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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Ryan Brady (United States Naval Academy) |
| Abstract: | In this paper I estimate the spatial diffusion of housing prices across U.S. states over a period from 1975 to 2011, showing how long and to what magnitude state-level housing prices are affected by a price shock emanating from surrounding states. I capture the spatial diffusion of regional housing prices with impulse response functions estimated directly from a single equation spatial autoregressive model. In addition, I compare and contrast spatial impulse response estimates across sub-regions and then over sub-periods. Results show that for the 1975 to 2011 period spatial diffusion of housing prices is statistically significant and persistent across states. Moreover, sub-region estimation shows the spatial diffusion is persistent in the four Census regions for the United States. Sub-period estimation, too, suggests the magnitude and persistence of spatial diffusion may be more pronounced after 1999 than before. |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usn:usnawp:45&r=ure |
| By: | Ayadi, Mohamed; Ben said, Foued |
| Abstract: | Urban expansion of the city of Tunis, source of distortion of inter-zones balance between housing supply and employment, does only increase daily mobility and increases pressure on public transportation in terms of traffic, on transportation infrastructure in terms of congestion and on the environment in terms of pollution. This study tried to detect urban expansion patterns through estimating the gradient of a population density function in relation to distance from the center, whose shape is inspired by the standard models of the urban economy. Negative and significant signs of density gradients for the periods 1984, 1994 and 2004 indicate that the city of Tunis is more compact around its centre, and knows an exceptional expansion of its peripheries. A deeper analysis of density using spline regression techniques showed that the city can be divided into three rings, a central ring characterized by lower density gradient synonymous with progressive urban expansion, a ring containing the suburbs marked by a compact dynamic in the first decade slowed down in the second decade, and a suburban ring characterized by a progressive compacting process around classic suburban centres. |
| Keywords: | Tunis, Urban Expansion, Population Density, Residential Density, Urban Dynamics. |
| JEL: | J10 R12 R14 R23 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47436&r=ure |
| By: | Lynn M. Fisher; Lauren Lambie-Hanson; Paul S. Willen |
| Abstract: | We explore several different explanations of the effect of foreclosures on neighboring properties using a dataset of transactions in Boston, for which we have rich data on the size and location of condominium associations. There is compelling evidence against a supply effect—nearby condo foreclosures in different associations, and even those within the same association but at different physical addresses, have little impact on condo sale prices. However, condos transact at average discounts of 2.4 percent when a foreclosure shares the same physical address. We view the results as indicating that investment externalities drive foreclosures’ impacts on neighboring house prices. |
| Keywords: | Foreclosure - Massachusetts ; Real property - Massachusetts ; Housing - Prices - Massachusetts |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedbpp:13-2&r=ure |
| By: | Larsson, Johan P. (Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE), Jönköping International Business School.) |
| Abstract: | I analyze the effects of sub-city level density of economic activity on worker productivity. Using a geocoded dataset on employment and wages in the city areas of Sweden, the analysis is based on squares representing “neighborhoods” (0.0625 km2), “districts” (1 km2), and “agglomerations” (10 km2). The wage-density elasticity depends crucially on spatial resolution, with the elasticity being highest in neighborhood squares. The results are consistent with i) the existence of a localized density spillover effect and ii) quite sharp attenuation of human capital spillovers. An implication of the findings is that if the data source is not sufficiently disaggregated, analyses of the density-productivity link risk understating the benefits of working in dense parts of regions, such as the central business districts. |
| Keywords: | Density; productivity; spatial dependence; geo-coded data; neighborhood effects; human capital; agglomeration economies |
| JEL: | J24 J31 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–06–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0318&r=ure |
| By: | Narayan Bulusu; Jefferson Duarte; Carles Vergara-Alert |
| Abstract: | We study the importance of supply constraints in explaining the heterogeneity in house price cycles across geographies in the United States. Comparing the equilibrium house price generated with and without supply constraints in a representative-agent model under irreversibility of housing investment, we derive a relationship between housing returns and changes in supply constraints and determinants of housing demand. Our empirical analysis shows that supply constraints play an important role in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with boom-and-bust behavior. We estimate that, in 19 of the largest MSAs in the United States, supply constraints contributed 25% to the dramatic rise in house prices from 2000 to 2006, and 17% to their sharp fall from 2006 to 2010. |
| Keywords: | Asset Pricing; Economic models |
| JEL: | R31 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocawp:13-18&r=ure |
| By: | Suzanne Kok |
| Abstract: | This CPB Discussion Paper shows that a job contains a different task package in a large city than the same job in a small city. We set out a theoretical model of the division of labour across cities, which shows that both the division of labour and the skill demand increase with city size. Most datasets hinder an empirical analysis of such a model as they lack spatial variation in job content. Using individual German task data, we are able to empirically estimate our model and analyse spatial variations in task content of jobs. The estimations support the predictions of the model: jobs in large cities consist of other task packages than the same jobs in small cities. Workers in large cities focus more on their core tasks and perform fewer subtasks than workers in small cities. Jobs demand more cognitive skills when they are performed in large cities. This spatial variation in job contents likely bias regional wage equations. |
| JEL: | J24 J44 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:246&r=ure |
| By: | Huang, Haifang (University of Alberta, Department of Economics); Tang, Yao (Bowdoin College) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effects of real exchange rate movements on employment in US cities between 2003 and 2010. We explore the differences in the composition of local industries to construct city-specific changes in exchange rates and estimate their effects on local employment in manufacturing industries and in nonmanufacturing industries. Controlling for year and city fixed effects, we find that a depreciation of the US dollar increased local employment in the manufacturing industries, our proxy for the tradable sector. The depreciation also increased employment in the nonmanufacturing industries, the nontradable sector. Furthermore, the effects on nonmanufacturing employment were stronger in cities that had a higher fraction of manufacturing employment, indicating the exchange rate movements’ indirect effects through the manufacturing industries. We also consider an alternative definition of the tradable sector that is broadened to include five service industries. The findings are similar. |
| Keywords: | exchange rate; employment; US cities |
| JEL: | F16 F31 J23 |
| Date: | 2013–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2013_007&r=ure |
