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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Martin Groiss; Nicolas Syrichas |
| Abstract: | How do different monetary policy tools influence residential housing markets, and how do these effects vary between owner-occupied and rental segments? To answer this question, we assemble a new monthly regional dataset from 35 million real estate listings over the period 2007-2023 and exploit high-frequency monetary policy surprises for identification. Focusing on Germany—where half of households rent—we find that expansionary monetary policy significantly boosts property prices, with forward guidance and quantitative easing having more pronounced and persistent effects than conventional rate cuts. Rents also rise, albeit more modestly and less persistently. Housing demand—measured by daily contacts per listing—rises sharply, while the number of for-sale properties falls, tightening the owner-occupied market more than the rental market. Linking these findings to survey microdata, we show that renters become homeowners at higher rates, homeowners reduce home-to-home moves, and renters make more rent-to-rent transitions. The results suggest that accommodative monetary policy can widen price-to-rent ratios, fueling housing affordability pressures and potentially exacerbating the wealth gap between owners and renters. |
| Keywords: | housing markets, monetary policy, rents, property prices, forward guidance, quantitative easing, household mobility |
| JEL: | E52 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2025–01–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdp:dpaper:0058 |
| By: | Gökçe, Merve Betül |
| Abstract: | Between 2020 and 2023, Turkey experienced a significant rise in housing prices, with inflation-adjusted rents more than doubled in some regions, marking it a standout case of global house price inflation. This study exploits the regional and temporal variation in rental prices as a natural experiment. It employs a difference-in-differences framework to explore the impact on students’ educational mobility within a developing country, where annually, one million high school graduates face the critical decision to stay local or relocate to another province for university education. Using a comprehensive panel dataset covering all higher education programs in Turkey, combined with rental price indices for all 81 provinces, the analysis reveals that rising rental prices significantly reduce inter-provincial student mobility. A 100 TL increase in rental prices (adjusted to 2023 levels) reduces the openness rate (out-of-province enrollment) of public university programs by 3.5 percentage points (a 4.4% relative decline). The negative effect is concentrated in programs with lower entry scores, where the openness rate declines by 18%, while high-entry-score programs remain unaffected. This heterogeneity across program competitiveness suggests that rising accommodation expenses disproportionately restrict the geographical mobility of students with lower academic performance. The analysis of private university programs further supports this conclusion, showing that rental price increases significantly reduce mobility in tuition-based programs while leaving full-scholarship programs, typically attended by high-scoring students, unaffected. |
| Keywords: | Student mobility; educational migration; rental price; housing shock; accommodation cost. |
| JEL: | I23 J61 R31 |
| Date: | 2024–11–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122834 |
| By: | Isabel Skak Olufsen (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen); Jesper Fries (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | We study the effect of having high socioeconomic status (SES) peers on pupils’ wellbeing, absence rate, and academic performance in elementary school. We compare pupils in the same school who started school in different years and, consequently, were exposed to different shares of high-SES peers. We use a unique combination of administrative, survey, and test data on pupils in Danish public schools. We find that a higher share of high-SES peers increases well-being and performance while lowering absence rates slightly. Our results imply that educational inequalities may increase due to the growing concentration of high-SES pupils in certain schools. |
| Keywords: | Peer effects, well-being, academic performance, primary school |
| JEL: | I21 I24 I31 |
| Date: | 2025–01–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kucebi:2501 |
| By: | Esther Adania Sejoah; Elias Danyi Kuusaana; Joseph Kwaku Kidido |
| Abstract: | The impacts of urban landscapes and the changing face of city structures in Ghana have accelerated over the years, often orchestrated by numerous factors including urban growth and its attendant urbanisation and urban development. Increasing rate of urbanisation has resulted in the need for redefining urban development. Although urban development often enhances the physical living structure of cities, its social effects are often not positive. One such change is the commercialisation of residential units. This study examined the extent of urbanisation and its resultant commercialisation of residential units in the Tamale Metropolis, identified the financial arrangements available for conversion of such units to commercial spaces, as well as ascertained the social implications of commercialising these units. The study adopted the mixed method research design. The sampling techniques employed by the study in the collection of data included purposive sampling, snowball and convenience sampling. The study's major findings centred on the proposed research questions and objectives indicated that property owners haphazardly did the conversions without any consultations and clearance from the Physical Planning Departments of the assemblies within which the properties are situated. The study further identified that landlords financed all activities associated with the commercialisation process mainly through personal savings or self-support. As a result, landlords could only build to the best of their capacity leading to a mismatch in the general outlook of converted properties. Another key finding was the opportunity this phenomenon offered businesses to grow and expand since tenants mostly sought spaces that would draw traffic to their businesses regardless of the rental values such properties commanded. Also, it was found that the conversions contributed to traffic congestion and mounted pressure on parking spaces due to an increase in vehicular traffic within the Central Business District. Housing instability, loss of family ties and insecurity were social elements that were explored however, these effects were insignificant to the study area. |
| Keywords: | commercial real estate; conversions; Development; Finance; housing; Urban Development |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-046 |
| By: | Esther Adania Sejoah; Elias Danyi Kuusaana; Joseph Kwaku Kidido |
| Abstract: | The impacts of urban landscapes and the changing face of city structures in Ghana have accelerated over the years, often orchestrated by numerous factors including urban growth and its attendant urbanisation and urban development. Increasing rate of urbanisation has resulted in the need for redefining urban development. Although urban development often enhances the physical living structure of cities, its social effects are often not positive. One such change is the commercialisation of residential units. This study examined the extent of urbanisation and its resultant commercialisation of residential units in the Tamale Metropolis, identified the financial arrangements available for conversion of such units to commercial spaces, as well as ascertained the social implications of commercialising these units. The study adopted the mixed method research design. The sampling techniques employed by the study in the collection of data included purposive sampling, snowball and convenience sampling. The study's major findings centred on the proposed research questions and objectives indicated that property owners haphazardly did the conversions without any consultations and clearance from the Physical Planning Departments of the assemblies within which the properties are situated. The study further identified that landlords financed all activities associated with the commercialisation process mainly through personal savings or self-support. As a result, landlords could only build to the best of their capacity leading to a mismatch in the general outlook of converted properties. Another key finding was the opportunity this phenomenon offered businesses to grow and expand since tenants mostly sought spaces that would draw traffic to their businesses regardless of the rental values such properties commanded. Also, it was found that the conversions contributed to traffic congestion and mounted pressure on parking spaces due to an increase in vehicular traffic within the Central Business District. Housing instability, loss of family ties and insecurity were social elements that were explored however, these effects were insignificant to the study area. |
| Keywords: | commercial real estate; conversions; Development; Finance; housing; Urban Development |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:2024-046 |
| By: | Japhta O. Maboko; Partson Paradza; Benita G. Zulch; Joseph A. Yacim |
