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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Mandell, Svante (VTI); Wilhelmsson, Mats (KTH) |
| Abstract: | We argue that banks operating in a local market possess better information about the local housing market than do non-local banks. Possessing this information may influence their willingness to grant loans to house buyers and the specifics of the loan terms, which in turn may affect house prices because credit facilitation makes the housing market more efficient. Using a panel data set covering a period from 1993 to 2007 and involving 274 municipalities in Sweden, we establish a positive causal influence of local bank presence on local house prices. There are significant spatial and spillover effects – that is, banks in a municipality affect the housing markets in neighboring municipalities, although to a lesser extent than in their own municipality. Similar results are obtained through a gravity model. The results are robust over time and municipality size. |
| Keywords: | House prices; Lending; Financial infrastructure |
| JEL: | H31 |
| Date: | 2013–06–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2013_007&r=ure |
| By: | Ron Zimmer; Brian Gill; Jonathon Attridge; Kaitlin Obenauf |
| Keywords: | Charter School Authorizers, Student Achievement, High-Performing Schools, Education |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2013–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:7808&r=ure |
| By: | Yasuhiro Sato (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Wei Xiao (Department of Economics, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the interactions between labor and housing (and land) markets in a city. We develop a monocentric city model involving land development and frictional unemployment. Unemployment, the spatial structure of a city, land development, housing demand, prices of housing and land are all endogenously determined in the model. We then characterize two different spatial configurations, spatial mismatch equilibrium in which unemployed workers are located far from jobs and integrated equilibrium in which unemployed workers live in areas close to jobs. To better understand how two equilibria are affected by labor market parameters, such as search intensity, wage, job finding rate, job destruction rate, and so on, we implement a comparative steady state analysis. We further explored the effects of policies such as a tax on land development to subsidize residents, a subsidy to reduce residentsf commuting costs, and a subsidy to improve unemployed workersf benefits. |
| Keywords: | Land development, City structure, Search frictions, Spatial mismatch |
| JEL: | R14 R21 R28 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1312&r=ure |
| By: | Pascal MOSSAY; Pierre PICARD |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study the social interactions between two populations of individuals living in a city. Agents consume land and benefit from intra and intergroup social interactions. We show that segregation arises in equilibrium: populations become separated in distinct spatial neighborhoods. Two- and three-district urban structures are characterized. For high population ratios or strong intergroup interactions, only three-district cities exist. In other cases, multiplicity of equilibria arises. Moreover, for sufficiently low population ratios or very weak intergroup interactions, all individuals agree on the optimal spatial equilibrium. |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13056&r=ure |
| By: | Davidoff, Ian (International Monetary Fund); Leigh, Andrew (Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | Land transfer taxes are a substantial portion of the cost of moving house in many developed countries. Since stamp duties are endogenous with respect to the house price, we create an instrumental variable that is the stamp duty on a property, given that postcode's starting house price and the national house price trend. In a specification with postcode and year fixed effects, this instrument effectively captures policy changes and nonlinearities in the stamp duty schedule. We find that the impact of an increase in the tax rate is to lower house prices, suggesting that the economic incidence of the tax falls on the seller. We also observe impacts of stamp duty on housing turnover. A 10 per cent increase in stamp duty lowers turnover by 3 per cent in the first year, and by 6 per cent if sustained over a 3 year period. |
| Keywords: | tax incidence, land sales taxation, residential mobility |
| JEL: | H22 H24 H71 R21 R23 R28 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7463&r=ure |
| By: | Olaf Merk; Theo Notteboom |
| Abstract: | This working paper offers an evaluation of the performance of the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, an analysis of the impact of these ports on their territory and an assessment of policies and governance in this field. It examines port performance over the last decades and identifies the principal factors that have contributed to it. The effect of the ports on economic and environmental questions is studied and quantified where possible. The value added of the port clusters of Rotterdam and Amsterdam is calculated and its interlinkages with other economic sectors and regions in the Netherlands delineated. The major policies governing the ports are assessed, along with policies governing transport and economic development, the environment and spatial planning. These include measures instituted by the port authorities, as well as by local, regional and national governments. Governance mechanisms at these different levels are described and analysed. Based on the report‘s findings, recommendations are proposed with a view to improving port performance and increasing the positive effects of the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam on their territory. |
