|
on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Georgy Zadonsky (Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy) |
| Abstract: | This paper deals with a wide range of issues related to housing mortgage lending in Russia. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, mortgage |
| JEL: | G21 K11 L74 L85 R14 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gai:ppaper:204&r=ure |
| By: | Christian Stohr; |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relation between agglomeration and economic growth in Switzerland from 1860 to 2008. I use a new detailed data set on regional employment, value added and labor productivity for two geographical levels with 97 and 16 regions respectively. I provide a description of spatial concentration and inequality in labor productivity over the entire time period and find that the Swiss economy was very dispersed around 1860 but spatial concentration of economic activity increased rapidly until 1930. Thereafter, a series of institutional settings limited spatial concentration. Regional inequality in terms of labor productivity followed a bell-¬â€shape evolution between 1860 and 1990 followed by a new upswing in regional inequality after 1990. I pursue by estimating the impact of agglomeration on labor productivity and employment growth and find that agglomeration economies contributed significantly to regional economic growth between 1888 and 1930. Thereafter, the Great Depression and regional redistribution policies have limited the effect of agglomeration economies. I argue that rapid urbanization has significantly contributed to Switzerland’s fast growth between 1860 and 1930, while anti-¬â€urban policies have contributed to the Swiss growth slack after 1970. |
| Keywords: | Switzerland, agglomeration economies, growth poles, historical economic geography |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gen:geneem:14092&r=ure |
| By: | Fairlie, Robert |
| Abstract: | Several recent studies provide evidence that the choice between private and public school among white students is influenced by the racial composition of the local student population. None of these studies, however, examines whether Latinos are also fleeing to private schools in response to black schoolchildren. I explore the "Latino flight" hypothesis using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) and a recently released confidential dataset from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). In probit regressions for the probability of attending private school among Latinos, I find a large, positive and statistically significant coefficient on the black share of the school-age population. The coefficient estimates imply that a 10 percentage point increase in the black share increases the probability of private school attendance by 25.7 to 33.2 percent among Latino 8th graders and 35.2 to 52.2 percent among Latino 10th graders. I interpret these results as providing evidence of "Latino flight" from public schools into private schools. I do not find evidence that Latinos respond differently to black schoolchildren than do whites. |
| Keywords: | Education, Social and Behavioral Sciences, education, private school, latino, minority, flight |
| Date: | 2014–09–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt2t30n9gq&r=ure |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This working paper assesses opportunities and policies for green growth in the Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area. It first examines the Chicago metro-region's economic and environmental performance and potential constraints to regional growth, and identifies emerging regional specialisations in green products and services. This is followed by a review of sector-specific policies that can contribute to green jobs, green firms and urban attractiveness, with particular attention to energy-efficient buildings, the wind energy industry, public transportation, and the water and waste sectors. Finally, the working paper considers the role of workforce, innovation and governance policies, focusing on skill shortages and skill mismatches in the regional labour market, ways to make the most of the region's innovation assets, and opportunities for regional institutional co-ordination. |
| Keywords: | sustainable development, innovation, transport, renewable energy, climate change, energy efficiency, green technologies, green growth, green economy, urban sustainability, cities, multi-level governance, metro-region, Chicago, Indiana, Illinois, green cities, Milwaukee, urban development, regional clusters, attractiveness, Wisconsin |
| JEL: | O18 O44 Q01 Q55 Q58 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–05–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:govaab:2013/6-en&r=ure |
| By: | Ron Boschma |
| Abstract: | Klepper’s theory of industry clustering based on organizational reproduction and inheritance through spinoffs challenged the Marshallian view on industry clustering. The paper provides an assessment of Klepper’s theoretical and empirical work on industry clustering. We explore how ‘new’ his spinoff theory on industry clustering was, and we investigate the impact of Klepper’s theory on the economic geography community. Klepper’s work has inspired especially very recent literature on regional branching that argues that new industries grow out of and recombine capabilities from local related industries. Finally, the paper discusses what questions on industry location are still left open or in need of more evidence in the context of Klepper’s theory. |