| By: | Jason A. Grissom; Susanna Loeb; Nathaniel Nakashima |
| Abstract: | Despite claims that school districts need flexibility in teacher assignment to allocate teachers more equitably across schools and improve district performance, the power to involuntarily transfer teachers across schools remains hotly contested. Little research has examined involuntary transfer policies or their effects on schools, teachers, or students. This article uses administrative data from Miami-Dade County Public Schools to investigate the implementation and effects of the district’s involuntary transfer policy, including which schools transferred and received teachers, which teachers were transferred, what kinds of teachers replaced them in their former schools, and how their performance—as measured by their work absences and value-added in math and reading—compared before and after the transfer. We find that, under the policy, principals in the lowest-performing schools identified relatively low-performing teachers for transfer who, based on observable characteristics, would have been unlikely to leave on their own. Consistent with an equity improvement, we find that involuntarily transferred teachers were systematically moved to higher-performing schools. Efficiency impacts are mixed; although transferred teachers had nearly 2 fewer absences per year in their new schools, transferred teachers continued to have low value-added in their new schools. |
| JEL: | I21 J63 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19108&r=ure |
| By: | Paul Beaudry; David A. Green; Benjamin M. Sand |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we present a spatial equilibrium model where search frictions hinder the immediate reallocation of workers both within and across local labour markets. Because of the frictions, firms and workers find themselves in bilateral monopoly positions when determining wages. Although workers are not at each instant perfectly mobile across cities, in the baseline model we assume that workers flows are sufficient to equate expected utility across markets. We use the model to explore the joint determination of wages, unemployment, house prices and city size (or migration). A key role of the model is to clarify conditions under which this type of spatial equilibrium setup can be estimated. We then use U.S. data over the period 1970-2007 to explore the fit of model and it quantitative properties of the model. Our main goal is to highlight forces that influence spatial equilibria at 10 year intervals. |
| JEL: | J01 J2 J3 J6 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19118&r=ure |
| By: | Suzanne Kok |
| Abstract: | Matches between workers and jobs are better in thick labour markets than in thin ones. This CPB Discussion Paper measures match quality by the gap between worker skills and their job tasks in the Netherlands. The smaller the gap, the better the match between skills and tasks. The measured gaps are 14 percent of a standard deviation smaller in cities than in the Dutch countryside. The location of work explains the observed higher quality of matches, while the location of residence does not. Robustness analyses show that these results are not explained by more efficient learning in cities or the spatial distribution of industrial and service occupations. Higher matching quality is associated with higher wages and explains part of the urban wage premia. |
| JEL: | J24 J23 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:247&r=ure |
| By: | Robert Hill (University of Graz); Iqbal A. Syed (University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | Departures of the housing market from equilibrium can be detected by comparing the actual price-rent ratio with the user cost of owner occupying. Empirical implementation of this idea, however, is problematic for two reasons. First, the price-rent ratio needs to be quality adjusted. Second, the expected capital gain { an important input into the user cost formula { is not directly observable. Using a large data set for Sydney-Australia, we show how these problems can be resolved using hedonic methods. Otherwise the user cost approach can generate highly misleading results. |
| Keywords: | Real estate; Housing market; Hedonic model; Price-rent ratio; Rental yield; Quality adjustment; User cost; Capital gains |
| JEL: | C43 E01 E31 R31 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2012-45&r=ure |
| By: | Lööf, Hans (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Johansson, Börje (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the influence of metropolitan externalities on productivity for different types of long run R&D engagement based on information from the Community Innovation Survey. We apply a dynamic general method of moments model to a panel of manufacturing and service firms with different locations in Sweden, classified as a metropolitan region, the largest metropolitan region, a metropolitan city, the largest metropolitan city and a non-metropolitan area. This analysis generates three distinct results. First, the productivity premium associated with persistent R&D is close to 8 percent in non-metro locations and about 14 percent in the largest city. Second, a firm without any R&D engagement does not benefit at all from the external milieu in metro areas. Third, no productivity premium is associated with occasional R&D effort regardless of the firm’s location. |
| Keywords: | R&D; innovation strategy; productivity; metropolitan; externalities |
| JEL: | C23 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2013–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0313&r=ure |
| By: | Hao Meng (ECUST); Wen-Jie Xie (ECUST); Zhi-Qiang Jiang (ECUST); Boris Podobnik (BU and ZSEM); Wei-Xing Zhou (ECUST); H. Eugene Stanley (BU) |
| Abstract: | Housing markets play a crucial role in economies and the collapse of a real-estate bubble usually destabilizes the financial system and causes economic recessions. We investigate the systemic risk and spatiotemporal dynamics of the US housing market (1975-2011) at the state level based on the Random Matrix Theory (RMT). We identify rich economic information in the largest eigenvalues deviating from RMT predictions and unveil that the component signs of the eigenvectors contain either geographical information or the extent of differences in house price growth rates or both. Our results show that the US housing market experienced six different regimes, which is consistent with the evolution of state clusters identified by the box clustering algorithm and the consensus clustering algorithm on the partial correlation matrices. Our analysis uncovers that dramatic increases in the systemic risk are usually accompanied with regime shifts, which provides a means of early detection of housing bubbles. |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1306.2831&r=ure |
| By: | Liliana D. Sousa |
| Abstract: | This study uses linked employer-household data to measure the impact of immigrant social networks, as identified via neighborhood and workplace affiliation, on immigrant earnings. Though ethnic enclaves can provide economic opportunities through job creation and job matching, they can also stifle the assimilation process by limiting interactions between enclave members and non-members. I find that higher residential and workplace ethnic clustering among immigrants is consistently correlated with lower earnings. For immigrants with a high school education or less, these correlations are primarily due to negative self-selection. On the other hand, self-selection fails to explain the lower earnings associated with higher ethnic clustering for immigrants with post-secondary schooling. The evidence suggests that co-ethnic clustering has no discernible effect on the earnings of immigrants with lower education, but may be leading to human capital traps for immigrants who have more than a high school education. |
| Keywords: | migration, ethnic enclaves, neighborhood effects, labor market assimilation |
| JEL: | J15 J24 J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:13-29&r=ure |
