&r=ure |
| By: | Pyle, William (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | The voluminous literature on the privatization of Russian industry overlooks, almost completely, the story of enterprise land rights – a story that does not jibe well with the standard narrative of post-Soviet reform. This paper explains the path that has led to significant inter-regional variation in the ownership status of lands underneath urban industrial enterprises. It then introduces unique data from a survey of 359 large industrial firms across several dozen of Russia’s largest cities to explore why some firms have purchased their production plots whereas others continue to lease or hold these lands under the old Soviet system of tenure. In exploring both inter-regional and inter-firm variation in land rights, we find evidence consistent with the proposition that the decisions of regional officials and (the managers and owners of) firms are guided by securing rights over real estate rents. |
| Keywords: | urban land; property rights; Russia |
| JEL: | K11 L60 P26 P31 R33 |
| Date: | 2011–10–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2011_026&r=ure |
| By: | John Krainer; James A. Wilcox |
| Abstract: | We show that house prices may be driven entirely by the demands of one identifiable group for several years and then by demands of another group at other times. We present evidence that house prices in Hawaii were subject to such regime shifts. Prices responded to demands associated with American income and wealth for most years from 1975 through 2008. From the middle of the 1980s through the early 1990s, however, house prices responded to Japanese income and wealth. Statistical tests indicate that the regime-shifting model outperformed the constant-coefficient model. The regime shifting model helps explain why and by how much elasticities with respect to income and wealth and volatilities of house prices in Hawaii varied over time. |
| Keywords: | Housing - Prices - Hawaii |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedfwp:2011-24&r=ure |
| By: | Bauer, Thomas (RWI); Fertig, Michael (ISG, Cologne); Vorell, Matthias (RWI) |
| Abstract: | Using a unique dataset for Germany that links individual longitudinal data from the GSOEP to regional data from the federal employment agency and data of real estate prices, we evaluate the impact of neighborhood unemployment on individual employment prospects. The panel setup and richness of the data allows us to overcome some of the identification problems which are present in this strand of literature. The empirical results indicate that there is a significant negative impact of neighborhood unemployment on the individual employment probability. |
| Keywords: | social interactions, unemployment, neighborhood characteristics |
| JEL: | J64 R23 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6040&r=ure |
| By: | Doviak, Eric; MacDonald, Sean |
| Abstract: | Since February 2010, detailed information on every home mortgage default and foreclosure in New York State must be filed with the New York State Banking Department (NYSBD). Pairing the NYSBD's data with data on originations from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) enables us to identify the race and ethnicity of borrowers who defaulted on their home mortgages (in New York State). Like many previous studies, we find strong racial and ethnic disparities in lending practices, but we do not find conclusive evidence that HMDA-measurable forms of discrimination increased a borrower's probability of default. After controlling for other factors, we find that the interest rates charged to black and Latino borrowers tended to be higher than the ones charged to their white and non-Latino counterparts. This may be one reason why blacks and Latinos tend to default at a higher rate, but other factors, such as the tendency of black and Latino borrowers to take out larger loans than their white and non-Latino counterparts, may also have contributed to the higher default rate among black and Latino borrowers. |
| Keywords: | mortgage; default; foreclosure; discrimination |
| JEL: | G21 D14 |
| Date: | 2011–09–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:34275&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | The consideration of spatial effects at a regional level is becoming increasingly frequent and the work of Anselin (1988), among others, has contributed to this. This study analyses, through cross-section estimation methods, the influence of spatial effects in productivity (product per worker) in the NUTs III economic sectors of mainland Portugal from 1995 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2005 (taking in count the availability of data), considering the Verdoorn relationship. To analyse the data, by using Moran I statistics, it is stated that productivity is subject to a positive spatial autocorrelation (productivity of each of the regions develops in a similar manner to each of the neighbouring regions), above all in services. The total of all sectors present, also, indicators of being subject to positive autocorrelation in productivity. Bearing in mind the results of estimations, it can been that the effects of spatial spillovers, spatial lags (measuring spatial autocorrelation through the spatially lagged dependent variable) and spatial error (measuring spatial autocorrelation through the spatially lagged error terms), influence the Verdoorn relationship when it is applied to the economic sectors of Portuguese regions (Martinho, 2011). |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5573&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between inter-industry, intra-industry and inter-regional clustering and demand for labor by companies in Portugal. Is expected at the outset that there is more demand for work where the agglomeration is greater. It should be noted, as a summary conclusion, the results are consistent with the theoretical developments of the New Economic Geography, namely the demand for labor is greater where firms are better able to cluster that is where transport costs are lower and where there is a strong links "backward and forward" and strong economies of agglomeration. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5534&r=ure |
| By: | adureira, Ana Mafalda (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | The intention to promote local economic development through place marketing and urban design based interventions is linked to the commodification of the city, a trend emerging parallel to a new milieu for intercity competition. The aim with this paper is to highlight how urban design is used as a tool by the municipality to sell the city as a place to live, work and invest in. The focus is on the physical characteristics and function of two urban renewal projects and how the municipality has looked into these neighbourhoods in connection to the image that it wants to promote for the city. The analysis focuses on official plans and documentation, and on expert interviews. It distinguishes between product-oriented and process-oriented interventions. The reabilitation of the physical space is used to promote discourses on sustainability, innovation and creativity and, throught these discourses, generate an appealing image for investments. The paper aims to contribute to the discussions on the transformation of the role of the urban design and planning in contexts of entrepreneurial urban governance, place-marketing strategies, and the neoliberalization of planning |