| Keywords: | transportation, ports, regional development, regional growth, urban growth, inter-regional trade, input-output |
| JEL: | D57 L91 R11 R12 R15 R41 |
| Date: | 2013–05–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:govaab:2013/8-en&r=ure |
| By: | Gobillon, Laurent (INED, France); Rupert, Peter (University of California, Santa Barbara); Wasmer, Etienne (Sciences Po, Paris) |
| Abstract: | The unemployment rate in France is roughly 6 percentage points higher for African immigrants than for natives. In the US the unemployment rate is approximately 9 percentage points higher for blacks than for whites. Commute time data indicates that minorities face longer commute times to work, potentially reflecting more difficult access to jobs. In this paper we investigate the impact of spatial mismatch on the unemployment rate of ethnic groups using the matching model proposed by Rupert and Wasmer (2012). We find that spatial factors explain between 1 to 1.5 percentage points of the unemployment rate gap in both France and the US, amounting to 17% to 25% of the relative gap in France and about 10% in the US. Among these factors, differences in commuting distance plays the most important role. In France, though, longer commuting distances may be mitigated by higher mobility in the housing market for African workers. Overall, we still conclude that labor market factors remain the main explanation for the higher unemployment rate of Africans. |
| Keywords: | spatial mismatch hypotheses, commuting, job acceptance, ethnic unemployment rates |
| JEL: | J15 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7448&r=ure |
| By: | Makoto Nakajima; Irina A. Telyukova |
| Abstract: | Reverse mortgage loans (RMLs) allow older homeowners to borrow against housing wealth without moving. In spite of growth in this market, only 2.1% of eligible homeowners had RMLs in 2011. In this paper, we analyze reverse mortgages in a life-cycle model of retirement, calibrated to age-asset profiles. The ex-ante welfare gain from RMLs is sizable at $1,000 per household; ex-post, low-income, low-wealth and poor-health households use them. Bequest motives, nursing-home moving risk, house price risk, and interest and insurance costs all contribute to the low take-up rate. The model predicts market potential for RMLs to be 5.5% of households. |
| Keywords: | Mortgages ; Mortgage loans, Reverse ; Housing ; Retirement ; Home equity loans |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:13-27&r=ure |
| By: | Judith K. Hellerstein (University of Maryland & NBER); Mark J. Kutzbach (U.S. Bureau of the Census); David Neumark (UCI, NBER & IZA) |
| Abstract: | We test for evidence of spatial, residence-based labor market networks. Turnover is lower for workers more connected to their neighbors generally and more connected to neighbors of the same race or ethnic group. Both results are consistent with networks producing better job matches, while the latter could also reflect preferences for working with neighbors of the same race or ethnicity. For earnings, we find a robust positive effect of the overall residence-based network measure, whereas we usually find a negative effect of the same-group measure, suggesting that the overall network measure reflects productivity-enhancing positive network effects, while the same-group measure may capture a non-wage amenity. |
| Keywords: | Networks, job matches, wages, turnover |
| JEL: | J15 J30 J63 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2013/6/doc2013-20&r=ure |
| By: | Thierry Theurillat; Olivier Crevoisier (Group of Research in Territorial Economy GRET, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | Financialization and sustainable urban planning are now two major components of urban production and landscape change in Western cities. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the intervention of financial actors influences urban sustainability in the building of megaprojects, by developing a conceptual framework for analysis and interpretation. This framework aims first to examine the way in which sustainability has been produced by the different actors involved in a real-life situation, and then to place these interactions in their institutional, spatial and temporal context. Consequently, sustainability is understood as a social construct which is the object of negotiations that have led to the making of institutional arrangements in order to allow the project to be carried through. This framework has been constructed from the financial geography and urban geography literature on ‘finance, the city and sustainability’ and from a case study. The latter looks at the regeneration of a brownfield site to create a shopping and leisure complex that was the biggest in Switzerland and was purchased by financial actors. |
| Keywords: | Financial actors, public–private partnerships, urban sustainability, territorial and institutionalist approach, urban megaproject, Switzerland, Zurich |
| JEL: | D71 D81 G1 G23 Q01 R11 R51 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nct:wpaper:04-12&r=ure |
