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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Marusca De Castris (Roma Tre, University of Rome); Guido Pellegrini (Sapienza, University of Rome) |
| Abstract: | The existence of a “size” effect on unemployment, related to the dimension of regional labour market, is often attributed to the presence of agglomeration of people and firms. However, urban and industrial cluster agglomeration effects are theoretically and empirically different. In this paper, we propose to disentangle agglomeration effects due to high concentration of population and those due to firm’s clusters or high presence of employees, by controlling for a wide set of variables, basically related to sectorial and dimensional shocks and human capital, in order to highlight the total “size” effect in the labour market. We estimate the correlation between unemployment and agglomeration in UE27 at disaggregated territorial level (Nuts 2), conditioning for covariates related to demographic, economic and geographical effects. Moreover, regional labour markets are spatial correlated within contiguous areas: we carefully model the presence of spatial correlation by a spatial lag model. We expect that the size effect is lower in Europe than in USA. Nevertheless, effects related to agglomeration of firms could be higher than effects related to agglomeration of people. The results show that urban agglomeration in Europe has a negative effect on employment; the results are opposite for industrial clusters, where the presence of firm’s agglomeration has a positive effect on labour markets. These results suggest some policy implications. First of all, government should increase the circulation of labour market information in order to enhance the matching between job seekers and labour positions even in urban areas. Incentive for reducing the costs of search cannot obviously be limited to the case of contiguity between the supply and demand of skills, but also regards the acquisition of information and knowledge which often occurs through informal chains, less strong in urban centres. Improvements in the quality of the matching require policies able to disseminate information which can substitute those channels. It is important to reduce the costs of getting information in order to avoid the discouraging effect on job search activities. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, urban density, industrial density, unemployment, European Union |
| JEL: | C21 E24 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rcr:wpaper:07_15&r=ure |
| By: | Backman, Mikaela (Jönköping University, & Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS)); Lööf, Hans (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This introduction to the special issue “The Geography of Innovation and Entrepreneurship” in Annals of Regional Science surveys a collection of nine papers which consider agglomeration economies and spatial heterogeneity of regions and firms through the lenses of innovation and entrepreneurship. They all make use of extensive and detailed data sources that enable models to provide a richer picture of how firms, industries and regions are affected by innovation and entrepreneurship but also how these entities shape and foster renewal. These factors include spatial concentration, industry composition, labour market characteristics, immigration, firm characteristics, R&D activities and R&D collaboration. The papers add to the understanding of the geography of innovation and entrepreneurship by suggesting alternative ways of identifying spillovers, combing and integrating internal and external knowledge sources, and by estimating the impact on innovation, new firm formation and growth. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; entreprenurship; spillovers; regional economy; spatial heterogeneity |
| JEL: | C10 O30 R10 |
| Date: | 2015–09–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0421&r=ure |
| By: | Essi Eerola; Tuukka Saarimaa |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how much public housing generates rent savings for the tenants, how these savings are distributed among the tenants, and whether the tenants reside in better quality neighborhoods than similar low-income private rental tenants. Our rent savings estimates are based on a hedonic regression and detailed data on the private and public rental housing units from the city of Helsinki. We estimate that the total subsidy to public housing tenants is considerable and comparable in size to the housing allowance, the main tenant-based housing program. We also find that the subsidy is less targeted towards low-income households than the housing allowance. Regarding neighborhood quality, we find that public housing tenants live in lower quality neighborhoods than similar households living in private rental housing. This result suggests that public housing is not better than the housing allowance in delivering better neighborhood quality to low-income households. |
| Keywords: | Hedonic regression, housing policy, public housing. |
| JEL: | R23 R21 H22 |
| Date: | 2015–12–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fer:wpaper:68&r=ure |
| By: | Lambert, Thomas; Mattson, Gary; Dorriere, Kyle |
| Abstract: | Much has been written by various scholars and practitioners over the years about the benefits of industrial clustering, whether the clustering revolves around mature industries or around new and innovative industries (innovation clustering). The benefits of such clustering or local agglomeration economies supposedly include greater regional exports, greater employment growth, greater payroll growth, and greater new business establishment creation, among other impacts. However, the work for this research note has not uncovered much if any literature on how agglomeration affects United States regional unemployment rates. In general, greater clustering is associated with lower US metro area unemployment rates on average, although this depends upon how one defines a cluster. Additionally, most growing industrial and innovation clusters over the last two decades or so require highly educated and skilled workers. Since most of the unemployed at any given time tend to be less educated and less skilled than most workers on average, local and state economic development policies that focus on clustering must be careful in targeting lower unemployment rates as a policy goal or outcome. On the other hand, greater clustering and greater industry concentration do not seem to be associated with greater levels of unemployment during stagnant economic times as some may expect. That is, it does not appear that diversity of industry has an advantage over industry clustering and concentration in bad economic times. Finally, the arguments that decentralized or local economic development planning is better for the macroeconomy than centralized planning at the national level is discussed in light of the results for industrial clustering found in this paper. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration economies, economic development, industrial clustering, unemployment, and urban economics. |
| JEL: | R11 R3 R38 |
| Date: | 2016–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69584&r=ure |
| By: | Carlo Ciccarelli (Department of Economics and Finance, University of Rome Tor Vergata); Stefano Fachin (Department of Statistics, Sapienza University of Rome) |
| Abstract: | The paper estimates a conditional ß-convergence model of labor productivity growth in Italy’s manufacturing industry during 1871-1911, accounting for spatial dependence. The empirical evidence is based on a recent set of data at provincial (NUTS 3) level on manufacturing value added at 1911 prices, and a new set of data on human and social capital, political participation, and infrastructures. By focusing on a country and a time when the agglomeration forces and spillover effects advocated by the new economic geography were only starting to operate, we can investigate a particularly interesting case study. Our results suggest that human capital, a cooperative culture, and initial productivity in neighboring provinces can explain much of the geographical variability of productivity growth in manufacturing in nineteenth-century Italy. |
| Keywords: | ß-convergence, manufacturing, nineteenth-century, Italy, spatial dependence, labor productivity, human capital |
| JEL: | R11 O47 N64 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:workqs:qse_35&r=ure |
| By: | Martin Labaj (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Karol Morvay (Department of Economic Policy, University of Economics in Bratislava); Peter Silanic (Department of Economic Policy, University of Economics in Bratislava); Christoph Weiss (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Biliana Yontcheva (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business) |
| Abstract: | The present paper provides first microlevel (indirect) empirical evidence on changes in the determinants of firm profitability, the role of fixed and sunk costs, as well as the nature of competition for a transition economy. We estimate size thresholds required to support different numbers of firms for four retail and professional service industries in a large number of geographic markets in Slovakia. The three time periods in the analysis (1995, 2001 and 2010) characterize different stages of the transition process. Specific emphasis is given to spatial spill-over effects between local markets. Estimation results obtained from a spatial ordered probit model suggest that entry barriers have declined considerably (except for restaurants) and the intensity of competition has increased. We further find that demand spill-overs and/or the effects associated with a positive correlation in unobservable explanatory variables seem to outweigh negative spill-over effects caused by competitive forces between neighboring cities and villages. The importance of these spatial spill-over effects differs across industries. |