| Keywords: | Urban design; entrepreneurial urban governance; Malmö; Sweden |
| JEL: | R58 |
| Date: | 2011–10–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2011_010&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | This paper pretends to analyze the importance which the natural advantages and local resources are in the manufacturing industry location, in relation with the "spillovers" effects and industrial policies. To this, we estimate the Rybczynski equation matrix for the various manufacturing industries in Portugal, at regional level (NUTS II) and for the period 1980 to 1999. Estimations are displayed with the model mentioned and for four different periods, namely 1980 to 1985, from 1986 to 1994, from 1980 to 1994 and from 1995 to 1999. The consideration of the various periods until 1994, aims to capture the effects of our entrance at the, in that time, EEC (European Economic Community) and the consideration of a period from 1995 is because the change in methodology for compiling statistical data taken from this time in Portugal. As a summary conclusion, noted that the location of manufacturing in Portugal is still mostly explained by specific factors, with a tendency to increase in some cases the explanation by these factors, having the effect "spillovers" and industrial policies little importance in this context. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5558&r=ure |
| By: | Paola Bertolini; Enrico Giovanetti; Francesco Pagliacci |
| Abstract: | Polycentrism is a common feature of European urban systems. Lately, the concept has assumed a more normative relevance and it has been often considered as a pre?requisite for a more sustainable and balanced development across Europe. However, the effects of polycentrism on other main European Strategies (such as the Lisbon Strategy, aimed at increasing European competitiveness and social cohesion) are not so clear. Therefore, the paper tries to highlight the relationships between a regional polycentric development and the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy’s targets. Referring to a sample of 75 regions belonging to France, Germany, Italy and Spain, we have first measured the extent of polycentrism, by estimating through OLS the slope of the rank-size distribution of cities within each region. Then, we have performed a principal component analysis (PCA) in order to highlight the main features characterising the performance of each region according to Lisbon Strategy’s targets. Looking at the correlations between the extent of polycentrism and the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy’s targets, we have found that the former is significantly correlated both with the spread of manufacture and with low investments in human capital and innovation |
| Keywords: | the Lisbon Strategy, polycentrism, rank-size distribution, PCA |
| JEL: | O18 O52 R00 R10 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:depeco:0664&r=ure |
| By: | María Angélica Arbeláez; Carolina Camacho; Johanna Fajardo |
| Abstract: | In this paper we explore the role played by policy instruments on the access to housing finance of low-income households. We also analyze the impact of housing credit and subsidies on the quality of life and the quality of dwelling of the beneficiaries. Using the Quality of Life Surveys conducted in Colombia in 2003 and 2008, we find that policy instruments aimed at easing access of low-income households to affordable housing such as subsidies and guaranteed loans have played a modest role in increasing the use of mortgage as a source of funding. Despite this, we show that subsidies have had a significant impact on both the quality of dwelling and the quality of life. Therefore, this paper suggests promoting the use of both instruments by improving their design and targeting. |
| Date: | 2010–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000124:009057&r=ure |
| By: | Agustin S. Benetrix; Barry Eichengreen; Kevin H. O'Rourke |
| Abstract: | We construct a simple probit model of the determinants of real house price slump endings. We find that the probability of a house price slump ending is higher, the smaller was the pre-slump house price run-up; the greater has been the cumualtive house price decline; the lower are real mortgage interest rates; and the higher is GDP growth. Slumps are longer, other things being equal, where housing supply is more elastic, but shorter the more developed are financial institutions. For slumps of a given size, shorter sharper slumps are associated with worse macroeconomic performance in the short run, but with better performance in the long run. This suggests that for sufficiently low discount rates, policy makers should not impede the decline in real house prices, and this conclusion is reinforced by the finding that after a certain duration, house price slumps can become self-reinforcing. On the other hand, we also find evidence that during downturns, falling house prices can lead to lower private sector credit flows. Policy makers thus face a delicate balancing act. While they should not intervene to artifically prop up overvalued house prices, they should ensure that their macroeconomic and banking policies are such as to make a bottoming-out more likely. This suggests that they should keep real interest rates low, and ensure that banks are well-capitalised. |
| Keywords: | House prices, Slumps, Probit, VAR |
| JEL: | E32 C41 R30 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:577&r=ure |
| By: | Giancarlo Bertocco (Department of Economics, University of Insubria, Italy) |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ins:quaeco:qf1112&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | This study analyses, through cross-section estimation methods, the influence of spatial effects in productivity (product per worker), at economic sectors level of the NUTs III of mainland Portugal, from 1995 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2005 (taking in count the data availability and the Portuguese and European context), considering the Verdoorn relationship. From the analyses of the data, by using Moran I statistics, it is stated that productivity is subject to a positive spatial autocorrelation (productivity of each of the regions develops in a similar manner to each of the neighbouring regions), above all in services. The total sectors of all regional economy present, also, indicators of being subject to positive autocorrelation in productivity. Bearing in mind the results of estimations, it can been that the effects of spatial spillovers, spatial lags (measuring spatial autocorrelation through the spatially lagged dependent variable) and spatial error (measuring spatial autocorrelation through the spatially lagged error terms), influence the Verdoorn relationship when it is applied to the economic sectors of Portuguese regions. The results obtained for the two periods are different, as expected, and are better in second period, because, essentially, the European and national public supports (Martinho, 2011). |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5578&r=ure |
