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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Bahaj, Saleem A.; Foulis, Angus; Pinter, Gabor |
| Abstract: | We present evidence on a new macroeconomic channel which we call the residential collateral channel. Through this channel, an increase in real estate prices expands firm activity by enabling company directors to utilise their residential property as a source of funds for their business. This channel is a key determinant of investment and job creation, with a £1 increase in the combined residential collateral of a firm’s directors estimated to increase the firm’s investment by £0.02 and total wage costs by £0.02. To show this, we use a unique combination of UK datasets including firm-level accounting data matched with transaction-level house price data and loan-level residential mortgage data. The aggregate value of residential collateral held by company directors (around 70% of GDP) suggests that this channel has important macroeconomic effects. We complement this with further evidence on the corporate collateral channel whereby an increase in real estate prices directly expands firm activity by enabling businesses to borrow more against their corporate real estate. An estimated general equilibrium model with collateral constrained firms is used to quantify the aggregate effects of both channels. |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2016–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:86240&r=ure |
| By: | DELLOYE, Justin, (CORE, Université catholique de Louvain); LEMOY, Rémi, (Université du Luxembourg); CARUSO, Geoffrey, (Université du Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | Urban characteristics scaling with total population has become an important urban research field since one needs to better understand the benefits and disadvantages of urban growth and further population concentration. Urban scaling research, however, is largely disconnected from the empirics and theory of intra-urban structure for it considers averaged attributes and ignores residential choice trade-offs between transport and housing costs within cities. Using this fundamental trade-off, the monocentric model of Alonso provides theory to urban density profiles. However, it is silent about how these profiles scale with population, thus preventing empirical scaling studies to anchor in a strong micro-economic theory. This paper fixes this gap by introducing power laws for land and for population density in the Alonso model. From an augmented model with land use, we derive the conditions at which equilibrium profiles match recent empirical findings about the scaling of urban land and population density profiles in European cities. We find that the Alonso model is theoretically compatible with the observed scaling of population density profiles and leads to a satisfactory representation of European cities. The conditions for this compatibility refine current understanding of wage and transport costs elasticities with population. Although they require a scaling power of the profile of the share of urbanised land that is different from what is observed, it is argued that alternatives specifications of transport cost functions could solve this issue. Thus our results call for revisiting theories about land development and housing processes as well as the empirics of agglomeration benefits and transport costs. |
| Keywords: | monocentric model, population density, scaling laws, agglomeration economies |
| Date: | 2017–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cor:louvco:2017037&r=ure |
| By: | Michael Fritsch (FSU Jena); Mirko Titze (Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), Germany); Matthias Piontek (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany) |
| Abstract: | The value of social network analysis is critically dependent on the comprehensive and reliable identification of actors and their relationships. We compare regional knowledge networks based on different types of data sources, namely, co-patents, co-publications, and publicly subsidized collaborative R&D projects. Moreover, by combining these three data sources, we construct a multilayer network that provides a comprehensive picture of intraregional interactions. By comparing the networks based on the data sources, we address the problems of coverage and selection bias. We observe that using only one data source leads to a severe underestimation of regional knowledge interactions, especially those of private sector firms and independent researchers. The key role of universities that connect many regional actors is identified in all three types of data. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge interactions, social network analysis, regional innovation systems, data sources |
| JEL: | O30 R12 R30 |
| Date: | 2018–01–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2018-003&r=ure |
| By: | Allen Head (Department of Economics, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada); Huw Lloyd-Ellis (Department of Economics, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada); Derek Stacey (Department of Economics, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada) |
| Abstract: | A theory of the distribution of housing tenure in a city is developed. Heterogeneous houses are built by a competitive development industry and either rented competitively or sold to households which differ in their income and sort over housing types through a directed search process. In the absence of either financial or supply restrictions, higher income households are more likely to own and lower quality housing is more likely to be rented. The composition of the housing stock and the rate of home-ownership depend on the distribution of income, the age of the population and construction costs. When calibrated to match average features of housing markets within U.S. cities, observed differences in these variables account well for the variation observed across cities in home-ownership and the price-rent ratio. A policy designed to improve housing affordability significantly raises home-ownership among lower income households while lowering the quality supplied to high income households. |
| Keywords: | House Prices, Liquidity, Search, Income Inequality |
| JEL: | E30 R31 R10 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rye:wpaper:wp070&r=ure |
| By: | Waights, Sevrin |
| Abstract: | Hedonic prices of locational attributes in urban land markets are determined by a process of spatial arbitrage that is similar to that which underpins the law of one price. If hedonic prices deviate from their spatial equilibrium values then individuals can benefit from changing locations. I examine whether the law holds for the hedonic price of rail access using a unique historical dataset for Berlin over the period 1890-1914, characterised by massive investment in the transport infrastructure. I estimate the hedonic price of rail access across multiple urban neighbourhoods and time periods to generate a panel dataset of hedonic price differences that I test for stationarity using a panel unit root test. Across multiple specifications I consistently fail to reject the null hypothesis of no unit root and accept the alternative hypothesis that the law holds. My estimates indicate a half-life for convergence to the law of one price that lies between 0.28 and 1.14 years. This result is consistent with spatial equilibrium. |
| Keywords: | Spatial equilibrium; law of one price; hedonic prices; transport; unit root tests; panel data |
| JEL: | N93 R00 R12 R13 R31 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:86418&r=ure |
| By: | Stephen Machin; Matteo Sandi |
| Abstract: | This paper studies whether pupil performance gains achieved by autonomous schools - specifically academy schools in England - can be attributed to the strategic exclusion of poorly performing pupils. In England there have been two phases of academy school introduction, the first in the 2000s being a school improvement programme for schools serving disadvantaged pupil populations, the second a mass academisation programme in the 2010s which by contrast enabled better performing schools to become academies. Overall, on average across both programmes, exclusion rates are higher in academy schools. When the two programmes are considered separately, the earlier programme featured a much higher increase in the incidence of permanent exclusion. However, a number of simulated counterfactual experiments based on the statistical estimates show that rather than being used as a strategic means of manipulation to boost measured school performance, the higher rate of exclusion is instead a feature of the rigorously enforced discipline procedures that the pre-2010 academies adopted. |
| Keywords: | academies, discipline, exclusion |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1527&r=ure |
| By: | Erlend Eide Bø (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Match quality, the part of housing value to the buyer which is unique for each buyer-house match, is important in several housing market matching models, but measuring it is difficult for an econometrician. I suggest that similarity between buyers and sellers (at the time they bought) may be used to measure match quality. Successive owners of houses should share characteristics if observable characteristics of a buyer are correlated with the buyer's preferences for housing. A buyer could expect to have a high match quality if similar to the seller. I use a simple matching model to show this mechanism. I test this prediction using unique data with information on buyers and sellers (at the time they bought), and show that their similarity can be used as a proxy for match quality. Buyers who resemble sellers are paying more, also when a large number of observable housing characteristics are controlled for. Supplementary analyses strengthen my claim that the distance between seller and buyer can be used as a proxy for match quality. Matches with low distance lead to slightly reduced hazard rate of reselling the house, and an increased probability of having children, both of which would be expected in a high quality match. |