| By: | Kim, Jinwon; Brownstone, David |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of residential density on household vehicle usage and fuel consumption. We estimate a simultaneous equations system to account for the potential residential self-selection problem. While most previous studies focus on a specific region, this paper uses national samples from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey. The estimation results indicate that residential density has a statistically significant but economically modest influence on vehicle usage, which is similar to that in previous studies. However, the joint effect of the contextual density measure (density in the context of its surrounding area) and residential density on vehicle usage is quantitatively larger than the sole effect of residential density. Moving a household from a suburban to an urban area reduces household annual mileage by 18%. We also find that a lower neighborhood residential density induces consumer choices toward less fuel-efficient vehicles, which confirms the finding in Brownstone and Golob (2009). |
| Keywords: | Household vehicle choice; Simultaneous equations systems; Residential density |
| JEL: | C31 D12 R41 |
| Date: | 2013–06–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47785&r=ure |
| By: | Rafael Henrique Moraes Pereira; Vanessa Nadalin; Leonardo Monasterio; Pedro Henrique Melo Albuquerque |
| Abstract: | This study introduces a new measure of urban centrality. It identifies distinct urban tructures from different spatial patterns of jobs and resident population. The roposed urban centrality index constitutes an extension of the spatial separation index MIDELFART-KNARVIK et al., 2000). It is suggested that urban structure should e more accurately analyzed by considering a centrality scale (varying from extreme onocentricity to extreme polycentricity) rather than a binary variable (monocentric r polycentric). The proposed index controls for differences in size and shape of the eographic areas for which data is available, and can be calculated using different ariables, such as employment and population densities and trip generation rates. The roperties of the index are illustrated in simulated artificial data sets. Simulation results or hypothesized urban forms are compared to other similar measures proposed by revious literature. The index is then applied to the urban structure of four different etropolitan areas: Pittsburgh and Los Angeles in the United States; São Paulo, Brazil;and Paris, France, The index is compared to other traditional spatial agglomeration easures, such as global and local Moran’s I, and density gradient estimations. |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:1675a&r=ure |
| By: | Rafael González-Val (Universidad de Zaragoza & IEB); Daniel A. Tirado-Fabregat (Universitat de València); Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB) |
| 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 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2013/6/doc2013-13&r=ure |
| By: | Sabine D’Costa; Enrique Garcilazo; Joaquim Oliveira Martins |
| Abstract: | This papers aims to understand the impact of nation-wide structural policies such as product market regulation in six upstream sectors and employment protection legislation and that of macroeconomic factors on the productivity growth of OECD regions. In particular we explore how this effect varies with the productivity gap of regions with their country’s frontier region. We use a policy-augmented growth model that allows us to simultaneously estimate the effects of macroeconomic and structural policies on regional productivity growth controlling for region-specific determinants of growth. We estimate our model with an unbalanced panel dataset consisting of 217 regions from 22 OECD countries covering the period 1995 to 2007. We find a strong statistical negative effect of product market regulation on regional productivity growth in five of the six upstream sectors considered and the effects are differentiated with respect to the productivity gap. Our estimates also reveal that dispersion of policies hurts regional productivity growth suggesting that policy complementarity can boost productivity growth. The effects of employment protection legislation are negative overall and are especially detrimental to productivity growth in lagging regions. The three macroeconomic factors we consider also influence regional performance: inflation has a negative effect on regional growth and government debt has a positive effect on average. When differentiating the effects by the distance to the frontier, trade-openness is more beneficial to lagging regions and the negative effects of inflation are less negative in lagging regions. These results reveal a strong link between nation-wide policies and the productivity of regions, which carries important policy implications, mainly that these effects should be taken into account in the policy design. |
| Keywords: | regional productivity growth, regional impact of structural policies, spatial impact of national policies |
| JEL: | E66 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–06–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:govaab:2013/11-en&r=ure |
| By: | Sanders, Rebecca L; Cooper, Jill F |