| By: | Anna Aizer; Joseph J. Doyle, Jr. |
| Abstract: | Over 130,000 juveniles are detained in the US each year with 70,000 in detention on any given day, yet little is known whether such a penalty deters future crime or interrupts social and human capital formation in a way that increases the likelihood of later criminal behavior. This paper uses the incarceration tendency of randomly-assigned judges as an instrumental variable to estimate causal effects of juvenile incarceration on high school completion and adult recidivism. Estimates based on over 35,000 juvenile offenders over a ten-year period from a large urban county in the US suggest that juvenile incarceration results in large decreases in the likelihood of high school completion and large increases in the likelihood of adult incarceration. These results are in stark contrast to the small effects typically found for adult incarceration, but consistent with larger impacts of policies aimed at adolescents. |
| JEL: | H76 K42 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19102&r=ure |
| By: | Karlsson, Charlie (Jönköping International Business School and University West); Gråsjö, Urban (University West) |
| Abstract: | Accessibility has for many years been a widely used tool in transportation research. Many definitions have been suggested and researchers have constructed numerous mathematical formulations to measure its value to be able to evaluate the relationships between the nature of the transport systems and the patterns of land use. Such correlations have been used especially in assessing existing transport systems and forecasting their performance to provide decision-makers with ideas about the need for investments in the transport systems. However, accessibility measures can be regarded as the spatial counterparts of discounting. The measures represent the spatial distribution of economic agents and their activities in a simple way that imposes a very clear structure upon the relationship between these agents and their activities and their environment. Various frictional effects arising from geographical distance between economic agents determine their interaction options, i.e., their options to trade, to cooperate, to learn, to commute, etc. Observing that the time sensitivities of the economic agents vary between different spatial scales (and between different economic activities) we may impose a spatial structure (e.g. local, intraregional, interregional and international), which offers opportunities to define variables in such a way that spatial dependencies can be accommodated. These newly defined variables can then be used in empirical explanations of various spatial phenomena, such as patent output, new firm formation, the emergence of new export products, and economic growth in different spatial units. We will in this paper against this background show that accessibility is an underused analytical and empirical tool in regional science with an underestimated potential. The paper contains several empirical examples where the accessibility concept has been used in previous research. These empirical studies are carried out in a Swedish context and show the applicability of the accessibility method. However, it is a general method and there is no reason why the method does not apply also for other countries. |
| Keywords: | Accessibility; spatial models; spatial dependence; local labour markets; spillover effects; regional development |
| JEL: | C21 R11 R12 R23 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0314&r=ure |
| By: | Roland G. Fryer, Jr |
| Abstract: | This paper describes a field experiment in Oklahoma City Public Schools in which students were provided with free cellular phones and daily information about the link between human capital and future outcomes via text message. Students’ reported beliefs about the relationship between education and outcomes were influenced by treatment, and treatment students also report being more focused and working harder in school. However, there were no measureable changes in attendance, behavioral incidents, or test scores. The patterns in the data appear most consistent with a model in which students cannot translate effort into measureable output, though other explanations are possible. |
| JEL: | I20 J01 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19113&r=ure |
| By: | Rui M. Pereira (Department of Economics, The College of William and Mary) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to examine the strength of the relationship between unemployment and GDP, the importance of regional spillovers and to determine the extent to which this relationship has been stable in Virginia metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) during the Great Recession. Our results indicate a substantially weaker relationship between unemployment and GDP in Virginia than that estimated for the U.S. economy and suggest that regional spillovers are very important in local labor markets and in defining the relationship observed at the national level. The MSA level data further supports asymmetries in Okun's law. the weaker relationship between GDP and unemployment at the local level suggests that while federal fiscal and monetary policies to stimulate aggregate demand during periods of economic recovery may be effective, over time, in reducing the unemployment rate, local economic development policies are not effective in achieving the substantial short term reduction in unemployment needed during recovery. The strong business cycle effects observed in a state like Virginia, relative to the U.S., suggests that countercyclical policies are fundamentally important and should be targeted more generally to exploit regional spillovers. |
| Keywords: | Okun's law, the Great Recession, Regional Spillovers, Virginia |
| JEL: | C23 E24 E32 J01 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwm:wpaper:140&r=ure |
| By: | Serafinelli, Michel |
| Abstract: | I present direct evidence on the role of firm-to-firm labor mobility in enhancing the productivity of firms located near highly productive firms. Using matched employer-employee and balance sheet data for the Veneto region of Italy, I identify a set of high-wage firms (HWF) and show they are more productive than other firms. I then show that hiring a worker with HWF experience increases the productivity of other (non-HWF) firms. A simulation indicates that worker flows explain 10-15 percent of the productivity gains experienced by other firms when HWFs in the same industry are added to a local labor market. |
| Keywords: | productivity, agglomeration advantages, linked employer-employee data, labor mobility. |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J61 R2 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–06–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47508&r=ure |
| By: | Cortes, Kalena (TX A&M University); Goodman, Joshua (Harvard University); Nomi, Takako (St Louis University) |
| Abstract: | Success or failure in freshman math has long been thought to have a strong impact on subsequent high school outcomes. We study an intensive math instruction policy in which students scoring below average on an 8th grade exam were assigned in 9th grade to an algebra course that doubled instructional time, altered peer composition and emphasized problem solving skills. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show positive and substantial long-run impacts of double-dose algebra on standardized test scores, high school graduation rates and college enrollment rates. The attainment effects were larger than the test score effects would predict, highlighting the importance of evaluating educational interventions on longer-run outcomes. Perhaps because the intervention focused on verbal exposition of mathematical concepts, the intervention's impact was generated largely by students with below average reading skills, highlighting the importance of targeting interventions towards appropriately skilled students. This is the first evidence we know of demonstrating the long-run impacts of such intensive math instruction. |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp13-009&r=ure |