| Keywords: | Taxation; Distribution; Housing |
| JEL: | D83 R31 |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:865&r=ure |
| By: | Javier Cano-Urbina; Lance Lochner |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effects of educational attainment and school quality on crime among American women. Using changes in compulsory schooling laws as instruments, we estimate significant effects of schooling attainment on the probability of incarceration using Census data from 1960-1980. Using data from the 1960-90 Uniform Crime Reports, we also estimate that increases in average schooling levels reduce arrest rates for violent and property crime but not white collar crime. Our results suggest small and mixed direct effects of school quality (as measured by pupil-teacher ratios, term length, and teacher salaries) on incarceration and arrests. Finally, we show that the effects of education on crime for women are unlikely to be due to changes in labor market opportunities and may be more related to changes in marital opportunities and family formation. |
| JEL: | H75 I22 K42 |
| Date: | 2017–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24061&r=ure |
| By: | Allen Head (Queen's University); Huw Lloyd-Ellis (Queen's University); Derek Stacey (Ryerson University) |
| Abstract: | A theory of the distribution of housing tenure in a city is developed. Heterogeneous houses are built by a competitive development industry and either rented competitively or sold to households which differ in their income and sort over housing types through a directed search process. In the absence of either financial or supply restrictions, higher income households are more likely to own and lower quality housing is more likely to be rented. The composition of the housing stock and the rate of home-ownership depend on the distribution of income, the age of the population and construction costs. When calibrated to match average features of housing markets within U.S. cities, observed differences in these variables account well for the variation observed across cities in home-ownership and the price-rent ratio. A policy designed to improve housing affordability significantly raises home-ownership among lower income households while lowering the quality supplied to high income households. |
| Keywords: | House prices, liquidity, search, income inequality |
| JEL: | R31 D31 E21 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:wpaper:1396&r=ure |
| By: | Abel Brodeur (Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON); Sarah Flèche (Aix-Marseille School of Economics, Marseille, France) |
| Abstract: | How does neighbors' income affect individual well-being? Our analysis is based on rich US local data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which contains information on where respondents live and their self-reported well-being. We find that the effect of neighbors' income on individuals' self-reported well-being varies with the size of the neighborhood included. In smaller areas such as ZIP codes, we find a positive relationship between median income and individuals' life satisfaction, whereas it is the opposite at the county, MSA and state levels. We provide evidence that local public goods and local area characteristics such as unemployment, criminality and poverty rates drive the association between satisfaction and neighbors' income at the ZIP code level. The neighbors' income effects are mainly concentrated among poorer individuals and are as large as one-quarter the effect of own income on self-reported well-being. |
| Keywords: | neighbors' income, public goods, amenities, relative deprivation, well-being. |
| JEL: | C25 J01 R23 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ott:wpaper:1719e&r=ure |
| By: | Michael Fritsch (FSU Jena); Michael Wyrwich (FSU Jena) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the role of entrepreneurship culture and the historical knowledge base of a region on current levels of new business formation in innovative industries. The analysis is for German regions and covers the time period 1907-2014. We find a pronounced positive relationship between high levels of historical self-employment in science-based industries and new business formation in innovative industries today. This long-term legacy effect of entrepreneurial tradition indicates the prevalence of a regional culture of entrepreneurship. Moreover, local presence and geographic proximity to a technical university founded before the year 1900 is positively related to the level of innovative start-ups more than a century later. The results show that a considerable part of the knowledge that constitutes an important source of entrepreneurial opportunities is deeply rooted in history. We draw conclusions for policy and for further research. |
| Keywords: | Innovative start-ups, universities, regional knowledge, regional cultures of entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | L26 L60 L80 O18 R12 R30 |
| Date: | 2018–01–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2018-001&r=ure |
| By: | Ngai, L. Rachel; Sheedy, Kevin D. |
| Abstract: | Using data on house sales and inventories, this paper shows that housing-market dynamics are driven mainly by listings and less so by transaction speed, thus the decision to move house is key to understanding the housing market. The paper builds a model where moving house is essentially an investment in match quality, implying that moving depends on macroeconomic developments and housing-market conditions. The endogeneity of moving means there is a cleansing effect — those at the bottom of the match quality distribution move first — which generates overshooting in aggregate variables. The model is applied to the 1995–2004 housingmarket boom. |
| Keywords: | housing market; search and matching; endogenous moving; match quality investment. |
| JEL: | D83 E22 R31 |
| Date: | 2016–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:86227&r=ure |
| By: | Naudé, Wim (Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship, being largely an urban phenomenon, co-evolves over time with cities. While this relationship is like a 'horse and carriage', it is not a straightforward one, more akin to 'love and marriage'. In this paper I explore the co-evolution of entrepreneurship and cities. First, I provide a stylized model of development wherein the rise of cities (urbanisation) is the outcome of the activities of entrepreneurs. Second, I provide a stylized overview of entrepreneurship and cities from earlier to later stages of development. In young cities a challenge for establishing an entrepreneurial ecosystem is the provision of infrastructure for business' connectivity and energy. Good urban planning and management skills, including urban policing and dealing with land disputes, may be amongst the most sorely needed in the emerging world today. At more intermediate and later stages of development, cities can become entrepreneurial hotspots and even 'global startup cities'. Three main challenges during these stages, as far as the role of entrepreneurs are concerned, relates to (i) rising property prices and rents, urban congestion and fierce business competition, (ii) environmental sustainability and (iii) the impacts of technology that could make centralization in cities for business purposes unnecessary. Entrepreneurs have important roles to play as property developers and in the creation of new business models and new markets. They can be the drivers of 'smart' cities, 'circular' cities, and of sub-urbanisation and secondary city growth. Over time not all cities, and their entrepreneurs, will necessarily continue to grow and prosper. There is nothing inevitable in the rise of any particular city and the prosperity of its entrepreneurs. Cities do not only generate, they also degenerate. I conclude that the heterogeneity, serendipity and context-specificity of global urbanisation implies that there is much that is still unknown about the specifics of the relationship between cities and its entrepreneurs over time. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, urbanisation, development |
| JEL: | L26 L53 M13 O18 R10 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11195&r=ure |
| By: | Stefan Leknes (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Using a very large comprehensive matched employer-employee panel of the Norwegian workforce (19 million observations), I find a higher likelihood of job change across sectors and occupations, namely labor churning, in populous areas. Further investigation shows that this result is driven by high skilled groups, assumed to have more transferable skills. Moreover, educated urban workers are more likely to switch to sectors and occupations that they have prior experience with and that are similar in the use of human capital. Together, these novel results complement previous research by illuminating how the tradeoff between better labor matching and accumulating specific skills affect churning decisions for heterogeneous workers. |
| Keywords: | turnover; urban scale; human capital; sector; occupation |