| Keywords: | Klepper, spinoff dynamics, agglomeration economies, Marshall, industry clustering, evolutionary economic geography |
| JEL: | B15 B52 O18 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1418&r=ure |
| By: | Ana Maria Bonomi Barufi |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to discuss how agglomerations economies are present in the equilibrium outcomes of the Brazilian formal labor market. There has been a wide discussion on how to correctly identify agglomeration economies given all the different types of endogeneity found in the labor market relationships, as well as taking into account all the relevant aspects that may affect the results. We make use of an individual-firm panel database from the Ministry of Labor (RAIS - Annual Report on Social Information) with information for six years (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012). With the panel data setting, it is not only possible to account for individual unobserved characteristics constant in time, but also for sector and area effects. Moreover, by identifying skills according to the occupational position of the individuals in each firm, it is possible to control for the proximity to different skill levels (in the sector and municipality) to account for different levels of production knowledge externalities. Individual fixed effects control the potential endogeneity of the labor quality. In the case of labor quantity endogeneity, even if there is no consensus of how to best control for it, instruments based on long time lags are considered. The results show that there is a positive and significant effect of density over wages (Urban Economics literature), even when controlling for other relevant characteristics. Moreover, a measure of market potential, related to the New Economic Geography literature, does not capture this positive relationship with wages in the same way, changing sign in a specific setting. Finally, considering a quantile regression approach, there is an indication that agglomeration economies reinforce wage inequality, with a higher effect for the upper part of the wage distribution. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration economies; regional labor markets; wage equation |
| JEL: | R23 E24 R30 |
| Date: | 2014–10–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2014wpecon18&r=ure |
| By: | Oscar Jorda (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and University of California, Davis); Moritz Schularick (University of Bonn and Centre for Economic Policy Research and Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research); Alan M. Taylor (University of California, Davis and National Bureau of Economic Research and Centre for Economic Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper unveils a new resource for macroeconomic research: a long-run dataset covering disaggregated bank credit for 17 advanced economies since 1870. The new data show that the share of mortgages on banks' balance sheets doubled in the course of the 20th century, driven by a sharp rise of mortgage lending to households. Household debt to asset ratios have risen substantially in many countries. Financial stability risks have been increasingly linked to real estate lending booms which are typically followed by deeper recessions and slower recoveries. Housing finance has come to play a central role in the modern macroeconomy. |
| Keywords: | Leverage, Recessions, Mortgage Lending, Financial Crises, Business Cycles, Local Projections |
| JEL: | C14 C38 C52 E32 E37 E44 E51 G01 G21 N10 N20 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hkm:wpaper:252014&r=ure |
| By: | Claus Michelsen; Sebastian Rosenschon; Christian Schulz |
| Abstract: | The energy efficiency of the residential housing stock plays a key role in strategies to mitigate climate change and global warming. In this context, it is frequently argued that private investment and the quality of thermal upgrades is too low in the light of the challenges faced and the potential energy cost savings. While many authors address the potential barriers for investors to increase energy efficiency, studies on the capabilities different investors have to reduce energy requirements of their property are scarce. This study investigates potential advantages of housing company's size, i.e. economies of scale, economies of scope and institutional learning in thermal upgrades of residential housing. Based on unique data on energy consumption in 102,307 apartment houses in Germany, we present new evidence for advantages and disadvantages of housing company's size in "green" retrofitting projects. Our estimations show, that large housing companies outperform private landlords by far in high effort refurbishment projects. In contrast, private landlords appear to have advantages in low effort, incremental refurbishment activities. The results offer new options for policy makers to refine the support schemes towards a low carbon housing stock. |
| Keywords: | "green" real estate, energy efficiency, refurbishment, economies of scale, economies of scope |
| JEL: | R31 R32 Q48 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1410&r=ure |
| By: | Yannis Ioannides; Junfu Zhang |