| Keywords: | entry thresholds, competition, Slovakia, transition, geographic markets |
| JEL: | L22 D22 M13 R11 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp218&r=ure |
| By: | Tavassoli, Sam (Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE), Lund University); Bengtsson, Lars (Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Management and Logistics, Lund University); Karlsson , Charlie (Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS), Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), & Jönköping International Business School (JIBS)) |
| Abstract: | The literature in the Strategic Entrepreneurship (SE) is increasingly embracing the concept and implication of knowledge spillovers. In this paper, we add to the theoretical literature on SE and knowledge spillovers by investigating the different types of knowledge spill-overs and what they imply for various dimensions of SE. On the one hand, we distinguish between spatial and aspatial knowledge spillovers. On the other hand, we distinguish be-tween various dimensions of SE, i.e. inputs, resource orchestration, and output. Finally, we conceptually link the various types of knowledge spillovers and dimensions of SE and dis-cuss the implications. Doing so, we argue that spatial knowledge spillovers (inter-firm) play the major role in increasing the amount of ‘inputs’ dimension of SE, while the aspatial knowledge (either inter-regional or intra-firm) play the major role not only for ‘inputs’, but also for ‘resource orchestration’ dimension. At the end, the paper provides suggestions for future research. |
| Keywords: | Strategic entrepreneurship; knowledge spillovers; spatial; aspatial |
| JEL: | D23 D83 L10 L26 R10 |
| Date: | 2016–01–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0426&r=ure |
| By: | N. Kosareva (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Tatiana D. Polidi (National Research University Higher School of Economics); A. Puzanov (National Research University Higher School of Economics); E. Trutnev (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Ye. Igumenov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Russian cities currently feel the utmost need both for improving the affordability of housing and upgrading the quality and enhancing the beautification of the urban environment, developing public spaces, expanding the diversity of forms of housing tenure for different categories of citizen. Implementation of the housing policy objectives necessitates a considerable update of urban planning policy which is currently characterized by minimum urban planning regulations and inadequate enforcement of those in place. Urban development regulation and land use system remains a source of ‘administrative rent’ and appears to be unable to ensure a transparent legal framework for investors and developers, which is replaced by high administrative barriers. The paper reviews the current state of housing and urban planning policies in Russia, the practice of reconciling the goals, objectives and instruments of the foregoing policies. Housing and urban planning policies both at federal and local levels are described and case studies of inconsistencies in implementation of housing and urban planning policies in Russian cities are analyzed. The paper also sets forth the proposals on how to streamline housing and urban planning policies with a view to improving the affordability of housing and upgrading the quality of urban environment |
| Keywords: | housing policy, urban planning policy, urban environment, Russia |
| JEL: | R31 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:03/urb/2016&r=ure |
| By: | Felipe Carozzi |
| Abstract: | During the housing bust of 2008–2009, home prices and transaction volumes fell across the entire United Kingdom. However, while the fall in prices was similar across housing types, transaction volumes fell more for homes at the lower end of the market. I document this fact and use an overlapping-generations model to relate it to the reduction in loan-to-value ratios by British banks and to derive additional predictions. As down-payment requirements increase, young households with scarce financial resources are priced out by older owners who retain their previous housing for renting when trading up. Recent changes in aggregate housing tenure as well as changes in the number of sales and rentals in areas with different age composition are consistent with the model predictions. The insights presented here inform recent policy discussions about reduced access to home ownership by the young. |
| Keywords: | housing markets; housing tenure; credit constraints |
| JEL: | G21 R30 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:65016&r=ure |
| By: | Njindan Iyke, Bernard |
| Abstract: | This paper assessed the effects of housing market shocks on real output in South Africa over the period 1969Q4 – 2014Q4, by emphasizing the real private consumption channel. The agnostic identification procedure employed in this paper has delivered impulse responses that are overall consistent with the existing literature. The paper appropriately identified housing market shocks as non-monetary housing demand shocks. 20% of the variation in house prices are explained by the housing market shocks. The effects of housing demand shocks on real private consumption are short-lived, explaining why real output responded transitorily to these shocks. Housing demand shocks have managed to explain nearly 13% and 14% variations in real private consumption and real output, respectively, over 20-quarters ahead forecast revision. |
| Keywords: | Agnostic Identification, Housing Market Shocks, Real Output, SVAR, South Africa |
| JEL: | C11 C32 E21 E31 R31 |
| Date: | 2015–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69610&r=ure |
| By: | Philipp Ehrl |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes assortative matching between employers and employees and its interrelations with the employment density of local labor markets in Germany. I devote attention to the identiication of accurate quality measures: plants’ total factor productivity and workers’ fixed effect. Two different methods then yield evidence in favor of positive assortative matching. The correlation between both quality measures is positive. Wage gains amount up to 4% when both quality levels are equal. In a fairly general matching model, this shape of the wage curve arises due to complementarities of qualities in the production function. When generally higher productivities and wages in dense regions (caused by agglomeration economies and sorting) are not controlled for, the strength of matching and wage gains are overestimated. I also find that regional differences in matching quality cannot be attributed to the local density and unemployment rate. |
| Keywords: | matching, agglomeration, unobserved skill, two-way fixed effects, TFP |
| JEL: | C78 J31 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bav:wpaper:149_ehrl&r=ure |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | A new OECD report, Supporting Teacher Professionalism, based on the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), conceptualises teacher professionalism as being comprised of: knowledge base, defined as necessary knowledge for teaching; autonomy, defined as teachers’ decision-making over aspects related to their work; and peer networks, defined as opportunities for information exchange and support needed to maintain high standards of teaching. Education systems differ in terms of the emphasis placed on each of the teacher professionalism domains. Across all systems there is a particularly positive relationship between knowledge and peer network domains and teacher satisfaction, self-efficacy and perceptions of the value of the teaching profession in the society. Practices supporting teacher professionalism are less common in schools with higher proportions of socio-economically disadvantaged students. However, investing in teacher professionalism can be particularly beneficial in these schools as the positive relationship between knowledge, peer networks and teacher satisfaction is amplified in challenging schools. |
| Date: | 2016–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaah:14-en&r=ure |
| By: | Federico Belotti (University of Rome Tor Vergata); Edoardo Di Porto (Università di Napoli Federico II, CSEF and UCFS, Uppsala University); Gianluca Santoni (CEPII) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of municipal non-residential property taxation on firms' performance using a panel data of italian manufacturing firms in 2001-2010. In the spirit of Duranton et al. (2011), we use a pairwise spatial difference instrumental variable estimator which allows to tackle the endogeneity of local taxation. As well as providing robust inference to arbitrary cross-sectional dependence and serial correlation, our empirical strategy also improves on existing work by exploiting the exogenous variation in local taxes generated by the political alignment of each jurisdiction with the central government. We find that non-residential property taxation exert a negative impact on firms' employment, capital and sales to such an extent as to significantly affect total factor productivity. |
| Keywords: | Local taxation, endogeneity, spatial differencing, generalized method of moments, two-way clustering |
| JEL: | H22 H71 R38 |
| Date: | 2016–02–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:430&r=ure |
| By: | Benjamin Faber; Rosa Sanchis-Guarner; Felix Weinhardt |