| By: | Paul Koster (VU University Amsterdam); Hans Koster (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Traffic congestion contributes to longer travel times and increased travel time variability. We account for the dynamic nature of travellers' choices, by deriving a closed-form solution for the costs of travel time variability. The resulting travel delay cost function is linear in the mean travel delay. Then, we use a semiparametric estimation approach to analyse observed and unobserved heterogeneity in the value of travel time and reliability. Using data from a stated choice experiment, we show that there is substantial heterogeneity in the willingness to pay for fast and reliable travel. About 5-25 percent of the heterogeneity in the value of time and reliability is attributable to observed characteristics of individuals, implying that unobserved heterogeneity is much more important than heterogeneity related to observable characteristics. It is furthermore shown that schedule delay costs are on average 24 percent of the total costs of travel delays. |
| Keywords: | local maximum likelihood, heterogeneity, value of reliability, scheduling, semiparametric Logit |
| JEL: | R4 C14 C23 |
| Date: | 2013–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20130075&r=ure |
| By: | Nigel Stapledon (University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | This paper sets out annual series of economic, financial and demographic related to housing for Australia for the period 1881-2011. Some estimates are provided for 2012. The methodology used in constructing and/or splicing the various series are stated and explained. |
| Keywords: | Australia, housing stock, adult population, dwelling inflation |
| JEL: | G12 N97 R21 R31 R38 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2012-52&r=ure |
| By: | Rafael González-Val; Daniel A. Tirado Fabregat; Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal |
| Abstract: | A few attempts have been made to analyse whether market potential might also have an impact on urban structures. In this paper we employ parametric and non-parametric techniques to analyse the effect of market potential on the growth of Spanish cities during the period 1860-1960. This period is especially interesting because it is characterized by the advance in the economic integration of the national market together with an intense process of industrialization. Our results show a clear positive influence of market potential on city growth. |
| Keywords: | Market potential, Urban structure, City growth, Economic history |
| JEL: | R0 N9 O18 N64 F14 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:whrepe:wp13-04&r=ure |
| By: | Agnes Baeker; Mario Mechtel (Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the EU, University of Trier) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes experimentally how the interaction of task meaning and peer presence affects work effort. We build on the experimental designs of Falk and Ichino (2006) and Ariely et al. (2008). Confirming previous results from the literature, we find positive peer effects and negative effects of low task meaning. In addition, we find that peer effects are even stronger if task meaning is low. We conclude that a peer setting is able to overcome the negative effort effect of low task meaning. |
| Keywords: | task meaning, peer effects, experimental economics |
| JEL: | J20 J30 M50 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaa:dpaper:201308&r=ure |
| By: | Leonel Muinelo-Gallo (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Andreas P. Kyriacou (Universitat de Girona (España). Departament d’Economia); Oriol Roca-Sagalés (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (España). Departament d’Economia Aplicada) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we consider how government quality mediates the relationship between fiscal decentralization and regional disparities. Previous work has argued that fiscal decentralization has the potential to reduce income difference across regions but that this potential may not be realized because of governance problems associated with subnational authorities. Our empirical evidence based on a sample of 24 OECD countries over the period 1984 to 2006 lends a measure of support to this idea. We find that fiscal decentralization promotes regional convergence in high government quality settings but, worryingly, it leads to wider regional disparities in countries with poor governance. Because most poor countries are plagued with governance problems, this would caution against fiscal decentralization with a view to reducing regional disparities in these countries. |
| Keywords: | fiscal decentralization, regional disparities, government quality |
| JEL: | D73 H71 H73 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-03-13&r=ure |
| By: | Monica Andini (Bank of Italy); Guido de Blasio (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | The paper evaluates the effectiveness of a major Italian place-based policy (Contratti di Programma), by means of which the state approves and finances industrial projects proposed by private firms. Using the areas to be exposed to the same policy at a later date as counterfactuals, the study finds little evidence of it having had a positive effect. It estimates a limited impact on plant and employment growth rates, which is confined to a small area (a single municipality) and crowds out the economic growth of the surrounding areas. |
| Keywords: | regional economic activity, location-based policies, program evaluation |
| JEL: | R11 R58 C14 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_915_13&r=ure |
| By: | Jesus Gonzalez-Feliu (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II); Josep-Maria Salanova Grau (Hellenic Institute or Transport - Center of Research and Technologie Hellas); Joelle Morana (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II); Evangelos Mitsakis (Hellenic Institute or Transport - Center of Research and Technologie Hellas) |
| Abstract: | Collaborative transportation and logistics pooling are relatively new concepts in research, but are very popular in practice. In the last years, collaborative transportation seems a good city logistics alternative to classical urban consolidation centres, but it is still in a development stage. This paper proposes a framework for urban logistics pooling ex-ante evaluation. This framework is developed with two purposes. The first is to generate comparable contrasted or progressive scenarios representing realistic situations; the second to simulate and assess them to make a "before-after" comparative analysis. In this framework, a demand generation model is combined with a route optimization algorithm to simulate the resulting routes of the proposed individual or collaborative distribution schemes assumed by each scenario. Then, several indicators can be obtained, mainly travelled distances, working times, road occupancy rates and operational monetary costs. To illustrate that framework, several scenarios for the urban area of Lyon (France) are simulated and discussed to illustrate the proposed framework possible applications. |
| Keywords: | urban logistics; resource sharing; freight transport pooling; collaborative multicriteria analysis. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00758238&r=ure |
| By: | Mahlberg, Bernhard; Freund, Inga; Crespo Cuaresma, Jesús; Prskawetz, Alexia |
| Abstract: | Current demographic developments are expected to challenge the sustainability of welfare in industrialised economies. Persistent low fertility levels and increasing survival rates to older age imply a decreasing share of younger individuals within the labour force that needs to support an increasing share of old people out of the labour force. We use matched employeremployee data for Austria at the firm level in order to study the link between the age structure and labour productivity and concentrate on the role played by regional location and sector affiliation. We apply multilevel estimation techniques in order to account for systematic variation of the age-productivity pattern with regard to these two dimensions. Our results indicate that the age-productivity pattern differs significantly across regions and across sectors and that sectoral differences are the more sizable source of heterogeneity in the link between the age structure and firm productivity. -- |