| JEL: | J24 J63 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:866&r=ure |
| By: | Yiwen Chen (CREA, Université du Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether the decision of migrant parents on children’s migration affect their school performance. Empirical evidence based on the 2009 wave of the Rural-Urban Migration Survey in China (RUMiC) data suggests that migrant children outperform left-behind children, especially for Chinese test scores. Further analysis interacting children’s migration status with their age shows that, in terms of school performance, younger children having migrated with parents to the city have advantage over their leftbehind counterparts in rural hometown, but this gap disappears with the age of children. Among children in junior high school, school performance of left-behind children are better than that of migrant children. |
| Keywords: | Chinese internal migrant workers; left-behind children; migrant children; school performance |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:luc:wpaper:18-02&r=ure |
| By: | Frick, Susanne A.; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates (1) the evolution of urban concentration from 1985 to 2010 in 68 countries around the world and (2) the extent to which the degree of urban concentration affects national economic growth. It aims to overcome the limitations of existing empirical literature by building a new urban population dataset that allows the construction of a set of Herfindahl-Hirschman-Indices which capture a country's urban structure in a more nuanced way than the indicators used hitherto. We find that, contrary to the general perception, urban concentration levels have on average decreased or remained stable (depending on indicator). However, these averages camouflage diverging trends across countries. The results of the econometric analysis suggest that there is no uniform relationship between urban concentration and economic growth. Urban concentration is beneficial for economic growth in high-income countries, while this effect does not hold for developing countries. The results differ from previous analyses that generally underscore the benefits of urban concentration at low levels of economic development. The results are robust to accounting for reverse causality through IV analysis, using exogenous geographic factors as instruments. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration; Economic Growth; high-income countries; low-income countries; urban primacy |
| JEL: | R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12566&r=ure |
| By: | Bennett, Magdalena (Columbia University); Bergman, Peter (Columbia University) |
| Abstract: | Truancy correlates with many risky behaviors and adverse outcomes. We use detailed administrative data on by-class absences to construct social networks based on students who miss class together. We simulate these networks and use permutation tests to show that certain students systematically coordinate their absences. Leveraging a parent-information intervention on student absences, we find spillover effects from treated students onto peers in their network. We show that an optimal-targeting algorithm that incorporates machine-learning techniques to identify heterogeneous effects, as well as the direct effects and spillover effects, could further improve the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the intervention subject to a budget constraint. |
| Keywords: | social networks, peer effects, education |
| JEL: | I21 D85 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11267&r=ure |
| By: | Michael Wyrwich (FSU Jena) |
| Abstract: | Migration restrictions are a hotly debated topic in the current refugee crisis in Europe. This paper investigates the long-term effect of a restrictive migration policy on regional development. The analysis is based on the large-scale expulsion of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe after World War II (WWII). Expellees were not allowed to resettle in the French occupation zone in the first years after the War while there was no such legislation in the other occupation zones (U.S.; U.K; Soviet Union). The temporary migration barrier had long-lasting consequences. In a nutshell, results of a Difference-in-Difference (DiD) analysis show that growth of population has been significantly lower in the long run, if a region was part of the French occupation zone. Even 60 years after the removal of the barrier the degree of agglomeration is still significantly lower in these areas. The paper discusses implications for the current refugee crisis. |
| Keywords: | Migration barrier, population shock, refugee migration, long-term regional development |
| JEL: | J11 J61 N34 R11 R23 |
| Date: | 2018–01–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2018-002&r=ure |
| By: | Spiegler, Ran |
| Abstract: | Using data on house sales and inventories, this paper shows that housing-market dynamics are driven mainly by listings and less so by transaction speed, thus the decision to move house is key to understanding the housing market. The paper builds a model where moving house is essentially an investment in match quality, implying that moving depends on macroeconomic developments and housing-market conditions. The endogeneity of moving means there is a cleansing effect — those at the bottom of the match quality distribution move first — which generates overshooting in aggregate variables. The model is applied to the 1995–2004 housingmarket boom. |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2016–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:86228&r=ure |
| By: | Geir H. M. Bjertnæs (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | A tax on fuel combined with tax-exemptions or subsidies for purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles is implemented in many countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other negative externalities from road traffic. This study, however, shows that a tax on fuel should be combined with heavier taxation of fuel-efficient vehicles to curb externalities from road traffic. The tax on fuel is implemented to curb externalities linked to both consumption of fuel and road use. The heavier tax on fuel-efficient vehicles prevents that motorists avoid the road user charge on fuel by purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles. |
| Keywords: | Transportation; optimal taxation; environmental taxation; global warming |
| JEL: | H2 H21 H23 Q58 R48 |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:867&r=ure |
| By: | Julie Beugnot (Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CRESE); Bernard Fortin (Université Laval, CRREP, CIRANO); Guy Lacroix (Université Laval, CRREP, CIRANO); Marie-Claire Villeval (Université de Lyon, CNRS, GATE, IZA) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether peer effects at work differ by gender and whether the gender difference in peer effects –if any- depends on work organization, precisely the structure of social networks. We develop a social network model with gender heterogeneity that we test by means of a real effort laboratory experiment. We compare sequential networks in which information on peers flows exclusively downward (from peers to the worker) and simultaneous networks where it disseminates bi-directionally along an undirected line (from peers to the worker and from the worker to peers). We identify strong gender differences in peer effects, as males’ effort increases with peers’ performance in both types of network, whereas females behave conditionally. While they are influenced by peers in sequential networks, females disregard their peers’ performance when information flows in both directions. We reject that the difference between networks is driven by having one’s performance observed by others or by the presence of peers in the same session in simultaneous networks. We interpret the gender difference in terms of perception of a higher competitiveness of the environment in simultaneous than in sequential networks because of the bi-directional flow of information. |
| Keywords: | Gender, peer effects, social networks, work effort, experiment |
| JEL: | C91 J16 J24 J31 M52 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crb:wpaper:2017-03&r=ure |
| By: | Jaegeum Lim; Jonathan Meer |
| Abstract: | We exploit data from middle schools in Seoul, South Korea, where students and teachers are randomly assigned to classrooms, and find that female students taught by a female versus a male teacher score higher on standardized tests compared to male students even five years later. We also find that having a female math teacher in 7th grade increases the likelihood that female students take higher-level math courses, aspire to a STEM degree, and attend a STEM-focused high school. These effects are driven by changes in students' attitudes and choices. |
| JEL: | I20 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24128&r=ure |
