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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Palmberg, Johanna (The Ratio Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates factors that determine the spatial concentration in the financial industry. Why does the financial industry have such a high spatial concentration? The theoretical framework is based on theories from regional economics, with a focus on agglomeration effects, externalities, and the regional clustering of an industry. The positive agglomeration effects arise from access to i) specialized labor, ii) specialized suppliers, and iii) knowledge dispersion (Marshall 1920). Jacobs (1961, 1969) contributes to a discussion of the role of cities (urban economies) in terms of innovations and entrepreneurship. The high degree of spatial concentration in the financial sector emphasizes the importance of local embeddedness, networks, face-to-face communication, knowledge spillovers, and spatial proximity for the organization of the financial industry. These factors accentuate the importance of local knowledge and the dispersion of knowledge, factors that have been thoroughly discussed and analyzed in the field of Austrian economics. Therefore, an Austrian view is included to examine the role of knowledge in the spatial concentration of financial centers. Scholars such as Hayek (1937; 1945) and Lachmann (1978 [1956]) contribute to understanding the use of knowledge in society. |
| Keywords: | Spatial Concentration; Financial Industries; Knowledge; Information; Face-to-face communication |
| JEL: | B26 B53 D53 |
| Date: | 2012–02–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0188&r=ure |
| By: | van Ham, Maarten (Delft University of Technology); Manley, David (University of Bristol) |
| Abstract: | In this chapter we investigate the process of ethnic minority segregation in English social housing. Successive governments have expressed a commitment to the contradictory aims of providing greater choice – through the introduction of choice based letting – for households accessing an increasingly marginalised social housing sector whilst also expressing a determination to create more mixed communities and neighbourhoods. We consider the concept of choice in the context of a heavily residualised social housing sector, arguing that, for social housing tenants at least, the concept of real choice is a misnomer. We draw on research that has utilised unique administrative data and analysed the moves of all entrants into and movers within the social renting sector over a ten year period in England. The conclusion is that the introduction of choice based letting has influenced the residential outcomes of ethnic minorities and resulted in highly structured neighbourhood sorting that has segregated minority populations into the least desirable neighbourhoods of English cities. |
| Keywords: | segregation, choice based letting, social housing, housing policy, UK |
| JEL: | R21 R23 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6372&r=ure |
| By: | Leonardo Martinez; Juan Carlos Hatchondo; Juan M. Sanchez |
| Abstract: | This paper incorporates house price risk and mortgages into a standard incomplete market (SIM) model. The model is calibrated to match U.S. data and accounts for non-targeted features of the data such as the distribution of down payments, the life-cycle profile of home ownership, and the mortgage default rate. The average coefficients that measure the agents’ ability to self-insure against income shocks are similar to those of a SIM model without housing but housing increases the values of these coefficients for younger agents. The response of consumption to house price shocks is minimal. The introduction of minimum down payments or income garnishment benefits a majority of the population. |
| Keywords: | Bankruptcy , Economic models , Housing prices , United States , |
| Date: | 2012–01–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:12/26&r=ure |
| By: | Hernán Enríquez; Juan Tomás Sayago |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to test the spatial patterns in small and medium size manufacturing firms (11 to 50 employees for small size firms and 51 to 200 for medium size firms) in Bogotá, Colombia, from 2006 to 2008. For this, the Ripley’s K(r) function distance based method is used in order to measure the firms´ spatial concentration, using level of employment and firm size as identification variables, for a sample of four ISIC digits industries located inside the urban perimeter. In this case, the K(r) function allows the reader to establish clustering agglomeration tendencies in each industry and additionally evaluate if dynamic spatial concentration, dispersion, or randomness between firms thru time exists. Evaluating location by firm size would indicate us trends of employment and predominant industry activity in the city, and its relation with other urban features. |
| Date: | 2011–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000386:009333&r=ure |
| By: | Jan Rouwendal; Wouter Vermeulen |
| Abstract: | Foregone benefits of the open space that is sacrificed through urban sprawl are hard to quantify. We obtain a simple benchmark measure by introducing a demand for trips beyond the urban boundary into the monocentric city model. The externality arises from the increase in travel costs that expansion of the city imposes on its prior inhabitants. An empirical application illustrates the moderate informational requirements. It indicates that open space externalities warrant rather mild restrictions on urban expansion. |
| Keywords: | urban sprawl, open space, growth controls, outdoor recreation |
| JEL: | Q26 R13 R52 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sercdp:0101&r=ure |
| By: | Konstantin A. Kholodilin; Andreas Mense |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we suggest to estimate the home rents and prices in German regions/cities using the data from Internet ads offering the housing for rent and sale. Given the richness of information contained in the ads, we are able to construct the quality-adjusted rent and price indices using the hedonic approach. The results can be applied both for investigating the dynamics of rents/prices and for examining their distribution by city districts or regions. |
| Keywords: | Internet ads, home rents, home prices, German regions, Berlin, hedonic approach |
| JEL: | C21 O47 R11 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1191&r=ure |