| Keywords: | age-productivity profile,firm heterogeneity,employer-employee data,multilevel regression methods,regional variability,sectoral variability |
| JEL: | C21 J14 J24 J82 R11 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tuweco:012013&r=ure |
| By: | Esposti, R.; Pagliacci, F.; Sotte, F.; Camaioni, B.; Lobianco, A. |
| Abstract: | Although RDP 2007-2013 expenditures represent less than 20% of total CAP expenditures, this policy is supposed to support rural areas in facing new challenges. Actually, EU rural areas are going through major transformations. Due to the very different development processes that rural areas have lately undertaken, the urban-rural divide is now almost outdated (OECD, 2006): rural regions in central EU regions can benefit from the improvements in transportation systems and in ICT, in touristic flows and in the development of SME systems (ESPON, 2005); conversely, more peripheral rural areas still face major development issues (e.g., depopulation and land abandonment). According to this framework, the paper first computes a comprehensive index of rural-peripherality (RP index) based on major rural features. The higher this index is, the more rural and peripheral a given region is. On this basis, the paper then provides taxonomy of rural areas across Europe. Methodology follows a multivariate statistical approach: principal component analysis and cluster analysis are applied to the NUTS 3 regions in the EU-27. Although this type of analysis is not new in literature this work takes into account both socio-economic indicators and other relevant geographical characteristics, such as land use, potential accessibility, geographical distance from major EU cities. Moving from this regional taxonomy, the paper then assesses existing correlations between the intensity of Rural Development Policy expenditures (expressed per unit of agricultural land, per unit of labour force, per agricultural gross value added) and different profiles of rural-peripherality, According to these results, the analysis can help in better defining the consistency of the EU policy-makers’ decisions with the real characteristics of EU rural areas. |
| Keywords: | peripherurality, rural development policy, cluster analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, O18, R11, R58, Q01, |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aiea13:149900&r=ure |
| By: | Shali Luo; J. Isaac Miller (Department of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia) |
| Abstract: | We examine spatially correlated interregional flows measured as binary choice outcomes. Since the dependent variable is not only binary and dyadic, but also spatially correlated, we propose a spatial origin-destination probit model and a Bayesian estimation methodology that avoids inconsistent maximum likelihood estimates. We apply the model to militarized interstate dispute initiations, observations of which are clearly binary and dyadic and which may be spatially correlated due to their geographic distribution. Using a cross-section of 26 European countries drawn from the period leading up to WWII, we find empirical evidence for target-based spatial correlation and sizable network effects resulting from the correlation. In particular, we find that the effect of national military capability of the potential aggressor, which is a significant determinant of conflict in either case, is overstated in a benchmark model that ignores spatial correlation. This effect is further differentiated by the geographic location of a country. |
| Keywords: | spatial correlation, origin-destination flows, probit, militarized interstate disputes, correlates of war |
| JEL: | C21 C25 F51 N4 |
| Date: | 2013–05–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:1306&r=ure |
| By: | Raouf Boucekkine (Aix-Marseille University (Aix-Marseille School of Economics) and Université catholique de Louvain (IRES and CORE)); Carmen Camacho (CNRS, Université Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne and IRES, Université catholique de Louvain); Giorgio Fabbri (EPEE, Université d’Evry-Val-d’Essonne (TEPP, FR-CNRS 3126)) |
| Abstract: | We study the optimal dynamics of an AK economy where population is uniformly distributed along the unit circle. Locations only differ in initial capital endowments. Spatio-temporal capital dynamics are described by a parabolic partial differential equation. The application of the maxi- mum principle leads to necessary but non-sufficient first-order conditions. Thanks to the linearity of the production technology and the special spatial setting considered, the value-function of the problem is found explicitly, and the (unique) optimal control is identified in feedback form. De- spite constant returns to capital, we prove that the spatio-temporal dynamics, induced by the willingness of the planner to give the same (detrended) consumption over space and time, lead to convergence in the level of capital across locations in the long-run. |
| Keywords: | Economic Growth, Spatial Dynamics, Optimal Control, Partial-Differential Equations |
| JEL: | C60 O11 R11 R12 R13 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eve:wpaper:13-09&r=ure |
| By: | Paul E. Carrillo (Department of Economics/Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University); Arun S. Malik (Department of Economics/Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University); Jiseon Yoo (Department of Economics/Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University) |
| Abstract: | Programs to reduce tra¢ c congestion and air pollution by restricting use of motor vehicles on working days have generally not met with success given existing studies of such programs in a number of cities. We conduct the Örst study of Quito, EcuadorÃs three-year-old Pico y Placa program and Önd that it has reduced ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), a pollutant primarily emitted by vehicles, by 9-11% during peak tra¢ c hours. During an extended daytime period that encompasses hours when population exposure to air pollution is likely to be highest, CO concentrations have been reduced by approximately 6%. Given that ambient concentrations of CO generally track the spatial and temporal distributions of tra¢ c, these reductions in pollution suggest similar reductions in vehicle áows. |
| Keywords: | Forecasting, driving restrictions, traffic congestion, air pollution, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | R41 D62 Q53 C31 C54 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2013-1&r=ure |
| By: | Jason Allen; Robert Clark; Jean-François Houde |
| Abstract: | We examine the relationship between concentration and price dispersion using variation induced by a merger in the Canadian mortgage market. Since interest rates are determined through a search and negotiation process, consolidation eliminates a potential negotiation part- ner, weakening consumers bargaining positions. We combine reduced-form techniques to es- timate the mergers distributional impact, with a structural model to measure market power across consumers with different search costs. Our results show that competition benefits only consumers at the bottom and middle of the transaction price distribution. Estimates from a search and negotiation model attribute these differences to the presence of large search frictions. |
| JEL: | L11 L41 L85 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19126&r=ure |