| By: | Doviak, Eric; MacDonald, Sean |
| Abstract: | Since February 2010, detailed information on every home mortgage default and foreclosure in New York State must be filed with the New York State Banking Department (NYSBD). The data enables us to identify the financial characteristics that make a defaulted borrower more (or less) likely to enter the foreclosure process. Our analysis of the NYSBD data suggests that borrowers in default who took larger loans are more likely to progress to foreclosure. It also suggests that reducing principal balances may reduce the foreclosure rate, but might have an adverse effect on the mortgage industry. Given the frequent criticism of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), it is no surprise that defaulted borrowers whose mortgages were modified via HAMP progress to a lis pendens filing a higher rate than defaulted borrowers without a modification or with a non-HAMP modification. After controlling for delinquency length (and other factors) however, we find that the HAMP program may have been effective in helping defaulted borrowers avoid foreclosure. |
| Keywords: | mortgage; default; foreclosure |
| JEL: | G21 D14 |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:34276&r=ure |
| By: | Hiroshi Sato (Hitotsubashi University); Terry Sicular (University of Western Ontario); Ximing Yue (The People's University of China) |
| Abstract: | Not available. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:201112&r=ure |
| By: | María Angélica Arbeláez; Roberto Steiner; Alejandro Becerra; Daniel Wills |
| Abstract: | Using the 2003 and 2008 Quality of Life Surveys, we identify the factors that affect housing tenure decisions in Colombia and explore the determinants of the demand for rentals and purchases. Variables affecting the choice between buying and renting include civil status, education, age of the household head, size of the household and whether the household resides in an urban area. Households with higher income are more likely to purchase than to rent and the choice of formal housing is positively associated to wealth. Interestingly, households eligible for social housing subsidies are more likely to purchase than to rent and those working in the informal sector are more likely to purchase informal dwellings. Demand is quite responsive to price changes as well as to changes in the price of rental (its closest substitute). The elasticity to permanent income for both buying and renting is similar to that observed in other developing countries, and is higher for those working in the informal sector. This suggests that subsidies and other interventions aimed at fostering demand should not exclude those holding informal sector jobs. Demand is highly responsive to positive shocks to income, a fact probably associated with credit constraints being binding. Subsidies have a large positive impact on demand. Likewise, access to mortgage credit is an important determinant of demand. Finally, savings have a positive effect on demand in 2008, not in 2003. A plausible explanation is that a policy intervention that began in 2000 –i.e, a tax exemption for households that established savings accounts destined for housing purchases— only had an effect in the upper part of the business cycle. In both cases (i.e. subsidies and credit) the positive effect on demand is entirely explained by demand for social housing. |
| Date: | 2011–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000124:009056&r=ure |
| By: | Herbst, Chris M. (Arizona State University); Tekin, Erdal (Georgia State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of the spatial accessibility of public human services agencies on the likelihood of receiving a child care subsidy among disadvantaged mothers with young children. In particular, we collect data on the location of virtually every human services agency in the U.S. and use this information to calculate the approximate distance that families must travel from home in order to reach the nearest office that administers the subsidy application process. Using data from the Kindergarten cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), our results indicate that an increase in the distance to a public human services agency reduces the likelihood that a family receives a child care subsidy. Specifically, we estimate an elasticity of subsidy receipt with respect to distance of -0.13. The final section of the paper provides an empirical application in which we use variation in families' travel distance to identify the causal effect of child care subsidies on children's weight outcomes. Our instrumental variables estimates suggest that subsidized child care leads to sizeable increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among low-income children. |
| Keywords: | child care, subsidy, obesity |
| JEL: | I12 I18 J13 R53 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6025&r=ure |
| By: | Ramos, Raul (University of Barcelona); Sanromá, Esteban (University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of individual variables and some characteristics related to spatial mobility in regional labour markets on overeducation in Spain. With this aim, we use microdata from the Spanish Budget Family Survey to estimate a logit model for overeducation probability taking into account the problem of selection bias and the presence of data of different levels (individuals and territory). The obtained results permit us to conclude that the size of local labour markets and the possibility of extending the job search to other labour markets through commuting are relevant factors to explain overeducation in the Spanish labour market. In spite of the differences in terms of labour market institutions, our results are very similar to the ones obtained for other countries. |
| Keywords: | educational mismatch, Spain, multilevel, commuting, job mismatch, differential overeducation |
| JEL: | J61 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6028&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | This study analyses, through cross-section estimation methods, the influence of spatial effects and human capital in the conditional productivity convergence (product per worker) in the economic sectors of NUTs III of mainland Portugal between 1995 and 2002. To analyse the data, Moran's I statistics is considered, and it is stated that productivity is subject to positive spatial autocorrelation (productivity develops in a similar manner to productivity in neighbouring regions), above all, in agriculture and services. Industry and the total of all sectors present indications that they are subject to positive spatial autocorrelation in productivity. On the other hand, it is stated that the indications of convergence, specifically bearing in mind the concept of absolute convergence, are greater in industry. Taking into account the estimation results, it is stated once again that the indications of convergence are greater in industry, and it can be seen that spatial spillover effects, spatial lag (capturing spatial autocorrelation through a spatially redundant dependent variable) and spatial error (capturing spatial autocorrelation through a spatially redundant error term), as well as human capital, condition the convergence of productivity in the various economic sectors of Portuguese region in the period under consideration (Martinho, 2011). |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5571&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | This work aims mainly to present a project of research about the identification of the determinants that affect the mobility of labor. The empirical part of the work will be performed for the NUTS II and NUTS III of Portugal, from 1996 to 2002 and for 1991 and 2001, respectively (given the availability of statistical data). As main conclusion it can be said, for the NUTS II (1996-2002), which is confirmed the existence of some labor mobility in Portugal and that regional mobility is mainly influenced positively by the output growth and negatively by the unemployment rates and by the weight of the agricultural sector. NUTS III level (1991 and 2001) is something similar, but with this level of spatial disaggregation (and in this period) the basic equipment (amenities), particularly in terms of availability of housing, are the main determinants of migration. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5564&r=ure |