| Abstract: | Interest rates have a direct effect on the performance of the real estate sector. This study aims to investigate the impact of interest rates on the residential real estate market in Weltevredenpark, Johannesburg (South Africa), focusing on home loans. This study delves into the effects of interest rates on the residential property market in Weltevredenpark, Johannesburg, providing valuable insights for real estate investors, agents, risk avoidance, local real estate market dynamics, and policymakers. The study employed the qualitative method and utilised semi- structured interviews to collect data. The study reveals that interest rates play a crucial role in determining the performance of the residential real estate market. This means interest rates affect real estate properties' affordability, demand, and supply. We recommend conducting more research to identify the specific issues associated with the impact of interest rates on all property classes. Real estate agents specialising in the Weltevredenpark suburb market provided the data. The main limitation of this exploratory study is that it was based on a small sample of real estate agents in Weltevredenpark. |
| Keywords: | Interest rates; Johannesburg; Property Market; Residential; Weltevredenpark |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:2024-017 |
| By: | Japhta O. Maboko; Partson Paradza; Benita G. Zulch; Joseph A. Yacim |
| Abstract: | Interest rates have a direct effect on the performance of the real estate sector. This study aims to investigate the impact of interest rates on the residential real estate market in Weltevredenpark, Johannesburg (South Africa), focusing on home loans. This study delves into the effects of interest rates on the residential property market in Weltevredenpark, Johannesburg, providing valuable insights for real estate investors, agents, risk avoidance, local real estate market dynamics, and policymakers. The study employed the qualitative method and utilised semi- structured interviews to collect data. The study reveals that interest rates play a crucial role in determining the performance of the residential real estate market. This means interest rates affect real estate properties' affordability, demand, and supply. We recommend conducting more research to identify the specific issues associated with the impact of interest rates on all property classes. Real estate agents specialising in the Weltevredenpark suburb market provided the data. The main limitation of this exploratory study is that it was based on a small sample of real estate agents in Weltevredenpark. |
| Keywords: | Interest rates; Johannesburg; Property Market; Residential; Weltevredenpark |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-017 |
| By: | Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt; Fabian Bald; Duncan H.W. Roth; Tobias Seidel; Gabriel Ahlfeldt; Duncan Roth |
| Abstract: | Using a quantitative spatial model as a data-generating process, we explore how spatial frictions affect the measurement of quality of life. We find that under a canonical parameterization, mobility frictions—generated by idiosyncratic tastes and local ties—dominate trade frictions—generated by trade costs and non-tradable services—as a source of measurement error in the Rosen-Roback framework. This non-classical measurement error leads to a downward bias in es-timates of the urban quality-of-life premium. Our application to Germany reveals that accounting for spatial frictions results in larger quality-of-life differences, different quality-of-life rankings, and an urban quality-of-life premium that exceeds the urban wage premium. |
| Keywords: | housing, spatial frictions, rents, prices, productivity, quality of life, spatial equilibrium, wages |
| JEL: | J20 J30 R20 R30 R50 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11560 |
| By: | Muñoz-Morales, Juan S. (IÉSEG School of Management) |
| Abstract: | This study provides evidence that natural disasters negatively affect student outcomes, potentially explaining the lower academic achievement of students in rural areas compared to their urban counterparts in developing countries. Using data from the Colombian school census, I estimate a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits variation from an unusual rainfall shock affecting over two million people in both urban and rural Colombia. The results show that these disruptions increase school dropout rates and reduce learning outcomes for at least a decade. The effects are concentrated in rural schools, while students in urban schools remain unaffected. I explore several mechanisms and rule out the possibility that the effects are driven by selective migration or a loss of educational resources. Instead, I find evidence that the rainfall shock exacerbated poverty, pushing poorer rural children into unemployment and longer work hours. |
| Keywords: | natural disasters, human capital, education, urban-rural gap, Colombia |
| JEL: | I24 I25 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17542 |
| By: | Mau, Karsten (RS: GSBE MORSE, RS: GSBE FSD, RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, Macro, International & Labour Economics); Xu, Mingzhi; Zheng, Yawen |
| Abstract: | We evaluate how access to international transport infrastructure promotes trade and economic development. Exploiting the gradual unfolding of transcontinental rail freight connections between China and Europe, our empirical findings indicate increasing exports from connected cities, with positive spillovers to other transport modes, neighboring cities, and indicators of economic activity. Not all products and cities are equally responsive to new rail export opportunities. We set up a multi-sector heterogeneous firms model with a rich specification of trade costs, in which firms optimize trade costs by choosing alternative transportation modes and routes. Leveraging a unique data set on trade flows between Chinese cities, we calibrate our model to discuss local welfare effects, relying on a sufficient statistic that quantifies changes in city-level trade costs. We also highlight significant spatial distributional effects of trade infrastructure development. |
| JEL: | F14 F15 R11 R41 |
| Date: | 2025–01–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umagsb:2025001 |
| By: | Sive Mankayi; Iviwe Sithole; Elizabeth Musvoto |
| Abstract: | The concept of adequate housing translates to various components of housing such as security of tenure, good locations, affordability and access to municipal infrastructure, social and educational facilities as well as providing shelter. Low cost to affordable housing in South Africa has been located at the urban periphery, at low densities and far away from economic opportunities. The emergence of backyard rental units has provided a panacea for some of these challenges but not without setbacks. While backyarding is a land-use practice, it has struggled to gain recognition in land-use policy, hindering the development of formal backyard rental units to satisfy adequate housing standards. The paper seeks to investigate the provision of housing and adequate housing through land-use management lenses, looking at how both housing and planning policies facilitate the development of backyard rental units in Cape Town. The paper employs a case study framework as a methodological stance. Five case studies of backyard dwelling units were selected from two residential areas in the City of Cape Town (Delft and Langa). Semi-structured interviews involving eleven respondents involved in the regulation, development and financing of housing and backyard dwellings. A thematic data analysis strategy was used for data analysis. The paper adopts a theoretical approach through the review of literature. The study found that both the land-use and housing policies have lagged and acted as barriers in providing an environment conducive to developing backyard rental units. This has been displayed by the high development charges, restrictive bylaws and lack of financial support for bulk infrastructure upgrades. Despite its contribution to affordable housing, the lack of policy recognition of backyard rental units compromises the provision of adequate housing. The study provides significant insights into the complex landscape of backyard rental units in Cape Town, identifying key obstacles in the provision of quality, affordable rental housing. |
| Keywords: | backyard rental units; housing; land-use management; Residential satisfaction |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-042 |
| By: | White, Tim |
| Abstract: | Rent relations from landed property are increasingly being leveraged for experimentation with new forms of value capture via digital technologies. Inspired by platform corporations, real estate actors are constantly trialling innovations for deepening and extending residential rent extraction. This paper sheds light on these mounting experiments using the case of co-living, a real estate sector with a strong elective affinity to corporate capitalist technology. First, it documents attempts to optimise the rent-generating potential of real estate assets themselves via spatial surveillance and dynamic pricing. Second, it highlights efforts to establish forms of techno-economic enclosure beyond the limits of buildings via housing memberships and subscriptions. In so doing, the paper contributes to an emerging body of literature on the intersection between digital and residential rentierism. |
| Keywords: | co-living; digital experiments; housing; rent |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2024–12–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126131 |