| Abstract: | Governments are making it a priority to upgrade information and communication technologies (ICT) with the aim to increase available internet connection speeds. This paper presents a new empirical strategy to estimate the causal effects of these policies, and applies it to the questions of whether and how ICT upgrades affect educational attainment. We draw on a rich collection of microdata that allows us to link administrative test score records for the population of English primary and secondary school students to the available ICT at their home addresses. To base estimations on exogenous variation in ICT, we notice that the boundaries of usually invisible telephone exchange station catchment areas give rise to substantial and essentially randomly placed jumps in the available ICT across neighboring residences. Using this design across more than 20,000 boundaries in England, we find that even very large changes in available broadband connection speeds have a precisely estimated zero effect on educational attainment. Guided by a simple model we then bring to bear additional microdata on student time and internet use to quantify the potentially opposing mechanisms underlying the zero reduced form effect. While jumps in the available ICT appear to increase student consumption of online content, we find no significant effects on student time spent studying online or offline, or on their learning productivity. |
| Keywords: | education; information and communication technology; internet |
| JEL: | D83 I20 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:65020&r=ure |
| By: | Marcus Berliant (Department of Economics, Washington University in St. Louis); Tomoya Mori (Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University) |
| Abstract: | Literature from several phases of the career of Masahisa Fujita is surveyed chronologically, with a view toward future contributions in these areas. First we address the economic structure of the interior of a city with mobile consumers, adding production. Next we provide a critical discussion of the New Economic Geography, in particular distinguishing between recent approaches employing two regions and more than two regions, both in theory and in application to data. Finally, we discuss knowledge creation in groups and briefly touch on his current work in artificial intelligence. |
| Keywords: | New urban economics, New economic geography, Knowledge creation, Knowledge diversity, Robot economist |
| JEL: | D83 O31 R12 R13 R14 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:932&r=ure |
| By: | BENABDEJLIL Nadia; LUNG Yannick; PIVETEAU Alain |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses the emergence of new automobile cluster in the region of Tangier (Morocco) associated to the location of a Renault assembly plant in 2012. It is based on a survey realized by a team of French and Moroccan researchers. It discusses the conditions of the location of the French carmaker, at the crossroads of its internationalisation strategy and of the industrialization policy of the Moroccan government for the Northern country. It studies the impact of this location on the supplier industry and on local employment, underlining the limits in terms of industrial development. Presently, it is more an agglomeration of automotive activities rather than a true integrated industrial cluster. |
| Keywords: | AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY, FREE ZONE, INDUSTRIALISATION, MOROCCO, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, RENAULT, TANGIER |
| JEL: | F23 L52 L62 O14 R11 R23 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2016-04&r=ure |
| By: | Friebel, Guido (Goethe University Frankfurt); Heinz, Matthias (University of Cologne); Zubanov, Nikolay (Goethe University Frankfurt) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of downsizing announcement on workplace performance using data from a German bakery chain of 193 shops. Faced with intensified competition, the firm decided to sell or close down 57 of its worst performing shops. We identify the effect of downsizing from a plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of the sale or closure announcement in the individual shops. We find that the announcements of the shop being sold to a new owner and being closed down reduce sales by six and 21 percent, respectively. The negative effect of downsizing increases with the share of workers with a permanent contract, even though permanent workers faced a much lower unemployment risk. We relate our findings to the literatures on downsizing and psychological contract. |
| Keywords: | downsizing, psychological contract, retail, teams, statistical analysis |
| JEL: | M12 M54 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9739&r=ure |
| By: | Simanti Bandyopadhyay (National Institute of Public Finance and Policy New Delhi) |
| Abstract: | The present paper is an attempt to build up a framework which can holistically analyse the performance of governments bringing in the financial parameters as well as service delivery. We propose a three step methodology capturing different aspects of performance, integrated in the same framework. We generate the expenditure efficiency scores of governments based on expenditure and service delivery, applying non parametric Data Envelopment Analysis in the first step. This also enables us to identify the possible sources of mis-utilisation of resources on different expenditure heads. The second step consists of a detailed assessment of fiscal patterns of governments with Principal Component Analysis based on revenue, demand, cost, socio-demographic, expenditure-adequacy and service-adequacy indicators. The components generated in the second step can also explain the differences in efficiency scores in resource utilization generated in the first step. Also, each step can generate ranks for the governments. A composite rank from both the steps can act as an index of overall performance of the governments. The methodology is applied to the urban local governments of the state of Tamil Nadu to get some insightful results. |
| Date: | 2014–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper1430&r=ure |
| By: | Ferninando Monte; Stephen J. Redding; Esteban Rossi-Hansberg |
| Abstract: | Many changes in the economic environment are local, including policy changes and infrastructure investments. The effect of these changes depends crucially on the ability of factors to move in response. Therefore a key object of interest for policy evaluation and design is the elasticity of local employment to these changes in the economic environment. We develop a quantitative general equilibrium model that incorporates spatial linkages between locations in goods markets (trade) and factor markets (commuting and migration). We find substantial heterogeneity across locations in local employment elasticities. We show that this heterogeneity can be well explained with theoretically motivated measures of commuting flows. Without taking into account this dependence, estimates of the local employment elasticity for one location are not generalizable to other locations. We also find that commuting flows and their importance cannot be accounted for with standard measures of size or wages at the county or commuting zone levels. |
| Keywords: | commuting; migration and local employment elasticities |
| JEL: | F16 J6 J61 R0 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:65006&r=ure |
| By: | Bellucci, Andrea; Borisov, Alexander; Giombini, Germana; Zazzaro, Alberto |
| Abstract: | In this paper we empirically test the recent lender-based theory for the use of collateral in bank lending. Based on a proprietary dataset of loan contracts written by a local bank in competitive credit markets, we use the physical proximity between borrowers and the lending branch of the bank to capture its information advantage and the magnitude of collateral-related transaction costs. Overall, our results seem more consistent with several classic borrower-based explanations rather than with the lender-based view. We show that, conditional on obtaining credit from the local bank, more distant borrowers experience higher collateral requirements and lower interest rates. Moreover, competitive pressure from transaction lenders does not magnify the importance of lender-to-borrower distance. Our findings are also obtained with estimation techniques that allow for endogenous loan contract terms and joint determination of collateral and interest rates. |
| Keywords: | Distance, Collateral, Interest Rate, Bank lending |
| JEL: | G21 G32 L11 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:remfce:21&r=ure |
| By: | Francesco Andreoli (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Alessandra Michelangeli (University of Milano-Bicocca, DEMS, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1, Milan I-20126, Italy) |
| Abstract: | The standard index of urban quality of life provides an approximated value of the quality of life, since it associates the bundles of amenities observed in urban areas with their implicit marginal prices, and not with the prices of infra-marginal units. In this paper, we adjust the standard measure to determine the monetary value of any bundle, which might substantially differ from the bundle of the marginal quantities of amenities. Our methodology relies on a welfare measure that represents the individual willingness to give up (accept) to insure (forego) a change in the current distribution of amenities across areas will take place, keeping the level of utility unchanged. We obtain a new measure, the value-adjusted quality of life index, that can be identified from parametric models of consumer preferences. We use this index to measure the quality of life in the city of Milan. |
| Keywords: | Hedonic Models, Quality of Life, Structural models |
| JEL: | D6 H4 R1 R2 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:09/2014&r=ure |