| By: | Luisa Alamá Sabater (Dpt. Economia); Emili Tortosa Ausina (Universitat Jaume I) |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasec:2011-10&r=ure |
| By: | Carlo Altavilla (University of Naples Parthenope, CESifo and CSEF); Floro Ernesto Caroleo (University of Naples Parthenope) |
| Abstract: | Labour market policies settled at national level imply a “one-size-fits-all” labour market strategy. This strategy might not sufficiently take into account region-specific economic structures. We employ a panel factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) to evaluate whether active labour market programmes (ALMPs) might asymmetrically affect labour markets at regional level in a data-rich environment. The paper focuses on Italian regions. Our results suggest that while in the South employment is mainly driven by social and economic context variables, in the North the employment dynamics is significantly explained by policy interventions. Finally, we suggest two main policy implications. First, the success of active policies depends on the regional labour market conditions. Second, policymakers should adjust labour policy strategy to the regional economic structure |
| Keywords: | Active Labour Market Policies, FAVAR. |
| JEL: | C33 J64 |
| Date: | 2011–10–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:293&r=ure |
| By: | Sai Ding (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences); Shi Li (Beijing Normal University); Samuel L. Myers, Jr. (University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | Not available. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:201121&r=ure |
| By: | Bilotkach, Volodymyr; Clougherty, Joseph A.; Mueller, Juergen; Zhang, Anming |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the determinants of airport aeronautical charges by employing a unique panel dataset covering sixty-one European airports over an eighteen-year period. We are able to extend the literature on the role of airports as an essential element in transport infrastructure by offering the first analysis of the impact of different regulatory policies and privatization on airport charges in a panel data setting where fixed effects can be employed to mitigate endogeneity concerns. Our main empirical results indicate that aeronautical charges are lower at airports when single-till regulation is employed, when airports are privatized, and -- tentatively -- when ex-post price regulation is applied. Furthermore, hub airports generally set higher aeronautical charges, and it appears that price-cap regulation and the presence of nearby airports do not affect aeronautical charges. |
| Keywords: | airport charges; airports; hubs; privatization; regulation; single-till |
| JEL: | L33 L93 R40 R48 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8618&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyze the processes of polarization and agglomeration, to explain the mechanisms and causes of these phenomena in order to identify similarities and differences. As the main implication of this study should be noted that both process pretend to explain the concentration of economic activity and population in certain places, through cumulative phenomena, but with different perspectives, in other words, the polarization with a view of economic development and agglomeration with a perspective of space. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5557&r=ure |
| By: | Romeo Danielis (University of Trieste, Italy); Lucia Rotaris (University of Trieste, Italy); Edoardo Marcucci (University of Roma 3, Italy); Jérôme Massiani (University of Ca’ Foscari, Venice, Italy) |
| Abstract: | The paper provides an evaluation of the Ecopass scheme for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010. The term Ecopass conveys the stated political objective of the scheme: a PASS to improve the quality of the urban environment (ECO). The scheme has actually improved the air quality in Milan, although the recommended PM10 threshold is still exceeded for a larger number of days than that recommended by EU directives. This paper estimates the costs and benefits of the scheme three years after its implementation using the same methodology applied in Rotaris et al. (2010) for the year 2008. It results that the benefits still exceed the costs by an increasing amount, but at an annual decreasing rate of improvement. The Ecopass scheme has proved beneficial, but it seems to have exhausted its potential: little further gains in environmental quality could be obtained via a fiscal incentive to improve the abatement technology of the vehicles. The new administration, elected in June 2011, is faced with the task of deciding whether to dismiss, maintain or change the Ecopass scheme. The prevailing idea coming from the Ecopass Commission and from the advocacy groups is to extend both the area of application and the number of classes subject to the charge. A move from a pollution charge to a congestion charge, or at least a combination of a pollution and a congestion charge is envisaged. |
| Keywords: | Ecopass, road pricing, congestion pricing, urban transport |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sit:wpaper:11_03&r=ure |
| By: | Xavier Fageda (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona); Ricardo Flores-Fillol (Universitat Rovira i Virgili) |
| Abstract: | An examination of the impact in the US and EU markets of two major innovations in the provision of air services on thin routes - regional jet technology and the low-cost business model - reveals significant differences. In the US, regional airlines monopolize a high proportion of thin routes, whereas low-cost carriers are dominant on these routes in Europe. Our results have different implications for business and leisure travelers, given that regional services provide a higher frequency of flights (at the expense of higher fares), while low-cost services offer lower fares (at the expense of lower flight frequencies). |
| Keywords: | air transportation; regional jet technology; low-cost business model; thin markets JEL classification:L13; L2; L93 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201123&r=ure |