| By: | Chiara Forlati (Chair of International Finance, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland); Luisa Lambertini (Chair of International Finance, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | Mortgages characterized by negative or low early amortization schedules amplify the macroeconomic effects of a housing risk shock. We analyze the role of mortgage amortization in a two-sector DSGE model with housing risk and endogenous default. Mortgage loan contracts extend to two periods and have adjustable rates. The fraction of principal to be repaid in the first period can vary. As the fraction of principal to be paid in the first period falls, steady-state mortgages and leverage increase and the impact of a housing risk shock on consumption and output is amplified. Borrowers prefer negative amortization. If free to choose the amortization schedule, borrowers would repay most of the principal in the last period of the contract. Low early repayments of principal allow borrowers to hold on to their housing stock and postpone default to the second period having incurred small sunk costs. |
| Keywords: | Housing, Mortgage default, Mortgage risk |
| JEL: | E32 E44 G01 R31 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cif:wpaper:201201&r=ure |
| By: | Kristian Giesen (University of Duisburg-Essen); Jens Suedekum (University of Duisburg-Essen) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we show that the double Pareto lognormal (DPLN) parameterization provides an excellent fit to the overall US city size distribution, regardless of whether “cities” are administratively defined Census places or economically defined area clusters. We then consider an economic model that combines scale-independent urban growth (Gibrat’s law) with endogenous city creation. City sizes converge to a DPLN distribution in this model, which is much better in line with the data than previous urban growth frameworks that predict a lognormal or a Pareto city size distribution (Zipf’s law). |
| Keywords: | Zipf’s law, Gibrat’s law, city size distributions, double Pareto-Lognormal |
| JEL: | R11 R12 O4 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2012/3/doc2012-2&r=ure |
| By: | Rémy Oddou (THEMA, Universite de Cergy-Pontoise) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the eect of spillovers and congestion of local public services on the segregative properties of endogenous formation of jurisdictions. Households choosing to live at the same place form a jurisdiction whose aim is to produce congested local public services, that can create positive spillovers to other jurisdictions. In every jurisdiction, the production of the local public services is nanced through a local tax based on households' wealth. Local wealth tax rates are democratically determined in all jurisdictions. Households also consume housing in their jurisdiction. Any household is free to leave its jurisdiction for another one that would increase its utility. A necessary and sucient condition to have every stable jurisdictions structure segregated by wealth, for a large class of congestion measures and any spillovers coecients structure, is identied: the public services must be either a gross substitute or a gross complement to the private good and the housing. |
| Keywords: | Jurisdictions; Segregation; Spillovers; Congestion JEL Classication: C78; D02; H73; R13 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2011-24&r=ure |
| By: | O.A. Carboni |
| Abstract: | This paper employs individual firm data in order to check the existence of industry-spatial effects alongside other microeconomic determinants of R&D investment. Spatial proximity is defined by a measure of firms’ industry distance based on trade intensity between sectors. The spatial model specified here refers to the combined spatial autoregressive model with autoregressive disturbances (SARAR). In modelling the outcome for each location as dependent on a weighted average of the outcomes of other locations, outcomes are determined simultaneously. The results of the spatial two stage least square estimation suggest that in their R&D decision firms benefit from spillovers originating from neighbouring industries. |
| Keywords: | spatial weights; spatial dependence; spatial models; R&D |
| JEL: | O10 O31 R11 C31 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:201204&r=ure |
| By: | Abhijit Banerjee; Esther Duflo; Nancy Qian |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effect of access to transportation networks on regional economic outcomes in China over a twenty-period of rapid income growth. It addresses the problem of the endogenous placement of networks by exploiting the fact that these networks tend to connect historical cities. Our results show that proximity to transportation networks have a moderate positive causal effect on per capita GDP levels across sectors, but no effect on per capita GDP growth. We provide a simple theoretical framework with empirically testable predictions to interpret our results. We argue that our results are consistent with factor mobility playing an important role in determining the economic benefits of infrastructure development. |
| JEL: | D2 O11 O4 R4 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17897&r=ure |
| By: | Joshua Congdon-Hohman (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross) |
| Abstract: | This study estimates a household’s willingness to pay to avoid the stigma of crime while minimizing concerns of omitted variable bias. By assuming methamphetamine producers locate approximately at random within a narrowly defined neighborhood, this study is able to use hedonic estimation methods to estimate the impact of the discovery of a methamphetamine laboratory on the home values near that location. Specifically, the analysis designates those closest to the site as the treated, while those slightly farther away act as the comparison group. The discovery of a methamphetamine laboratory has a significant effect on the property values of those homes close to the location that peaks from six to 12 months after each lab’s discovery. The estimates found in this study range from a decrease in sale prices of ten to nineteen percent in the year following a laboratory’s discovery compared to the prices for homes that are farther away but still in the same neighborhood. Surprisingly, the impact does not appear to depend on intensity as both the discovery of a second lab and being very close to the discovered lab do not adversely impact home values. |
