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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Hashiguchi, Yoshihiro; Tanaka, Kiyoyasu |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of industrial agglomeration on firm-level productivity in Chinese manufacturing sectors. To account for spatial autocorrelation across regions, we formulate a hierarchical spatial model at the firm level and develop a Bayesian estimation algorithm. A Bayesian instrumental-variables approach is used to address endogeneity bias of agglomeration. Robust to these potential biases, we find that agglomeration of the same industry (i.e. localization) has a productivity-boosting effect, but agglomeration of urban population (i.e. urbanization) has no such effects. Additionally, the localization effects increase with educational levels of employees and the share of intermediate inputs in gross output. These results may suggest that agglomeration externalities occur through knowledge spillovers and input sharing among firms producing similar manufactures. |
| Keywords: | China, Industrial policy, Manufacturing industries, Productivity, Local economy, Agglomeration economies, Spatial autocorrelation, Bayes, Chinese firm-level data, GIS |
| JEL: | C21 C51 R10 R15 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper403&r=ure |
| By: | Lauren Lambie-Hanson |
| Abstract: | Studies of foreclosure externalities have overwhelmingly focused on the impact of forced sales on the value of nearby properties, typically finding modest evidence of foreclosure spillovers. However, many quality-of-life issues posed by foreclosures may not be reflected in nearby sale prices. This paper uses new data from Boston on constituent complaints and requests for public services made to City government departments, matched with loan-level data, to examine the timing of foreclosure externalities. I find evidence that property conditions suffer most while homes are bank owned, although reduced maintenance is also common earlier in the foreclosure process. Since short sales prevent bank ownership, they should result in fewer neighborhood disamenities than foreclosures. |
| Keywords: | Foreclosure - Massachusetts ; Real property - Massachusetts ; Housing - Prices - Massachusetts |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedbpp:13-1&r=ure |
| By: | Yuliya Demyanyk; Dmytro Hryshko; María José Luengo Luengo-Prado; Bent Sorensen |
| Abstract: | Using credit report data from two of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, we infer with high certainty whether households move to other labor markets defined by metropolitan areas. We estimate how moving patterns relate to labor market conditions, personal credit, and homeownership using panel regressions with fixed effects which control for all constant individual-specific traits. We interpret the patterns through simulations of a dynamic model of consumption, housing, and location choice. We find that homeowners with negative home equity move more than other homeowners, in particular when local unemployment growth is high overall, negative home equity is not an important barrier to labor mobility. |
| Keywords: | Labor mobility ; Households - Economic aspects ; Consumer credit ; Labor mobility |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwp:1305&r=ure |
| By: | Rémi Lemoy (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II, IXXI - Institut Rhône-Alpin des systèmes complexes - INRIA - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) - Lyon - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I - CNRS - IRD, Phys-ENS - Laboratoire de Physique de l'ENS Lyon - CNRS : UMR5672 - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon); Charles Raux (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II, IXXI - Institut Rhône-Alpin des systèmes complexes - INRIA - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) - Lyon - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I - CNRS - IRD); Pablo Jensen (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II, IXXI - Institut Rhône-Alpin des systèmes complexes - INRIA - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) - Lyon - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I - CNRS - IRD, Phys-ENS - Laboratoire de Physique de l'ENS Lyon - CNRS : UMR5672 - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon) |
| Abstract: | We exploit the power of the Alonso-Mills-Muth (AMM) urban economics model and show that various utility functions and plausible conditions offer alternative explanations of households' location by income within a city. These include the existence of a "rich" center and more complex socio-spatial urban forms for instance alternating a rich center, poor suburbs and a rich outer ring, which have not yet been derived from the AMM model to our knowledge. In doing so we combine analytical ideas and illustrations by the means of an agent-based model. The hypothesis of a central or non-central amenity is also studied, leading to different insights on the issue. |
| Keywords: | urban economics ; location choice ; income ; amenity ; agent-based model |
| Date: | 2013–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00805116&r=ure |
| By: | Tani, Massimiliano (Macquarie University, Sydney); Manuguerra, Maurizio (Macquarie University, Sydney) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of labour migration and openness to trade on regional skill endowments across the European Union at a time of increased economic integration. Using regional data from Eurostat's Regio database and the open web source Openflight for the period 1998-2010 we test whether the spatial concentration of skills has increased or decreased over time. We account for neighboring effects associated with both geographic proximity and links through civilian flights using a random spatial effect model. We find that migration contributes to convergence in regional skill endowments across member states, particularly at the Southern and Eastern periphery of the European Union. We also find that inter-regional connectivity through civilian flights has much stronger effects on the evolution of a region's skill endowment than geographic contiguity. |