| By: | Mafini Dosso (European Commission - JRC); Lesley Potters (European Commission - JRC); Alexander Tuebke (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | * Firms organise innovation activities across a wider range of geographically dispersed and specialized units, as compared to previous decades. Moreover corporate innovation processes are broken up into ever finer stages and tasks at the global scale. * The global dispersion of R&D and innovation activities occurs at a higher pace and goes hand in hand with a stronger regional polarization. Yet, corporate R&D remains a domestic activity, although functional and industry-specific patterns can be observed. * The increased internationalisation of R&D and innovation activities does not imply the hollowing-out of domestic ones. Foreign innovation activities may actually support domestic increases in innovation. * The internal and external connections of national and regional systems matter for their innovation performance. The quality of the regional learning and innovation systems is important to attract "relevant activities or segments" of the GVC. On the other hand, better connecting regions to the global innovation networks is important for local growth and employment. * The extent to which firms co-locate production and innovation activities depends on industry, product and process-specificities. * Evidence is needed on how R&D and innovation activities are sliced and diced across GVCs, on how these global corporate dynamics interact with national and regional innovation systems and on how they impact on local growth and employment. |
| Keywords: | R&D, Innovation Policy, Industrial Policy, Innovation. |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc107930&r=ure |
| By: | Elena Raevskikh (CNELIAS - Centre Norbert Elias - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UAPV - Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Supported by the omnipresent State in the past, French music education leans increasingly towards a more liberal and competitive model. In the current context of a decentralized economy and European integration, music conservatories are called upon to contribute to regional and municipal development and enhance European student mobility. How do conservatories react to the restructuring of the competitive field? How do they affect European territorial cohesion? Are they managing adaptive or hybrid strategies with new conceptions of music education? Alternatively, do they gradually move away from the marketplace and become an obsolete and difficult heritage to maintain? To answer these questions, it is necessary to analyze the current balance of power among the different elements of the French multi-level system of conservatories, including communal, inter-communal, departmental, regional, national and European institutions. By combining different sources of spatial and statistical data, this paper contributes to constructing a comparative institutional geography of French multi-level territorial divisions. Extraction and treatment of the small data with SPSS statistical software allowed us to build a number of small-scale datasets that were merged to broader geographical databases from the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). The geographical units that structure the INSEE databases (the zip and district codes, codes of regions, departments, GPS coordinates) made possible the location of each conservatory within municipal, departmental, regional and national spaces. A cartographic approach to studying music conservatories allows the identification of problems that deserve further detailed qualitative and statistical study in the future. |
| Keywords: | cultural policies, music education, cultural institutions, European integration, territorial administration, institutional geography |
| Date: | 2017–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01655357&r=ure |
| By: | Timo Gschwind (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany); Stefan Irnich (Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany); Fabio Furini (LAMSADE Université Paris Dauphine, France); Roberto Wolfler Calvo (LIPN Université Paris, France) |
| Abstract: | In social network analysis (SNA), relationships between members of a network are encoded in an undirected graph where vertices represent the members of the network and edges indicate the existence of a relationship. One important task in SNA is community detection, that is, clustering the members into communities such that relatively few edges are in the cutsets, but relatively many are internal edges. The clustering is intended to reveal hidden or reproduce known features of the network, while the structure of communities is arbitrary. We propose decomposing a graph into the minimum number of relaxed cliques as a new method for community detection especially conceived for cases in which the internal structure of the community is important. Cliques, that is, subsets of vertices inducing complete subgraphs, can model perfectly cohesive communities, but often they are overly restrictive because many real communities form dense, but not complete subgraphs. Therefore, di erent variants of relaxed cliques have been defined in terms of vertex degree and distance, edge density, and connectivity. They allow to impose application-specific constraints a community has to fulfill such as familiarity and reachability among members and robustness of the communities. By discussing the results obtained for some very prominent social networks widely studied in the SNA literature we demonstrate the applicability of our approach. |
| Keywords: | Community detection, graph decomposition, clique relaxations, social network analysis |
| Date: | 2017–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jgu:wpaper:1722&r=ure |
| By: | Martin Kahanec |
| Abstract: | The economic literature starting with Borjas (2001) suggests that immigrants are more flexible than natives in responding to changing sectoral, occupational, and spatial shortages in the labor market. In this paper, we study the relative responsiveness to labor shortages by immigrants from various origins, skills and tenure in the country vis-à- vis the natives, and how it varied over the business cycle during the Great Recession. We show that immigrants in general have responded to changing labor shortages across EU member states, occupations and sectors more fluidly than natives. This effect is especially significant for low-skilled immigrants from the new member states or with the medium number of years since immigration, as well as with high-skilled immigrants with relatively few (1-5) or many (11+) years since migration. The relative responsiveness of some immigrant groups declined during the crisis years (those from Europe outside the EU or with eleven or more years since migration), whereas other groups of immigrants became particularly fluid during the Great Recession, such as those from new member states. Our results suggest immigrants may play an important role in labor adjustment during times of asymmetric economic shocks, and support the case for well-designed immigration policy and free movement of workers within the EU. Paper provides new insights into the functioning of the European Single Market and the roles various immigrant groups play for its stabilization through labor adjustment during times of uneven economic development across sectors, occupations, and countries. |
| Keywords: | immigrant worker, labor supply, skilled migration, labor shortage, wage regression, Great Recession |
| JEL: | J24 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2018–01–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cel:dpaper:48&r=ure |
| By: | Modai-Snir, Tal (Delft University of Technology); van Ham, Maarten (Delft University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Many studies of urban and neighbourhood change investigate changes in the relative positions of neighbourhoods within an urban region, without looking at the underlying processes. Often, changes in socio-spatial structures reflect intensifying socio-spatial divisions caused by both increasing inequality and urban development processes. This paper will examine the roles of increasing inequality and urban-development processes in reshaping the socio-spatial structure of the Tel-Aviv metropolitan area in Israel. Tel-Aviv is an interesting case study because of the persistent north-south socioeconomic divide. During the research period (1995–2008) inequality in Israel has risen substantially following the integration in the global economy; at the same time, the metropolitan area went through extensive urban development and expansion to the rural fringe. To examine the contributions associated with increasing inequality and urban-development processes to income changes among metropolitan neighbourhoods, we use a method that was originally presented in the context of individual income mobility and recently applied in the context of neighbourhood change. The results show that urban processes and inequality intensified the historical divide in different ways, and each factor can be associated with a typical spatial pattern. The interaction between the factors is diverse; in some places they reinforced each other, whereas in some they operated at opposite directions and offset each other. |
| Keywords: | neighbourhood change, socioeconomic change, spatial polarization, socio-spatial structure, inequality, socio-spatial divide |
| JEL: | O18 P25 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11219&r=ure |
| By: | Sinem H. Ayhan (University of Münster); Kseniia Gatskova; Hartmut Lehmann |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence on the impacts of non-cognitive skills and attitudes towards risk on the decision to migrate from rural to urban areas. Our analysis is based on a unique four-wave panel of Ukrainian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey for the period between 2003 and 2012. Adopting the Five Factor Model of personality structure, and using it in the evaluation of noncognitive skills, our results suggest that such personality traits as openness to new experience and the willingness to take risks increase the probability of migration. On the other hand, the non-cognitive skills conscientiousness and extraversion are found to be negatively associated with the propensity to migrate. The effects are statistically and quantitatively significant, and mainly driven by movements from rural areas into cities. Our results are robust to several sensitivity checks, including tests for reverse causality. |