| By: | Francois Viruly; Uche Ordor; Lucia Schlemmer; Aly Karam; Dayni Sanderson |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to provide new insights into the theoretical models that can be used to explain the initiation and progress of large-scale mixed-use urban developments in Africa. These projects often attempt to find a mix between residential and non-residential uses. Most of the existing literature has tended to look at these developments through an urban planning lens. This paper considers the application of theoretical models that have evolved in the real estate literature, which have been used to explain the development process and the objectives of the stakeholders involved. These models are derived from the economic and financial disciplines, including event sequencing, financing/economics and behavioural and institutional models. The research concludes that these lenses have a role to play in explaining the trajectory of large-scale, mixed-use developments located in Sub-Saharan Africa. The research focuses on several case studies that were initiated a decade ago and considers the progress that they have made. |
| Keywords: | African Cities; eco-cities; mixed-use development; Property Development; real estate development, satellite cities; Smart Cities; Urban Planning |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-009 |
| By: | Amine Ouazad; Matthew E. Kahn |
| Abstract: | Place-based investments can have unintended general equilibrium effects and face challenges of time inconsistency. This paper simulates the granular impact of alternative spatial and temporal designs of such investments, using Quantitative Spatial Models where the strategy of the policymaker is endogenized, with time-consistent policy analysis or policies with commitment. It can apply to sunk, fixed costs investments in transportation infrastructure, levees, and other location-based investments. Applying this framework to the 1936 Flood Control Act, the largest investment in flood control infrastructure in US history protecting 5% of land, the study examines the general equilibrium effects of levee investments on housing prices, population density, and racial demographics over eight decades. Protected neighborhoods initially had lower property values, higher minority shares, and greater flood risk, but experienced sustained property appreciation and changes in population density. Structural analysis reveals that optimal levee designs prioritize high-density areas, reduce price capitalization, and minimize urban sprawl. Policymakers who cannot commit to long-term plans tend to overbuild and maintain larger systems compared to those with time-consistent strategies. |
| JEL: | H43 Q54 R31 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33333 |
| By: | Steinführer, Annett; Osterhage, Frank |
| Abstract: | Our research focused on internal migration in Germany between 2000 and 2022 (macro level) and, restricted to the period 2015 to 2020, on the decisions behind these migration patterns at the micro level of households. Subsumed under the concept of residential location decisions, we analysed past migration (i.e., relocations in which the administrative boundary of a municipality is crossed), return migration and residential multilocality as well as long-term staying in rural areas. Intended future residential mobility was also taken into account. We define residential location decisions as recurrent household-related processes of deliberating and negotiating subjectively appropriate residential locations. Typical triggers are internal household changes (so-called status passages) and external factors. Chance and housing opportunities also play a role in residential location decisions... |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwo:348973 |
| By: | Rumbidzayi Taruvinga; Nosisa Mbhele; Edward Kodisang; Chioma Okoro; Jonathan Tembo |
| Abstract: | This study examined the impact of interest rates and inflation on house prices in South Africa. A comparison is also made against two markets, China, and the United States. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regression analysis, the study explored the relationships between interest rates, inflation, and the Housing Price Index (HPI) in each market. In South Africa, the study confirmed the residential real estate market’s role as an inflation hedge, with inflation positively influencing the HPI and driving residential property investment during inflationary periods. In China, higher interest rates exhibited a significant negative relationship with residential property prices. In contrast, in the United States, positive relationships between interest rates, inflation, and the HPI indicated that periods of economic growth may mitigate higher borrowing costs, encouraging residential property investment. These findings contribute to a greater understanding of how macroeconomic factors influence global real estate markets, enabling investors and policymakers to tailor their investment strategies to local economic conditions. |
| Keywords: | inflation, Rising Interest Rates, House Prices, House Price Index (HPI) |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-039 |
| By: | Verduzco Torres, Jose Rafael; Raturi, Varun |
| Abstract: | Emerging forms of spatial data, such as mobile phone-based location data (MPD), have shown promise in enhancing or replacing traditional analytical methods. MPD provides detailed, timely information at lower costs, making it valuable for urban and transport planning. However, the high volume and heterogeneity of MPD pose significant challenges in data processing and analysis. This study investigates the potential of MPD to estimate traffic volumes at the street level, focusing on Glasgow city-region. We evaluate three MPD spatial extraction techniques—Simple Buffer (SB), Connected Street Buffer (CB), and Entire Street Buffer (ESB)—to filter relevant vehicular movement data. Additionally, we assess three processing approaches: raw counts (A1), simplified counts with commuter assumptions (A2), and detailed spatio-temporal analysis (A3). The results are compared to manual traffic counts from the Department for Transport (DfT). The findings reveal that raw MPD counts (A1) lead to important biases due to uneven data volume per user. Simplified counts (A2) improve accuracy but still capture non-vehicular activities. The spatio-temporal approach (A3) offers the most accurate estimates by incorporating movement inferences. However, buffer size and built environment factors significantly impact the methods' performance, highlighting the need for localised buffers and built environmental controls. This research demonstrates MPD's potential to supplement traditional traffic systems, providing cost-effective and detailed traffic insights. Future studies can extend MPD applications for active travel and extend the analysis to other cities. |
| Date: | 2024–12–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:vut58 |
| By: | Sofoklis Goulas; Silvia Griselda; Rigissa Megalokonomou; Yves Zenou |
| Abstract: | How do disruptive peers shape academic and career paths? We examine this question by leveraging the random assignment of students to classrooms in Greece and identifying the effects of peer disruptiveness on academic performance and career paths. Using suspension hours as a measure of disruptiveness, we find that students assigned to more disruptive classrooms have lower academic achievement, a higher risk of grade retention, and reduced likelihood of graduating from high school on time. They are also less likely to pursue competitive STEM fields or enroll in selective postsecondary programs. The adverse effects are more pronounced for students from low-income areas, in larger classrooms, or with fewer female peers. Using a lab-in-the-field experiment, we find that exposure to multiple disruptors, compared to just one, reduces students’ study motivation, college aspirations, and readiness for science studies and careers, especially for those seated closer to disruptive peers. |
| Keywords: | disruption, suspension, random classroom assignment, high school graduation, STEM careers, lab-in-the-field experiment |
| JEL: | I24 I26 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11568 |
| By: | Essi Eerola; Teemu Lyytikäinen; Tuukka Saarimaa; Tuuli Vanhapelto |
| Abstract: | This paper asks whether, and under which circumstances, rent subsidies to low-income households increase rents. We utilize a reform in Finland that caused large quasi-random variation in housing allowances. We find that large increases in allowances for affected housing units had little or no effect on their rents relative to other units. Thus, the incidence of the reform was on allowance recipients. The reform led to only small changes in recipients' housing choices, and at most modest changes in rental supply. Rent subsidies can be effective even in supply-constrained contexts, if housing choices are unresponsive to the subsidy. |
| Keywords: | housing allowance, rent subsidy, incidence, housing demand, housing supply |
| JEL: | H22 R28 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11478 |
| By: | John C. Williams |
| Abstract: | Remarks at An Economy That Works for All: Housing Affordability, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City. |
| Keywords: | housing; housing affordability |
| Date: | 2025–01–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednsp:99450 |
| By: | Antonin Bergeaud; Max Deter; Maria Greve; Michael Wyrwich |