| By: | Boysen-Hogrefe, Jens; Jannsen, Nils; Meier, Carsten-Patrick |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether recoveries following normal recessions differ from recoveries following recessions that are associated with either banking crises or housing crises. Using a parametric panel framework that allows for a bounce-back in the level of output during the recovery, we find that normal recessions are followed by strong recoveries in advanced economies. This bounce-back is absent following recessions associated with banking crises and housing crises. Consequently, the permanent output losses of recessions associated with banking crises and housing crises are considerably larger than those of normal recessions. |
| Keywords: | business cycle,recovery,banking crisis,housing crisis |
| JEL: | E32 C33 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:1984&r=ure |
| By: | John V. Winters (Oklahoma State University); Yu Li (Oklahoma State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of county-level urbanization and natural amenities on subjective well-being (SWB) in the U.S. SWB is measured using individual-level data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) which asks respondents to rate their overall life satisfaction. Using individual-level SWB data allows us to control for several important individual characteristics. The results suggest that urbanization lowers SWB, with relatively large negative effects for residents in dense counties and large metropolitan areas. Natural amenities also affect SWB, with warmer winters having a significant positive effect on selfreported life-satisfaction. Implications for researchers and policymakers are discussed. |
| Keywords: | subjective well-being; urbanization; population density; amenities; quality of life |
| JEL: | I00 Q00 R00 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:okl:wpaper:1508&r=ure |
| By: | Riccardo Crescenzi; Davide Luca; Simona Milio |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the linkages between pre-2008 crisis national macro-economic conditions, regional resistance factors and depth of the crisis in the regions of the EU27. The results suggest that only a limited set of macro-economic factors shape the regional reaction to the crisis. A healthy current account surplus is associated with stronger economic performance during the post-2008 recession. Conversely, high public debt countries are more successful in sheltering their regional economies in the short-run. When looking at regional-level resistance, human capital is the single most important positive factor. Conversely, research and development-intensive regions are more exposed to negative shocks. |
| Keywords: | economic crisis; crisis consequences; European Union; regional resistance; spatial heterogeneity. |
| JEL: | E32 O52 P48 R11 |
| Date: | 2016–01–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:64061&r=ure |
| By: | Peter M. Robinson; Francesca Rossi |
| Abstract: | We consider testing the null hypothesis of no spatial correlation against the alternative of pure first order spatial autoregression. A test statistic based on the least squares estimate has good first-order asymptotic properties, but these may not be relevant in small- or moderate-sized samples, especially as (depending on properties of the spatial weight matrix) the usual parametric rate of convergence may not be attained. We thus develop tests with more accurate size properties, by means of Edgeworth expansions and the bootstrap. Although the least squares estimate is inconsistent for the correlation parameter, we show that under quite general conditions its probability limit has the correct sign, and that least squares testing is consistent; we also establish asymptotic local power properties. The finite-sample performance of our tests is compared with others in Monte Carlo simulations. |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:64850&r=ure |
| By: | Jordi Blanes I Vidal; Tom Kirchmaier |
| Abstract: | Police agencies devote vast resources to minimising the time that it takes them to attend the scene of a crime. Despite this, the long-standing consensus is that police response time has no meaningful effect on the likelihood of catching offenders. We revisit this question using a uniquely rich dataset from the Greater Manchester Police. To identify causal effects, we exploit discontinuities in distance to the response station across locations next to each other, but on different sides of division boundaries. Contrary to previous evidence, we find large and strongly significant effects: in our preferred estimate, a 10% increase in response time leads to a 4.6 percentage points decrease in the likelihood of detection. A faster response time also decreases the number of days that it takes for the police to detect a crime, conditional on eventual detection. We find stronger effects for thefts than for violent offenses, although the effects are large for every type of crime. We identify the higher likelihood that a suspect will be named by a victim or witness as an important mechanism though which response time makes a difference. |
| Keywords: | police crime; organisational performance |
| JEL: | D29 K40 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:64979&r=ure |
| By: | Marcel Ausloos; Roy Cerqueti |
| Abstract: | The paper contains a short review of techniques examining regional wealth inequalities based on recently published research work but is also presenting unpublished features. The data pertains to Italy (IT), over the period 2007-2011: the number of cities in regions, the number of inhabitants in cities and in regions, as well as the aggregated tax income of the cities and of regions. Frequency-size plots and cumulative distribution function plots, scatter plots and rank-size plots are displayed. The rank-size rule of a few cases is discussed. Yearly data of the aggregated tax income is transformed into a few indicators: the Gini, Theil, and Herfindahl-Hirschman indices. Numerical results confirm that IT is divided into very different regional realities. One region is selected for a short discussion: Molise. A note on the "first digit Benford law" for testing data validity is presented. |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1602.05356&r=ure |
| By: | Ira Nichols-Barrer; Philip Gleason; Brian Gill; Christina Clark Tuttle |
| Abstract: | Skeptics of the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) charter school network argue that these schools rely on selective admission, attrition, and replacement of students to produce positive achievement results. |
| Keywords: | school choice, charter schools, attrition, KIPP |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2016–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:566f055483bf4ded8fc98473fe4b817a&r=ure |
| By: | Pierre-Philippe Combes (Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Paris, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR, AMSE - Aix-Marseille School of Economics - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) - Ecole Centrale Marseille (ECM) - AMU - Aix-Marseille Université); Laurent Gobillon (CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics, INED - Institut national d'études démographiques) |
| Abstract: | We propose an integrated framework to discuss the empirical literature on the local determinants of agglomeration effects. We start by presenting the theoretical mechanisms that ground individual and aggregate empirical specifications. We gradually introduce static effects, dynamic effects, and workers' endogenous location choices. We emphasise the impact of local density on productivity but we also consider many other local determinants supported by theory. Empirical issues are then addressed. Most important concerns are about endogeneity at the local and individual levels, the choice of a productivity measure between wage and TFP, and the roles of spatial scale, firms' characteristics, and functional forms. Estimated impacts of local determinants of productivity, employment, and firms' locations choices are surveyed for both developed and developing economies. We finally provide a discussion of attempts to identify and quantify specific agglomeration mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration gains,Density,Sorting,Learning,Location choices |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01071761&r=ure |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | No country or economy participating in PISA 2012 can claim that all of its 15-year-old students have achieved basic proficiency skills in mathematics, reading and science. Some 28% of students score below the baseline level of proficiency in at least one of those subjects, on average across OECD countries. Poor performance at age 15 is not the result of any single risk factor, but rather of a combination and accumulation of various barriers and disadvantages that affect students throughout their lives. Students attending schools where teachers are more supportive, have better morale and have higher expectations for students are less likely to be low performers in mathematics, even after accounting for the socio-economic status of students and schools. |
| Date: | 2016–02–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduddd:60-en&r=ure |
| By: | Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt; Wolfgang Maennig; Malte Steeenbeck (Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg) |
| Abstract: | To assess the likely effects of population ageing on the outcomes of direct democracy, we analyze the effect of age on voting decisions in public referenda. To this end, we provide the first quantitative review of the literature and a case study of the Stuttgart 21 referendum on one of the largest infrastructure projects in Germany. The evidence suggests that intergenerational conflicts arising from population ageing will likely be limited to areas in which the net present value differs particularly strongly across generations, such as education and health spending, green energy, and major transport projects. In such instances, however, the effect can be quantitatively relevant, raising the question of whether, as population ageing progresses, decisions should be based on social cost-benefit analyses, instead of referenda. |