| By: | Nilsson, Magnus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Moodysson, Jerker (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | The framework of regional innovation systems highlights the systemic nature of economic development and the importance of coordination of policy activities. Such coordination presupposes an understanding of the underlying problems and how they can be addressed. Generic problems in innovation systems refer to issues of lack of resources, negative lock-in, and structural or functional fragmentation. In spite of this, there are few good examples of systematic analyses of innovation systems that take into account both structural and functional properties of the system. This paper addresses this issue by offering a framework for analyzing innovation system problems, functions, activities, and actors and, based on this, offers insights with regard to the role of regional actors as coordinators of innovation system activities. |
| Keywords: | Regional innovation systems; innovation policy; systemic problems |
| JEL: | O30 |
| Date: | 2011–10–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2011_009&r=ure |
| By: | Ranganathan, Rupa; Foster, Vivien |
| Abstract: | Sound infrastructure is fundamental for growth across the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). During 1995-2005, improvements in infrastructure boosted growth in Central Africa by 1 percentage point per capita annually, primarily due to the introduction and expansion of mobile telephony. Improved roads also made a small contribution. Conversely, inadequate power deterred growth to a greater degree than elsewhere in Africa. ECCAS must address a complex set of challenges. Economic activity takes place in isolated pockets separated by vast distances. Two countries are landlocked and dependent on regional corridors; seven countries have populations of under 10 million; and eight have economies that are smaller than $10 billion/year. This difficult economic geography demands a regional approach to developing infrastructure. Yet Central Africa's infrastructure has the poorest performance record in all of Africa on most aggregate indicators. Transportation is slow and the most expensive in Sub-Saharan Africa, with poor road conditions, border delays, port delays, time-consuming administrative processes, no integrated railway network, and inefficient air transport. The ICT backbone is still in its early stages; access rates are low and the prices of critical services are the highest in Africa. ECCAS has the least-developed power sector on the continent despite significant hydropower resources. If Central Africa's infrastructure could be improved to the level of Mauritius, regional growth performance would be boosted by some 5 percentage points, with power making the strongest contribution. The cost of such an improvement is estimated at $1.8 billion/year for a decade and will require external assistance. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Infrastructure Economics,Airports and Air Services,Roads&Highways,Transport and Trade Logistics |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5857&r=ure |
| By: | Marcus Dejardin; Martin Carree |
| Abstract: | Firm entry and exit flows in the retailing and consumer services may be viewed as market equilibrating processes. Local markets with considerable market room and high unemployment ought to be characterized by high subsequent entry rates and low exit rates. However, lack of entrepreneurial alertness may inhibit this. We examine the relationship and obtain empirical results for a range of selected industries in 563 Belgian municipalities. We show that, over a three-year period, (net) entry is positively affected by the presence of local 'market room' and also by future market pull. We find 'unemployment push' effect on entry in easy-to-enter industries, but also a significant effect of unemployment on exit. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Entry; Exit; Entrepreneurship; Unemployment |
| JEL: | L80 M13 R12 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nam:wpaper:1114&r=ure |
| By: | Gordon B. Dahl (University of California, San Diego and NBER); Lance Lochner (University of Western Ontario) |
| Abstract: | Past estimates of the effect of family income on child development have often been plagued by endogeneity and measurement error. In this paper, we use an instrumental variables strategy to estimate the causal effect of income on children's math and reading achievement. Our identification derives from the large, non-linear changes in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) over the last two decades. The largest of these changes increased family income by as much as 20%, or approximately $2,100, between 1993 and 1997. Using a panel of roughly 4,500 children matched to their mothers from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth datasets allows us to address problems associated with unobserved heterogeneity, endogenous transitory income shocks, and measurement error in income. Our baseline estimates imply that a $1,000 increase in income raises combined math and reading test scores by 6% of a standard deviation in the short-run. Test gains are larger for children from disadvantaged families and are robust to a variety of alternative specifications. |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:20105&r=ure |
| By: | Rosa Bernardini Papalia (Department of Statistics, University of Bologna); Silvia Bertarelli (Department of Economics Institutions and Territory , University of Ferrara); Carlo Filippucci (Department of Statistics, University of Bologna) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study the relationship between the level of development of an economy and returns to different levels of education for the panel of OECD countries over the 1965-2004 period, in a club convergence framework. The connection between growth and human capital measures of primary, secondary and tertiary education in a multiple-club spatial convergence model with non linearities and spatial dependence is considered. By decomposing total schooling into its three constituent parts, we are able to evaluate their impact on regional growth without imposing homogeneous returns from each level of education. We contribute to the identification of two regimes for OECD countries, each characterized by different returns on physical and human capital accumulation and technological spillovers. We also find that the non-monotonic pattern of convergence is strongly influenced by human capital stocks and technology diffusion process is stronger in the club less close to the technological frontier. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:15&r=ure |
| By: | Di Mo; Hongmei Yi; Linxiu Zhang; Renfu Luo; Scott Rozelle; Carl Brinton |