| Keywords: | Location choice, crime valuation, methamphetamine, housing prices |
| JEL: | H41 H76 K42 R32 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hcx:wpaper:1114&r=ure |
| By: | Lisi, Gaetano |
| Abstract: | There are two types of home seekers in this housing market matching model: the homeless who search for a dwelling both in the rental market and in the homeownership market simultaneously; and the home seekers in the renter (tenant) state who want to buy a home and only search in the homeownership market. The search process leads to several types of matching and in turn this implies different prices of equilibrium. Furthermore, the search process connects the rental market with the homeownership market. Hence, this simple model is able to explain both the relationship between the rental price and the selling price and the price dispersion which exists in the housing market, relying only on the different states of agents in the search process. |
| Keywords: | rental market; homeownership market; housing price dispersion |
| JEL: | J63 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2012–02–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:37065&r=ure |
| By: | Chioda, Laura (World Bank); de Mello, João M. P. (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)); Soares, Rodrigo R. (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs on crime. Making use of a unique dataset combining detailed school characteristics with time and geo-referenced crime information from the city of São Paulo, Brazil, we estimate the contemporaneous effect of the Bolsa Família program on crime. We address the endogeneity of CCT coverage by exploiting the 2008 expansion of the program to adolescents aged 16 and 17. We construct an instrument that combines the timing of expansion and the initial demographic composition of schools to identify plausibly exogenous variations in the number of children covered by Bolsa Família. We find a robust and significant negative impact of Bolsa Família coverage on crime. The evidence suggests that the main effect works through increased household income or changed peer group, rather than from incapacitation from time spent in school. |
| Keywords: | crime, Bolsa Família, conditional cash transfer, education, schooling, Brazil |
| JEL: | I28 I38 K42 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6371&r=ure |
| By: | Francesco Aiello; Valeria Pupo; Fernanda Ricotta (Dipartimento di Economia e Statistica, Università della Calabria) |
| Abstract: | This study analyses how firms' internal variables and regional factors affect Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of Italian manufacturing firms. Due to the hierarchical structure of our data, we employ a multilevel model that allows for a clear distinction between firm and region-specific effects. Results refer to 2004-2006 and show, as expected, the importance of firm-specific determinants of TFP. At the same time, they indicate that location matters, in the sense that the context where firms operate plays a crucial role in determining the level of TFP. In more detail, we find that the regional endowment of infrastructure, the efficiency of local administration and the investments in R&D exert a positive effect on firms' performance. We also argue that regional gaps in the endowment of these factors help to understand the dualistic nature of the Italian economy, where a wealthy North coexists with a less developed South. |
| Keywords: | Manufacturing Firms, Total Factor Productivity, Italian Regional Divide, Multilevel Models |
| JEL: | L60 R11 C31 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:clb:wpaper:201202&r=ure |
| By: | C. Kirabo Jackson |
| Abstract: | I analyze the longer-run effects of a college-preparatory program implemented in inner-city schools that included payments to eleventh- and twelfth- grade students and their teachers for passing scores on Advanced Placement exams. Affected students attended college in greater numbers, were more likely to remain in college beyond their first year, more likely to earn a college degree, more likely to be employed, and earned higher wages. This is the first credible evidence that implementing college-preparatory programs in existing urban schools can improve both the long-run educational and labor market outcomes of disadvantaged students. |
| JEL: | H0 I20 J01 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17859&r=ure |
| By: | Berliant, Marcus; Fujita, Masahisa |
| Abstract: | Is the paradise of effortless communication the ideal environment for knowledge creation? Or, can the development of local culture in regions raise knowledge productivity compared to a single region with a unitary culture? In other words, can a real technological increase in the cost of collaboration and the cost of public knowledge flow between regions, resulting in cultural differentiation between regions, increase welfare? In our framework, a culture is a set of ideas held exclusively by residents of a location. In general in our model, the equilibrium path generates separate cultures in different regions. When we compare this to the situation where all workers are resident in one region, R & D workers become too homogeneous and there is only one culture. As a result, equilibrium productivity in the creation of new knowledge is lower relative to the situation when there are multiple cultures and workers are more diverse. |
| Keywords: | knowledge creation; knowledge diversity; ideas and culture |
| JEL: | Z1 D83 O31 |
| Date: | 2012–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:36996&r=ure |
| By: | Nong Zhu (The World Bank); Xubei Luo (The World Bank); Heng-fu Zou (The World Bank) |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cuf:wpaper:535&r=ure |
| By: | Hang Xiong (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | China's actual fiscal decentralization is one-sided: while public expenditures are largely decentralized, fiscal revenues are recentralized after 1994. One critical consequence of the actual system is the creation of significant fiscal imbalances at sub-national level. This paper investigates empirically effects of fiscal imbalances on environmental performance of Chinese provinces. First, environmental efficiency scores of Chinese provinces are calculated with SFA for the period from 2005 to 2010. Then, these scores are regressed against two fiscal imbalance indicators in a second stage model. Finally, conditional EE scores are calculated. This paper finds that effects of fiscal imbalances on EE are nonlinear and conditional on economic development level. Fiscal imbalances are more detrimental to environment in less developed provinces. These results suggest that the one-sided fiscal decentralization in China may have regressive environmental effects and contribute to regional disparity in terms of sustainable development. |