| Keywords: | Aging, direct democracy, intergenerational conflict, NIMBY, referendum, Stuttgart 21, transport, voting |
| JEL: | D61 D62 H41 H71 L83 I18 R41 R58 |
| Date: | 2016–02–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hce:wpaper:054&r=ure |
| By: | Eric A. Hanushek; Jens Ruhose; Ludger Woessmann |
| Abstract: | Although many U.S. state policies presume that human capital is important for state economic development, there is little research linking better education to state incomes. In a complement to international studies of income differences, we investigate the extent to which quality-adjusted measures of human capital can explain within-country income differences. We develop detailed measures of state human capital based on school attainment from census micro data and on cognitive skills from state- and country-of-origin achievement tests. Partitioning current state workforces into state locals, interstate migrants, and immigrants, we adjust achievement scores for selective migration. We use the new human capital measures in development accounting analyses calibrated with standard production parameters. We find that differences in human capital account for 20-35 percent of the current variation in per-capita GDP among states, with roughly even contributions by school attainment and cognitive skills. Similar results emerge from growth accounting analyses. |
| JEL: | I25 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hoo:wpaper:15112&r=ure |
| By: | Runu Bhakta (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research) |
| Abstract: | Given the fact that education of young adults plays crucial role from both economic and social point of view, the objective of the study is to analyse the pattern of improvements in their education and to identify the factors that explain the rate of increase in educational indicators per year. Educational achievement is captured through literacy rate, percentage of population completed higher education and the average years of schooling. The study finds that significant disparities still prevail across gender, regions and rural-urban areas although the gap is reducing over time. Per capita public expenditure in different levels of education has increased monotonously but there prevails consistent spatial variation in the allocation pattern. The estimated models of the annual increase in those education indicators reveal the fact that social status still plays a crucial role in the society in determining actual progress in educational outcomes. The share of expenditure in higher education is an important factor for achieving greater percentage of population completed higher education. But expenditure on adult education does not have significant impact on literacy rate. Share of GSDP in industry and services, and percentage of registered manufacturing are identified as demand pull factors that encourage more education. Besides, percentage of rural households with irrigation facility is important to have better progress in education sector possibly via its impact on improving rural livelihood. |
| Keywords: | Education, Human Capital, Young Adults, Public Expenditure on Education |
| JEL: | I21 I22 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2015-034&r=ure |
| By: | Hjalmarsson, Randi; Lindquist, Matthew |
| Abstract: | This paper uses detailed individual register data to identify the causal effect of mandatory peacetime military conscription in Sweden on the lives of young men born in the 1970s and 80s. Because draftees are positively selected into service based on their draft board test performance, our primary identification strategy uses the random assignment of potential conscripts to draft board officiators who have relatively high or low tendencies to place draftees into service in an instrumental variable framework. We find that military service significantly increases post-service crime (overall and across multiple crime categories) between ages 23 and 30. These results are driven primarily by young men with pre-service criminal histories and who come from low socioeconomic status households. Though we find evidence of an incapacitation effect concurrent with conscription, it is unfortunately not enough to break a cycle of crime that has already begun prior to service. Analyses of labor market outcomes tell similar post-service stories: individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds have significantly lower income, and are more likely to receive unemployment and welfare benefits, as a result of service, while service significantly increases income and does not impact welfare and unemployment for those at the other end of the distribution. Finally, we provide suggestive evidence that peer effects may play an important role in explaining the unintended negative impacts of military service. |
| Keywords: | conscription; crime; criminal behaviour; draft; incapacitation; labor market; military conscription; military draft; unemployment |
| JEL: | H56 J08 K42 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11110&r=ure |
| By: | Montañés, Antonio; Olmos, Lorena; Reyes, Marcelo |
| Abstract: | We study the possible existence of convergence across the Spanish provinces, paying special attention to the influence the recent international crisis has had on this process. To this end, we have taken the traditional per capita GDP as well as the multidimensional index of human development as a reference. Our results show that the convergence pattern has been clearly modified by the crisis; the differences are greater in 2014 than in 2007. Nevertheless, a greater effect of the crisis has not been observed on predominantly urban provinces, in contrast to what other authors have found in the case of Europe. |
| Keywords: | Convergence; Human Development Index; Urban provinces; Crisis |
| JEL: | C22 O47 R10 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69543&r=ure |
| By: | Isacsson, Gunnar (Trafikverket); Börjesson, Maria (CTS); Andersson, Matts (WSP); Anderstig, Christer (WSP) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of job accessibility on wage earnings using micro-level data including all workers in the greater Stockholm region at two points in time 11 years apart. We control for both zone-specific and individual-specific fixed effects by separating workers who have changed zone of residence and those who have stayed. The accessibility is derived from the national transport model, taking into account consumer behavior and preferences for all travel modes and travel time components. A novel instrumental variable based on the temporal changes in job accessibility resulting from transport system improvements over the 11 years is applied. The elasticity of accessibility defined from the worker’s place of residence is estimated at 0.007. The elasticity of wage earnings with respect to job accessibility at the work place is only significant for workers moving work place and for those estimated at 0.036. |
| Keywords: | Cost-Benefit Analysis; Accessibility; Agglomeration effects; Wider Economic Benefits |
| JEL: | R12 R41 R42 R48 |
| Date: | 2016–01–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2015_018&r=ure |
| By: | Olajide, Victor |
| Abstract: | Regions in a federal system, as in the case Nigeria, tend to have economic characteristics that diverge from each other and while monetary and fiscal policies appear to be strongly nationally oriented their importance and relevance appear to be regionally determined. However, also important, and more important for this study, is the view that regional macroeconomic policies – that is, the fiscal policies of the state or regional governments and the implications of national monetary policies for regional economies – do not only impact on the source region but can also transcend the borders of the source region to other neighboring regions and cause adjustments or distortions that may have important macroeconomic implications for the regions in a federating system. Towards this end, this article investigates, using the aggregate supply, aggregate demand and balance of payment (AS/AD/BP) framework with special assumptions that capture the characteristics of the regions in a federating system typical of Nigeria, the macroeconomic interconnectedness of regions in a federating unit and considers the macroeconomic spillover effects of the fiscal policies of regional governments as well as the regional implications of national monetary policies. |
| Keywords: | Regional, Macroeconomic Policies, Aggregate Demand, Aggregate Supply, Balance of Payment |
| JEL: | E6 |
| Date: | 2015–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69242&r=ure |
| By: | Luisa Corrado (DEF and CEIS, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" and University of Cambridge); Bernard Fingleton (University of Cambridge, Department of Land Economy) |
| Abstract: | Network and spatial econometric models commonly embody a so-called W matrix which defines the connectivity between nodes of a network. The reason for the existence of W is that it facilitates parsimonious parametrization of inter-nodal interaction which would otherwise be very difficult to achieve from a practical modelling perspective. The problem considered in this paper is the effect of misspecifying W. The paper demonstrates the effect in the context of two types of model, the dynamic spatial autoregressive panel model and the multilevel spatial autoregressive panel model, both of which include W as part of the model specification and use W in estimation. Monte Carlo results are presented showing the impact on bias and RMSE of misspecification of W. The paper highlights the need for careful attention to the correct structure of W in spatial econometric and network modelling. |