| Abstract: | Recent anecdotal reports suggest that dropout rates may be higher and actually increasing over time in poor rural areas. There are many reasons not to be surprised that there is a dropout problem, given the fact that China has a high level of poverty among the rural population, a highly competitive education system and rapidly increasing wages for unskilled workers. The overall goal of this study is to examine if there is a dropout problem in rural China and to explore the effectiveness that a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program could have on dropouts (and mechanism by which the CCT might affect drop outs). To meet this objective, we conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a CCT using a sample of 300 junior high school students in a nationally-designated poor county in Northwest China. Using our data, we found that the annual dropout rate in the study county was high, about 7.0%. We find, however, that a CCT program reduces drop outs by 60%; the dropout rate is 13.3% in the control group and 5.3 % in the treatment group. The program is most effective in the case of girls, younger students and the poorest performing students. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:28311&r=ure |
| By: | Zheng Liu; Pengfei Wang; Tao Zha |
| Abstract: | We argue that positive co-movements between land prices and business investment are a driving force behind the broad impact of land-price dynamics on the macroeconomy. We develop an economic mechanism that captures the co-movements by incorporating two key features into a DSGE model: We introduce land as a collateral asset in firms’ credit constraints and we identify a shock that drives most of the observed fluctuations in land prices. Our estimates imply that these two features combine to generate an empirically important mechanism that amplifies and propagates macroeconomic fluctuations through the joint dynamics of land prices and business investment. |
| Keywords: | Real property |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedfwp:2011-26&r=ure |
| By: | Fabian Kratz (Bavarian State Institute for Higher Education Research and Planning) |
| Abstract: | Concentrating on the social origin, determinants of international mobility of students and recent graduates are identified, drawing on a combination of the microeconomic human capital model as well as the job-search-theory. The analysis is based on the Bavarian Graduate Study (Bayerisches Absolventen Panel, BAP), a representative data base for a wide array of fields of study at Bavarian universities and universities of applied sciences. Methods of multilevel modeling are employed to identify individual differences in the spatial mobility propensities of students and young graduates. First, analyzing the determinants of international mobility of students revealed the following associations. The younger the students, the higher the likelihood to study abroad. This propensity is also positively associated with parents’ status. Apart from that, students from universities display a significantly higher migration propensity than students from universities of applied sciences. Second, considering differences in the emigration propensities after graduation, our results imply that the likelihood of working abroad is contingent on a high social origin, being a single, graduating at a lower age. Furthermore, migration experiences in the past and competencies in foreign languages show a positive impact. Consequently, international mobility both during the studies and upon entrance into the labor market is significantly influenced by the social origin. In addition to this direct effect, the higher likelihood of students and graduates with a favorable social background to experience mobility in early stages increases their propensity to go abroad again indirectly, too, as a mediator. The same holds true for the readiness to move for a job as indicated by the radius considered when searching for a job. As a result, the range of opportunities resulting from the combined effects of a high social origin and previous migration experiences resembles a sophisticated mechanism contributing to the reproduction of social inequality. |
| Keywords: | international mobility, students, graduates, social origin, inequality, job search |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:26&r=ure |
| By: | Alessio D'Amato (Faculty of Economics, University of Rome "Tor Vergata"); Massimiliano Mazzanti (University of Ferrara); Francesco Nicolli (University of Ferrara) |
| Abstract: | Waste management / disposal performances and a desirable delinking between income and waste trends are influenced by socio economic, institutional and policy factors. In highly regionalised settings many idiosyncratic factors of local interest influence waste management and disposal. Through an impact on policy enforcement costs, crime activities in a defined area and their geographical spillovers, may negatively affect legal forms of waste management and disposal. Given its high regional heterogeneity and known plague of Mafia in areas affected by recent =waste crisis‘, Italy is a compelling case study: in full consistence to a theoretical model that analyzes how legal disposal (landfill), illegal disposal and recyclable waste levels are influenced by waste tariff and crime; econometric analysis on Italian provinces, shows that separated collection and legal forms of waste disposal are lower when crime spills are present. Crime activities erode and slow down the enhancement of waste management and disposal brought about by socio economic and structural factors enhanced by the introduction of newly crafted economic minded tariffs. |
| Keywords: | waste tariffs, crime, mafia, waste management and disposal, enforcement costs, recycling. |
| Date: | 2011–10–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:213&r=ure |
| By: | José Alcalde Pérez (Universidad de Alicante); Antonio Romero-Medina (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces &tao;-fairness as a compromise solution reconciling Pareto efficiency and equity in School Choice Problems. We show that, by considering a weak notion of equity that we refer to as ¿-equity, it is possible to contribute positively to solve an open debate, originated by the efficiency-equity trade-off of the schooling problem. We also suggest a slight modification to some allocative procedures recently introduced in the United States to compute ¿-fair allocations and provide support for this (possible) reformulation. |
| Keywords: | School Choice Problem, Fair Matching |
| JEL: | C78 D63 I28 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2011-22&r=ure |
| By: | Quheng Deng (Beijing Normal University); Bjorn Gustafsson (University of Goteborg) |
| Abstract: | Not available. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:201116&r=ure |
| By: | Fiorenza Belussi (University of Padova); Silvia Rita Sedita (University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | This article deepens the theoretical understanding of learning processes in industrial districts (IDs) by analysing the emergent and deliberate structures that favour knowledge transfer at the local and distance level. An analytical framework illustrates district-learning dynamics through two mechanisms. The first is the exploitation of local knowledge structures. The second is the exploration of distant knowledge structures. We claim that a combination of the two mechanisms enhances the competitiveness of industrial districts in the global arena. We illustrate how these theoretical reflections find empirical evidence in the case of the Lake Naivasha cut-flower district in Kenya. |
| Keywords: | industrial districts, knowledge structure, business networks, communities of practice. |
| JEL: | R0 O1 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pad:wpaper:0141&r=ure |