| Keywords: | European Union, migration, skill endowments, convergence, spatial connectivity |
| JEL: | F20 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7292&r=ure |
| By: | Antecol, Heather (Claremont McKenna College); Eren, Ozkan (University of Nevada, Las Vegas); Ozbeklik, Serkan (Claremont McKenna College) |
| Abstract: | Using data from a randomized experiment and fixed effect quantile regression (FEQR), we look at the effects of having a TFA teacher on test scores across the entire achievement distribution of primary school students in disadvantaged neighborhoods. While we find that TFA teachers neither help nor hurt students in terms of reading test scores, we find positive and statistically significant effects of TFA over the entire math achievement distribution for the full sample and the effects are fairly uniform. We find a similar effect of TFA across the math test score distribution irrespective of student gender, although the FEQR estimates for female students are two to three times larger than for male students. In addition, we find that there is significant heterogeneity in the effects of TFA for Hispanic and black students and for students taught by novice teachers. Finally, we find that the effect of TFA is homogeneous across the math achievement distribution irrespective of certification type. Taken together, these patterns suggest that allowing highly qualified recent college graduates and mid-career professionals, who in the absence of TFA would not have taught in these disadvantaged neighborhoods, should have a positive influence not just on students at the top of the math achievement distribution but across the entire math achievement distribution. |
| Keywords: | student achievement, random assignment, fixed effect quantile regression |
| JEL: | C21 I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7296&r=ure |
| By: | Ahlin, Lina (CIRCLE, Lund University); Andersson, Martin (CIRCLE, Lund University); Thulin, Per (Royal Institute of Technology and Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the influence of market thickness for skills on initial wages and subsequent wage development of university graduates. Using Swedish micro-level panel data on a cohort of graduates, we show that two out of three graduates move to large cities upon graduation. Large cities yield higher rewards to human capital and a stronger early job market career. The premium on initial wages for urban graduates is in the interval of 6-12 percent, and we estimate a wage-growth premium of about 3 percent. Thicker markets for skills appear as a key reason for the concentration of university graduates to larger cities. |
| Keywords: | human capital; university graduates; urban wage premium; market thickness; matching; agglomeration economies; migration; job switching |
| JEL: | J31 J61 R10 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–02–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2013_002&r=ure |
| By: | NAKAJIMA Kentaro; SAITO Yukiko; UESUGI Iichiro |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of inter-firm transaction structure on industrial agglomeration by using Japanese firm-level transaction relationship data. First, we measure the industrial agglomeration for each industry. Next, we measure the intensity of transactions and inequalities of transaction partners as the measures of the micro structure of transaction networks in each industry. Then, we regress the index of agglomeration by the indexes of transaction structure. We find that the intensity of intra-industry transactions statistically enforces the agglomeration. Further, the inequality of transaction partners has a negative effect on the agglomeration. This suggests that the industries that attract a few hub-firms have a large number of intra-industry transaction partners that are not agglomerated. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13021&r=ure |
| By: | Gokan, Toshitaka |
| Abstract: | It is well know that transport charges are not symmetric: fronthaul and backhaul costs on a route may differ, because they are affected by the distribution of economic acitivities. This paper develops a two-regional general equilibrium model in which transport costs are determined endogenously as a result of a search and matching process. It is shown that economies or diseconomies of transport density emerge, depending on the search costs of transport firms and the relative importance of the possibility of backhaul transportation. It is found that the symmetry of the distribution of economic activity may break owing to economies of transport density when the additional search costs are small enough. |
| Keywords: | Transportation, Costs, International trade, Manufacturing industries, Transport sector, New economic geography, Imperfect competition, Imperfect information |
| JEL: | F12 R12 R49 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper398&r=ure |
| By: | Ding, Ke; Gokan, Toshitaka; Zhu, Xiwei |
| Abstract: | In many developing countries, clusters of small shops are the typical market-place. We investigate an economic model in which, between buyers and sellers in a marketplace, a circular causality including the search process produces agglomeration forces, given the initial location of the marketplace location exogenously in a linear city. We conclude that initial number of buyers and sellers is important in forming a large marketplace. |
| Keywords: | Microeconomics, Circular causality, Market place |