| Keywords: | migration, non-cognitive skills, Big Five, risk attitudes |
| JEL: | J61 D03 D81 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ost:wpaper:369&r=ure |
| By: | McCann, Fergal (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | Mortgage modification has played a central role in the policy response to the mortgage arrears crisis in Ireland. In this Letter I use Central Bank loan level data to provide a time line of the recent history of modification issuance in Ireland, highlighting the rapid switch from modifications of a short-term to those of a more long-term, sustainable nature since 2013. I then show in an empirical model that the probability of non-payment increases substantially for modified mortgages with a previous default history, as it does for those with higher loan-to-value ratios, those with higher interest rates, those outside Dublin and those issued short-term, temporary arrangements. |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:ecolet:16/el/17&r=ure |
| By: | Laszlo Goerke; Olga Lorenz |
| Abstract: | We investigate the causal effect of commuting on sickness absence from work using German panel data. To address reverse causation, we use changes in commuting distance for employees who stay with the same employer and who have the same residence during the period of observation. In contrast to previous papers, we do not observe that commuting distances are associated with higher sickness absence, in general. Only employees who commute long distances are absent about 20% more than employees with no commutes. We explore various explanations for the effect of long distance commutes to work and can find no evidence that it is due to working hours mismatch, lower work effort, reduced leisure time or differences in health status. |
| Keywords: | sickness absence, absenteeism, commuting, health, labour supply |
| JEL: | I10 J22 R2 R40 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp946&r=ure |
| By: | Becker, Sascha O.; Heblich, Stephan; Sturm, Daniel M |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the impact of public employment on private sector activity using the relocation of the German federal government from Berlin to Bonn in the wake of the Second World War as a source of exogenous variation. To guide our empirical analysis, we develop a simple economic geography model in which public sector employment in a city can crowd out private employment through higher wages and house prices, but also generates potential productivity and amenity spillovers. We find that relative to a control group of cities, Bonn experiences a substantial increase in public employment. However, this results in only modest increases in private sector employment with each additional public sector job destroying around 0.2 jobs in industries and creating just over one additional job in other parts of the private sector. We show how this finding can be explained by our model and provide several pieces of evidence for the mechanisms emphasised by the model. |
| Keywords: | Economic Geography; German Division; Place-Based Policies; Public Employment |
| JEL: | F15 J45 N44 R12 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12565&r=ure |
| By: | De Philippis, Marta; Rossi, Frederico |
| Abstract: | Results from international standardized tests show large cross-country differences in students’ performances. Where do these gaps come from? This paper argues that differences in cultural environments and parental inputs may be of great importance. We show that the school performance of second generation immigrants is closely related with the one of native students in their parents’ countries of origin. This holds true even after accounting for different family background characteristics, schools attended and selection into immigration. We quantify the overall contribution of various parental inputs to the observed cross-country differences in the PISA test performance, and show that they account for about 40% of the gap between East Asia and other regions. This pattern questions whether PISA scores should be interpreted only as a quality measure for a country’s educational system. They actually contain an important intergenerational and cultural component. |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:86233&r=ure |
| By: | Knörr, Marlene (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Weber, Enzo (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "This paper examines the cross-border labor market in the French-German Upper Rhine Region. Based on shortage analyses conducted for both sides of the border, a fixed effects panel regression estimates the impact of changing labor market situations on the number of French frontier workers. Although some of the anticipated effects are detected, their size is rather modest and insufficient to balance regional disparities in a way that would be expected in a fully integrated cross-border labor market. By the same token, the quantitative analysis identifies standardized certificates as a barrier to cross-border mobility and confirms a preference of frontier workers for routine tasks. In addition, insufficient public transportation and language skills, missing information about the neighboring country as well as problems with the recognition of degrees are also found among the obstacles to an integrated labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Grenzpendler, Grenzgebiet, regionaler Arbeitsmarkt, regionale Disparität, regionale Mobilität, Mobilitätsbarriere, Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Frankreich, Hochrhein, Bundesrepublik Deutschland |
| JEL: | F22 J2 J61 |
| Date: | 2018–01–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201802&r=ure |
| By: | Hanley Chiang; Cecilia Speroni; Mariesa Herrmann; Kristin Hallgren; Paul Burkander; Alison Wellington |
| Abstract: | Research has revealed that effective teachers are critical to improving student achievement. Little evidence exists, however, about the best ways to help teachers be more effective, or about how schools that serve the students in most need can attract and retain the most effective teachers. |
| Keywords: | Pay-for-Performance, Teacher Compensation, Principal Compensation, Teacher Incentive Fund, Performance-Based Compensation System, Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Salaries, Teacher Recruitment, Teacher Retention, Principal Retention, Teacher Surveys, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Leadership, Teacher Evaluation, Administrator Effectiveness, Administrator Evaluation, Administrator Attitudes, Professional Development, Teachers, Principals, Student Achievement, Academic Achievement, Student Achievement Growth |
| JEL: | I |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:4b317dd18fd94603b46ef0c6825b90d2&r=ure |
| By: | Kameyama Yuriko; Kuroda Kazuo; Utsumi Yuji; Hosoi Yuka |
| Abstract: | This paper calls attention to the concept of quality education for children with disabilities in developing countries, specifically focusing on Mongolia. Quality education for children with disabilities has been overlooked by the international community despite the extensive commitment to ensuring access to basic education and learning outcomes for children (Croft, 2010). At the same time, influenced by the international community, inclusive education policies that bring children with disabilities into regular classrooms, have been introduced in many developing countries. While there have been some studies on inclusive education in the developing world, very little research has been conducted on the situation in Mongolia. This paper therefore examines how teachers and parents in regular and special schools evaluate the current educational provisions in schools towards better education for children with disabilities in Mongolia. The findings from the descriptive analyses demonstrate that perceived barriers are ‘poor school facilities,’ ‘lack of equipment,’ ‘inadequate incentives for teachers’ and ‘insufficient school budgets.’ In addition to these items, teachers and parents in special schools are highly concerned about ‘lack of understanding in the community.’ Third, each of the four groups? teachers and parents in regular and special schools?perceive ‘resource barriers’ including issues of money and facilities as the strongest obstacle, followed by ‘teacher training and experience’ and ‘understanding’ at statistically significant levels. Fourth, there are statistically significant differences in opinions between parents and teachers in regular schools related to ‘resource barriers’ (with parents viewing the problem as more important). As for ‘teacher training and experience’ barriers, there is a significant difference between personnel in regular schools and special schools as parents and teachers in regular schools perceive that there is a lack of opportunity for training. The last category of barriers evaluated is ‘understanding’ (referring to ‘lack of understanding by classmates,’ ‘lack of understanding by parents of children with disabilities,’ ‘lack of understanding by parents of children without disabilities’ and ‘lack of understanding by teachers’). Teachers in regular schools significantly feel strongest about the lack of understanding while parents in special schools significantly feel this least among all the groups. Qualitative data from interviews aligns with the statistical results and identifies that teacher training is unlikely to be effective without an appropriate teaching environment. Based on the results of both statistical and interviewed data, the study highlights the needs for a comprehensive approach to strengthening coordination and collaboration with stakeholders and donor communities, which may eventually bring benefits to all children by improving the quality of schooling. |