| By: | Laura Fernández-Caballero (Banco de España); Diego J. Pedregal (Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha); Javier J. Pérez (BANCO DE ESPAÑA) |
| Abstract: | The evolution of Regional and Local governments’ spending in Spain is currently under close scrutiny by national and international investors and analysts, international organizations and rating agencies. Indeed, some 50% of general government spending and some 70% of public employment are managed by Regions and Municipalities, which consequently have to bear a great portion of the overall fiscal consolidation plan currently under way. Despite recent efforts of the Spanish government at increasing transparency, the significant shortages of the existing data render the task of monitoring regional and local governments’ public spending in real-time a complicated endeavor. Within this framework, we exploit all available short-term information on sub-national governments’ spending from scattered sources, and find a subset of indicators usable for real-time policy analysis. In particular: (i) we compile a dataset on quarterly and monthly regional government’s spending variables, by reviewing all available, scattered sources, and put together a database usable for economic and policy analysis; (ii) we exploit the compiled information, and other additional sources, by fitting time-series mixed-frequencies models to the data, and show the forecasting and monitoring capabilities of the selected short-term fiscal indicators; (iii) we show that official annual budgetary targets do present a reasonable forecasting performance when used as indicators of regional and local spending targets in national accounts terms, in particular when used in combination with time series indicators. |
| Keywords: | Regional and local public finances; government expenditure; fiscal forecasting |
| JEL: | E17 E62 H68 H72 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:1127&r=ure |
| By: | Figueiredo, Octávio (University of Porto); Guimaraes, Paulo (University of South Carolina); Woodward, Douglas (University of South Carolina) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we use a novel approach and a large Portuguese employer-employee panel data set to study the hypothesis that industrial agglomeration improves the quality of the firm-worker matching process. Our method makes use of recent developments in the estimation and analysis of models with high-dimensional fixed effects. Using wage regressions with controls for multiple sources of observed and unobserved heterogeneity we find little evidence that the quality of matching increases with firm’s clustering within the same industry. This result supports Freedman’s (2008) analysis using U.S. data. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, matching, fixed-effects |
| JEL: | R12 R39 J31 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6016&r=ure |
| By: | Giulio Bosio (University of Milan); Chiara Noè (University of Cergy-Pointoise) |
| Abstract: | The Italian system of higher education has recently experienced a process of radical transformation. The so-called 3+2 university reform reflects a big increase in the supply of college graduates that has attracted the attention of policy makers and fostered the debate on the size of human capital externalities. Using the 2009 Italian Labour Force Survey and incorporating a measure of graduate density within each occupation, in this article, we explore whether the social returns to education exceeds the private return and less educated workers gain more than college educated workers from spillovers associated with higher college share in their relative occupation. The OLS results clearly indicate that increases in graduate density have positive effects on wages and that the effect is larger for less educated workers, also controlling for potential confounding factors. However, the concentration of college workers across occupations is such that we may have a potential endogeneity problem. In order to recover a causal interpretation and to isolate the effect of graduate density, we employ an IV strategy exploiting the lagged demographic and occupational structure and the variation in the introduction of 3+2 courses at regional level. Merely, IV estimates largely indicate that the size of spillovers is significantly increased with respect to standard OLS results. Indeed, we estimate that a 1% increase in the college share within occupation raises wages by 0.9-1.3% for male and female, respectively. The effect is further larger for less educated workers. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:39&r=ure |
| By: | Salvatore Ingrassia (Dipartimento di Impresa, Cultura e Società, Università degli Studi di Catania); Simona Caterina Minotti (Dipartimento di Statistica, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca); Giorgio Vittadini (Dipartimento di Metodi Quantitativi per l'Economia e le Scienze Aziendali, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca) |
| Abstract: | Cluster Weighted Modeling (CWM) is a mixture approach regarding the modelisation of the joint probability of data coming from a heterogeneous population. Under Gaussian assumptions, we investigate statistical properties of CWM from both the theoretical and numerical point of view; in particular, we show that CWM includes as special cases mixtures of distributions and mixtures of regressions. Further, we introduce CWM based on Student-t distributions providing more robust fitting for groups of observations with longer than normal tails or atypical observations. Theoretical results are illustrated using some empirical studies, considering both real and simulated data. |
| Keywords: | Cluster-Weighted Modeling, Mixture Models, Model-Based Clustering |
| Date: | 2011–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mis:wpaper:20111001&r=ure |
| By: | Vitor Joao Pereira Domingues Martinho |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to present a further contribution to the analysis of absolute convergence (and), associated with the neoclassical theory, and conditional, associated with endogenous growth theory, of the sectoral productivity at regional level. Presenting some empirical evidence of absolute convergence of productivity for each of the economic sectors and industries in each of the regions of mainland Portugal (NUTS II and NUTS III) in the period 1986 to 1994 and from 1995 to 1999. The finest spatial unit NUTS III is only considered for each of the economic sectors in the period 1995 to 1999. They are also presented empirical evidence of conditional convergence of productivity, but only for each of the economic sectors of the NUTS II of Portugal, from 1995 to 1999. The structural variables used in the analysis of conditional convergence is the ratio of capital/output, the flow of goods/output and location ratio. The main conclusions should be noted that the signs of convergence are stronger in the first period than in the second and that convergence is conditional, especially in industry and in all sectors (1)(Martinho, 2011). |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1110.5552&r=ure |
| By: | Philip Adams; Janine Dixon; James Giesecke; Mark Horridge |