| Keywords: | Networks, Multilevel Modelling, Fixed E¤ects, Dynamic Spatial Autoregressive Panel Model, Multilevel Spatial Autoregressive Panel Model |
| Date: | 2016–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:369&r=ure |
| By: | Marusca De Castris (Roma Tre, University of Rome); Guido Pellegrini (Sapienza, University of Rome) |
| Abstract: | The paper evaluates the effects of the Central Guarantee Fund on the economic growth of the Italian provinces. There are few works in literature showing a moderate positive effect of CGF on subsidized firms. In this paper the evaluation question is different, and concerns the overall effect of CGF on a regional economy: does the CGF actually support territorial development, taking into account crowding out and spillover effects between treated and not treated firms? We evaluate if an increase of guarantees, issued by the CGF, has been associated with employment or businesses growth in the area. The challenge of the empirical analysis is to capture macro effects of CGF, when its intervention covered on average only 3% of companies and 0.5% of funding at the provincial level. Using different models based on a “long” DID approach, the results suggest that there is a positive and statistically significant, albeit modest, correlation between the use of CGF and the growth of the provincial economies, controlling for sectoral differences, dimensional characteristics and several interactions. These results are robust to different assumptions, estimation strategies and variables used. Our findings therefore indicate that the intervention has mitigated the negative regional effects of the recent economic crisis in Italy. |
| Keywords: | credit guarantees, public policy, evaluation, regional growth |
| JEL: | G28 R11 H81 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rcr:wpaper:06_15&r=ure |
| By: | Felice, Emanuele; Lepore, Amedeo |
| Abstract: | In the second half of the twentieth century, the Italian government carried out a massive regional policy in southern Italy, through the State-owned agency «Cassa per il Mezzogiorno» (1950-1986). The article reconstructs the activities of the Cassa, by taking advantage of its yearly reports. The agency was effective in the first two decades, thanks to substantial technical autonomy and, in the 1960s, to a strong focus on industrial development; however, since the 1970s it progressively became an instrument of waste and misallocation. Below this broad picture, we find important differences at the regional level, and significant correspondence between the quality of state intervention and the regional patterns of GDP and productivity. |
| Keywords: | Southern Italy, regional development, State intervention, industrialization, convergence. |
| JEL: | H54 N44 N84 N94 R12 |
| Date: | 2016–02–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69466&r=ure |
| By: | Adriano Alessandrini (Sapienza Rome University); Paolo Delle Site (University Niccolò Cusano); Valerio Gatta (Roma Tre University); Edoardo Marcucci (Roma Tre University); Qing Zhang (Sapienza Rome University) |
| Abstract: | Driverless buses running in low-speed, mixed-traffic conditions are the subject of current research and demonstration in Europe. The paper aims to assess how automation fares with respect to conventional services in terms of users' attitudes. Stated preference data, based on a questionnaire administered in twelve cities, are used for the estimation of logit models providing preference shares for the conventional and the automated bus. The correlation among errors in repeated measurement data is addressed using a multivariate version of the Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern copula, yielding a closed form for the choice sequence probability. Estimation results show a relatively higher preference for automation across the cities where the automated bus is implemented inside a major facility. Without provision of information on how the system works and with no experience, users tend not to trust automation in the normal mixed-traffic conditions that are found in cities. The impacts of socio-economic variables are heterogenous across cities. Comparison between the logit based on the independence assumption and the logit with correlated observations shows deviations in coefficient estimates as large as twenty per cent with a typical sample size of ab out two hundred respondents and four choice tasks per individual. Deviations decrease to few percent-age points when sample size is tripled. Deviations in preference shares are, however, negligible, a result which, in terms of policy implications, is indicative of the validity of the independence assumption in applied work |
| Keywords: | automated bus, stated preference, logit, correlation, Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern copula |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rcr:wpaper:02_15&r=ure |
| By: | S.N. Lahiri; Peter M. Robinson |
| Abstract: | Central limit theorems are established for the sum, over a spatial region, of observations from a linear process on a d d-dimensional lattice. This region need not be rectangular, but can be irregularly-shaped. Separate results are established for the cases of positive strong dependence, short range dependence, and negative dependence. We provide approximations to asymptotic variances that reveal differential rates of convergence under the three types of dependence. Further, in contrast to the one dimensional (i.e., the time series) case, it is shown that the form of the asymptotic variance in dimensions d>1 d>1 critically depends on the geometry of the sampling region under positive strong dependence and under negative dependence and that there can be non-trivial edge-effects under negative dependence for d>1 d>1. Precise conditions for the presence of edge effects are also given. |
| Keywords: | central limit theorem; edge effects; increasing domain asymptotics; long memory; negative dependence; positive dependence; sampling region; spatial lattice |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:65331&r=ure |
| By: | Maciej Jakubowski |
| Abstract: | Poland is one of the few European countries that achieved strong improvement of student performance over the last decade. According to the OECD PISA results Poland moved from below to above the OECD average and now is close to top-performing countries. The score improvements are a consequence of Polish education system reform introduced in 1999. The most important change of the 1999 reform was an extension of comprehensive education by one year. The evidence suggests the change immediately benefited student, while the remaining elements of the reform are probably responsible for the gradual improvement. The differences between secondary schools were largely limited. Introduction of nation-wide comparable exams, conducted at the end of every stage of education, played a crucial role in assuring quality in education system. Poland also increased support for the preschool education and further expanded the general curriculum in vocational schools. The result of all reforms was the expansion of obligatory comprehensive education from 8 years to at least 10 years now. |
| Keywords: | education reform, student performance, Poland |
| JEL: | I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ibt:ppaper:pp012015&r=ure |
| By: | Eoin Ó Broin (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CIRAD - Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - AgroParisTech - AgroParisTech, Chalmers University of Technology [Gothenburg]); Jonas Nässén (Chalmers University of Technology [Gothenburg]); Filip Johnsson (Chalmers University of Technology [Gothenburg]) |
| Abstract: | This paper models energy demand for space and water heating from 1970 to 2005 in the residential sector of four EU countries (France, Italy, Sweden, and UK) using index decomposition, ARDL econometric models and cointegration analysis. The partial and temporal influences on energy demand in each country of the number of households, floor area per household (m2) and unit consumption for space and water heating (kWh/m2/year) are disaggregated. The long-run price elasticity of demand at the unit consumption level is found to be low (around -0.25 over the four countries) while the long-run income elasticity of floor area per household is found to be around 0.25 for Italy, Sweden and the UK but insignificant for France. In an exercise using the model to estimate demand to 2050 under annual increases in energy prices of between 0% and 3% it is found that non-price effects such as building codes and autonomous technical progress (represented in the model as a time trend) are equally or more important than the price effect in reducing demand. Thus achieving significant reductions in EU residential sector energy demand by 2050 would require additional non-price policies and measures for success. |
| Keywords: | Heating,Residential,Scenarios,Price and non-price effects |
| Date: | 2015–10–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:ciredw:hal-01219278&r=ure |
| By: | Anil Rupasingha (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta); Yongzheng Liu (Renmin University of China); Mark Partridge (Ohio State University) |