| Abstract: | For thousands of years, the Chinese and many other nations around the workd built defensive walls around their cities. This phenomenon is not well understood from an economic perspective. To rationalize the existence of city walls, we propose a simple model that relates the deimesions of city walls to a set of economic variables. Guided by this model, we conduct an empirical alyalysis using hand-collected and previously unused data on city walls in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. Consistent with the model, we find that the circumference of a city wall is positively correlated with population size in the jurisdiction and that frontier cities subject to a higher probability of attack tended to have stronger city walls. Since a city wall imposes a physical boundary around a city, the land area inside the city wall provides a natural proxy of city size. We examine the physical size distribution of walled cities in late imperial Chian. We find that city sizes above a certain cutoff follow Zipf's law, although the Zipf coefficient is sensitive to the choice of the cutoff point. This result complements findigs in the existing literature that focuses almost exclusively on the population size distribution of cities. |
| Keywords: | City walls, Pareto distribution, Zipf's law, power law, China |
| JEL: | R12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tuf:tuftec:0785&r=ure |
| By: | Tiziano Arduini (Università di Roma la Sapienza); Eleonora Patacchini (Cornell University); Edoardo Rainone (Banca d'Italia) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the identification and estimation of treatment response with heterogeneous spillovers in a network model. We generalize the standard linear-in-means model to allow for multiple groups with between and within-group interactions. We provide a set of identification conditions of peer effects and consider a 2SLS estimation approach. Large sample properties of the proposed estimators are derived. Simulation experiments show that the estimators perform well in finite samples. The model is used to study the effectiveness of policies where peer effects are seen as a mechanism through which the treatments could propagate through the network. When interactions among groups are at work, a shock on a treated group has effects on the non-treated. Our framework allows for quantifying how much of the indirect treatment effect is due to variations in the characteristics of treated peers (treatment contextual effects) and how much is because of variations in peer outcomes (peer effects). |
| Keywords: | Networks, Heterogeneous Peer Effects, Spatial Autoregressive Model, Two-Stage Least Squares, Efficiency, Policy Evaluation, Treatment Response, Indirect Treatment Effect. |
| JEL: | C13 C21 D62 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_974_14&r=ure |
| By: | Juan Mauricio Ramirez (Fedesarrollo, Colombia); Yadira Diaz (ISER, University of Essex); Juan Guillermo Bedoya (Fedesarrollo, Colombia) |
| Abstract: | Colombia’s decentralization was conceived to improve population’s access to social services, reduce poverty and equalize well-being across the territory. However, after more than 20 years of its implementation a big gap across municipalities still remains. This paper analyses the impact of the Colombia’s fiscal decentralization process over the achievement of social minimums as depicted by the average multidimensional gap and the multidimensional deprivation headcount. We implement an instrumental variable spatial autoregressive model with spatial autoregressive disturbances to take into consideration the spatial interrelated behaviour of deprivation in the Colombian context. This, while accounting for the endogeneity that arises when evaluating the impact of fiscal decentralization. We find strong statistically significant results across all the proven specifications that confirm causal diminishing effect of the share of own resources over multidimensional deprivation. Counterfactual scenarios of spatially differentiated decentralization policies highlight their grater effectiveness over geographically mute designs. |
| Keywords: | Decentralization, multidimensional poverty, social equity, economic geography, spatial interdependence, Colombia. |
| JEL: | H71 I31 I38 O23 R58 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2014-337&r=ure |
| By: | Ghani, Ejaz; Goswami, Arti Grover; Kerr, William R. |
| Abstract: | India's manufacturing sector has undergone many spatial adjustments since 1989, including, for example, the organized sector's migration to rural locations, the powerful rise of informal manufacturing within cities, and the development of intermediate cities for manufacturing. This paper investigates the impact of these spatial adjustments for electricity usage in India’s manufacturing sector. Striking spatial differences in energy usage exist, and whether spatial adjustments exacerbate or alleviate energy consumption strains is important for issues ranging from reducing India's power blackouts to stemming rising pollution levels. Using detailed surveys for the organized and unorganized sectors, the analysis finds that electricity usage per unit of output in urban plants declined steadily during 1989-2010. In the rural areas, by contrast, electricity consumption per unit of output for organized sector plants peaked in 2000 and thereafter declined. Decomposing the observed trends in aggregate electricity usage from 2000 onwards, the paper finds that most reductions in electricity usage per unit of output came from reductions in existing sites of activity (defined through state-industry-urban/rural cells). The second biggest factor leading to reduced usage was lower usage in fast-growing sectors. By contrast, spatial movements of manufacturing activity across India did not significantly change usage levels and may have even increased them. This appears to have been in part because of the split nature of the mobility, with organized and unorganized sectors migrating in opposite directions. |