| Abstract: | MMRF is a dynamic CGE model of Australia's six State and two Territory economies. MMRF is used extensively in contract research. Several features of MMRF make it an ideal tool for policy analysis, including: dynamics, a highly disaggregated regional and sectoral database, a national labour market, and detailed modelling of government financial statistics. |
| Keywords: | CGE modelling, dynamics, regional economics |
| JEL: | C68 D58 R13 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cop:wpaper:g-223&r=ure |
| By: | Kazuo Mino (Kyoto University); Yasuhiro Nakamoto (Kyusyu Sangyo University) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the effect of consumption externalities on equilibrium dynamics of a standard neoclassical growth model in which there are two types of agents. To emphasize the presence of heterogenous agents, we distinguish intergroup consumption externalities from intragroup consumption externalities. We show that if there are intragroup consumption externalities alone, then the steady state equilibrium satisfies saddle-point stability and the equilibrium path of the economy is uniquely determined. In contrast, even if the intragroup consumption externalities do not exist, the intergroup external effects of consumption may yield either unstability or local indeterminacy of the steady-state equilibrium. In addition to analytical considerations, we show the relationship between the stability and the consumption externalities in numerical examples. |
| Keywords: | consumption externalities, heterogeneous agents, progressive taxation, equilibrium determinacy |
| JEL: | E52 O42 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:792&r=ure |
| By: | Jane Cooley Fruehwirth (University of Wisconsin-Madison); Salvador Navarro (University of Western Ontario); Yuya Takahashi (University of Mannheim) |
| Abstract: | Increasingly, grade retention is viewed as an important alternative to social promotion, yet evidence to date is unable to disentangle how the effect of grade retention varies by abilities and over time. The key challenge is differential selection of students into retention across grades and by abilities. Because existing quasi-experimental methods cannot address this question, we develop a new strategy that is a hybrid between a control function and a generalization of the fixed effects approach. Applying our method to nationally-representative, longitudinal data, we find evidence of dynamic selection into retention and that the treatment effect of retention varies considerably across grades and unobservable abilities of students. Our strategy can be applied more broadly to many time-varying or multiple treatment settings. |
| Keywords: | time-varying treatments, dynamic selection, grade retention, factor analysis |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:20117&r=ure |
| By: | Patrizia Ordine (Dept. of Economics and Statistics, University of Calabria); Giuseppe Rose (Dept. of Economics and Statistics, University of Calabria) |
| Abstract: | This work investigates educational mismatch and its interrelationships with individual unemployment duration. By studying unemployment histories of Italian workers we show that overeducated have longer unemployment spells than well matched workers. Using duration models we show that hazard rates of graduates are higher than those of undergraduates only for transitions toward occupations that require the competencies provided by the universities. This process is strictly related to innate ability and geographical location. Our findings are consistent with an interpretation of educational mismatch as a penalizing phenomenon in the individuals' working life associated to long term unemployment. We argue that a policy that gives more relevance to individual ability in the schooling attainment may reduce educational mismatch. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:19&r=ure |
| By: | Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. (University of Melbourne); Tekin, Erdal (Georgia State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the relationship between having one or more father figures and the likelihood that young people engage in delinquent criminal behavior. We pay particular attention to distinguishing the roles of residential and non-residential, biological fathers as well as stepfathers. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we find that adolescent boys engage in more delinquent behavior if there is no father figure in their lives. However, adolescent girls' behavior is largely independent of the presence (or absence) of their fathers. The strong effect of family structure is not explained by the lack of paternal involvement that generally comes with fathers' absence, even though adolescents, especially boys, who spend time doing things with their fathers usually have better outcomes. There is also a link between adult delinquent behavior and adolescent family structure that cannot be explained by fathers' involvement with their adolescent sons and is only partially explained by fathers' involvement with their adolescent daughters. Finally, the strong link between adolescent family structure and delinquent behavior is not accounted for by the income differentials associated with fathers' absence. Our results suggest that the presence of a father figure during adolescence is likely to have protective effects, particularly for males, in both adolescence and young adulthood. |
| Keywords: | fathers, adolescence, family structure, crime, delinquent behavior |
| JEL: | J12 J13 K42 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6042&r=ure |
| By: | Kristel Bogaerts; Hans Echelpoels; Wouter Van Dooren; Ive Marx; Francesca Froy |
| Abstract: | Flexibility in the delivery of local labour market policy can be identified as “the possibility to adjust policy at its various design, implementation and delivery stages to make it better adapted to local contexts, actions carried out by other organisations, strategies being pursued, and challenges and opportunities faced" (Giguère and Froy, 2009). A local focus refers in this context to an area with 150 000 to 800 000 inhabitants. Increasing flexibility in the management of labour market policy at the sub-regional or municipal level could lead to programmes that are specifically tailored to local needs, which could improve their effectiveness. Increased flexibility, however, also holds the risk of local programmes diverging from central goals. Therefore, flexibility needs to be accompanied by mechanisms for holding local actors accountable for their policies and actions.<p> This report explores the accountability and flexibility in labour market policy in Flanders (Belgium) based on a series of indicators on programme design and eligibility criteria, target groups, budgets and financing, goals and performance management, collaboration and outsourcing. The results are based on desk research, an e-survey for organisations involved, interviews with representatives of key organizations and round tables (two at local level, one at central level). The governance framework of the Flanders region is dynamic and changing. Within this framework accountability and flexibility relationships are explored within the VDAB (the Flemish Public Employment Service - PES), the SERR/RESOC network, and the municipalities in Flanders... |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2011/11-en&r=ure |