| JEL: | R12 D04 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper396&r=ure |
| By: | Liu, Xiangping (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Taylor, Laura (Center for Environmental and Resource Economic Policy); Hamilton, Timothy (Department of Economics, University of Richmond); Grigelis, Peter (Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Deparment of Interior) |
| Abstract: | The National Wildlife Refuge system is a network of permanently protected open space encompassing more than 150 million acres across 50 states. Maintaining such a large network of permanently protected open space can put the federal government at odds with local communities when management priorities differ from the local community’s objectives. This can be especially true in rapidly urbanizing areas where local jurisdictions voice concerns over the loss of property tax revenues and economic activity resulting from lands’ protected status. While refuge recreation and ecosystem benefits have been identified, we know little about the property value benefits accruing to local homeowners. This research quantifies the property value benefits of all refuges on the east coast that are near urban areas. Our approach is made possible through access to confidential U.S. Census data identifying property values surrounding all refuges with high geographic resolution. Results from hedonic property value models suggest that the amenity values of refuges located near urbanized areas are capitalized into the value of homes in very close proximity, averaging $11 million per refuge. These capitalized values add directly to the local tax base and are considerable complements to the annual economic value created by the refuge system. |
| Keywords: | National Wildlife Refuges; open space; amenity values; hedonic analysis |
| JEL: | Q24 Q51 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0562&r=ure |
| By: | NAKANISHI Hodaka; SAKATA Junichi; SUZUKI Katsuhiro; HOSOYA Jun |
| Abstract: | The approach of regional development with local resources has become popular in recent years, but most of the business activities using local resources are small in scale and their effects on regional economies are not clear. In order to take measures for the development of regional economies with local resources, it is necessary to show the growing process of local firms with local resources. Local firms are categorized by geographic relation with customers and suppliers into four types: 1) local production for local consumption type, 2) local firms growth type, 3) consuming area location type, and 4) inter-regional type. Based on the category, we presented a model of economic development with regional resources, in which local production for local consumption type firms, which started their businesses with regional resources, have enlarged their scale and extended their markets to outside of their areas and have become local production for local consumption type firms or even inter-regional type firms.<br />Firm activities of each type are analyzed with company data from Tokyo Shoko Research and the patent data. In the Tohoku area, companies introduced from outside of the region rank highly in sales. On the contrary, the activities of local firms which use regional resources in the Setouchi area are active as well as their innovation activities. Creation of new local technologies by local firms growth type firms and inter-regional type firms funded by local capital are active as well. The difference of firm activities by firm type is conformable to the deference of the economic situation between the Tohoku area and the Setouchi area.<br />It is important to promote the innovation activities of local, small local production for local consumption type firms selectively, support them to expand their activities outside of the area, and develop them into local production for local consumption type firms or inter-regional type firms, as well as to support their use of regional resources. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:13017&r=ure |
| By: | Niklas, Jakobsson (Dept. of Economics); Persson, Mattias (Örebro University); Svensson, Mikael (Dept. of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes whether class size has an effect on the prevalence of mental health problems and well-being among adolescents in Swedish schools. We use cross-sectional data collected in year 2008 covering 2,755 Swedish adolescents in 9th grade from 40 schools and 159 classes. We utilize different econometric approaches to address potential between- and within-school endogeneity including school-fixed effects and regression discontinuity approaches. Our results indicate no robust effects of class size on the prevalence of mental health problems and well-being, and we cannot reject the hypothesis that class size has no effect on mental health and well-being at all. |
| Keywords: | mental health; well-being; class size; adolescents; Sweden. |
| JEL: | H75 I12 I21 |
| Date: | 2013–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:kaunek:0009&r=ure |
| By: | Fredriksson, Peter (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University); Öckert, Björn (Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy (IFAU)) |
| Abstract: | In Sweden, children typically start compulsory school the year they turn 7. Individuals born around the new year have about the same date of birth but enter school at different ages. We exploit this source of exogenous variation to identify effects of age at school entry on educational attainment and long-run labor market outcomes. Using data for the entire native population born 1935-55, we find that school entry age raises educational attainment. We show that the comprehensive school reform (which postponed tracking until age 16) reduced the effect of school starting age on educational attainment. We also trace the effects of school starting age on prime-age earnings, employment, and wages. On average, school starting age only affects the allocation of labor supply over the lifecycle; prime-age earnings is unaffected, and there is a negative effect on discounted life-time earnings. But for individuals with low-educated parents, and to some extent women, we find that prime-age earnings increase in response to age at school start. |