| Keywords: | Chinese provinces;Decentralization; Environmental efficiency; SFA |
| Date: | 2012–02–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00672450&r=ure |
| By: | Carlsson, Magnus (School of Business and Economics, Linnaeus University); Eriksson, Stefan (Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Reported attitudes towards immigrants are sometimes used as a proxy for ethnic discrimination. However, there is little empirical evidence of a link between attitudes and discrimination. In this paper, we use survey data on people’s attitudes towards immigrants combined with data on ethnic discrimination from a field experiment in the Swedish housing market to re-examine this issue. We find clear evidence of a link between reported attitudes towards immigrants and the extent of ethnic discrimination at the municipality level. Thus, in contrast to most prior studies, our results suggest that reported attitudes may be a useful proxy for ethnic discrimination. |
| Keywords: | Attitudes; Ethnic discrimination; Field experiments; Housing market |
| JEL: | C93 J15 R39 |
| Date: | 2012–02–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:uunewp:2012_006&r=ure |
| By: | Mary-Françoise Renard (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Hang Xiong (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies whether Chinese provinces set strategically their environmental stringency when faced with interprovincial competition for mobile capital. Using Chinese provincial data and spatial panel econometric models, we find that Chinese provinces do engage in this kind of strategic interaction, particularly among those with similar industrial structure. Furthermore, we haven't found evidence of asymmetric responsiveness suggested by the race to the bottom theory. Finally, the one-sided fiscal decentralization is likely to strengthen the strategic behavior. These empirical results call for a skeptical attitude towards China's decentralization of environment policy implementation as well as its fiscal arrangements. |
| Keywords: | China;strategic interaction;pollution;spatial panel |
| Date: | 2012–02–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00672449&r=ure |
| By: | Carmen Camacho (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne); Agustín Pérez-Barahona (INRA - INRA-Economie publique) |
| Abstract: | We build a model to study optimal land use, encompassing land use activities, pollution and climate change. This benchmark set-up allows us to identify the spatial drivers behind the interaction between land use and the environment. Pollution generates local and global damages since it flows across locations following a Gaussian Plume. In constrast to the previous literature on spatial dynamics, we prove that the social optimum problem is well-posed, i.e., the solution exists and is unique. We close the paper with a numerical analysis which illustrates the richness of our model, and its global dynamics. We study the different drivers of spatial heterogeneity. In particular, abatement technology stands out as a fundamental ingredient to achieve steady state solutions, which are compatible with the emergence of spatial patterns. |
| Keywords: | Land use, spatial dynamics, pollution. |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00674020&r=ure |
| By: | J.G. Brida; N. Garrido; Francesco Mureddu |
| Abstract: | This paper analyze the dynamic economic performance of the Italian regions during the period 1970-2004. The measure of economic performance is given by the level and the growth rates of per capita GDP. Using the concept of economic regime, we introduce a notion of distance between the dynamical paths of the Italian regions. Afterwards, a Minimal Spanning Tree and a Hierarchical Tree are constructed from time series in order to assess the existence of groups of regions sharing similar economic performance. Two main clusters are identified, representing high performance and low performance regions, alongside other two small clusters displaying regions with similar dynamic behaviour. The high performance cluster comprises mainly regions from the north, showing the presence of agglomeration externalities. Turning to the evolution of clusters, we see a similar path until 1975, after which the two groups start to slightly diverge. Studying the evolution of each cluster’s diameter we find substantial convergence within the two groups. Splitting the sample into two periods (1975-1993 and 1994-2005) the hypothesis of two performance clubs is confirmed. The club shift of some regions hints a strong effect on regional economic dynamics of the Italian 1994 crisis. The final analysis of the distance between the two clusters show that in the first period (1975-1993) the distance between the two group was constant, while in the second one (1994-2005) it has increased. |
| Keywords: | economic convergence; economic dualism; hierarchical clustering |
| JEL: | C24 C14 L83 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:201203&r=ure |
| By: | Iftikhar Hussain |
| Abstract: | Performance measurement in the public sector is largely based on objective metrics, which may be subject to gaming behaviour. This paper investigates a novel subjective performance evaluation system where independent inspectors visit schools at very short notice, publicly disclose their findings and sanction schools rated fail. First, I demonstrate that inspection ratings can aid in distinguishing between more and less effective schools, even after controlling for standard observed school characteristics. Second, exploiting a natural experiment, I show that a fail inspection leads to test score gains; at least some of these gains persist in the medium term. I find no evidence to suggest that fail schools are able to inflate test score performance by gaming the system. Oversight by inspectors may play an important role in mitigating such strategic behaviour. |
| Keywords: | subjective performance evaluation, gaming behavior, school inspections. |