| Abstract: | A general global precept is that agglomeration forces lead to migration from rural to urban areas. Yet, for much of the period since the early 1970s, more people moved from metro to nonmetro U.S. counties. The underlying causes of this pattern have changed over time with economic shocks and changing household preferences. For instance, the post 2000 period has seen a significant decline in domestic migration rates, significant increase in commodity prices that favor rural areas, and potential changes in the valuation of natural amenities that would affect migration. This study investigates the determinants of U.S. gross migration from metro to nonmetro counties and nonmetro to metro counties for the 1995-2000 and 2005-2009 periods in order to compare the differences in rural to urban and urban to rural migration as well as compare the 1990s to the 2005 to 2009 periods. The paper uses (1) extensive county-to-county migration flows and (2) uses the utility maximization theory that extends the framework of discrete choice model. The results show that population density, distance to urban areas, industry mix employment growth, natural amenities, and percent of older people are key factors underlying these migration patterns. We also find a slight fading of effects of natural amenities and population density and slight increase in the effects of wage and employment growth during 2005 to 2009 period. |
| Keywords: | metro to nonmetro migration, urban to rural migration, county-to-county migration, natural amenities |
| Date: | 2014–06–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper1426&r=ure |
| By: | Stéphane Lhuillery (ICN Business School & BETA-CNRS 7522, Nancy, France.); Julio Raffo (Economics and Statistics Division, World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.); Intan Hamdan-Livramento (Economics and Statistics Division, World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.) |
| Abstract: | There is a growing interest in broadening the measurement scope of innovation and considering “creative” activities, meaning that the usual indicators of innovation satisfy neither scholars nor policy makers. Conceptually, there is not much difference between innovative and creative activity: but to what extent are current measures that capture innovation relevant for creativity? Can the new measures for creativity benefit from the experience accumulated through R&D and innovation? Our article provides insights and lessons learned from using measures of innovative activities for scholars who are interested in capturing creative activities. We underscore the difficulties faced when measuring innovation and draw some parallels of these difficulties with the efforts undertaken to measure creativity. |
| Keywords: | innovation metrics; creativity measurement; patents; copyrights. |
| JEL: | O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:31&r=ure |
| By: | Berge, Erling (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Last summer visitors to the Oslo opera house were met with the following announcement: “Here comes the “Opera Commons” explaining: “Operaallmenningen”, the Opera Commons, “will be a multi-functional meeting place for cultural events, recreational activities and people passing through.” The choice of “allmenning” (commons) to designate a place that is available to citizens of Oslo and their visitors as a “meeting place for cultural events” and “recreational activities” may be part of an international trend idolizing “the commons”. This trend one may observe both in academia and in some political circles. The trend deserves some reflection in its own right. Why is there currently a need for this term? The established theory of the commons does not have much to say about urban reality in its own right. However, the theory is well developed to understand some problems of collective action as these appear in urban development. The link between land tenure and structure of land use decisions is well known. We shall use the theory of the commons to comment on the link between tenure and form of commons that may appear and the problems of governing urban commons in various forms. |
| Keywords: | Urban commons; common pool goods; social dilemmas; Oslo |
| JEL: | H40 R10 Z18 |
| Date: | 2016–02–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2016_004&r=ure |
| By: | Liu , Ju (CIRCLE, Lund University); Liefner , Ingo (Department of Economic Geography, Justus Liebig University Giessen) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the joint influencing mechanism of the two-dimensional proximity, namely geographical and organisational proximity, and knowledge base on the relational pattern of multinational companies’ (MNCs) global innovation networks (GINs). It argues when it comes to MNCs’ GINs, the conventional geographical-proximity-and-knowledge-base framework allows only for an incomplete understanding of the network relational patterns and particularly the observed differences between different GINs. The paper suggests an extended theoretical framework based on a two-dimensional proximity concept and the knowledge base approach for understanding how and why MNCs’ GINs are organised in specifically different ways. An in-depth comparative case study with social network analysis is used to illustrate the applicability of the framework in question. |
| Keywords: | global innovation network; Multinational company; Knowledge base; Geographical proximity; Organisational proximity; Social network analysis |
| JEL: | F23 L60 M16 O32 |
| Date: | 2016–01–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2016_004&r=ure |
| By: | Diana N. Elshahawany; Eduardo A. Haddd, Michael L. Lahr |
| Abstract: | Egypt has proposed a new development corridor. A main component is a desert-based expansion of the current highway network. This network is founded on a 1200-kilometer north-south route that starts at a proposed new port near El-Alemein and runs parallel to the Nile Valley to the border of Sudan. It also includes 21 east-west branches that connect the main axis to densely populated cities on the Nile. The paper is a first attempt at an economic assessment of the impact of this proposed corridor. It uses an interregional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model developed and reported in a prior paper. Here, that model is integrated with a more detailed geo-coded transportation network model to help quantify the spatial effects of transportation cost change due specifically to changes in accessibility induced by the corridor. The paper focuses on the likely structural economic impacts that such a large investment in transportation could enable through a series of simulations related to the operational phase of the project. |
| Keywords: | Impact analysis; interregional CGE models; transport infrastructure; accessibility; Egypt |
| JEL: | R13 R42 C68 |
| Date: | 2015–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2015wpecon42&r=ure |
| By: | Gluschenko, Konstantin |
| Abstract: | Lacking data on price levels across locations, economists are forced to proxy them. One method is to extrapolate the price levels known for locations in some point in time to another point by multiplying the initial price levels by the local CPIs. With the use of simulation experiments, this paper demonstrates that such a method is inadequate, since the path dependence of CPI alone produces considerable biases distorting cross-location comparisons of price levels. |
| Keywords: | spatial price index; inflation; Divisia index; nonhomothetic preferences; demand system |
| JEL: | C15 C43 E31 R19 |
| Date: | 2016–01–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68936&r=ure |
| By: | Samuel Bazzi (Boston University and BREAD); Matthew Gudgeon (Boston University) |
| Abstract: | A key feature of decentralization in developing countries has been the creation of new local governments. The implications of this process for violent conflict are not well understood. On the one hand, bringing representative government closer to the electorate can reduce heterogeneity in preferences, thereby mitigating conflict. On the other hand, creating local government institutions also leads to a large increase in rents that may be contested violently. Group cleavages can determine which of these two effects prevails. Identifying these distinct channels empirically has proven difficult. This paper resolves these challenges by exploiting a natural experiment in the ethnically and religiously diverse context of post-authoritarian Indonesia where rapid decentralization was accompanied by dramatic growth in the number of new districts and a resulting decline in ethnolinguistic fractionalization. We use new microdata on conflict from 2000–2014 and leverage the plausibly exogenous timing of redistricting due to a government moratorium. Overall, redistricting has small and insignificant average effects on conflict. However, areas that experience greater ethnolinguistic and religious homogenization as a result of splitting experience a significant reduction in conflict. At the same time, we find a differential increase in violence in areas that receive a new government and are also ethnically polarized. These differential increases in violence are most pronounced around the time of the first election and for types of violence associated with contestation of public resources and institutions. These results suggest that allowing for redistricting along group lines can reduce conflict, but the benefits of reduced diversity may be undone if the newly governed population is highly polarized. In such cases, conflict may then simply shift from the original seats of government to newly created ones. |
| Keywords: | Conflict, Polarization, Ethnic Diversity, Decentralization |
| JEL: | D72 D74 H41 H77 O13 Q34 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:205&r=ure |
| By: | Janeba, Eckhard; Todtenhaupt, Maximilian |