| Keywords: | Energy Production and Transportation,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Environment and Energy Efficiency,Energy and Environment,Energy Demand |
| Date: | 2014–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7055&r=ure |
| By: | Brahim Boualam |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the influence of urban density on the quality of the match between workers' field of education and their first occupation. Using survey data on young individuals that entered the French labor market in 2004, I propose an original measure of skill matching and find that the quality of the match increases with urban density. I also show that a better skill match is associated with higher wages and that this matching premium comes in addition to the urban wage premium. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, skills, labor matching, urban wage premium. |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gen:geneem:14094&r=ure |
| By: | Jesús Peiró-Palomino (Department of Economics, University Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Emili Tortosa-Ausina (IVIE, Valencia and Department of Economics, Universidad Jaume I, Castellón, Spain) |
| Abstract: | Recent literature has shown how relevant social capital may be as an important determinant of economic growth. However, the empirical evidence in contexts such as Europe, particularly at the regional level, is still scant, and its likely implications for income convergence are entirely unexplored. We analyze how social capital has influenced per capita income convergence for 216 European Union (EU) regions, a relevant context not only in light of the cohesion policies but also due to the remarkable disparate social capital endowments at the regional level. By using the distribution dynamics approach to convergence analysis, results generally support the relevant conditioning role of social capital for per capita income convergence, although the impact varies depending on the dimension considered—social trust, participation in associations, or the quality of social norms. |
| Keywords: | distribution dynamics,European regions,income convergence, social capital |
| JEL: | C14 D31 O47 R11 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2014/16&r=ure |
| By: | Steven N. Durlauf (University of Wisconsin at Madison); Salvador Navarro (University of Western Ontario); David A. Rivers (University of Western Ontario) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we explore the role of model uncertainty in explaining the different findings in the literature regarding the effect of shall-issue right-to-carry concealed weapons laws on crime. In particular, we systematically examine how different modeling assumptions affect the results. We find little support for some widely used assumptions in the literature (e.g., population weights), but find that allowing for the effect of the law to be heterogeneous across both counties and over time is important for explaining the observed patterns of crime. In terms of model uncertainty, we find that there is substantial variation in the estimated effects for each model across all dimensions of the model space. This suggests that one should be cautious in using the results from any particular model to inform policy decisions. |
| Keywords: | None. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:20144&r=ure |
| By: | Fuerst, Franz; Shimizu, Chihiro |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to extend the existing evidence on the investment value of green buildings to international markets, specifically the residential market in Japan. Using a unique transaction database of condominiums in the Tokyo metropolitan area and a hedonic analytical framework, we find that green buildings command a small but significant premium on both the asking and transaction prices. This finding is consistent with results from other countries. As far as we are aware, this is also the first study of green buildings’ economic value based on a hedonic model incorporating buyer characteristics. However, further analysis reveals that this premium is primarily driven by wealthy households that exhibit a higher willingness-to-pay for eco-labelled condominiums, both as a total amount and as a fraction of the total sales price. We therefore conclude that eco-labels are perceived as a luxury good in the Japanese housing market rather than a way to save money on lower utility bills. |
| Keywords: | Green building, green label, hedonic approach, offer price, bid price, market price function, omitted variable bias |
| JEL: | M14 D92 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:remfce:7&r=ure |
| By: | Anne Marie Brady; Amanda Fitzgerald; Ruth Lupton |
| Abstract: | In the context of what was described as the worst financial settlement in living memory for local government, we set out in this study to establish how residents living in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods of London have been affected by the local authority spending cuts since 2010. These are neighbourhoods where, because of concentrated disadvantage, residents would be particularly vulnerable to service reductions and not well-positioned to cope with the wider pressures of recession and austerity. This is the first study to map the local impacts of the cuts in detail. |
| Keywords: | London, cuts, austerity, trust, borough, neighbourhood, brent, camden, redbridge, local government, local, authority |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:spccwp:09&r=ure |
| By: | Craig, Ben R. (Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland); Koetter, Michael (Frankfort School of Financial Management); Kruger, Ulrich (Deutsche Bundesbank) |