| Keywords: | School starting age; educational attainment; life-time earnings; regression discontinuity |
| JEL: | C31 I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sunrpe:2013_0007&r=ure |
| By: | Corinne Autant-Bernard (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon); Cilem Selin Hazir (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon) |
| Abstract: | Due to the strong polarisation of economic activities in space and rise in collaborative behaviour, increasing attention has recently been devoted to the relationship between geography and network formation. The studies conducted on this topic reveal a high variation in terms of methodologies. Putting special emphasis on R&D networks, the aim of this chapter is to review the different methods and assess their ability to address the issues raised by the relationship between network and space. We first discuss the different facets of the relationship between geography and networks. Then, we detail the methodological approaches and their capability to test each effect of geography on network formation. We argue that the effect of distance on dyads have received the major attention so far, but the development of block modelling and top-down approaches opens new research perspectives on how distance or location might affect formation of more complex structures. Moreover, recent improvement in temporal models also offers also offers opportunities to better separate spatial effects from that of influence over time. |
| Keywords: | Social Network Analysis ; Stochastic Actor-based Models ; Gravity models ; Complex Network Analysis ; ERG ; Preferential Attachment Model |
| Date: | 2013–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00803536&r=ure |
| By: | Högberg, Lovisa (Department of Real Estate and Construction Management, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The EU Energy Performance Certificates provide new information and measure energy performance more exactly than many earlier (proxy) variables. This is one of the first studies to test the effect of this information, and the first one using Swedish data. The purpose of the paper is to test whether energy performance affects single-family house sales prices, and whether such impact is heterogeneous over house size, age and distance from city center. The paper also examines whether recommendations for supposedly cost-effective energy efficiency measures, by intervention category (construction, installation or operation/control technical measures), are perceived as untapped potential affecting sales prices. Energy performance measurement and dummy variables for three categories of improvement recommendations were included as explanatory variables in a hedonic regression analysis using transaction data and Energy Performance Certificates data for 1073 observations. The results indicate that better energy performance has a positive impact on sales price. Energy efficiency recommendations seem to have an impact on sales price; home buyers seem to require a larger “discount” for more complex types of measures. The results may imply that energy efficiency in buildings will become more important in the future, which may strengthen house owners’/sellers’ incentives to improve energy efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Energy efficiency; energy performance; property value; hedonic model; Swedish housing market |
| JEL: | D80 Q40 R15 |
| Date: | 2013–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:kthrec:2013_006&r=ure |
| By: | Dyble, Louise Nelson |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Natural Resources and Conservation, Social Sciences, golden gate, authority, transportation planning |
| Date: | 2012–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:uctcwp:qt5d87n0vb&r=ure |
| By: | Carmen Camacho (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | We develop a model economy adapting Hotelling's migration law to make individuals react to the gradient of their indirect utility. In a first version, individuals respond uniquely to utility differences. In a second phase, we insert our migration law as a dynamic constraint in a spatial model of economic growth in which a policy maker maximizes overall welfare. In both cases we prove the existence of a unique solution under certain assumptions and for each initial distribution of human capital. We illustrate some extremely interesting properties of the economy and the associated population dynamics through numerical simulations. In the decentralized case in which a region enjoys a temporal technological advantage, an agglomeration in human capital emerges in the central area, which does not coincide with the technologically advanced area. In the complete model, initial differences in human capital can trigger everlasting inequalities in physical capital. |
| Keywords: | Migration; spatial dynamics; economic growth; parabolic PDE; optimal control |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00801109&r=ure |
| By: | Kano, Kazuko; Kano, Takashi; Takechi, Kazutaka |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the effect of distance on price differentials across regions. To identify the distance effect, we need to incorporate producer heterogeneity and pricing-to-market behavior. Because geographic barriers alter the threshold levels of productivity to set a positive price across markets, the effect of distance on price differentials can be underestimated if heterogeneity and pricing to market are not accounted for. By incorporating these factors, empirical analysis using micro-level data reveals that the distance effect is significantly large, suggesting that the price of geographic barriers is still high for regional transportation. |