| JEL: | H11 I20 I28 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:ceedps:0135&r=ure |
| By: | Arthur Korteweg; Morten Sorensen |
| Abstract: | We develop and estimate a unified model of house prices, loan-to-value ratios (LTVs), and trade and foreclosure behavior. House prices are only observed for traded properties, and trades are endogenous, creating sample-selection problems for traditional estimators. We develop a Bayesian filtering procedure to recover the price path for each individual property and produce selection-corrected estimates of historical LTVs and foreclosure behavior, both showing large unprecedented changes since 2007. Our model reduces the index revision problem by nearly half, and has applications in economics and finance (e.g., pricing mortgage-backed securities). |
| JEL: | C11 C23 C24 C43 R21 R3 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17882&r=ure |
| By: | FUSCO Alessio |
| Abstract: | The relationship between income and housing deprivation in Luxembourg is analysed at both a cross-sectional and longitudinal level using data from the Panel Socio-Economique ‘Liewen zu Lëtzebuerg’ (PSELL3) for 2003 to 2009. Long-term housing deprivation is negatively associated with long-term income but this relationship is not confirmed when controlling for unobserved heterogeneity through fixed effect models. This finding suggests that housing deprivation is less affected by short variations in income than by measures of permanent income and that unobserved characteristics of households, such as their wealth or assets, may affect the relationship between long-term income and long-term deprivation. |
| Keywords: | income; housing deprivation; Luxembourg; panel data |
| JEL: | I31 R21 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2012-10&r=ure |
| By: | Hiroshi Sato; Sai Ding |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates regional differences in local public goods provision in rural area in the 2000s, using large village sample surveys (CHIP 2002 and 2007 surveys, a survey in Ningxia). Focuses are on changes in the coverage of public investment projects, regional differences in the determinants of public investment projects, and changes in the coverage of public services provided by village collectives. The main findings are as follows. First, we confirmed that coverage of public investment projects had increased in the 2000s. Second, in spite of concentration of fiscal administration into county level as one of the pillars of the reform of taxation and local fiscal system, administrative villages still played indispensable roles in local public goods provision. Third, we found that incentive of peasants, financial ability of villages, and incentive of local government affect location decision and budget structure of public investment projects and that direction and strength of such factors were different by regions. |
| Keywords: | Local Public goods, Village, Local Government, Rural China |
| JEL: | H2 H4 R5 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:ghsdps:gd11-222&r=ure |
| By: | Lisi, Gaetano |
| Abstract: | The key issue in the hedonic price theory is that although the literature emphasises the intrinsic nonlinearity in the relationship between house prices and housing characteristics, very little theoretical guidance is provided regarding the more appropriate mathematical specification for the hedonic price function. Thus, most empirical studies make use of flexible functional forms or simple linear models which possess a direct economic meaningfulness. This theoretical paper fills this gap by using the Mortensen-Pissarides matching model to show both the nonlinearity of the hedonic price function and the more appropriate functional relationship between prices and attributes. |
| Keywords: | hedonic price theory; hedonic price function; search and matching process |
| JEL: | J63 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2012–02–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:37066&r=ure |
| By: | Degryse, H.A.; Elahi, M.A.; Penas, M.F. (Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Abstract: Banking systems are fragile not only within one country but also within and across regions. We study the role of regional banking system characteristics for regional banking system fragility. We find that regional banking system fragility reduces when banks in the region jointly hold more liquid assets, are better capitalized, and when regional banking systems are more competitive. For Asia and Latin-America, a greater presence of foreign banks also reduces regional banking fragility. We further investigate the possibility of contagion within and across regions. Within region banking contagion is important in all regions but it is substantially lower in the developed regions compared to emerging market regions. For cross-regional contagion, we find that the contagion effects of Europe and the US on Asia and Latin America are significantly higher compared to the effect of Asia and Latin America among themselves. Finally, the impact of cross-regional contagion is attenuated when the host region has a more liquid and more capitalized banking sector. |
| Keywords: | Banking system stability;cross-regional contagion;financial integration. |
| JEL: | G15 G20 G29 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:kubcen:2012015&r=ure |
| By: | Xubei Luo (The World Bank); Nong Zhu (The World Bank); Heng-fu Zou (The World Bank) |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cuf:wpaper:536&r=ure |
| By: | Beckhusen, Julia (U.S. Census Bureau); Florax, Raymond J.G.M. (Purdue University); de Graaff, Thomas (VU University Amsterdam); Poot, Jacques (University of Waikato); Waldorf, Brigitte (Purdue University) |
| Abstract: | Learning English is a potentially profitable investment for immigrants in the U.S.: while there are initial costs, the subsequent benefits include the ability to communicate with the majority of the population, potentially leading to better paying jobs and economic success in the new country. These payoffs are lessened if immigrants choose to live and work in ethnic enclaves where the necessity to communicate in English is weak. Ethnic enclaves are widespread and persistent in the U.S. This study uses data from the 2010 American Community Survey to examine the impact of residential and occupational segregation on immigrants' ability to speak English. We allow for heterogeneity in the relationship between segregation and English language proficiency across ethnic groups and focus specifically on Mexican and Chinese immigrants. Our results show that immigrants in the U.S. who live and work among high concentrations of their countrymen are less likely to be proficient in English than those who are less residentially and occupationally segregated. The magnitude of the effect of segregation on language proficiency varies across immigrants' birthplaces and other salient characteristics defining the immigration context. |