| By: | Jesus Gonzalez-Feliu (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Université Lumière - Lyon II); Bruno Durand (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Université de Nantes : EA4272) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims, via a statistical analysis of the Household Trip Survey for the urban area of Lyon (France), to understand retailing-related mobility of the 5-17 segment of population. First, the analysis of different time horizons trends is proposed (1985, 1999 and 2006). Then, focusing on 2006, a classification of the different categories of kids in terms of retailing mobility is made. This classification will lead us to better define the different behavioural patterns in terms of shopping mobility, relating it to variables such as the household location, the studying place location, the socio-professional category of the kid's parents, the retailing area accessibility and the type of retailing zone, among others. As a conclusion, a first modelling and simulation proposal is made and further developments are enounced. |
| Keywords: | kids mobility, shopping trips, statistics, purchasing trip behaviour |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00833709&r=ure |
| By: | Erkan Goeren (University of Oldenburg - Department of Economics and Statistics) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the economic growth impact of cultural diversity, both domestically and in neighbouring countries, in a balanced panel of 94 countries covering the period 1970 to 2004. The measures of cultural diversity used in this article were derived from a recently developed computer algorithm intended primarily to measure linguistic distances in an automated fashion. The empirical analysis suggests that the degree of cultural diversity in contiguous neighbouring countries has substantial positive effects on domestic per capita income growth, even controlling for a broad set of regional, institutional, religious and other proximate factors of economic growth. The conclusion is that culturally homogeneous countries gain a strategic advantage over their culturally diverse neighbours. |
| Keywords: | cultural diversity, ethnic diversity, economic growth |
| JEL: | O11 O5 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zen:wpaper:16&r=ure |
| By: | Nina Neubecker; Marcel Smolka; Anne Steinbacher |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new evidence on migrant networks as determinants of the total size (scale) and skill structure of migration, using aggregate data from a recent migration boom to Spain. We draw upon McFadden (1984, 1422-1428) in order to develop and apply a three-level nested multinomial logit migration model. Our model accommodates varying degrees of similarity of destinations located in the same region (or the same country), allowing for a rich structure of substitutability across alternative destinations. We find strong positive network effects on the scale of migration and a strong negative effect on the ratio of high-skilled to low-skilled migrants. Simplifying restrictions on substitutability across destinations are rejected by the data. |
| Keywords: | international migration, migrant networks, nested multinomial logit model, skill structure of migration, Spain |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1306&r=ure |
| By: | Thomas Deckers; Armin Falk; Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch |
| Abstract: | We study the effect of real versus nominal income on life satisfaction. According to economic theory real income, i.e., nominal income adjusted for purchasing power, should be the relevant source of life satisfaction. Previous work, however, has only studied the impact of nominal income. We use a novel data set comprising about 7 million data points that are used to construct a price level for each of the about 400 administrative districts in Germany. We estimate a fixed effects model that controls for individual and local heterogeneity other than the price level. Our results show that higher price levels significantly reduce life satisfaction for individuals in the four lowest deciles of the income distribution. Furthermore, our findings suggest that people do not perceive money as neutral: the loss in life satisfaction caused by a higher price level is much larger than the loss in life satisfaction induced by a corresponding decrease in nominal income. Our results provide an argument in favor of regional indexation of government transfer payments such as social welfare benefits. |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction, price index, neutrality of money, redistribution |
| JEL: | D60 C23 D31 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp560&r=ure |
| By: | Allison Atteberry; Susanna Loeb; James Wyckoff |
| Abstract: | Educational policymakers struggle to find ways to improve the quality of the teacher workforce. The early career period represents a unique opportunity to identify struggling teachers, examine the likelihood of future improvement, and make strategic pre-tenure investments in improvement as well as dismissals to increase teaching quality. To date, only a little is known about the dynamics of teacher performance in the first five years. This paper asks how much teachers vary in performance improvement during their first five years of teaching and to what extent initial job performance predicts later performance. We find that, on average, initial performance is quite predictive of future performance, far more so than typically measured teacher characteristics. Predictions are particularly powerful at the extremes. We employ these predictions to explore the likelihood of personnel actions that inappropriately distinguish performance when such predictions are mistaken as well as the much less discussed costs of failure to distinguish performance when meaningful differences exist. The results have important consequences for improving the quality of the teacher workforce. |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19096&r=ure |
| By: | Dogan Gursoy (School of Hospitality Business Management, Washington State University); Anna Maria Parroco (Department of Economics, Business and Finance, University of Palermo); Raffaele Scuderi (Free University of Bolzanoâ€Bozen, School of Economics and Management.) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to examine the development of Italian tourist areas (circoscrizioni turistiche) through a cluster analysis of short time series. The technique is an adaptation of the functional data analysis approach developed by Abraham et al (2003), which combines spline interpolation with k-means clustering. The findings indicate the presence of two patterns (increasing and stable) averagely characterizing groups of territories. Moreover, tests of spatial contiguity suggest the presence of ‘space–time clusters’; that is, areas in the same ‘time cluster’ are also spatially contiguous. These findings appear to be more robust in particular for those series characterized by an increasing trend. |
| Keywords: | cluster analysis; short time series; spline interpolation; K-means; join count test; Italian tourist areas |
| JEL: | L83 C14 C21 C22 C38 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bzn:wpaper:bemps06&r=ure |
| By: | Gabriela Aparicio (Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University); Paul E. Carrillo (Department of Economics/Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University); M. Shahe Emran (Department of Economics/Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University) |
| Abstract: | Sunday birth rates in Ecuador have sharply declined, and the drop is larger among young cohorts in urban areas. These trends are attributed to an increase in cesarean births, which are generally scheduled during regular hospital hours. Multiple rounds of Health Surveys confirm that mothers with higher levels of education and socioeconomic status are more likely to give birth via cesarean and less likely to give birth on Sunday. Using administrative birth and earnings records we find that this selection process is strong enough to create differences in education and earnings between individuals born on Sunday and individuals born on other days. After controlling for age, education, gender and marital status, workers born on Sunday earn 2 percent less than comparable workers born on other days of the week. Similarly, workers born on Sunday are 0.6 percent less likely to attain a high school diploma than their counterparts. The Sunday-born education and earnings gap is larger for young cohorts in Quito and Guayaquil, precisely the same cohorts and urban locations where the decline in Sunday birth rates is largest. |