| Keywords: | quality education, inclusive education, disability, perception, parents and teachers, Mongolia |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:159&r=ure |
| By: | Docquier, Frédéric; Tansel, Aysit; Turati, Riccardo |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically investigates whether emigrants from MENA countries self-select on cultural traits such as religiosity and gender-egalitarian attitudes. To do so, we use Gallup World Poll data on individual opinions and beliefs, migration aspirations, short-run migration plans, and preferred destination choices. We find that individuals who intend to emigrate to OECD, high-income countries exhibit significantly lower levels of religiosity than the rest of the population. They also share more gender-egalitarian views, although the effect only holds among the young (aged 15 to 30), among single women, and in countries with a Sunni minority. For countries mostly affected by Arab Spring, since 2011 the degree of cultural selection has decreased. Nevertheless, the aggregate effects of cultural selection should not be overestimated. Overall, self-selection along cultural traits has limited (albeit non negligible) effects on the average characteristics of the population left behind, and on the cultural distance between natives and immigrants in the OECD countries. |
| Keywords: | International migration, self-selection, cultural traits, gender-egalitarian attitudes, religiosity, MENA region. |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O15 Z10 |
| Date: | 2017–11–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:82778&r=ure |
| By: | Fiore, Annamaria |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to describe an analytical tool able to support policy makers in defining regional policy for entrepreneurship. Given the growing interest about the themes of smart specialization assigned as policy objectives to the Regions, focus of the paper is at the regional level. The three-dimensional strategic analysis considers simultaneously three kinds of data for each industrial sector: spatial concentration, cost competitiveness and export weight. Each of the three dimensions considered can be seen in turn as a specialization index since the data are related to the performance recorded at national level (benchmark). Depending on position (quarter) occupied by a specific sector in a graph, policy makers can have at one sight the relative weight of that sector in the regional economy and could have support in defining policies accordingly. As an application, the paper presents last official available data for Puglia manufacturing sectors (2013). Moreover, the analysis could be also simply utilised to realize temporal comparisons. As an example, comparison between data for 2008 and 2013 have highlighted how Puglia has lost competitive advantages over time due to the economic crisis. However, analysis also shows how, in the same years, careful sectorial policies implemented (aerospace) has enabled the Region to emerge in this medium-high technology market also at an international level. Once reached the full availability of homogeneous and internationally comparable data, the same analytical framework could be easily extended to assess the status of different national economies for drawing policy recommendations also at higher territorial levels. |
| Keywords: | Regional policy; Smart Specialization Strategy; Industrial specialization; Policy tool; Three-dimensional strategic analysis. |
| JEL: | O2 R1 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:83905&r=ure |
| By: | Bazzi, Samuel; Gudgeon, Matthew |
| Abstract: | Policymakers in diverse countries face the persistent challenge of managing ethnic divisions. We argue that redrawing subnational political boundaries can fundamentally reshape these divisions. We use a natural policy experiment in Indonesia to show that changes in the political relevance of ethnic divisions have significant effects on conflict in the short- to medium-run. While redistricting along group lines can increase social stability, these gains are undone and even reversed in newly polarized units. Electoral democracy further amplifies these effects given the large returns to initial control of newly created local governments in settings with ethnic favoritism. Overall, our findings show that the ethnic divisions underlying widely-used diversity measures are neither fixed nor exogenous and instead depend on the political boundaries within which groups are organized. These results illustrate the promise and pitfalls of redistricting policy in diverse countries where it is not feasible for each group to have its own administrative unit. |
| Keywords: | conflict; Decentralization; Ethnic Divisions; Polarization; Political Boundaries |
| JEL: | D72 D74 H41 H77 O13 Q34 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12552&r=ure |
| By: | McCann, Fergal (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | Arrears resolution strategies that focus on mortgage modification such as those proliferated by Irish mortgage lenders in recent years can only be put into effect when borrowers engage with the process proposed. Where borrowers do not engage, there is little alternative course of action available for lenders other than to pursue the borrower through the legal system. The potential role of borrower non-engagement in the rise in long-term mortgage arrears has been the subject of much speculation in Ireland during the economic crisis and recent recovery. Due to data availability, the scale and nature of borrower engagement has not received much attention in the Irish mortgage market up to this point. In this Letter I present estimates of the extent of engagement across loans of varying arrears balances, as well as an analysis of modification outcomes after engagement and a comparison of the characteristics of engaged and non-engaged borrowers. |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:ecolet:17/el/17&r=ure |
| By: | Michael J. Seiler |
| Abstract: | We test the disjunctive hypothesis as it relates to mortgage contracts and find that a liquidated damages clause shifts one's view of a mortgage from a promise to perform to either a promise to perform or pay compensatory damages. However, when a strategic mortgage default is responsible for the breach, the perceived immorality of this action overwhelms the liquidated damages clause effect in support of the disjunctive thesis. We also find that people's conscious "experimentally stated preference" moral stance on installment loan (mortgages, auto loans, credit card debt and even cell phone contracts) default significantly differs from their subconscious "experimentally revealed preference" moral stance indicating a difference between what people say they believe and what they actually believe. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:framed:00627&r=ure |
| By: | Rickert, Dennis; Schain, Jan Philip; Stiebale, Joel |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effects of a merger between a German supermarket chain and a soft discounter on consumer prices. We exploit geographic variation in prices within retail chains and brands and use a difference-in-differences estimator to compare regional markets with a change in market structure to a control group in unaffected markets. Our results indicate that both insiders and outsiders raised average prices after the merger, particularly in regions with high expected change in retail concentration. In contrast, we estimate price declines in regions that did not experience a rise in concentration but were potentially affected by cost savings within the merged entity. We also provide evidence that remedies imposed by competition authorities were not sufficient to o set anti-competitive effects. |
| Keywords: | Mergers and Acquisitions,Ex-post Merger Evaluation,Retail Markets,RetailPrices,Competition |
| JEL: | D22 L11 L81 L66 K21 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:280&r=ure |
| By: | Michael P. Cameron (University of Waikato); Jacques Poot (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | We demonstrate that the conventional OLS and fixed effects estimators of gravity models of migration are biased, and that the interpretation of coefficients in the fixed effects model is typically incorrect. We present a new best linear unbiased estimator for gravity models of migration. |
| Keywords: | gross migration flows; gravity model; New Zealand |
| JEL: | O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2018–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:18/01&r=ure |
| By: | Philip Arestis; Ana Rosa Gonzales-Martinez |