| Keywords: | Law of one price, Transportation costs, Geographic barriers, Producer heterogeneity, Pricing to market |
| JEL: | F11 F14 F41 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:econdp:2013-03&r=ure |
| By: | Kuroiwa, Ikuo; Tsubota, Kenmei |
| Abstract: | We examine changes in the location of economic activity in Cambodia between 1998 and 2008 in terms of employment growth. During this period, Cambodia joined ASEAN and increased trade with neighboring countries. Drawing on the predictions of the new economic geography, we focus on frontier regions such as border regions and international port cities. We examine the changing state of manufacturing in Cambodia from its initial concentration in Greater Phnom Penh to its growth in the frontier regions. The results suggest that economic integration and concomitant trade linkages may lead to the industrial development of frontier regions as well as the metropolitan areas in Cambodia. |
| Keywords: | Cambodia, International economic integration, International trade, Economic geography, Economic integration, Trade liberalization, Frontier regions |
| JEL: | F15 F16 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper399&r=ure |
| By: | Herbst, Mikolaj; Rok, Jakub |
| Abstract: | According to economic theory, supported by rich empirical evidence, the ability of an economy to accumulate a high quality human capital is an important factor of economic growth. Since economies better endowed with human capital grow at a higher rate, the mobility of skilled individuals should have a meaningful effect on the economic perspectives of different countries and regions. In this paper we attempt to systematise the existing literature on the impact that human capital mobility has on economic growth and some other aspects of regional development, in order to better understand the channels through which this impact is accomplished and the significance of the observed effects. We complement it with a typology of drivers of highly skilled migration and, finally, we focus on policy efforts at the regional level that aim at raising the human capital level in a region. |
| Keywords: | human capital, migration, regional development |
| JEL: | I25 I28 J6 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:45755&r=ure |
| By: | Christopher Candelaria; Mary Daly; Galina Hale |
| Abstract: | Regional inequality in China appears to be persistent and even growing in the last two decades. We study potential explanations for this phenomenon. After making adjustments for the difference in the cost of living across provinces, we find that some of the inequality in real wages could be attributed to differences in quality of labor, industry composition, labor supply elasticities, and geographical location of provinces. These factors, taken together, explain about half of the cross-province real wage difference. Interestingly, we find that inter-province redistribution did not help offset regional inequality during our sample period. We also demonstrate that inter-province migration, while driven in part by levels and changes in wage differences across provinces, does not offset these differences. These results imply that cross-province labor market mobility in China is still limited, which contributes to the persistence of cross-province wage differences. |
| Keywords: | China ; Wages ; Labor market ; Labor supply |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedfwp:2013-06&r=ure |
| By: | Chatterji, Aaron K. (Duke University); Chay, Kenneth Y. (Brown University); Fairlie, Robert W. (University of California, Santa Cruz) |
| Abstract: | In the 1980s, many U.S. cities initiated programs reserving a proportion of government contracts for minority-owned businesses. The staggered introduction of these set-aside programs is used to estimate their impacts on the self-employment and employment rates of African-American men. Black business ownership rates increased significantly after program initiation, with the black-white gap falling three percentage points. The evidence that the racial gap in employment also fell is less clear as it is depends on assumptions about the continuation of pre-existing trends. The black gains were concentrated in industries heavily affected by set-asides and mostly benefited the better educated. |
| Keywords: | contracting, African-American, black, race, self-employment, entrepreneurship, affirmative action |
| JEL: | J15 L26 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7298&r=ure |
| By: | Fumitoshi Mizutani (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University); Tomoyasu Tanaka (Kinki University, Faculty of Business Administration); Noriyoshi Nakayama (Nagoya City University, Graduate School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The main purpose of this study is to estimate the optimal city size which would attain maximum total surplus and sustainability, or a city size in which total benefits would equal total costs. We apply regressions to the total benefit function and the total cost function for 269 employment metropolitan areas for the year 2000 in Japan. Our study can be distinguished from others in that we include in total costs such social costs as environmental pollution. Our findings are that the optimal city size is 393,151 persons. The sustainable limit for city size is 1,057,412. |
| Keywords: | Optimal City Size, Total Surplus, Environmental Costs, Social Costs |
| JEL: | R10 R12 Q50 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kbb:dpaper:2012-19&r=ure |
| By: | Klaus Desmet; Jordan Rappaport |