| Keywords: | U.S. immigration, language acquisition, ethnic enclaves, residential segregation, occupational segregation |
| JEL: | F22 J15 J24 R23 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6363&r=ure |
| By: | Brandt, Tasso (Fraunhofer ISI); Schubert, Torben (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we argue that the emergence of the dominant model of university organization, which is characterized by a large agglomeration of (often loosely affiliated) many small research groups, might have an economic explanation that relates to the features of the scientific production process. In particular, we argue that there are decreasing returns to scale on the level of the individual research groups, which prevent them from becoming to large, while we argue for positive agglomeration effects on the supra-research-group-level inside the university. As a consequence an efficient university organization would precisely consist of tying together many small individual research groups without merging them. Basing our empirical analysis on a multilevel dataset for German research institutes from four disciplines we are able to find strong support for the presence of these effects. This suggests that the emergence of the dominant model of university organization may also be the result of these particular features of the production process, where the least we can say is that this model is under the given circumstances highly efficient. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration effects; scientific production; returns to scale; university organization; efficiency |
| JEL: | D24 O32 |
| Date: | 2012–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2012_001&r=ure |
| By: | Chaminade, Cristina (CIRCLE, Lund University); Plechero, Monica (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | The access to global innovation networks (GINs) has been extremely unequal across regions around the globe. While certain regions are considered knowledge hubs, able to link to global knowledge flow, other still remain marginalized, pointing out to the role of regional innovation systems in the emergence and development of GINs. Using firm-level data collected through a survey and case studies in 2009-2010, this article systematically compares the patterns of global networks in the ICT industry in a selection of European and non-European regions. Contrary to what we expected, the results show that GINs may emerge in regions which are neither too innovative nor institutionally thick (like Tier 1) nor too thin (like Tier 3). |
| Keywords: | globalization; innovation networks; regions; Europe; India China |
| JEL: | O32 |
| Date: | 2012–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2012_002&r=ure |
| By: | Moodysson, Jerker (CIRCLE, Lund University); Zukauskaite, Elena (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper deals with institutional conditions in regional innovation systems; how institutions affect the organization of innovation activities among firms, and in what ways regional policy initiatives can be supportive. The analysis draws on data on innovation networks and activities in the life science, media, and food industries. The theoretical framework takes account of the ways in which regional policies are able to impact individuals’ and organizations’ action in relation to each other by being internalized. It is argued that such ability is decisive for the success or failure of the policy initiative. Three cases of regional policy targeting the promotion of innovation in different industries in Sweden are analyzed. |
| Keywords: | regional innovation systems; knowledge; institutions; innovation; policy |
| JEL: | O38 O52 |
| Date: | 2012–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2011_013&r=ure |
| By: | Charlotte Senftleben; Hanna Wielandt |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the task-based view of technological change to study employment and wage polarization at the level of local labor markets in Germany between 1979 and 2007. In order to directly relate technological change to subsequent employment trends, we exploit variation in the regional task structure which reflects a region’s potential of being affected by computerization. We build a measure of regional routine intensity to test whether there has been a reallocation from routine towards non-routine labor conditional on a region’s initial computerization potential. We find that routine intensive regions have witnessed a differential reallocation towards non-routine employment and an increase in low- and medium-skilled service occupations. Our results corroborate the predictions of the task-based framework and confirm previous evidence on employment polarization in Germany in the sense that employment growth deteriorates at the middle of the skill distribution relative to the lower and the upper tail of the distribution. |
| Keywords: | Job Tasks, Polarization, Technological Change, Service Occupations, Regional Labor Markets |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J62 O33 R23 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2012-013&r=ure |
| By: | Chaminade, Cristina (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | Using firm-level data collected through a survey and case studies in 2009-2010, this article systematically compares the patterns of globalization of innovation in regions with different institutional thickness. The paper shows that these patterns differ substantially across regions and discusses relationship between regions, institutional frameworks and different forms of globalization of innovation. |
| Keywords: | regional innovation systems; institutional thickness; global innovation networks; Europe; China; India; Brazil; South Africa |
| JEL: | F23 F59 O33 |
| Date: | 2012–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2011_015&r=ure |