| Abstract: | We investigate the causal relationship between inventor migration and regional innovation in the context of the large-scale migration shock from East to West Germany between World War II and the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Leveraging a newly constructed, century-spanning dataset on Germanpatents and inventors, along with an innovative identification strategy based on surname proximity, we trace the trajectories of East German inventors and quantify their impact on innovation in West Germany. Our findings demonstrate a significant and persistent boost to patenting activities in regions with higher inflows of East German inventors, predominantly driven by advancements in chemistry and physics. We further validate the robustness of our identification strategy against alternative plausible mechanisms. We show in particular that the effect is stronger than the one caused by the migration of other high skilled workers and scientists. |
| Keywords: | Patents, Migration, Germany, Iron Curtain, Innovation |
| JEL: | H10 N44 P20 D31 |
| Date: | 2025–01–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdp:dpaper:0059 |
| By: | Sophia Kongela |
| Abstract: | The availability of affordable housing has been the most significant long-term challenge for Tanzania's housing sector. There have been many initiatives in the public and private sectors to provide the same. Still, there has been limited success because in most cases, the provision of affordable housing is the function of developers' desired profit margin and household income. Using the case of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this study first determines stakeholders' understanding of affordable housing; secondly, it analyses developers' initiatives in providing affordable housing; third, it assesses affordability levels of different stakeholders; and finally, it explores hurdles in providing affordable housing. Using Kobotool box, the study targeted 240 stakeholders, however, 236 filled in a questionnaire, making 98% response rate. The preliminary findings indicate that providing affordable housing challenges both parties. Apart from institutional investors and a few private developers, most developers do not provide affordable housing. One of the reasons is the low affordability level of the majority of households. Other factors that contributed to their decision to avoid offering affordable housing included the high construction cost and the low profit margin. Households have varying interpretations of what constitute affordable housing. The majority appeared to be low-income earners who anticipated being offered affordable housing based on criteria that were not economically viable. Developers also identified a lack of incentives/subsidies as a barrier to providing affordable housing. The study suggests that, while addressing affordability may be difficult, all stakeholders should investigate effective solutions for tackling affordability and affordable housing. This study adds to the ongoing debate on affordable housing, particularly in urban areas with high urbanisation rates and an acute shortage of houses. It is also significant to policymakers who may create an enabling environment for providing affordable housing in Tanzania. |
| Keywords: | Affordability; Affordable Housing; Housing Shortage; Tanzania |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:2024-002 |
| By: | Huaizhi Chen; Lauren Cohen |
| Abstract: | Property tax revenues – the largest discretionary source of revenue for local governments - adjust at a pace that is inconsistent with property values in the US. We show that this form of revenue smoothing may be rooted in the political economy of municipalities. Measures of local budget stressors are positively related to upward assessments of a property’s value. Moreover, municipalities are significantly more likely to reassess in up markets as opposed to down – consistent with maximizing tax base and revenue collected. Using micro-level evidence from just-passing school referenda in Illinois, these shocks to municipal liabilities lead to significant increases in property assessments without any associated increases in market values or transactions. Passing a referendum over the prior 3 years increases the probability that a house is reassessed upward by 23%. This flexible form of revenue smoothing creates avenues for personal rent extraction. We find that local tax assessors: 1) have tax assessments on their own properties significantly lower than neighboring properties; and 2) these tax assessments grow significantly slower than neighbors – lowering their tax bills. We further document a significant connection between the underassessment of tax assessors’ own properties and the tax-maximizing assessment gaps documented in the districts they operate. |
| JEL: | G12 G18 H20 H23 H71 R38 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33238 |
| By: | Mitsch, Frieder; Hassel, Anke; Soskice, David |
| Abstract: | This paper examines Germany’s distinctive path toward the knowledge economy, emphasizing the role of regional innovation dynamics and governance, with a focus on Southern Germany’s high-innovation clusters. Unlike other advanced economies that pivoted toward high-tech services, Germany has prioritized digital advancements within its manufacturing base, creating a model driven by smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0. We argue that regional growth coalitions, formed by firms, social partners, and local governments, foster institutional configurations supporting knowledge-based and innovation-focused competition. This regionalized governance has enabled Southern Germany to capitalize on Germany’s innovation agenda, a success that other regions have struggled to replicate. By analysing multi-scalar dynamics—interactions across regional, national, and EU levels—our study expands evolutionary economic geography (EEG) and political economy literature, challenging traditional, nation-centric frameworks. Our findings highlight that cohesive regional governance can enhance national and supranational innovation strategies, underscoring the importance of regional institutions in advancing and sustaining knowledge economy innovation. |
| JEL: | O33 R11 L52 O18 |
| Date: | 2024–12–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126264 |
| By: | Antonin Bergeaud (HEC Paris, CEP-LSE, CEPR); Max Deter (University of Potsdam); Maria Greve (Utrecht University); Michael Wyrwich (Groningen University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the causal relationship between inventor migration and regional innovation in the context of the large-scale migration shock from East to West Germany between World War II and the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Leveraging a newly constructed, century-spanning dataset on German patents and inventors, along with an innovative identification strategy based on surname proximity, we trace the trajectories of East German inventors and quantify their impact on innovation in West Germany. Our findings demonstrate a significant and persistent boost to patenting activities in regions with higher inflows of East German inventors, predominantly driven by advancements in chemistry and physics. We further validate the robustness of our identification strategy against alternative plausible mechanisms. We show in particular that the effect is stronger than the one caused by the migration of other high skilled workers and scientists. |
| Keywords: | patents, migration, Germany, Iron Curtain, innovation |
| JEL: | H10 N44 P20 D31 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pot:cepadp:84 |
| By: | Babalwa Mazomba; Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu |
| Abstract: | Valuation of residential property is determined by multiple, complex, and often contradictory variables, lacking an all-inclusive framework. Many stakeholders in the heterogeneous real estate markets use various variables deemed relevant in a pricing situation. This study sought to determine factors which affect the sale and rental prices of residential properties in a South African mining town, to provide key elements of a pricing framework that could be used by various stakeholders. Quantitative data was collected from Estate agents, Property owners, Landlords and Property valuers using a questionnaire survey. Descriptive statistics and systematic significance were analyzed using regression analysis. The study found that the main determinants of the pricing model were construction costs, structural characteristics, locational factors and financial market variables. However, not all variables within these determinants had a statistically significant contribution to the pricing mechanism. The study concluded that a practical framework should be based on financial variables, locational factors, costs involved in the construction of the property and its structural characteristics. It recommends that the influence of professional property bodies on the sale and rental prices should be examined further as it could guide the improvement and achievement of consistency in the determination of residential property prices. |
| Keywords: | property rent; property sale; Residential Real Estate; South Africa |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-043 |
| By: | Moritz Drechsel-Grau; Fabian Greimel |
| Abstract: | This paper studies whether the interplay of social comparisons in housing and rising income inequality contributed to the household debt boom in the US between 1980 and 2007. We develop a tractable macroeconomic model with general social comparisons in housing to show that changes in the distribution of income affect aggregate housing demand, aggregate debt and house prices if (and only if) social comparisons are asymmetric. In the empirically relevant case of upward-looking comparisons, rising inequality can rationalize a substantial share of the observed housing and debt boom. |