| Abstract: | Demographic and institutional elements as important drivers of the housing market should not be neglected since it is not only financial and monetary elements that matter in the case of the housing market. In this context, one relationship, which still remains unclear, is the relationship between the housing and the labour markets. Some research has been under-taken to support the hypothesis that high rates of homeownership lead to high unemploy-ment via increases in the reservation wage. However, further research is needed to address the possible implications of the institutional settings of the labour market in the dynamics of the housing market. The aim of this paper is to bring some light on the link between both markets. In particular, this contribution explains how the housing cycle could be ?amplified? via a new channel, i.e. economic precariousness, which is closely related to job insecurity. Subsequently, we provide evidence in the case of five developed economies, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, over the period 1985-2013. |
| Keywords: | Economic precariousness, Job insecurity, Labour markets, House prices, Cointegration techniques. |
| JEL: | C22 R31 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:fmmpap:12-2017&r=ure |
| By: | Saving, Jason L. (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas) |
| Abstract: | Regional wage convergence has long been predicted across the United States as barriers to factor mobility have fallen, yet there is little evidence (apart from a brief period in the 1970s and 1980s) that convergence has actually occurred. Why not? I reexamine this issue by developing a model in which fiscal policy differences across states endogenously impact labor supply across jurisdictions. I find that states whose safety nets are relatively generous will tend to drive out workers, raising wages for those who remain while also prompting net outmigration to less generous states. This suggests that regional wage convergence requires not only free factor mobility but also the coordination of fiscal policy across jurisdictions. |
| Keywords: | regional wage convergence; fiscal federalism |
| JEL: | H73 |
| Date: | 2017–12–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddwp:1711&r=ure |
| By: | Anda David (Agence Française de Développement); Nathalie Guilbert; Nobuaki Hamaguchi (Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University); Yudai Higashi (Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University); Hiroyuki Hino (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Murray Leibbrandt (Pro-Vice Chancellor, Poverty and Inequality of the University of Cape Town, the Director of SALDRU and the DST/NRF Research Chair on Poverty and Inequality.); Muna Shifa (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | Using the 2011 South African population census, we provide income and multidimensional poverty and inequality estimates at the municipal level. We go on to estimate a spatial econometric model to identify the correlates of poverty across municipalities in South Africa. Our results show that both income and multidimensional poverty and inequality vary significantly across municipalities in South Africa. In general, areas that are historically characterized by low economic and welfare outcomes still experience significantly higher poverty and deprivation levels. Using both global and local spatial autocorrelation measures we find significant and positive spatial dependence and clustering of regional development indicators. The situation of poverty is both spatially unequal and autocorrelated. Results from our spatial econometric analysis indicate negative and significant relations between the municipal poverty levels and local levels of education and economic activity (GDP per capita). Significant and positive relations are found between municipal poverty levels and local inequality levels, suggesting that municipalities with higher levels of inequality also have higher incidences of poverty. In contrast, natural geographic factors such as rainfall and temperature are not significantly related to municipal poverty. Accounting for both direct, intra-municipality effects as well as spillover effects of neighbouring municipalities is important. These spillover effects notably reduce the coefficient sizes suggested by non-spatial, OLS regressions. Most striking, the large negative coefficient that OLS attributes to residing within a historical homeland area is greatly reduced and even loses statistical significance in some spatial models. Clearly municipalities in homeland areas are particularly likely to be surrounded by very poor municipal neighbours and therefore subject to strong negative spillovers. That said, when interactions between this historical geographical variable and contemporary socio-economic deprivations are included, then homeland becomes statistically significant once more. This makes the important point that while, it is these socio-economic deprivations that are particularly important in explaining contemporary income poverty across the county, those who reside in these homeland areas remain especially badly off in terms of these deprivations. |
| Keywords: | spatial poverty and inequality, South Africa |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:221&r=ure |
| By: | Hedman, Lina (Uppsala University); van Ham, Maarten (Delft University of Technology); Tammaru, Tiit (University of Tartu) |
| Abstract: | The literature on intergenerational contextual mobility has shown that neighbourhood status is partly "inherited" from parents to children where children who spend their childhood in deprived neighbourhoods are more likely to live in such neighbourhoods also as adults. It has been suggested that such transmission of neighbourhood status also is relevant from multiple generation approach. To our knowledge, however, this has only been confirmed by simulations and not empirical research. This study uses actual empirical data covering 25 years and the full Swedish population to investigate intergenerational similarities in neighbourhood status of three generations of Swedish women. Findings suggest that the neighbourhood environments of Swedish women are correlated with the neighbourhood statuses of their mothers and, to some extent, grandmothers. We also find an effect of distance where intergenerational transmission is stronger for those remaining close. Whereas women whose mothers and grandmothers live in high-income areas benefit from staying close, women whose mothers and grandmothers live in low-income areas do better if they live further away. These results are robust over two different analytical strategies – comparing neighbourhood status of the three generations at similar ages and at the same point in time – and two different spatial scales. We argue that the finding of such effects in (relatively egalitarian) Sweden implies that similar, and possibly stronger, patterns are likely to exist in other countries as well. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational transmission, neighbourhood, low-income neighbours, register data, Sweden |
| JEL: | I30 J60 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11218&r=ure |
| By: | Van Egeraat, Chris; Morgenroth, Edgar; Kroes, Rutger; Curran, Declan; Gleeson, Justin |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:rb20170202&r=ure |
| By: | Adam Found (Trent University); Peter Tomlinson (University of Toronto) |
| Abstract: | The best and worst major cities for business investment are identified in a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Business Tax Burdens in Canada’s Major Cities: The 2017 Report Card” authors Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson compare business tax burdens in 10 Canadian cities, the largest in each province. |
| Keywords: | Business and Capital Taxation;Business Investment;Property Taxes;Provincial Comparisons;Provincial Taxation and Budgets;Sales and Excise Taxes;Urban Issues;Value Added Taxes |
| JEL: | H25 H71 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdh:ebrief:269&r=ure |
| By: | Aaron Arndt; David M Harrison; Mark A. Lane; Vicky L Seiler; Michael J. Seiler |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether customers' overall impression of online property listings can be influenced by the real estate agent, and whether this influence depends on the customer's demographic characteristics. A sample of 1,594 potential homebuyers took an online audio/visual tour of a typically priced home in their area. Subjects were shown one of eight conditions in which we varied agent gender (male/female), agent attractiveness (attractive/less attractive), and pathos (used/not used). The results show that segments of customers are drawn to different real estate agents, but contrary to our expectations, customers were not necessarily drawn to similar agents or more attractive ones. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:framed:00629&r=ure |
| By: | Arikan, Cengiz; Yalcin, Yeliz |
| Abstract: | Nowadays, not land border but economic cooperation and borders determine the neighborhood and closeness by globalization. No doubt, any economic event happens in any country affects other partners more and less according to economic relationship in globalization process. The desire of measuring of this interaction make occur spatial econometrics. Initially, in spatial models take into account land borders. Subsequently, studies about spatial econometric models allow economic interactions and relationships. After the global economic crises in 2008 Central Banks have started to vary monetary policy tool to ensure economic and financial stability. It is estimated that which tool will be implemented by following the policies of the central banks in which they are closely related. The spatial effect of monetary policy can be not only geographical but also economic or social. Different spatial models have set up to examine whether any spatial effect on monetary policy. Unlike other studies in this study not only geographic weight matrix but also economic weight matrix have been used in the spatial models. Different weight matrix models results have been compared and construed. Our preliminary findings reveal that there is a spatial effect on monetary policy between OECD, EU and G-20 countries. And also, economic weight matrix effect is more than geographic weight matrix. |