| By: | Binkai Chen; Ming Lu; Ninghua Zhong |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a new explanation for China's extremely low consumption-to-GDP ratio, highlighting the constraints of the "household registration system" (Hukou) on China's household consumption. Our baseline results show that the consumption of migrants without an urban Hukou is 30.7% lower than that of urban residents. Moreover, consumption heterogeneity cannot be explained by migration effects, culture, social norms, habits or some other forms of household heterogeneity. Further studies on the composition of household consumption have shown that the gaps are largest in areas such as education and culture, durable goods and health. As both the number and income level of migrants are rising, the constraining effects of Hukou on household consumption will continue to increase. |
| Keywords: | Consumption, Heterogeneity, Hukou System, Migrants, Urban Residents |
| JEL: | R23 E21 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:ghsdps:gd11-221&r=ure |
| By: | Daisuke Ichinose (Tohoku University of Community Service and Science); Masashi Yamamoto (Center for Far Eastern Studies, University of Toyama); Yuichiro Yoshida (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) |
| Abstract: | This paper measures the productive efficiency of the municipal-solid-waste (MSW) logistics by applying the data envelopment analysis (DEA) to the cross-sectional data of prefectures in Japan. Either through public operation or by outsourcing private waste-collection operators, prefectural governments possess the fundamental authority of waste-processing operation in Japan. We thus estimate a multi-input-multi-output production efficiency at the prefectural level via DEA, where several different model settings are employed. Our data classify the volume of MSW into household solid waste (HSW) and business solid waste (BSW) collected by both private and public operators as separate outputs, while the numbers of trucks and workers used by private and public operators enter as inputs. Results consistently show that the geographical characteristics such that the number of inhabited remote islands is relatively larger than others is a dominant factor determining the inefficiency. While the implication that in these small islands minimum efficient scale is not achieved is in accord to the literature that waste logistics is increasing-return at the municipal level, our results indicate that the production of waste collection in Japan is well described as CRS technology at the prefectural level. Results also show that the prefectures that are inefficient in MSW logistics have higher spatial correlation with their neighbors both in terms of waste collection efficiency and the volume of illegal dumping of industrial waste. |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:11-25&r=ure |
| By: | Vincent Mangematin (MTS - Management Technologique et Strategique - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)); Khalid Errabi (MTS - Management Technologique et Strategique - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)) |
| Abstract: | There is growing academic and policy interests in the factors that underpin the formation and the growth of clusters, especially for such 'hyped up' scientific and technological fields as the nanotechnologies. This paper analyses the determinants of scientific cluster growth (measured by the number of publications that emanate there from), distinguishing between structural effects (i.e. initial cluster size, scientific field composition and geographic location) on the one hand and its scientific variety, organizational diversity and degree of openness (in terms of collaboration with outside actors) on the other. Overall, scientific variety enhances clusters growth, but organizational diversity slows it down. However, patterns of growth are different in Asia, Europe and North America. It seems that cluster evolution is highly contingent on national systems of innovation and on the history of collaboration amongst local actors. Policy makers and cluster strategists must design specific policies by zone, and should not simply attempt to replicate best practices from one zone to another. Slow growth may reflect also 'elitist' strategies - those based on quality rather than on numbers |
| Keywords: | cluster growth; nanotechnology; scientific district; publication |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:gemptp:hal-00526701&r=ure |
| By: | Wang, Zhiguo; Ma, Liang |
| Abstract: | Understanding the logic of fiscal decentralization is pivotal for the next steps of fiscal reform, and retrospection of the literature and evidences accumulated in the field is the first step. As a typical transition economy with rapid and extensive devolution reforms, China is the ideal context to examine the causes, processes, and effects of fiscal decentralization, attracting numerous academic endeavors both domestic and abroad. However, the literature has not been fully reviewed and the evidences on fiscal decentralization are still mixed and inconclusive. This paper aims to comprehensively review the latest advancement in the area of fiscal decentralization in China over the past decades. The processes, characteristics, and measurements of fiscal decentralization are firstly reviewed, and the antecedents and consequences of fiscal decentralization are then synthesized. The knowledge gap and avenues for future research are finally discussed, aiming to make the China fiscal decentralization knowledge contributive, accumulative, and sustainable. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal decentralization; Federalism; New development; Corruption; China; Review |
| JEL: | H70 H30 |
| Date: | 2012–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:36918&r=ure |
| By: | Gregory Clark (University of California, Davis); Rowena Gray (University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | Geography made rural society in the south-east of England unequal. Economies of scale in grain growing created a farmer elite and many landless labourers. In the pastoral north-west, in contrast, family farms dominated, with few hired labourers and modest income disparities. Engerman and Sokoloff (2012) argue that such differences in social structure between large plantations in the southern Americas, and family farming in the north, explain the rise of schooling in the north, and its absence in the south. We show, however, that rural literacy across England 1810-45 was not determined by geographically driven inequality. There were substantial differences in literacy by region, but driven by culture not geography. Geography is not destiny. |