| Abstract: | We provide empirical evidence on the relevance of systemic risk through the interbank lending channel. We adapt a spatial probit model that allows for correlated error terms in the cross-sectional variation that depend on the measured network connections of the banks. The latter are in our application observed interbank exposures among German bank holding companies during 2001 and 2006. The results clearly indicate significant spillover effects between banks’ probabilities of distress and the financial profiles of connected peers. Better capitalized and managed connections reduce the banks own risk. Higher network centrality reduces the probability of distress, supporting the notion that more complete networks tend to be more stable. Finally, spatial autocorrelation is significant and negative. This last result may indicate too-many-to-fail mechanics such that bank distress is less likely if many peers already experienced distress. |
| Keywords: | Spatial Autoregression; interbank connections; bank risk |
| JEL: | E31 G21 |
| Date: | 2014–10–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwp:1418&r=ure |
| By: | Hallissey, Niamh (Central Bank of Ireland); Kelly, Robert (Central Bank of Ireland); O'Malley, Terry (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | The high level of mortgage arrears in the Irish financial system and the associated overhang on economic growth underlines the importance of prudent lending standards throughout the property cycle. Macro-prudential tools such as loan-to-value (LTV) ratio caps and loan-to-income (LTI) ratio caps improve the resilience of the banking system by reducing the credit risk on new lending. Loan-level data are used to analyse the relationship between originating levels of these ratios and mortgage defaults. We find that there is a positive relationship between originating LTV and LTI ratios and subsequent defaults, with the strength of the relationship dependent on the point of the property cycle at which a loan is originated. Default rates on loans issued near the peak of the cycle to first-time buyers are particularly sensitive to LTV at origination while those issued to non first-time buyers are sensitive to both LTV and LTI at origination. In addition, there is a sharp increase in the losses on defaulted loans for loans issued above 85 per cent LTV. Although lending at higher LTI ratios has decreased signficantly, 50 per cent of new lending to owner occupiers was at LTV levels above 80 per cent in 2013. |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:ecolet:10/el/14&r=ure |
| By: | Valter di Giacinto (Bank of Italy); Giacinto Micucci (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an empirical evaluation of the main determinants of hotel prices in the Italian tourism industry. We pool information from two datasets: i) a database on hotel prices and attributes based on the Touring Club Italia Guide and providing information on about 1,100 hotels located in almost 300 towns in the entire Italian coastal region; and ii) a set of neighbourhood characteristics indicators that assess local environmental quality and artistic and cultural attractiveness. On the basis of the results of a hedonic analysis of hotel price differentials, we show that tourists place a high value on both marine environmental quality and local access to artistic and cultural amenities. The contribution to consumer utility is sizeable in both cases, but that of artistic and cultural amenities appears to be more stable across seasons. On the whole, our results suggest that the widespread availability of an extraordinarily rich artistic and cultural endowment, as is the case of Italy, may strongly complement environmental attributes in supporting the non-price competitiveness of the coastal tourism industry. |
| Keywords: | tourism; environment; artistic and cultural attractiveness |
| JEL: | L83 Q53 R11 Z11 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_975_14&r=ure |
| By: | Guillaume Burghouwt |
| Abstract: | Many major airports are hubs for network carriers at the same time as serving a large local market. The complementarity between these functions is often seen as a prerequisite for viable hub operations, suggesting that spreading the hub network over multiple airports can be very costly and damages the corner stone of the hub operation: the creation of scope and density economies. |
| Date: | 2013–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:itfaab:2013/5-en&r=ure |
| By: | Philippe Van Kerm (CEPS/INSTEAD, Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | This presentation describes a Stata implementation of a space-filling location selection algorithm. The objective is to select a subset from a discrete list of locations so that the spatial coverage of the locations by the selected subset is optimized according to a geometric criterion. Such an algorithm designed for geographical site selection is useful more generally to determine a grid of points that "covers" a data matrix as needed in various nonparametric estimation procedures. Various examples illustrate usage of the user-written command spacefill. |
| Date: | 2014–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:usug14:17&r=ure |
| By: | Roberto Basile; Valerio Filoso |