| Keywords: | mortgages, housing boom, social comparisons, consumption networks, external habits, keeping up with the Joneses |
| JEL: | D14 D31 E21 E44 E70 R21 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11565 |
| By: | Roy Cerqueti (Department of Social and Economic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy & GRANEM, University of Angers, France); Paolo Maranzano (Department Economics, Management and Statistics); Raffaele Mattera (Department of Social and Economic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we present an extension of the spatially-clustered linear regression models, namely, the spatially-clustered spatial autoregression (SCSAR) model, to deal with spatial heterogeneity issues in clustering procedures. In particular, we extend classical spatial econometrics models, such as the spatial autoregressive model, the spatial error model, and the spatially-lagged model, by allowing the regression coefficients to be spatially varying according to a cluster-wise structure. Cluster memberships and regression coefficients are jointly estimated through a penalized maximum likelihood algorithm which encourages neighboring units to belong to the same spatial cluster with shared regression coefficients. Motivated by the increase of observed values of the Gini index for the agricultural production in Europe between 2010 and 2020, the proposed methodology is employed to assess the presence of local spatial spillovers on the market concentration index for the European regions in the last decade. Empirical findings support the hypothesis of fragmentation of the European agricultural market, as the regions can be well represented by a clustering structure partitioning the continent into three-groups, roughly approximated by a division among Western, North Central and Southeastern regions. Also, we detect heterogeneous local effects induced by the selected explanatory variables on the regional market concentration. In particular, we find that variables associated with social, territorial and economic relevance of the agricultural sector seem to act differently throughout the spatial dimension, across the clusters and with respect to the pooled model, and temporal dimension. |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2407.15874 |
| By: | Felipe Benguria; Felipe Saffie; Shihangyin Zhang |
| Abstract: | We study the uneven effects of a commodity boom, documenting its impact across workers based on their skill and on the region where they live. To this end, we develop a dynamic quantitative model of an economy with many regions connected through interregional trade and migration. Empirically, we focus on the experience of Brazil during the commodity boom of the 2000s and calibrate the model using detailed micro-level data. At the aggregate level, the boom leads to a decline in the skill premium, resulting from a larger increase in the real wages of unskilled than skilled workers. The model indicates that the commodity boom accounts for a quarter of the decline in the skill premium observed during this period, and masks substantial heterogeneity across states and sectors. Finally, using the model to simulate counterfactuals, we show that spatial linkages—interregional migration and interregional trade—play an important role in shaping the impact of the boom. Spatial linkages reduce the decline in the skill premium at the national level, and also reduce the extent of spatial inequality due to the boom. |
| JEL: | E32 F15 F40 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33287 |
| By: | Joshua Graff Zivin; Gregor Singer |
| Abstract: | We examine how exogenous changes in exposure to air pollution over the past two decades have altered the disparities in home values between Black and White homeowners. We find that air quality capitalization rates are significantly lower for Black homeowners. In fact, they are so much lower that, despite secular reductions in the Black-White pollution exposure gap, disparities in housing values have increased during this period. An exploration of mechanisms suggests that roughly two-thirds of this difference is the result of direct discrimination while the remaining one-third can be attributed to systemic discrimination. |
| Keywords: | house prices, environmental justice, air pollution, race, discrimination |
| JEL: | Q51 R30 J15 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11555 |
| By: | Shani, Ron; Reingewertz, Yaniv |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a model for optimizing the provision of local public goods across national, regional, and local government tiers. We study how spillovers, heterogeneity of preferences, and economies of scale affect the decision to centralize or decentralize responsibilities among these three tiers of government. We provide three key insights – (a) Adding a regional level to the standard fiscal federalism model creates a subnational solution for the problem of spillovers between local governments, (b) Preference heterogeneity creates an incentive to decentralize the provision of local public goods, (c) Economies of scale create an efficiency gain from centralization. The ultimate distribution of responsibilities is contingent upon the interplay of these three competing forces. Our model integrates insights from previous studies to develop a unified theory encompassing the powers that influence decisions to centralize or decentralize. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal Federalism; subnational governments, decentralization, local public goods |
| JEL: | H11 H41 H77 R13 |
| Date: | 2024–11–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122835 |
| By: | Adwoa Konadu Prempeh; Gad Asorwoe Akwensivie |
| Abstract: | Real estate in Africa is constantly changing due to changing tastes, technological advancement and access to finance. Real estate practitioners in Africa face the overwhelming task of keeping up with trends, hence the need to investigate and present a trend. The study employs a case study approach within a quantitative and qualitative data analysis paradigm. The study employed a combination of trends, time series and observations. The research and its findings and conclusion hinge on robust empirical evidence with quantitative and qualitative data analysis.The study finds that several things are certain to happen in the coming years. These include the following:Big demand for condominiums, apartments and similar shared properties: Condominiums and similar shared properties will be in high demand as the strategy (by both government and industry players) to solve the housing demand/supply imbalance.Solar will be in high demand: A growing proportion of property owners are financing the installation of rooftop solar power. Developers should be incentivised to install solar and alternative energy storage systems in their packages.Online brands will rule the market: This will happen because property buyers and sellers will look online first to find your contact information and audit your credentials and footprint.Specialisation instead of generalisation: Currently, real estate developers and agents are generalists, able to “sell, buy, and build anything, but in the coming years, the best developers and agents will have to differentiate themselves by specialising in specific segments of the market as a way of being different.Rise in short-term rentals: This will create an opportunity for large property owners or single-family owners. Tax reform will likely reduce ownership benefits: Under the new tax laws that would be in place, homeowners 25 years from now won’t be enjoying the many tax benefits for ownership today.The hottest properties will be in the south, along the coast: The biggest home sales increase is expected in the south and along the coasts. In Ghana, places like Sekondi-Takoradi, Cape Coast, Accra, Tema and lesser- known towns like Sogakope, Ada, Winneba, Salt-pond, Elmina and Elubo will be the hottest places for property sales. It is envisaged that there will be sales growth of around 30 % or more for properties along the coast as against 15-20% in Ghana for example.The study provides evidence of the trends in real estate in Africa, which is relevant to practitioners. |
| Keywords: | Ghana; Housing demand; Real Estate Development; solar and alternative energy; specialisation |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-014 |
| By: | Huang, Kaixing; Liao, Yuxi; Luo, Renfu |
| Abstract: | Parent-teacher communication has long been regarded as vital for children's academic success. Our theoretical model indicates that when parents contact teachers, it may have a positive direct effect and a negative spillover effect on students’ performance. Using a large panel of junior high school students randomly assigned to classes, we find a substantial negative spillover effect and a far smaller direct effect on both the academic and non-cognitive performances of students, which indicates a significantly negative net effect of parents’ contacting teachers. The strong negative spillover effect can be attributed to the decline in teachers' attention to and attitude towards students, and this effect is more pronounced for students with lower performance and whose parents have a lower social status. Our finding suggests that excessive parent-teacher contact should be avoided to safeguard student performance and educational equality. |
| Keywords: | Parent-teacher communication, spillover effect, student performance, educational equality |
| JEL: | D62 I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2024–12–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123072 |
| By: | Luis Lopez; Nitzan Tzur-Ilan |