| Keywords: | Sunday baby, weekend births, earnings regression, earnings gap, developing country, Ecuador |
| JEL: | H26 H32 O12 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2013-2&r=ure |
| By: | Fageda, Xavier, 1975-; Flores-Fillol, Ricardo |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the relationship between airport congestion and airline network structure. We find that the development of hub-and-spoke (HS) networks may have detrimental effects on social welfare in presence of airport congestion. The theoretical analysis shows that, although airline pro ts are typically higher under HS networks, congestion could create incentives for airlines to adopt fully-connected (FC) networks. However, the welfare analysis leads to the conclusion that airlines may have an inefficient bias towards HS networks. In line with the theoretical analysis, our empirical results show that network airlines are weakly infl uenced by congestion in their choice of frequencies from/to their hub airports. Consistently with this result, we con firm that delays are higher in hub airports controlling for concentration and airport size. Keywords: airlines; airport congestion; fully-connected networks, hub-and-spoke net- works; network efficiency JEL Classifi cation Numbers: L13; L2; L93 |
| Keywords: | Línies aèries, Aeroports -- Direcció i administració, Oligopolis, Empreses -- Direcció i administració, Aviació comercial, 338 - Situació econòmica. Política econòmica. Gestió, control i planificació de l'economia. Producció. Serveis. Turisme. Preus, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/211753&r=ure |
| By: | Riessen, B. van; Negenborn, R.R.; Dekker, R.; Lodewijks, G. |
| Abstract: | An intermodal container transportation network is being developed between Rotterdam and several inland terminals in North West Europe: the EUROPEAN GATEWAY SERVICES (EGS) network. This network is developed and operated by the seaports of EUROPE CONTAINER TERMINALS (ECT). To use this network cost-efficiently, a centralized planning of the container transportation is required, to be operated by the seaport. In this paper, a new mathematical model is proposed for the service network design. The model uses a combination of a path-based formulation and a minimum flow network formulation. It introduces two new features to the intermodal network-planning problem. Firstly, overdue deliveries are penalized instead of prohibited. Secondly, the model combines self-operated and subcontracted services. The service network design considers the network-planning problem at a tactical level: the optimal service schedule between the given network terminals is determined. The model considers self-operated or subcontracted barge and rail services as well as transport by truck. The model is used for the service network design of the EGS network. For this case, the benefit of using container transportation with multiple legs and intermediate transfers is studied. Also, a preliminary test of the influence of the new aspects of the model is done. The preliminary results indicate that the proposed model is suitable for the service network design in modern intermodal container transport networks. Also, the results suggest that a combined business model for the network transport and terminals is worth investigating further, as the transit costs can be reduced with lower transfer costs. |
| Keywords: | container transportation;intermodal planning;network optimization;ynchromodal planning |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureir:1765040343&r=ure |
| By: | Fafchamps, Marcel; Soderbom, Mans |
| Abstract: | Patterns of correlation in innovation and contractual practices among manufacturing firms in Ethiopia and Sudan are documented. Network data that indicate whether any two firms in the utilized sample do business with each other, buy inputs from a common supplier, or sell output to a common client are used for the analysis. Only limited support is found for the commonly held idea that firms that are more proximate in a network sense are more likely to adopt similar practices. Indeed, for certain practices, adoption decisions appear to be local strategic substitutes: if one firm in a given location uses a certain practice, nearby firms are less likely to do so. These results suggest that the diffusion of technology and new business practices may play a more limited role in spurring growth in Africa's manufacturing sector than is often assumed in the present policy discussion. |
| Keywords: | E-Business,Microfinance,Small Scale Enterprise,Labor Policies,Technology Industry |
| Date: | 2013–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6474&r=ure |
| By: | Mellander, Charlotta (Jönköping International Business School); Stolarick, Kevin (University of Toronto); Matheson, Zara (University of Toronto); Lobo, José (Arizona State University) |
| Abstract: | Research has suggested that night-time light (NTL) can be used as a proxy for a number of variables, including urbanization, density, and economic growth. But, just how close is the relationship between NTL and economic activity? This paper uses a combination of correlation analysis and geographically weighted regressions in order to examine the relationship between the two. We use fine-grained geo-coded micro-data for Swedish establishments and individuals, and match it with both radiance and saturated light emissions. We find that the correlation between NTL and economic activity is strong enough to make it a relatively good proxy for population and establishment density, but the correlation is weaker in relation to wages. In general, we find a stronger relation between light and density values, than with light and total values. We also find a closer connection between radiance light and economic activity, than with saturated light. Further, we find the link between light and economic activity, especially estimated by wages, to be slightly overestimated in large urban areas, and underestimated in rural areas. |
| Keywords: | Light-Emission; Economic Activity; Proxy |
| JEL: | O18 R10 |
| Date: | 2013–06–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0315&r=ure |
| By: | Baier, Elisabeth; Kroll, Henning; Zenker, Andrea |
| Abstract: | [Introduction] The notion of 'smart specialisation' is set to become an important policy rationale in the upcoming structural funding period 2014-2020. Although the original academic concept of this policy approach was sectorally oriented and rooted in the analysis of the EU-US productivity gap (e.g. Foray et al. 2009), the concept is increasingly applied to regional contexts. Essential for the application of the smart specialisation concept in a regional context is the fact that regions are often faced with scarce resources and limited budgets which they should allocate according to external influences (e.g. global competition) and inherited structures (sectoral foci, linkages between sectors, innovation infrastructure). Therefore, and in accordance with the smart specialisation strategy (S3), regional governments need to design policies in such a way as to support the most promising areas of present and future comparative advantage in order to foster regional prosperity. Although the ideas behind smart specialisation are not entirely new on the regional level, the smart specialisation concept is going to expand its influence to regional innovation policy making. Thus, this contribution illuminates the interface between the smart specialisation concept and regional systems of innovation approach, since innovation is going to be a key issue in the next structural