| Abstract: | A prominent strand of economic literature argues that population growth rates across locations areas are uncorrelated with the population levels of those locations (“Gibrat’s Law”). Such uncorrelated growth, it is argued, can account for the current distribution of population across locations. This paper shows that, on the contrary, locations’ population growth throughout U.S. history has always been highly correlated with their initial population levels. Throughout the entire 19th century and the early 20th century, low-population locations tended to grow faster than intermediate-population locations, thereby causing the distribution of population to become more compressed. Throughout the second half of the 19th century and the entire 20th century, population growth among the highest-population locations was faster than population growth among intermediate-population locations, thereby causing the distribution of population to become more dispersed. ; This pattern of population growth is driven by two separate forces. First is the “entry” of new locations into the United States as the country spread westward. These locations typically entered with a low population after which many of them gradually transitioned up to much larger ones. Such transitions can account for the faster growth of low population locations. Second, the congestion arising from limited supplies of land within any given location may have eased over time. This may have occurred, for example, with the technology-driven move by workers from agriculture to manufacturing and services. Such a shift would cause high-population places to grow faster. ; Understanding historical population growth across locations gives insight into near-future population growth. For example, since 2000 population growth in larger locations (though not necessarily the very largest) has tended to outpace population growth in intermediate and smaller locations. This suggests that ongoing technological change may be continuing to relieve the “congestion” associated with living in large metro areas while increasing the disadvantages of living in small locations. Rapid advances in information technology are a possible source of such technological change. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedkrw:rwp13-02&r=ure |
| By: | Higashikata, Takayuki |
| Abstract: | We propose a method for the decomposition of inequality changes based on panel data regression. The method is an efficient way to quantify the contributions of variables to changes of the Theil T index while satisfying the property of uniform addition. We illustrate the method using prefectural data from Japan for the period 1955 to 1998. Japan experienced a diminishing of regional income disparity during the years of high economic growth from 1955 to 1973. After estimating production functions using panel data for prefectures in Japan, we apply the new decomposition approach to identify each production factor’s contributions to the changes of per capita income inequality among prefectures. The decomposition results show that total factor productivity (residual) growth, population change (migration), and public capital stock growth contributed to the diminishing of per capita income disparity. |
| Keywords: | Japan, Income distribution, Income inequality, Factor decomposition, Regional disparity |
| JEL: | C63 O15 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper400&r=ure |
| By: | Julian Hinz (UP1 UFR02 - Université Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne - UFR d'Économie - Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | In this thesis, I set up a standard New Economic Geography model and estimate it in the regional context of the European Union. The analysis underlines the clear core-periphery structure of Europe, but also identifies forces that hint at a catching-up of lesser developed peripheral regions. While regions that are close to the geographic center on average have a much higher market access, regions far from the center can improve their market access over the time period of 1999-2009 relative to their initial position. I estimate and evaluate the impact of European Union Cohesion Policy on this process and do not find the positive developments to be caused by or connected to the financial facilities of the European Union Regional Policy. |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:dumas-00802143&r=ure |
| By: | Iseki, Hiroyuki; Smart, Michael; Taylor, Brian D.; Yoh, Allison |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Natural Resources and Conservation, Social Sciences, tax revenues, public sector budgets, metropolitan areas |
| Date: | 2012–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:uctcwp:qt87x5k9fj&r=ure |
| By: | Cheng, Wenya; Morrow, John; Tacharoen, Kitjawat |
| Abstract: | Although firms are dispersed across space and may face radically different production conditions, this dimension of firm heterogeneity is often overlooked. Differences between factor markets, especially for labor, are stark. To pursue this line of inquiry, we model firm hiring across local labor markets. We then use the model to estimate and quantify the role of distinct regional labor markets in firm input use, productivity and location by combining firm and population census data. Considering modern China as a country with substantial regional variation, we find labor costs vary by 30-80%, leading to 3-17% differences in TFP once nonlabor inputs are considered. Favorably endowed regions attract more value added per capita, providing new insights into within-country comparative advantage and specialization. |
| Keywords: | General Equilibrium, Factor Endowments, Structural Estimation, Productivity. |
| JEL: | D5 F1 J3 O1 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:45743&r=ure |
| By: | Bent Flyvbjerg |