| Abstract: | This paper presents findings from a recent study on roadway design preferences among pedestrians, drivers, bicyclists, and public transit users along a major urban corridor in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Sponsored by the California DOT, the research focused on exploring design preferences that could increase perceived traffic safety, walkability, bikability, and economic vitality along urban arterials.  Results from an intercept survey showed that all user groups desire similar roadway design features along the test corridor, which carries 25,000-30,000 motorists bi-directionally and has comprehensive sidewalk coverage, but no bicycle facilities.  In an open-ended question about street improvements to enhance perceived traffic safety, all respondent groups requested the same top five improvements. Bicycle lanes were ranked first by pedestrians, drivers, and bicyclists (fifth by public transit respondents), and improved pedestrian crossings were ranked second by pedestrians, drivers, and public transit users (third by bicyclists). The other top five suggestions were the same for all groups, though ordered slightly differently: slowing traffic/improving driver behavior, increasing street lighting, and increasing traffic signals/stop signs. Similar preference alignment was found regarding street improvements to encourage more visits to the corridor. These findings suggest that design features generally thought to benefit one road user group, such as bicycle lanes for bicyclists, may also benefit other users. Moreover, these results provide evidence that roadway planning can take advantage of synergistic opportunities to benefit multiple user groups by implementing a few key design interventions. Overall, the findings support the continued implementation of complete streets principles and policies. |
| Keywords: | City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning, Environmental Design, Transportation and Highway Engineering, bicycle lanes, complete streets, traffic safety |
| Date: | 2013–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt1zn7w26v&r=ure |
| By: | John Jerrim (University of London); Álvaro Choi (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB) |
| Abstract: | English policymakers have been disappointed with children’s performance on TIMSS and PISA, particularly in comparison to the results of young people from East Asia. In this paper we provide new insight into the England – East Asia gap by considering how cross-national differences in math test scores change between ages 10 and 16. Our results suggest that, although average math test scores are higher in East Asian countries, this gap does not increase between ages 10 and 16. Thus, reforming the secondary school system may not be the most effective way for England to ‘catch up’. Rather earlier intervention, during pre-school and primary school, may be needed instead. |
| Keywords: | PISA, TIMSS, educational policy, primary education, secondary education |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2013/6/doc2013-12&r=ure |
| By: | Michael Fritsch (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Ronney Aamoucke (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena) |
| Abstract: | Based on detailed information about the regional knowledge base, particularly about universities, we find that regional public research and education have a strong positive impact on new business formation in innovative industries but not in industries classified as non-innovative. Measures for the presence and size of public academic institutions have more of an effect on the formation of innovative new businesses than indicators that reflect the quality of these institutions. We find relatively weak evidence for interregional spillovers of these effects. Our results clearly demonstrate the importance of localized knowledge and, especially, of public research for the emergence of innovative new businesses. |
| Keywords: | New business formation, innovative start-ups, universities, regional knowledge |
| JEL: | L26 L60 L80 O18 R12 R30 |
| Date: | 2013–06–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2013-026&r=ure |
| By: | Caliendo, Marco (University of Potsdam); Künn, Steffen (IZA) |
| Abstract: | Recent microeconometric evaluation studies have shown that start-up subsidies for unemployed individuals are an effective policy tool to improve long-term employment and income prospects of participants, in particular compared to other active labor market programs (e.g. training, job search assistance or job creation schemes). What has not been examined yet are the potentially heterogeneous effects of start-up programs across regional labor markets. Labor demand side restrictions in areas with relatively bad labor market conditions generally increase entries into start-up programs as job offers are limited and starting an own business is an opportunity to leave unemployment. However, the survival of firms in deprived areas is also lower, such that the overall effect remains an empirical question. We use a combination of administrative and survey data and observe participants in two distinct start-up programs in Germany for five years after start-up as well as a control group of unemployed who did not enter these programs. We add information on unemployment rates and GDP per capita at the labor agency district level to distinguish regional labor markets. Using propensity score matching methods we find supportive evidence that the founding process and development of businesses as well as program effectiveness is influenced by prevailing economic conditions at start-up. |
| Keywords: | start-up subsidies, evaluation, effect heterogeneity, regional effects, self-employment |
| JEL: | J68 R11 C14 H43 L26 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7460&r=ure |
| By: | Adrien BLANCHET; Pascal MOSSAY; Filippo SANTAMBROGIO |