funding period. Key arguments for the usefulness of the smart specialisation concept in the field of the design of regional innovation policy making will be collected and three examples are presented in form of case studies. This contribution aims to demonstrate that the principles of smart specialisation have been implicitly applied in certain European regions for years in form of future-oriented transformation processes. Likewise this contribution aims to illustrate how the experiences from these regions can contribute to policy learning. In doing so, the structure is the following: firstly, existing literature on the smart specialisation concept is revised and secondly, these findings are reconsidered with regard to the regional systems of innovation approach. In particular, if and how the smart specialisation concept will influence regional development processes and potentially regional innovation systems. Three key working theses adopt these ideas and guide the empirical analyses. Methodologically, the paper pursues a case study approach. The policy trajectories of three different case study regions are analysed within the innovation systems approach and conclusions are drawn concerning the smart specialisation concept. Finally, the paper closes with a conclusion, concerning the influencing potential of the smart specialisation concept on regional innovation systems. -- |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisifr:r52013&r=ure |
| By: | Sven M. Laudien (Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg & ZenTra); Joerg Freiling (University of Bremen - Faculty of Business Studies and Economics & ZenTra) |
| Abstract: | What role do regional headquarters (RHQ) play in the process of spreading knowledge in the internal and external network of transnational companies (TNC)? In our paper we approach this topic based on an understanding of TNC as ‘small world’ networks – a concept from the field of social psychology introduced by Milgram (1967). We employ this concept to show that RHQ as knowledge hubs foster knowledge transfer and competence building within TNCs. The main contribution of our paper is that we develop a formalized approach that provides a proof that RHQ can considerably influence information and knowledge transfer processes in TNCs. By doing so, we try to reduce a gap in research on RHQ. |
| Keywords: | Transnational company, formal governance, regional headquarters, knowledge transfer, networks, competence building |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zen:wpaper:17&r=ure |
| By: | William J. Collins; Marianne H. Wanamaker |
| Abstract: | The onset of World War I spurred the “Great Migration” of African Americans from the U.S. South, arguably the most important internal migration in U.S. history. We create a new panel dataset of more than 5,000 men matched from the 1910 to 1930 census manuscripts to address three interconnected questions: To what extent was there selection into migration? How large were the migrants’ gains? Did migration narrow the racial gap in economic status? We find evidence of positive selection, but the migrants’ gains were large. A substantial amount of black-white convergence in this period is attributable to migration. |
| JEL: | J15 J61 N32 N92 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19124&r=ure |
| By: | Wolbers M.H.J.; Velden R.K.W. van der; Büchner C.I.R. (GSBE) |
| Abstract: | Social background directly impacts educational choice and attainment, but also influences choice and attainment indirectly by affecting school performance. Boudon (1974) described this relationship as primary (indirect) and secondary (direct) effects of social stratification. Based on this approach and Mare¿s sequential transition model, we decompose this impact to analyze these effects¿ relative importance at various stages over the school career. Using Dutch panel data of three school cohorts, we can assess whether primary and secondary effects¿ relative importance has been stable over time. We use different statistical methods to assess the results¿ robustness. Our findings show secondary effects have a decreasing impact at the first transition over time but a rather stable and in some cases increasing impact at the educational career¿s later stages. As a result, the cumulative share of secondary effects on educational attainment is stable over time, at least if one examines the last two cohorts. When using ordinary least squares (OLS) or counterfactual models, secondary effects amount to some 55% of social background¿s total effect. However, using structural equation modeling that allows for taking into account measurement error in performance tests and social background, secondary effects¿ relative importance amounts to some 45%. This result suggests method does matter for numerical closeness. Nevertheless, the findings of all models used in this study point in the same direction and suggest that preferences and expectations of aspiring higher educational levels remain strongly associated with social background. |
| Keywords: | Hypothesis Testing: General; Analysis of Education; Education and Inequality; |
| JEL: | C12 I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:umagsb:2013005&r=ure |
| By: | Hüschelrath, Kai; Müller, Kathrin |
| Abstract: | We study the consumer welfare effects of mergers in airline networks. Based on the development of a general classification of affected routes, we apply a difference-indifferences approach to exemplarily investigate the price effects of the America West Airlines - US Airways merger completed in 2005. We find that although average prices increased substantially on routes in which both airlines competed either on a non-stop or one-stop basis prior to the merger, substantial average price reductions observed for routes without any premerger overlap suggest that the merger led to a net increase in consumer welfare. -- |
| Keywords: | Airline industry,merger,market power,consumer welfare,price effects |
| JEL: | L40 L93 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13028&r=ure |
| By: | Jordi Amorós, Catalina; Manjón Antolín, Miguel C. |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the likelihood of leaving and joining employment in an urban area. Estimates show that individual, firm, regulatory and macroeconomic factors a ffect urban (un)employment duration in di fferent degrees. Also, national and urban (un)employment seem to share a common baseline hazard and similar macroeconomic and regulatory drivers. Individual characteristics are the only source of di fference we can identify between national and urban (un)employment duration. Keywords: Duration Models, Urban (Un)employment. JEL Classi fication: J64, R23. |
| Keywords: | Atur, Mercat de treball -- Barcelona, 331 - Treball. Relacions laborals. Ocupació. Organització del treball, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/211799&r=ure |
| By: | Martin Kahanec |
| Keywords: | migration, migration policy, skilled migration, European Union, European Union Neighborhood, ASEAN |
| Date: | 2013–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cel:report:1&r=ure |
| By: | Haupt, Alexander; Krieger, Tim |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyse the role of mobility in tax and subsidy competition. Our primary result is that increasing ‘relocation’ mobility of firms leads to increasing ‘net’ tax revenues under fairly weak conditions. While enhanced relocation mobility intensifies tax competition, it weakens subsidy competition. The resulting fall in the governments’ subsidy payments over-compensates the decline in tax revenues, leading to a rise in net tax revenues. We derive this conclusion in a model in which two governments are first engaged in subsidy competition and thereafter in tax competition, and firms locate and potentially relocate in response to the two political choices. -- |
| Keywords: | tax competition,subsidy competition,capital and firm mobility,foreign direct investment |
| JEL: | H87 H71 F21 H25 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wgspdp:201302&r=ure |