| Abstract: | We leverage quasi-experimental wildfire smoke shocks to analyze the causal effect of air pollution (PM2.5) on rent prices, using satellite-based smoke plumes data and ambient air pollution data. Our results indicate that the rent of homes that are not directly affected by wildfires but exposed to wildfire plumes declines by about -2.4% per one standard deviation increase in PM2.5. The response of home prices is more than threefold highlighting a gap in the tolerance of poor air quality, which we find is driven by age-related differences between tenants and homeowners. We further show evidence that air pollution affects liquidity and search frictions in the rental market. |
| Keywords: | Air Pollution; rental housing; house prices; wildfires |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 R21 |
| Date: | 2025–01–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddwp:99421 |
| By: | Steinhoff, Brigitte |
| Abstract: | The societal implications of public attitudes towards terminology pertaining to “social housing” and “affordable housing” are considered, with a focus on the implications for society, community, and policy approaches to the sustainable establishment of homes for all. The study identifies information about researchers, models, frameworks, and tools focused on the chosen themes. A systematic review of literature, which examines the terms “social housing” and “affordable housing”, was conducted to examine key issues related to economic stability, economic efficiency, health, and social integration of residents in different national contexts. For this four databases were used: ScienceDirect, Emerald Insight, Mendeley, and ACM Digital Library. This paper provides detailed information on the most recent scientific articles focusing on social and affordable housing issues in relation to societal attitudes. The results indicate that social and affordable housing contribute to poverty reduction and improved resident well-being. Misconceptions concerning such initiatives impede their progress. The discussion focuses on analytical tools such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), Structural equation model (SEM), and pre-tenancy affordability assessments, which are employed to understand resident sentiment and the intricacies of housing. The paper clarifies public attitudes and opinions, policy mechanisms, and emerging research trends related to social and affordable housing concepts. The findings offer insights that can help policymakers, urban planners, and community stakeholders effectively address housing affordability challenges while promoting inclusive, resilient communities. |
| Keywords: | social housing; affordable housing; housing policies; affordability; societal attitude |
| JEL: | I30 M14 O18 R23 |
| Date: | 2024–12–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123120 |
| By: | Diris, Ron (University of Leiden); Fairley, Kim (Radboud University Nijmegen) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the effect of extended education on school achievement and inequality in Dutch primary schools. We apply a panel event study design using rich longitudinal data on the use of extended education and school achievement in grades 1 through 6, to estimate the causal effect of extended education. The analysis reveals (precisely estimated) zero or low effects from the use of extended education. Interestingly, we identify a modest Ashenfelter dip right before the start of extended education, suggesting a reaction to an incidental poor school result. We explain the overall low effectiveness by the typical low-intensity use of extended education among Dutch primary school students, while we also identify high effectiveness for (a very small subset) of more intensive forms. We conclude that extended education has no meaningful implications for educational achievement or inequality in Dutch primary education. |
| Keywords: | education economics, extended education, tutoring, event study design |
| JEL: | I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17526 |
| By: | Morris A. Davis; Andra C. Ghent; Jesse M. Gregory |
| Abstract: | We model how an increase in Work-from-Home (WFH) productivity differentially affects workers using a framework in which some workers cannot work offsite, some are hybrid, and some are completely remote. The improvement in WFH productivity increases housing demand and thus housing prices since housing is inelastically supplied. Because workers in non-telecommutable occupations must consume housing but their total factor productivity does not increase, the rise in house prices reduces their welfare. The welfare decline is equivalent to 1-9% of consumption, depending on how substitutable WFH is with onsite work, and it arises despite measured income of all workers increasing. |
| JEL: | O33 O41 R12 R33 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33284 |
| By: | González, Libertad (Universitat Pompeu Fabra); Surovtseva, Tetyana (University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the impact of tourist flows on local labor markets, following a novel identification strategy that uses temporary shocks in alternative international destinations to instrument for tourism flows across Spanish regions. We find that a one standard deviation increase in tourist inflows leads to a 1 percentage-point increase in employment in the tourism industry and in other services, but it does not increase total employment, labor force participation, or wages in local economies. Instead, the positive impact on services is compensated by a fall in employment in other industries, most notably manufacturing. |
| Keywords: | employment, tourism, local labor markets, shift-share, terrorism, Spain |
| JEL: | J21 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17518 |
| By: | Faranani Gethe; Prisca Simbanegavi |
| Abstract: | The regeneration of urban areas and neighbourhoods plays a crucial role in mitigating urban decay and enhancing socio-economic conditions. However, conventional urban renewal initiatives often inadvertently perpetuate geographies of exclusion, chiefly through gentrification and displacement. This paper is aimed at devising effective urban regeneration strategies that prioritise social inclusivity while mitigating the negative impacts of gentrification and displacement of poor people. The study employed a literature and theoretical review approach, utilising published articles and documents to assess the impact of urban regeneration programs on poor communities. The outcomes include the identification of shortcomings in current urban regeneration strategies and the need to formulate more equitable approaches. This study's significance lies in its contribution to expanding knowledge on urban redevelopment, particularly in the developing world of the global south. Furthermore, it will inform policy development aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) of the United Nations, thus facilitating much-needed advancements in urban development policies. |
| Keywords: | Displacement; Gentrification; inclusivity; Urban decay; Urban Regeneration |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:2024-041 |
| By: | Celina Proffen; Franziska Riepl |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of introducing birthright citizenship in Germany on the educational trajectories of second-generation immigrants. Our identification strategy exploits a legal change in 2000 that granted children of foreigners with longtime residency automatic citizenship at birth. Using high-quality census data, we show that the reform contributes to closing pre-existing educational gaps in secondary school track choice and completion. These findings also hold when relying exclusively on within-household variation across siblings. We provide evidence for the underlying mechanisms, highlighting the roles of higher expected returns to education and of an increased sense of belonging to Germany. |
| Keywords: | birthright citizenship, education, human capital, integration, immigration |
| JEL: | J15 J24 K37 O15 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11483 |
| By: | Leogrande, Angelo; Drago, Carlo; Mallardi, Giulio; Costantiello, Alberto; Magaletti, Nicola |
| Abstract: | This article focuses on the propensity to patent across Italian regions, considering data from ISTAT-BES between 2004 and 2019 to contribute to analyzing regional gaps and determinants of innovative performances. Results show how the North-South gap in innovative performance has persisted over time, confirming the relevance of research intensity, digital infrastructure, and cultural employment on patenting activity. These relations have been analyzed using the panel data econometric model. It allows singling out crucial positive drivers like R&D investment or strongly negative factors, such as limited mobility of graduates. More precisely, given the novelty of approaches applied in the used model, the following contributions are represented: first, the fine grain of regional differentiation, from which the sub-national innovation system will be observed. It also puts forward a set of actionable policy recommendations that would contribute to more substantial inclusive innovation, particularly emphasizing less-performing regions. By focusing on such dynamics, this study will indirectly address how regional characteristics and policies shape innovation and technological competitiveness in Italy. Therefore, it contributes to the debate on regional systems of innovation and their possible role in economic development in Europe since the economic, institutional, and technological conditions are differentiated between various areas in Italy. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Innovation and Invention, Management of Technological Innovation and R&D, Technological Change, Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital |
| JEL: | O30 O31 O32 O33 O34 O35 O38 |
| Date: | 2024–12–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123081 |
| By: | Aizawa, Hiroki; Saka, Takuhiro |
| Abstract: | Remote work can affect population distribution in an urban system (i.e., a chain of cities). The current paper explores the effects of remote work on population distribution in an urban system, welfare, and utilities of workers. To examine these effects, we explore the equilibria of a New Economic Geography model that expresses remote workers. We elucidate the bifurcation mechanism of the full agglomeration in a narrow corridor with NEG models with two industries and remote work in order to investigate the effect of remote work on equilibrium. We demonstrate that the introduction of remote work can decrease the utilities of workers. We show that remote workers with myopic behavior themselves decrease their own utilities. With myopic behavior, it is not necessarily ensured that remote workers can obtain higher utilities compared to those with population distribution before the introduction of remote work. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration; Bifurcation; Economic geography; Remote work; Welfare |
| JEL: | R12 R14 |
| Date: | 2024–12–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122913 |
| By: | Caria, Andrea (University of Cagliari); Di Liberto, Adriana (University of Cagliari); Pau, Sara (University of Sassari) |
| Abstract: | We used data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic to examine how Italian upper secondary schools organized their activities for remote learning (RL). We conducted a three-level survey, administering questionnaires to each institution's students (11th and 13th graders, 11, 154 students), 3, 905 teachers, and 105 principals. We describe how schools adjusted to the pandemic to ensure learning effectiveness during RL, how teachers and principals managed the transition from traditional to online teaching, and the perceptions of students, teachers, and principals regarding the effectiveness of RL. The analysis stresses Italian schools' challenges in changing teaching styles during RL and identifies individual and school-level inequality patterns. It also underscores a significant gap between teachers' perceptions of their digital skills and the actual use of ICT in class during RL activities. Results identify a positive and robust relationship between the student's perceptions of learning and other outcomes related to student success with the use of innovative teaching methodologies and appropriate organizational innovations, and the adoption of specific teachers' training. |
| Keywords: | remote learning, COVID-19, socio-economic disparities |
| JEL: | I21 I24 O33 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17545 |
| By: | Li, Yanan (Beijing Normal University); Menon, Nidhiya (Brandeis University); Sunder, Naveen (Bentley University) |
| Abstract: | Attending kindergarten (KG) has been shown to have persistent benefits, but the peer effects of KG remain largely unexplored. We fill this gap in the literature by using nationally representative panel data on a cohort of middle-school students (grade 7) in China. We demonstrate that when peers have had limited time to interact with one another (three to six months), there are no discernable effects of peer KG status. However, in the medium-term (14+ months), having a peer group with KG experience improves academic (math, English, and Chinese exam scores) and non-cognitive outcomes including mental health and social adjustment. These impacts are more pronounced among children from underprivileged families, and are explained by reallocation of student time and effort, a better classroom environment, improved friends' attitudes and behaviors, and pedagogically effective teacher-student interactions. The presence of these positive cross-peer spillovers indicates that the overall benefits of KG attendance are likely to be even higher than previously understood. |
| Keywords: | Kindergarten attendance, positive spillovers, cognitive and non-cognitive measures, mental health, middle-school, China |
| JEL: | I21 I24 I26 J13 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17531 |
| By: | Ebaidalla M. Ebaidalla (Ibn Khaldon Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Qatar University); Tarig Alhaj Rakhy (Researcher, Economic and Social Research Bureau, Khartoum) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the state of education in Sudan, utilizing data from the Sudan Labor Market Panel Survey (SLMPS, 2022). It focuses on various education performance indicators, including enrollment rates, school progression and barriers to education. The paper highlights the disparities in educational enrollment, attainment and performance, across gender, geographic regions and family socioeconomic backgrounds. The analysis indicates remarkable progress in preschool education in Sudan in recent years, although notable disparities persist across different regions, locations and socioeconomic statuses. The results show that those residing in urban areas are more likely to enroll in education compared to their rural counterparts. Moreover, individuals belonging to affluent households with educated parents have a higher likelihood to enroll and complete higher education levels. The results also reveal noticeable disparities in enrollment and attainment across regions. Individuals residing in Darfur, Kordufan and Eastern regions exhibit lower levels of educational enrollment and attainment, compared to those living in Central region and Khartoum. The illiteracy rate in Sudan remains alarmingly high, especially among rural females living in poor households. Furthermore, the study indicates multiple barriers to accessing education, including the lack of schools, poverty, customs and traditions. Female students predominantly discontinued their education due to marriage, parental preferences, school fees and cultural norms. Male students dropped out of school primarily because they needed to support their families. Finally, the paper ends with some policy recommendations aimed at enhancing access to education and reducing educational disparities in Sudan. |
| Date: | 2024–05–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1707 |
| By: | Matthew Turner; David N. Weil |
| Abstract: | Cities are often described as engines of economic growth. We assess this statement quantitatively. We focus on two mechanisms: a static agglomeration effect that makes production in bigger cities more efficient, and a dynamic effect whereby urban scale impacts the productivity of invention, which in turn determines the speed of technological progress for the country as a whole. Using estimates of these effects from the literature and MSA-level patent and population data since 1900, we ask how much lower US output would be in 2010 if city size had been limited to one million or one hundred thousand starting in 1900. These effects are small. If city sizes had been limited to one million people since 1900, output in 2010 would have been only 8% lower than its observed value. |
| JEL: | O40 R10 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33334 |
| By: | Lingbo Huang; Jun Zhang |
| Abstract: | Lotteries are commonly employed in school choice to fairly resolve priority ties; however, current practices leave students uninformed about their lottery outcomes when submitting preferences. This paper advocates for revealing lottery results prior to preference submission. When preference lists are constrained in length, revealing lotteries can reduce uncertainties and enable informed decision-making regarding the selection of schools to rank. Through three stylized models, we demonstrate the benefits of lottery revelation in resolving conflicting preferences, equalizing opportunities among students with varying outside options, and alleviating the neighborhood school bias. Our findings are further supported by a laboratory experiment. |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2501.04243 |
| By: | Riley K. Acton; Kalena Cortes; Lois Miller; Camila Morales |
| Abstract: | Leveraging rich data on the universe of Texas high school graduates, we estimate how the relationship between geographic access to public two- and four-year postsecondary institutions and postsecondary outcomes varies across race-ethnicity and socioeconomic status. We find that students are sensitive to the distance they must travel to access public colleges and universities, but there are heterogeneous effects across students – particularly with regard to distance to public two-year colleges (i.e., community colleges). White, Asian, and higher-income students who live in a community college desert (i.e., at least 30 minutes driving time from the nearest public two-year college) substitute towards four-year colleges and are more likely to complete bachelor’s degrees. Meanwhile, Black, Hispanic, and lower-income students respond to living in a community college desert by forgoing college enrollment altogether, reducing the likelihood that they earn associate’s and reducing the likelihood that they ultimately transfer to four-year colleges and earn bachelor’s degrees. These relationships persist up to eight years following high school graduation, resulting in substantial long-term gaps in overall degree attainment by race-ethnicity and income in areas with limited postsecondary access. |
| JEL: | I21 I23 I24 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33337 |