| Abstract: | We extend Beckmann's spatial model of social interactions to the case of a two-dimensional spatial economy involving a large class of utility functions, accessing costs, and space-dependent amenities. We show that spatial equilibria derive from a potential functional. By proving the existence of a minimiser of the functional, we obtain that of spatial equilibrium. Under mild conditions on the primitives of the economy, the functional is shown to satisfy displacement convexity, a concept used in the theory of optimal transportation. This provides a variational characterisation of spatial equilibria. Moreover, the strict displacement convexity of the functional ensures the uniqueness of spatial equilibrium. Also, the spatial symmetry of equilibrium is derived from that of the spatial primitives of the economy. Several examples illustrate the scope of our results. In particular, the emergence of multiplicity of equilibria in the circular economy is interpreted as a lack of convexity of the problem. |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13055&r=ure |
| By: | E. Marrocu; S. Usai; R. Paci |
| Abstract: | Building on previous literature providing extensive evidence on flows of knowledge generated by inter-firm agreements, in this paper we aim to analyse how the occurrence of such collaborations is driven by the multi-dimensional proximity among participants and by their position within firms’ network. More specifically, we assess how the likelihood that two firms set up a partnership is influenced by their bilateral geographical, technological, organizational, institutional and social proximity and by their position within networks in terms of centrality and closeness. Our analysis is based on agreements in the form of joint ventures or strategic alliances, announced over the period 2005-2012, in which at least one partner is localised in Italy. We consider the full range of economic activities and this allow us to offer a general scenario and to specifically investigate the role of technological relatedness across different sectors. The econometric analysis, based on the logistic framework for rare events, yielded three noteworthy results. First, all the five dimensions of proximity jointly exert a positive and relevant effect in determining the probability of inter-firm knowledge exchanges, signalling that they are complementary rather than substitute channels. Second, the higher impact on probability is due to the technological proximity, followed by the geographical one, while the other proximities (social, institutional and organizational) have a limited effect. Third, we find evidence on the positive role played by networks, through preferential attachment and transitivity effects, in enhancing the probability of inter-firm agreements. |
| Keywords: | networks, joint ventures, proximities, knowledge flows, strategic alliances |
| JEL: | R12 O33 O31 L14 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:201399&r=ure |
| By: | Liliana Bernal Franco (CERAC); Claudia Navas Caputo (CERAC) |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:148&r=ure |
| By: | Cirer-Costa, Joan Carles |
| Abstract: | A really large tourist destination, such as the Balearic Islands cannot be defined as a single geographic space without regional differentiation; it spans several islands within each of which are a multiplicity of coastal areas with very varied geographical morphology and differing degrees of exploitation for tourism. We aim to conduct a statistical analysis of the standard features of such coastal areas to determine the geographic base common to the entire Balearic archipelago as a mass tourist destination. Our analysis is based on the different theoretical concepts of a destination as they appear in tourist literature: A geographically defined area, a group consumption brand name, a location defined by a concrete offer, and so on, and the industrial district concept as initially proposed by Marshall and later developed by authors, such as Krugman and Becattini. We set out to conduct a fundamentally quantitative analysis for which purpose we established a database containing 41 categories of geographical, commercial and business data for each of the 82 Balearic tourist areas. This information is integrated into a statistically homogenous set of values that enables the application of the Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) statistical method. The results obtained show that the islands of Menorca and Formentera constitute minor products in clear contrast with the major destinations of Mallorca and Ibiza. The latter two have developed a model composed of a pattern of large areas that are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Each zone can accommodate almost every kind of tourist wishing to visit the Balearic Islands, regardless of nationality, family status or economic level. A final result indicates that the large local hoteliers have developed a very special trading model: Targeting a specific niche of tourist demand while offering a wide geographical distribution of their establishments. |
| Keywords: | Mass tourism, Balearic Islands, hotels, tourism cluster, industrial district. |
| JEL: | L83 R12 R14 |
| Date: | 2013–06–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47701&r=ure |
| By: | Macneill Stewart; Hugues Jeannerat (Group of Research in Territorial Economy GRET, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | At regional level a number of models, such as innovation systems and cluster have been developed which have been influential on this policy support. Policy initiatives based around these models are firmly rooted in a technological model of innovation and a standard market situation which takes little account of the socio-economic environment and the potential for downstream based innovation. Here we present a case study of the automotive industry in the UK West Midlands region where we consider innovation networks and knowledge developments associated with a shift from the standard market, largely prevalent in the sector, towards a status based market. We observe how, in the status market, composite knowledge networking and interaction with consumers is integral to the innovation process. |