| Abstract: | Do differently oriented political parties implement radically divergent policies which impact the citizens’s welfare? The overheated political debate notwithstanding, it is far from clear if this is really the case. Whereas current literature on this issue narrows the focus on specific policy outcomes and instruments, we use the real estate market to evaluate the impact of the whole spectrum of municipal policies. Using a novel dataset on Italian municipal elections for the years 2003–2011 and the corresponding changes in real estate market prices, we employ a regression discontinuity approach to detect the causal effect of a change in municipal majorities. We find robust evidence of no difference between the effects of the policies enacted by left-wing and right-wing parties after three, four, and five years since the election. |
| Keywords: | Political partisanship, Municipal politics, Real estate prices, Capitalization, Regression discontinuity. |
| JEL: | H11 H7 |
| Date: | 2014–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pie:dsedps:2014/188&r=ure |
| By: | Ron Jarmin; C.J. Krizan; Adela Luque |
| Abstract: | Minority owned businesses are an increasing important component of the U.S. economy, growing at twice the rate of all U.S. businesses between 2002 and 2007. However, a growing literature indicates that minority-owned businesses may have been especially impacted by the Great Recession. As house prices declined, foreclosures fell disproportionately on urban minority neighborhoods and one of the sources of credit for business owners was severely constrained. Using 2002-2011 data from the Longitudinal Business Database linked to the 2002 Survey of Business Owners, this paper adds to the literature by examining the employment growth and survival of minority and women employer businesses during the last decade, including the Great Recession. At first glance, our preliminary findings suggest that black and women-owned businesses underperform white, male-owned businesses, that Asian-owned businesses outperform other groups, and that Hispanic-owned businesses outperform non-Hispanic ones in regards to employment growth. However, when we look only at continuing firms, black-owned businesses outperform white-owned businesses in terms of employment growth. At the same time, we also find that the recession appears to have impacted black-owned and Hispanic-owned businesses more severely than their counterparts, in terms of employment growth as well as survival. This is also the case for continuing black and Hispanic-owned firms. |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:14-36&r=ure |
| By: | Otello Ardovino; Luca Pennacchio |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the drivers of inter-firm R&D collaborations in a particular type of innovation network, the technological districts created in Italy under a specific public policy to promote innovation. The empirical analysis used an original database containing information on research projects activated by the districts and on the characteristics of participating firms. The main results show that districts with governance oriented towards market logic and districts that include several universities foster a stronger cooperation among firms than other districts. In addition, network effects such as structural embeddedness and interlocking directorate greatly influence the propensity to cooperate. Lastly, knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity of firms also play an important role in shaping collaboration strategies. Some considerations about the effectiveness of public policy also emerge from the analysis. In particular technological districts foster research collaborations among small firms and between small and large firms. The latter type of cooperation could be very important to enhance the innovation capabilities of small firms and their performance. |
| Keywords: | R&D cooperation, innovation networks, firm behaviour, dyadic regession. |
| JEL: | L14 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2014–10–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eei:rpaper:eeri_rp_2014_09&r=ure |
| By: | Filipe R. Campante (Harvard University); Quoc-Anh Do (Département d'économie); Bernardo Guimaraes (Sao Paulo School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the links between capital cities, conict, and the quality of governance, starting from the assumption that incumbent elites are constrained by the threat of insurrection, and that this threat is rendered less e_ective by distance from the seat of political power. We develop a model that delivers two key predictions: (i) conict is more likely to emerge (and to dislodge incumbents) closer to the capital, and (ii) isolated capital cities are associated with misgovernance. We show evidence that both patterns hold true robustly in the data, as do other ancillary predictions from the model. |
| Keywords: | Capital Cities; Governance; Institutions; Conflict; Civil War; Revolutions; Insurgencies; Population Concentration; Democracy; Power Sharing; Inefficient Institutions |
| JEL: | D02 D74 O18 R12 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/3gffacsuvp8q9p62340u1dgcib&r=ure |
| By: | Aurélie BONEIN (CREM UMR CNRS 6211, University of Rennes 1, France) |
| Abstract: | Whether and how the observability of a coworker’s effort influences an employer’s wage decisions and workers’ effort decisions is a central issue for labor organizations. We conduct an experiment using a three-person gift-exchange game to investigate this matter in the context of wage transparency and heterogeneous abilities. We find that showing a coworker’s effort increases both wages and the difference in wages between two heterogeneously skilled workers when the more able worker is observed. The knowledge of a coworker’s effort increases the level of reciprocity exhibited by observed workers (peer effects), whereas it reduces that exhibited by workers who are observers. Overall, displaying coworker’s effort has a beneficial effect on reciprocity. Regardless of their ability, workers exert levels of effort that are positively related to those of their coworkers. This strategic complementarity of efforts is partially explained by inequity aversion. |