| Keywords: | Comparative regional history, European education history, human capital development |
| JEL: | N93 N33 O15 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hes:wpaper:0015&r=ure |
| By: | Audretsch, David B. (Indiana University); Leyden, Dennis P. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics); Link, Albert N. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Economic development practitioners and scholars recognize the link between universities and regional economic development. It is predicated on the spillover of knowledge from universities to commercialization. The literature has focused on the supply side, which involves university research and technology transfer mechanisms. We examine the role played by the demand for university-based knowledge and university-developed technology. We identify links between businesses and the university as a key conduit facilitating the spillover of knowledge using data on the Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. We provide supply-side evidence on university research relationships and how the use of knowledge and technologies that flow from a university impact economic growth. We identify the role that SBIR-funded businesses play in the spillover of knowledge from the creating organization to where that knowledge is used and commercialized. Our results suggest that knowledge is systematically transmitted through university-related research. |
| Keywords: | Economic development; Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Licensing; SBIR program; University research |
| JEL: | L26 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2012–02–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2012_003&r=ure |
| By: | Nicolás Albacete (Oesterreichische Nationalbank) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the multiple imputation model for the imputation of the missing values of the Austrian Household Survey on Housing Wealth 2008. It is based on Bayesian inference and on the fully conditional specification approach. Both theoretical framework and model specification are discussed in detail and,finally, some results about the performance of our imputations are presented. JEL classification: D10, C81 |
| Keywords: | Household wealth survey, imputation methods |
| Date: | 2012–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:onb:oenbwp:176&r=ure |
| By: | Roger Fouquet |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to estimate trends in income and price elasticities and to offer insights for the future growth in transport use, with particular emphasis on the impact of energy and technological transitions. The results indicate that income and price elasticities of passenger transport demand in the United Kingdom were very large (3.1 and -1.5, respectively) in the mid-nineteenth century, and declined since then. In 2010, long run income and price elasticity of aggregate land transport demand were estimated to be 0.8 and -0.6. These trends suggest that future elasticities related to transport demand in developed economies may decline very gradually and, in developing economies, where elasticities are often larger, they will probably decline more rapidly as the economies develop. Because of the declining trends in elasticities, future energy and technological transitions are not likely to generate the growth rates in energy consumption that occurred following transitions in the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, energy and technological transitions, such as the car and the airplane, appear to have delayed and probably will delay declining trends in income and price elasticity of aggregate land transport demand. |
| Keywords: | Energy Services, Demand, Transport, Economic Development, Rebound Effect. |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcc:wpaper:2012-01&r=ure |
| By: | Lluis Parcerisas; Joan Marull; Joan Pino; Enric Tello; Francesc Coll; Corina Basnou (Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | We use a set of landscape metrics to study the long-term environmental transformation of a typical coastal Mediterranean area from 1850 to 2005. Our figures show a dramatic environmental deterioration between 1950 and 2005. The main proximate drivers of this landscape degradation are the effects of urban sprawl on former agricultural areas located in the coastal plains, together with the abandonment and reforestation of hilly slopes intercepted by low-density residential areas, highways, and other linear infrastructures. We carry out a statistical redundancy analysis (RDA) to identify certain ultimate socioeconomic and political drivers of these environmental impacts. The results confirm our interpretive hypothesis that: 1) land cover changes determine changes in landscape properties, both structural and functional; 2) these changes are not at random, but related to geographical endowments and socioeconomic or political drivers. |
| Keywords: | statistical redundancy analysis (rda), ecological connectivity, land-use change, socioeconomic drivers, mediterranean landscapes |
| JEL: | R14 Q56 N54 N53 O18 Q15 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bar:bedcje:2012273&r=ure |
| By: | Heizler (Cohen), Odelia (Hebrew University, Jerusalem); Kimhi, Ayal (Hebrew University, Jerusalem) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effect of family composition, and in particular the number of children, the age gap between the oldest and youngest child and the age of the youngest child, on parents' involvement in social networks. The predictions of a simple theoretical model are confirmed by an empirical analysis of Israeli Social Survey data for 2002-2006. The number of children has a U -shaped effect on parents' involvement in social networks, with substantial differences between fathers and mothers. The negative effect is dominant on the mothers' involvement in social networks, while the positive effect is dominant on the father's involvement in social networks. The age gap between children has a positive effect on both parents' involvement in social networks, while the age of the youngest child has a positive effect on the father's involvement in social networks. These results imply that social network considerations might be important for fertility decisions. |
| Keywords: | social networks, family composition, children |
| JEL: | J12 J13 D85 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6380&r=ure |