| Keywords: | Monetary Policy, Spatial Model, Spatial Impact, Econometrics |
| JEL: | C01 C51 E52 |
| Date: | 2017–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:83407&r=ure |
| By: | M. D. Gadea-Rivas (UNIVERSITY OF ZARAGOZA); Ana Gómez-Loscos (Banco de España); Eduardo Bandrés (UNIVERSITY OF ZARAGOZA) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to show the usefulness of Finite Mixture Markov Models (FMMMs) for regional analysis. FMMMs combine clustering techniques and Markov Switching models, providing a powerful methodological framework to jointly obtain business cycle datings and clusters of regions that share similar business cycle characteristics. An illustration with European regional data shows the sound performance of the proposed method. |
| Keywords: | business cycles, clusters, regions, finite mixture Markov models |
| JEL: | C22 C32 E32 R11 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:1744&r=ure |
| By: | Pietro Lanzini (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice); Daniel Pinheiro (UDESC Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina); Mauro Bonin (UDESC Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina) |
| Abstract: | Mobility in Brazil represents a crucial challenge for policy makers, given the economic, environmental and social problems that current patterns of transportation bear in densely populated urban areas. The research stems from the assumption that, since commuters play a key-role in driving the change towards innovative and environment-friendly mobility systems, a thorough understanding of the motives underpinning modal choice is a pre-requisite for the implementation of sound strategies and policies. The paper illustrates the preliminary results of an empirical investigation on modal choice on a sample of 436 commuters from the urban area of Florian—polis, Santa Catarina (Brazil). Policy implications for public authorities are presented, and avenues for future research are proposed. |
| Keywords: | sustainable mobility; policy makers; commuters; travel mode choice |
| JEL: | M48 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vnm:wpdman:149&r=ure |
| By: | Laura Gardini (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo"); Davide Radi (Department of Economics and Management, University of Pisa) |
| Abstract: | The paper proposes an evolutionary version of a Schelling-type dynamic system to model the patterns of residential segregation when two groups of people are involved. The payoff functions of agents are the individual preferences for integration which are empirically grounded. Differently from Schelling's model, where the limited levels of tolerance are the driving force of segregation, in the current setup agents bene t from integration. Despite the di¤erences, the evolutionary model shows a dynamics of segregation that is qualitatively similar to the one of the classical Schelling's model: segregation is always a stable equilib- rium while equilibria of integration exist only for peculiar configurations of the payoff functions and their asymptotic stability is highly sensitive to parameter variations. Moreover, a rich variety of integrated dy- namic behaviors can be observed. In particular, the dynamics of the evolutionary game is regulated by a one-dimensional piecewise smooth map with two kink points that is rigorously analyzed using techniques recently developed for piecewise smooth dynamical systems. The investigation reveals that when a stable internal equilibrium exists, the bimodal shape of the map leads to several di¤erent kinds of bifurcations, smooth and border collision, in a complicated interplay. A social planner that aims to maximize integration can use our global analysis of the dynamics of the model to understand the possible achievements of social policies that manipulate peoples preferences for integration. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urb:wpaper:18_02&r=ure |
| By: | Gian Paolo Barbetta; Giuseppe Sorrenti; Gilberto Turati |
| Abstract: | We exploit Italian law DPR 81/2009, which determines class composition, as an instrument to identify the causal effect of grouping students of different grades into a single class (multigrading) on children cognitive achievement. This article focuses on 7-year-old students—those at the beginning of their formal education. Results suggest that attendance in multigrade classes versus single-grade classes increases students’ performance on standardized tests by 15–20 percent of a standard deviation. The positive impact of multigrading only appears for children sharing their class with peers from higher grades and is relatively stronger for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. |
| Keywords: | Multigrade classes, child development, peer effects, rural areas |
| JEL: | I28 R53 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:275&r=ure |
| By: | C. Bontenbal, Marike; Mamoon, Dawood |
| Abstract: | This article aims to contribute to the scant academic literature available on the role of city twinning in development cooperation. It provides insight into the history, rationale, support programmes and activities of twinning in the development context. City twinning, also known as city-to-city cooperation (C2C), is a world-wide phenomenon that came into being in Europe and the US after the Second World War. Originally intended to build friendships and facilitate cultural and language exchanges, during the last two decades a shift has occurred in the objectives of C2C. It is increasingly seen as an innovative modality of development cooperation in which the Northern partner assists the Southern partner in its process of urban development. With the process of decentralisation in both North and South, the changing role of local government and an emerging new trend in development with increased focus on the micro-level, local authorities are believed to play a vital role as aid donors. This view is underlined by national governments, local authority associations and UN agencies that have set up a wide range of support programmes. The change in aid practice has not only led to a more local sphere of activity, the new focus is on strengthening good governance. Advocates of city twinning believe city partnerships are an appropriate vehicle to share experiences and enhance urban governance. Southern partners draw on the knowledge and expertise of their Northern counterparts to address needs in urban management and administration. Capacity building - through peer-to-peer exchange, study visits, workshops and trainings - targets a range of local authority personnel such as mayors, councillors and administrators. Based on a number of case studies from the literature, an attempt is made to define general success factors and challenges to city twinning. It appears that capacity building through C2C is likely to be more successful in strengthening urban governance at the operational level than at the institutional level of local authorities. |
| Keywords: | international municipal cooperation, twinning, urban governance, capacity building, partnerships |
| JEL: | F0 F02 R00 |
| Date: | 2017–11–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:82698&r=ure |
| By: | ; Joanne Banks; |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:rb20170403&r=ure |
| By: | Matthew Cypher; S McKay Price; Spenser Robinson; Michael J. Seiler |
| Abstract: | Using a sample of CCIM designees and candidates in an experimental setting, this study examines the impact of broker signaling in commercial real estate transactions. It also explores the effect of certainty of closure in commercial real estate transactions. Findings suggest brokers are able to influence transaction pricing. Moreover, detailed analysis reveals that when a signal is above a reference point implied by previous transactions, the strength of the signal matters; privately communicated signals from reliable sources have significantly greater impact than signals which are made widely available. Additionally, we find an approximately 10% premium in transactions with lower certainty of closure than one with high certainty. The latter result varies by transactional participant type; owner/developers require a larger premium than institutional sellers. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:framed:00626&r=ure |
| By: | Michalopoulos, Stelios; Papaioannou, Elias |
| Abstract: | Over the last two decades, the literature on comparative development has moved from country-level to within-country analyses. The questions asked have expanded, as economists have used satellite images of light density at night and other big spatial data to proxy for development at the desired level. The focus has also shifted from uncovering correlations to identifying causal relations, using elaborate econometric techniques including spatial regression discontinuity designs. In this survey we show how the combination of geographic information systems with insights from disciplines ranging from the earth sciences to linguistics and history has transformed the research landscape on the roots of the spatial patterns of development. We discuss the limitations of the luminosity data and associated econometric techniques and conclude by offering some thoughts on future research. |
| JEL: | N00 N9 O10 O43 O55 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12574&r=ure |