| Keywords: | Heterogeneous ability, Gift-exchange game, Social comparison, Peer effect, Reciprocity |
| JEL: | C91 D03 J24 J31 J82 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201411&r=ure |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); (Central and West Asia Department, ADB); ; |
| Abstract: | The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is preparing sector assessments and road maps to help align future ADB support with the needs and strategies of eveloping member countries and other development partners. The transport sector assessment of Georgia is a working document that helps inform the development of untry partnership strategy. It highlights the development issues, needs and strategic assistance priorities of the transport sector in Georgia. The knowledge product serves as a basis for further dialogue on how ADB and the government can work together to tackle the challenges of managing transport sector development in Georgia in the coming years. |
| Keywords: | Asian Development Bank; ADB; transport; roads; railways; Georgia; Georgia Transport Sector Assessment; Strategy; Road Map; Sustainable transport; Caucasus; Regional; MRDI; Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure; MESD; CAREC; Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation; East-West Highway; Tbilisi; Batumi; Poti; Transport sector governance |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt136127-3&r=ure |
| By: | Bettina Blasini (Engineering Department - University of Cambridge); Rani Jeanne Dang (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - CNRS : UMR7321 - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS), IIE - Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Université de Gothenburg, Suède - Université de Gothenburg, Suède); Tim Minshall (Engineering Department - University of Cambridge); Letizia Mortara (Engineering Department - University of Cambridge) |
| Abstract: | Innovation clusters continue to be an important focus of economic development policies in many nations. Leading innovation clusters demonstrate that regional concentration strengthens the innovative capability and can lead to successful competitiveness on a global level, as demonstrated by regions such as Silicon Valley (US), Cambridge (UK) and Sophia Antipolis (France). However the successful creation of clusters still presents a challenge to policy makers as efforts to do so regularly fail. The development of innovation clusters has therefore received much academic and policymaker attention. While past research has examined a variety of factors as drivers for clustering effects, the role of communication within the cluster - and, specifically, the role of key individual communicators - in underpinning successful cluster development has received almost no academic attention. In this chapter, we will draw upon the relevant literature to develop a conceptual framework that will underpin research on this important topic by investigating the role of communicators in innovation clusters. Building on communication theories, the framework suggests that there are four influence-levels that shape and impact the role of communications in innovation clusters: the Individual Level, the Organizational Level, the Cluster Level and the Context. The interdisciplinary view on clustering effects contributes valuable insight to both communication studies and cluster theories. The framework developed within this chapter provides a structure to aid future research on the role of communicators within innovation clusters. |
| Keywords: | Innovation clusters, communications framework, journalist; communicators |
| Date: | 2013–12–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00929782&r=ure |
| By: | Janet Currie; David Figlio; Joshua Goodman; Claudia Persico |
| Abstract: | Billions of dollars are spent each year on early diagnosis and intervention programs for autism. However, there is little reliable evidence about the effectiveness of these programs. Few studies that evaluate early interventions for autism use random assignment or quasi-experimental designs, and studies of the effects of early intervention programs have relied on small, selected samples that lacked power to detect even moderate associations. A recent meta-analysis by Spreckley and Boyd (2009) on the efficacy of applied behavior intervention in preschool children with autism found that compared with standard care, applied behavior interventions did not significantly improve the cognitive outcomes of the children in these programs. Using population-level data of all children with autism spectrum disorders who were born in the state of Florida between 1994-2002, we evaluate the effects of a free, statewide early diagnosis and intervention program for autism called Early Steps. Families can receive autism diagnoses from one of 18 Early Steps centers located around the state; we make use of distance to the nearest Early Steps center as an instrument for receipt of autism services prior to a child’s fourth birthday. The first stage is very strong: Children living in the same community as an Early Steps center at the time of birth are nearly twice as likely to receive early services as those In communities more than 30 miles away