| Abstract: | The existing theoretical literature on fiscal competition has to a large extent ignored the role of government debt as a determinant of taxes and productive public spending. We develop a simple model of fiscal competition with government borrowing. If a default on government debt is no option, initial debt levels play no role in fiscal competition. This neutrality result is overturned when a default is possible. A government that is constrained in its borrowing due to a possible default responds optimally by lowering spending on durable public infrastructure, which in turn induces more aggressive tax setting. A rise in exogenous firm mobility reinforces the link between legacy debt and fiscal competition. Our model may help explain the observation that highly indebted countries in Europe have decreased corporate tax rates over-proportionally. Our model may also be useful for evaluating decentralization reforms in which the power to tax firms is devolved to lower levels of governments which differ in their initial debt levels. |
| Keywords: | Asymmetric Tax Competition,Business Tax,Sovereign Debt,Inter-Jurisdictional Tax Competition |
| JEL: | H25 H63 H73 H87 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:16013&r=ure |
| By: | Garloff, Alfred (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Roth, Duncan (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "This paper estimates the effect that changes in the size of the youth population have on the wages of young workers. Assuming that differently aged workers are only imperfectly substitutable, economic theory predicts that individuals in larger age groups earn lower wages. We test this hypothesis for a sample of young, male, fulltime employees in Western Germany during the period 1999-2010. In contrast to other studies, functional rather than administrative spatial entities are used as they provide a more accurate measure of the youth population in an actual labour market. Based on instrumental variables estimation, we show that an increase in the youth share by one percentage point is predicted to decrease a young worker's wages by 3 %. Our results also suggest that a substantial part of this effect is due to members of larger age groups being more likely to be employed in lower-paying occupations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | J21 J31 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–02–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201606&r=ure |
| By: | Nahlik, Matthew J; Chester, Mikhail V |
| Keywords: | Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2015–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:uctcwp:qt9fd4d2dn&r=ure |
| By: | Ting Wang |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I study the impact of employment growth in manufacturing on employ- ment in the non-tradable sector for prefecture-level cities in China. Using the 2000 and 2010 Censuses of Population, I apply the shift-share approach to isolate the exogenous change of employment growth in manufacturing and investigate its impact on the non- tradable sector. I find that adding ten manufacturing jobs creates 3.4 additional jobs in the non-tradable sector. I also show that the effect is heterogeneous along a number of dimensions. More specifically, one new job in high-technology manufacturing creates more jobs in the non-tradable sector while low-technology manufacturing employment growth has no significant multiplier effect. Among the non-tradable industries, the multiplier is the largest for wholesale, retail, and catering. Finally, I find that the eect is also geographically heterogeneous, with the multiplier being greater for inland regions. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsu:lsuwpp:2016-02&r=ure |
| By: | Ke Wang; Yingnan Liu |
| JEL: | Q40 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014–07–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:biw:wpaper:63&r=ure |
| By: | Zhirova, Galina (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | The article considers the sources of income part of local budgets. It also highlights the problems of financial independence of local entities, full realization of economic interests of the population of the territories. The article also proves that for the purpose of replenishment of revenue part of local budgets and enhance the role of local taxes, it is necessary to improve tax legislation. It also proposes in order to improve the collection of land tax, to improve the land legislation and to reform the taxation of property of individuals. |
| Keywords: | local budget, local taxes and fees, budgetary incomes, tax legislation |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:ppaper:zhrpc3&r=ure |
| By: | DEFRYN, Christof; SÖRENSEN, Kenneth; CORNELISSENS, Trijntje |
| Abstract: | We consider a selective vehicle routing problem, in which customers belonging to different partners in a logistic coalition are served in a single logistic operation with multiple vehicles. Each partner determines a cost of non-delivery (CND) for each of its customers, and a central algorithm creates an operational plan, including the decision on which customers to serve and in which trip. The total transportation cost of the coalition is then divided back to the partners through a cost allocation mechanism. This paper investigates the effect on the cost allocation of a partner’s strategy on non-delivery penalties (high/low) and the properties of its customer locations (distance to the depot, degree of clustering). The effect of the cost allocation method used by the coalition is also investigated. We compare the well-known Shapley value cost allocation method to our novel problem-specific method: the CND-weighted cost allocation method. We prove that an adequate cost allocation method can provide an incentive for each partner to behave in a way that benefits the coalition. Further, we develop a transformation that is able to transform any cost allocation into an individually rational one without losing this incentive. |
| Keywords: | Horizontal collaboration, Selective vehicle routing problem, Collaborative vehicle routing, Cost allocation |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ant:wpaper:2015006&r=ure |
| By: | Mezza, Alvaro A. (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)); Ringo, Daniel R. (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)); Sherlund, Shane M. (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)); Sommer, Kamila (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effect of student loan debt on subsequent homeownership in a uniquely constructed administrative data set for a nationally representative cohort aged 23 to 31 in 2004 and followed over time, from 1997 to 2010. Our unique data combine anonymized individual credit bureau data with college enrollment histories and school characteristics associated with each enrollment spell, as well as several other data sources. To identify the causal effect of student loans on homeownership, we instrument for the amount of the individual's student loan debt using changes to the in-state tuition rate at public 4-year colleges in the student's home state. We find that a 10 percent increase in student loan debt causes a 1 to 2 percentage point drop in the homeownership rate for student loan borrowers during the first five years after exiting school. Validity tests suggest that the results are not confounded by local economic conditions or non-random selection int o the estimation sample. |
| Keywords: | Credit Constraints; Homeowernship; Student loans |
| Date: | 2016–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2016-10&r=ure |
| By: | Francesco Di Comite (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Olga Diukanova (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); D'Artis Kancs (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | This manual explains how to practically use the RHOMOLO model for policy impact assessment. We explain here how to read its modular structure, to retrieve its database and provide a step-by step guide to perform simulations using either its GAMS-IDE interface (for expert users) or a user-friendly graphical web-interface. |
| Keywords: | RHOMOLO, Macro-Economic Models, Computable General Equilibrium, Impact assessment |
| JEL: | C68 D24 D58 H50 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96776&r=ure |
| By: | Zhixin Dai (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - ENS Lyon - École normale supérieure - Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne - PRES Université de Lyon - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Fabio Galeotti (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - ENS Lyon - École normale supérieure - Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne - PRES Université de Lyon - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Marie Claire Villeval (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - ENS Lyon - École normale supérieure - Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne - PRES Université de Lyon - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | The concentration of high frequency controls in a limited period of time (" crackdowns ") constitutes an important feature of many law-enforcement policies around the world. In this paper, we offer a comprehensive investigation on the relative efficiency and effectiveness of various crackdown policies using a lab-in-the-field experiment with real passengers of a public transport service. We introduce a novel game, the daily public transportation game, where subjects have to decide, over many periods, whether to buy or not a ticket knowing that there might be a control. Our results show that (a) concentrated crackdowns are less effective and efficient than random controls; (b) prolonged crackdowns reduce fare-dodging during the period of intense monitoring but induces a burst of fraud as soon as they are withdrawn; (c) pre-announced controls induces more fraud in the periods without control. Overall, we also observe that real fare-dodgers fraud more in the experiment than non-fare-dodgers. |
| Keywords: | Crackdowns, fraud, risk, monitoring, transportation, field experiment |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01270808&r=ure |