| Keywords: | Territorial knowledge dynamics, production market, status market, territorial innovation models, EURODITE |
| JEL: | D71 D81 G1 G23 Q01 R11 R51 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nct:wpaper:01-13&r=ure |
| By: | ITO Tadashi; IWAHASHI Roki |
| Abstract: | Departing from the conventional theoretical approach, which explains tourism demand by various kinds of determinants, this paper proposes a model in which the dynamics of the number of tourists is explained by probabilistic behaviors. More specifically, the model assumes two different probabilities—one for first-time travelers and the other for frequent travelers. Based on this theoretical framework, the paper empirically examines the dynamics of the number of tourists to Okinawa, Japan. We find that income and transport costs explain the probability of first-time visitors, but that they do not explain for that of repeat visitors. Instead, the congestion index, which reflects the busy lifestyle in large cities, does so. This suggests that tourism policy should differ depending on how well-established the location is as a tourist destination. Given that Okinawa is acknowledged as the foremost resort destination among the Japanese, the priority for the resources allocation of tourism promotion should be on the preservation of the natural environment and the original culture, thereby offering unusual experiences to the visitors. |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13058&r=ure |
| By: | Piper, Alan T. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates in three steps whether there is an association between happiness and living in one of Europe’s capital cities. Making use of the European Social Survey, the first step is a raw unadjusted correlation assessment which finds a negative and statistically significant effect on happiness of living in one of Europe’s capitals. The second step is the addition of socio-economic controls which (overall) increases the happiness penalty associated with living in a European capital city. This picture, like that of the initial finding, is different in different capitals; however no capital is associated with higher levels of happiness than elsewhere in that country. The third step adds environmental factors and perceptions (safety of local area, worries about crime, for example) to control for potential confounding factors. Tentative evidence is also presented that this is not just a big city effect. Overall, there is a happiness penalty associated with living in Europe’s capitals though this result is dominated by a few particularly unhappy capitals. |
| Keywords: | Happiness, Life Satisfaction, Geography, European Social Survey |
| JEL: | I31 R19 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47793&r=ure |
| By: | Klaus DESMET; Esteban ROSSI-HANSBERG |
| Abstract: | We propose a dynamic spatial theory to analyze the geographic impact of climate change. Agricultural and manufacturing firms locate on a hemisphere. Trade across locations is costly; firms innovate; and technology diffuses over space. Energy used in production leads to emissions that contribute to the global stock of carbon in the atmosphere, which affects temperature.<br />The rise in temperature differs across latitudes, and its effect on productivity also varies across sectors. We calibrate the model to analyze how climate change affects the spatial distribution of economic activity, trade, migration, growth, and welfare. We assess quantitatively the impact of migration and trade restrictions, energy taxes, and innovation subsidies. |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13057&r=ure |
| By: | Nunes, Sérgio; Lopes, Raul |
| Abstract: | The economic and financial crisis has brought firms, territories and countries before a set of restrictions to a greater or lesser extent, function as the conditioners of economic activity for several agents, also affecting their activities associated with the development of its innovation process. Innovation is a highly complex process, very contingent and onerously demanding. With innovation as a key source of high economic performance, it is important to understand to what extent the current economic crisis is to constrain the innovation of firms and thus, the process of wealth creation. The main objective of this paper is to show that the economic crisis has a different effect on firms, depending on the type of innovation strategies adopted. For this, we identify some relevant relations between the economic crisis and the critical factors of the innovation process, namely knowledge networks and context costs, special dimensions that we associate with the efficiency of institutional and relational capital. These objectives will be achieved using several statistical and econometric techniques, with information found in a database obtained through a business survey. Our main results show some interesting findings: first we find evidence that the most dynamic firms recognize less impact of the economic crisis. Second, we find empirical evidence that the knowledge networks can be taken as a resilient mechanism of firms to manage the negative impacts of the crisis. Finally, firms that recognize more importance to the reduction of context cost seems more resilient to economic crisis. We finish with some recommendations for regional policy. |