from a center. We use instrumental variables methods to determine whether early diagnosis and intervention impacts (1) short term outcomes, such as kindergarten readiness scores and attending kindergarten on time, (2) grade repetition, (3) significant behavioral problems, and (4) longer term cognitive outcomes, including elementary school test scores. Preliminary results show strong, significant effects of early intervention for autism by age four on attending kindergarten on time, and on third and fourth grade FCAT (Florida’s Comprehensive Assessment Test)�scores. In addition, children who have had early intervention for autism by age four via Early Steps are significantly less likely to have a behavioral incident at school or to be suspended, and have fewer days of suspension than children with later diagnoses of autism. This study is the first population-level study of the effects of early intervention on autism. In addition, this is the first evaluation of a statewide free early diagnosis and intervention program for autism.� Finally, this is the first study to examine the effects of early intervention for autism on school-based cognitive and behavioral outcomes. Thus, this study will hopefully lend insight into how policies that provide free treatment for autistic individuals can lead to a variety of positive developmental outcomes for these children. |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:171881&r=ure |
| By: | Justin van de Ven (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research); Sarah Voitchovsky (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research); Hielke Buddelmeyer (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research) |
| Abstract: | Although many countries are now using skilled migration to offset declining fertility and increased longevity, there is thin empirical evidence concerning the effects of alternative approaches to managing the skilled migrant intake. This study focusses on the effects on migrant labour market outcomes of Australia’s recent shift from a points-based “supply driven” model that favoured independent General Skilled Migrants, to a “hybrid model” that balances supply driven migration against Employer Sponsored “demand driven” migration. We find that the shift to a hybrid model of skilled migration resulted in substantively improved rates of employment amongst skilled migrants without an accompanying deterioration in the average distribution of occupational outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Skilled migration, Australia, migrant employment outcomes, Difference-in-Differences |
| JEL: | J15 J61 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2014n21&r=ure |
| By: | Tanya Araújo; David Neves; Sven Banisch |
| Abstract: | We construct a database from the rst 2011 wave of the Portuguese Labor Force Survey and analyze the transitions between labor market states and job search methods during six quarters. In Portugal, the individuals who use more formal job search methods are more likely to get a stable state of employment, while informal contacts, private agencies or newspaper adverts tend to lead to a permanent state of job seeking. |
| Keywords: | Labor market dynamics; Networks |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:isegwp:wp152014&r=ure |
| By: | Shilpi, Forhad; Sangraula, Prem; Li, Yue |
| Abstract: | Using bilateral migration flow data from the 2010 population census of Nepal, this paper provides evidence on the importance of public infrastructure and services in determining migration flows. The empirical specification, based on a generalized nested logit model, corrects for the non-random selection of migrants. The results show that migrants prefer areas that are nearer to paved roads and have better access to electricity. Apart from electricity's impact on income and through income on migration, the econometric results indicate that migrants attach substantial amenity value to access to electricity. These findings have important implications for the placement of basic infrastructure projects and the way benefits from these projects are evaluated. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Population Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Anthropology,Public Sector Economics |
| Date: | 2014–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7047&r=ure |
| By: | Anzelika Zaiceva; Klaus F. Zimmermann |
| Abstract: | The eastern enlargements of the EU in 2004 and 2007 have stimulated the mobility of workers from the new EU8 and EU2 countries. A significant proportion of these migrants stayed abroad only temporarily, and the Great recession may have triggered return intentions. However, a return may be postponed if the economic situation in a sending region is persistently worse. This paper documents emerging evidence on return migration in post-enlargement Europe combining several data sources to describe the characteristics and selection of the returnees, as well as the determinants of return migration and potential re-migration decisions. The findings suggest that brain circulation rather than brain drain is relevant for several new member states and that returnees are most likely to migrate again. Moreover, the proportion of potential movers is larger in countries most affected by the crisis. Repeat and circular migration is expected to alleviate the potential negative impacts of the crisis, leading to a more efficient allocation of resources within the enlarged EU. |
| Keywords: | Return migration, EU Eastern enlargement, economic crisis |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:dembwp:0008&r=ure |