| Abstract: | Risk, including economic risk, is increasingly a concern for public policy and management. The possibility of dealing effectively with risk is hampered, however, by lack of a sound empirical basis for risk assessment and management. The paper demonstrates the general point for cost and demand risks in urban rail projects. The paper presents empirical evidence that allow valid economic risk assessment and management of urban rail projects, including benchmarking of individual or groups of projects. Benchmarking of the Copenhagen Metro is presented as a case in point. The approach developed is proposed as a model for other types of policies and projects in order to improve economic and financial risk assessment and management in policy and planning. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1303.7402&r=ure |
| By: | KORKMAZ, Gizem |
| Abstract: | This thesis studies the interplay between network structure and strategic decision making given the backdrop of economic and social networks. The first two chapters study how firms’ incentives to invest in costly R&D are affected by the pattern of R&D collaborations in a certain industry. These two chapters propose formal models that build upon and enrich the previous literature, which abstracted from two crucial dimensions of the problem. The first chapter introduces the possibility that inter-firm links aiming at R&D collaboration could facilitate market collusion. The second chapter incorporates network-based externalities resulting from informational flows and congestion that are associated with R&D collaborations. These chapters suggest that the benefits of possible inter-firm collaboration must be reevaluated from the point of their welfare consequences. The last chapter aims to improve our understanding of how collective action spreads in large and complex networks in which agents use online social networks as communication tools. To this end, we develop a dynamic game-theoretic model of the “on-set of revolutions” that focuses on the local spread of information in order to study how network structure, knowledge and information-sharing interact in facilitating coordination through online communication networks. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:euiflo:urn:hdl:1814/25137&r=ure |
| By: | Bent Flyvbjerg |
| Abstract: | Project promoters, forecasters, and managers sometimes object to two things in measuring inaccuracy in travel demand forecasting: (1) using the forecast made at the time of making the decision to build as the basis for measuring inaccuracy and (2) using traffic during the first year of operations as the basis for measurement. This paper presents the case against both objections. First, if one is interested in learning whether decisions about building transport infrastructure are based on reliable information, then it is exactly the traffic forecasted at the time of making the decision to build that is of interest. Second, although ideally studies should take into account so-called demand "ramp up" over a period of years, the empirical evidence and practical considerations do not support this ideal requirement, at least not for large-N studies. Finally, the paper argues that large samples of inaccuracy in travel demand forecasts are likely to be conservatively biased, i.e., accuracy in travel demand forecasts estimated from such samples would likely be higher than accuracy in travel demand forecasts in the project population. This bias must be taken into account when interpreting the results from statistical analyses of inaccuracy in travel demand forecasting. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1303.7401&r=ure |
| By: | Gerald Eisenkopf (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany); Pascal Sulser (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We present results from a field experiment at Swiss high schools in which we compare the effectiveness of a classroom experiment against conventional economics teaching. We randomly assigned classes into different teaching environments or a control group. Our results suggest that both teaching methods improve economic understanding considerably in contrast to classes without prior training. We do not observe a significant overall effect of the classroom experiment, but more able students benefit from the experiment while others lose out. Furthermore there is no robust impact of economic training on social preferences, measured as both individual behavior in incentivized decisions or political opinions. |
| Keywords: | Education of Economics, Classroom Experiments, Field Experiments, Indoctrination |
| JEL: | A21 C93 I21 |
| Date: | 2013–02–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:knz:dpteco:1304&r=ure |
| By: | Takanori Fukushima; Nobuyuki Isagawa (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University); Tomohiro Mae; Satoru Yamaguchi (Hiroshima University of Economics); Takashi Yamasaki (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to introduce new evidence of consistently negative impacts on enterprise value when corporations increase real estate holdings. Adopting a different approach from previous studies, our data analysis shows that corporate real estate portfolios and enterprise value share an inverse relationship. Surprisingly, this trend was seen during the Japanese real estate bubble in the late 1980fs. Previous reports from the United States and Singapore show that only in the retail sector do increases in corporate real estate holdings have a positive influence on stock performance. However, our research indicates that the stock performance of Japanese firms in the retail sector was negative across the board for firms in other sectors. |
| Keywords: | Corporate real estate, Stock performance, Systematic risk, Stock market |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kbb:dpaper:2013-03&r=ure |