| Keywords: | knowledge networks, innovation process, economic crisis, context costs, territorial resilience, regional policy |
| JEL: | L25 O31 O33 O43 O52 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47715&r=ure |
| By: | Burger, Rulof (Stellenbosch University); van der Berg, Servaas (Stellenbosch University); Von Fintel, Dieter (Stellenbosch University) |
| Abstract: | In the late 1990s the South African Department of Education implemented two policies that were meant to reduce the large number of over-age learners in the school system: schools were no longer allowed to accept students who were more than two years older than the correct grade-age and students could not be held back more than once in each of four schooling phases. Our analysis uses school administrative data and household survey data to show that these policies coincided with a decrease in school enrolment of at least 400,000 and possibly more than 900,000 learners. These policies appear to have pushed many students into the labour market at earlier ages than was observed for previous generations, which explains much of the sudden increase in labour force participation and unemployment during this period. However, since these individuals would probably have entered the labour market sooner if not for their poor employment prospects, we argue that the resulting increase in unemployment signifies a more accurate reflection of disguised unemployment that already existed in the mid-1990s rather than a deterioration of labour market conditions. |
| Keywords: | South Africa, education, unemployment, participation |
| JEL: | J21 I25 J64 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7450&r=ure |
| By: | Indon, Reginald M; Yu, Sandra O |
| Keywords: | local economic development, informal economy, Philippines, développement économique local, économie informelle, Philippines, desarrollo económico local, economía informal, Filipinas |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:478727&r=ure |
| By: | Simone Gobien; Björn Vollan |
| Abstract: | Mutual aid among villagers in developing countries is often the only means of insuring against economic shocks. We use “lab-in-the-field experiments” in Cambodian villages to study social cohesion in established and newly resettled communities. Both communities are part of a land distribution project. The project participants all signed up voluntarily, and their socio-demographic attributes and pre-existing network ties are similar. We use a version of the “solidarity game” to identify the effect of voluntary resettlement on willingness to help fellow villagers after an income shock. We find a sizeable reduction in willingness to help others. Resettled players transfer on average between 47% and 74% less money than non-resettled players. The effect remains large and significant after controlling for personal network and when controlling for differences in transfer expectations. The costs of voluntary resettlement, not only monetary but also social, seem significantly higher than is commonly assumed by development planners. |
| Keywords: | Voluntary resettlement, Social cohesion, Risk-sharing networks, Monetary transfers, “Lab-in-the-field” experiment, Cambodia |
| JEL: | C93 O15 O22 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2013-16&r=ure |
| By: | Yutao Han (CREA, Université de Luxembourg); Patrice Pieretti (CREA, Université de Luxembourg); Benteng Zou (CREA, Université de Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | We revisit the investment home-bias situation of firms and extend the home attachment setting of Mansoorian and Myers (1993) and Ogura (2006) into a dynamic framework. We locate firms based on their home attachment preferences, which is also changing over time based on some updated spillover information. Some applications, in static and dynamic tax competition, are presented following our home-attachment principle. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic tax competition, Home attachment, Foreign direct investment-disinvestment |
| JEL: | C61 F21 H21 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:luc:wpaper:13-15&r=ure |
| By: | Dhillon, Amrita (Department of Economics, University of Warwik); Iversen, Vegard (Department of Economics, University of Manchester); Torsvik, Gaute (Department of Economics, University of Bergen) |
| Abstract: | We study an important mechanism underlying employee referrals into informal low skilled jobs in developing countries. Employers can exploit social preferences between employee referees and potential workers to improve discipline. The profitability of using referrals increases with referee stakes in the firm, and, in most cases, with the strength of the social tie between the referee and the new recruit. We provide an empirical counterpart to these results using primary data covering low- and unskilled migrants in India. Consistent with the theoretical predictions, we find a high prevalence of workplace referral and strong kinship ties between referees and new recruits. Finally, workplace intermediaries are different from and typically in more ‘prestigious’ jobs than those recruited. |
| Keywords: | networks; low- and unskilled jobs; India; moral hazard; employee referrals; efficiency wages; referee incentives; strength of ties |
| JEL: | D82 D86 J31 J41 O12 O17 |
| Date: | 2013–06–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bergec:2013_004&r=ure |