| By: | Victor M. Bennett; David T. Robinson |
| Abstract: | We study racial and gender disparities in entrepreneurial activity through the lens of a Roy model, focusing on the distinction between idea generation and execution. Using nationally representative sur-vey data, we find that Black and Hispanic individuals demonstrate higher entrepreneurial intentions than white respondents. They are much less likely, however, to launch ventures once ideas are conceived. A critical determinant of this gap is differential reliance on social networks, which shapes both the likelihood of launching a business as well as the reasons for stopping. Variation in the strength of local, own-group entrepreneurship reveals that stronger networks enhance the relationship between social engagement and business formation. Also, as predicted by the model, access to social networks also predicts seeking capital. The interconnections between socialization and searching for capital are important for understanding-policies aimed at boosting rates of entrepreneurship in underrepresented groups. |
| JEL: | G50 J15 L26 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33229 |
| By: | Bridget Kauma; Giordano Mion |
| Abstract: | We propose a new data resource that attempts to overcome limitations of standard firm-level datasets for the UK (like the ARD/ABS) by building on administrative data covering the population of UK firms with at least one employee. We also construct a similar dataset for France and use both datasets to: 1) Provide some highlights of the data and an overall picture of the evolution of aggregate UK and French productivity and markups: 2) Analyse the spatial distribution of productivity in both countries at a fine level of detail – 228 Travel to Work Areas (TTWAs) for the UK and 297 Zones d‘emploi (ZEs) for France – while focusing on the role of economic density. Our findings suggest that differences in firm productivity across regions are magnified in the aggregate by an increasing productivity return of density along the productivity distribution. |
| Keywords: | firm-level dataset, merging, BSD, FAME, VAT, FICUS, FARE, productivity, markups, UK, France, regional disparities, density |
| JEL: | R12 D24 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11543 |
| By: | A. Kerem Coşar; Sophie Osotimehin; Latchezar Popov |
| Abstract: | We quantify the aggregate, regional and sectoral impacts of transportation productivity growth on the US economy over the period 1947-2017. Using a multi-region, multi-sector model that explicitly captures produced transportation services as a key input to interregional trade, we find that the calibrated change in transportation productivity had a sizable impact on aggregate welfare, magnified by a factor of 2.3 compared to its sectoral share in GDP. The amplification mechanism results from the complementarity between transport services and tradable goods, interacting with sectoral and spatial linkages. The geographical implications are highly uneven, with the West and Southwest benefiting the most from market access improvements while the Northeast experiences a decline. Sectoral impacts are largest in transportation-intensive activities like agriculture, mining and heavy manufacturing. Our results demonstrate the outsized and heterogeneous impact of the transportation sector in shaping US economic activity through specialization and spatial transformation. |
| JEL: | E23 O18 R13 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33248 |
| By: | Moamen Gouda; Anouk S. Rigterink |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the long-term relationship between slavery and violent crime in the USA. Although qualitative evidence suggests that slavery perpetuated violence, there has been no large-N study supporting this claim. Using county-level data, we find that the percentage of slaves in the population in 1860 is linked with violent crime in 2000. This result is specific to violent crime, robust to instrumenting for slavery and varying the approach to missing crime data, and not driven by biased crime reporting. Investigating the theoretical mechanisms driving these results, we find that historical slavery affects inequality (like Bertocchi and Dimico, 2014), white Americans’ political attitudes towards race (like Acharya et al., 2016b) and black American’s political attitudes – in opposite directions. Results suggest that inequality and black American’s political attitudes mediate the observed effect on violent crime in general, but that white American’s political attitudes mediate the effect on interracial violence. |
| Keywords: | slavery, crime, inequality, political attitude, violence, US South |
| JEL: | J15 J71 K42 N31 D70 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11515 |
| By: | Sebastian Leutner; Benedikt Gloria; Sven Bienert |
| Abstract: | The study examined whether green buildings enjoy more favourable financing terms than their non-green counterparts, exploring the presence of a green discount in commercial real estate lending. Despite the extensive research on green premiums on the equity side, lending has received limited attention in the literature, although regulations have increased and ambitious net-zero targets have been set in the banking sector. The authors used a unique dataset comprising European commercial loan data from 2018 to 2024, with a total loan value exceeding €30 billion. Hedonic regression analysis was used to isolate a potential green discount. Property assessments conducted by lenders were used to investigate whether green properties exhibit lower interest rate spreads and higher loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. The findings reveal the existence of a green discount in European commercial real estate lending, with green buildings enjoying a 5.35% lower contracted loan spread and a 3.92% lower target spread compared to their non-green counterparts. The analysis indicated no distinct advantage regarding LTV ratios for green buildings. The research contributes to a deeper understanding of the interaction between green properties and commercial real estate lending, offering valuable insights for lenders and investors. The study represents the first of its kind in Europe and provides empirical evidence for a green discount’s presence. |
| Keywords: | Commercial real estate lending; Financing; Green Buildings; loan-to-value ratio |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:2024-006 |
| By: | Balgova, Maria (Bank of England); Illing, Hannah (University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the differential impact of job displacement on migrants and natives. Using administrative data for Germany from 1997-2016, we identify mass layoffs and estimate the trajectory of earnings and employment of observationally similar migrants and natives displaced from the same establishment. Despite similar pre-layoff careers, migrants lose an additional 9% of their earnings in the first 5 years after displacement. This gap arises from both lower re-employment probabilities and post-layoff wages and is not driven by selective return migration. Key mechanisms include sorting into lower-quality firms and depending on lower-quality coworker networks during job search. |
| Keywords: | immigration, job displacement, job search |
| JEL: | J62 J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17496 |
| By: | David Card; Eric Chyn; Laura Giuliano |
| Abstract: | Boys are less likely than girls to enter college, a gap that is often attributed to a lack of non-cognitive skills such as motivation and self-discipline. We study how being classified as gifted – determined by having an IQ score of 116 or higher – affects college entry rates of disadvantaged children in a large urban school district. For boys with IQ’s around the cutoff, gifted identification raises the college entry rate by 25-30 percentage points – enough to catch up with girls in the same IQ range. In contrast, we find small effects for girls. Looking at course-taking and grade outcomes in middle and high school, we find large effects of gifted status for boys that close most of the gaps with girls, but no detectable effects on standardized tests scores of either gender. Overall, we interpret the evidence as demonstrating that gifted services raise the non-cognitive skills of boys conditional on their cognitive skills, leading to gains in educational attainment. |
| JEL: | I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33282 |
| By: | Sabrin A. Beg; Anne E. Fitzpatrick; Jason T. Kerwin; Adrienne Lucas; Khandker Wahedur Rahman |
| Abstract: | Public-sector organizations face a tradeoff: allowing workers discretion at the point of service to adapt to local needs, versus rigid harmonization to ensure uniform service delivery. We examine this tradeoff in the context of secondary schools in Odisha, India, where the centrally set curriculum is nearly 4 grades above the learning levels of the mean student. We conduct a randomized intervention that assigned schools to either a rigid or a flexible version of a remedial learning intervention that displaced the curriculum. We compare learning outcomes and teaching quality to the status quo. Both interventions increased learning by 0.11SD, about 60 percent of a year of learning, with gains throughout the learning distribution. We find no crowd-out of grade-level mastery, and no change in the likelihood of earning passing Board Marks one year later. Discretion did not lower the quality of implementation or induce shirking. Allowing teachers flexibility to adjust classroom content to student needs was beneficial and had limited downsides. |
| JEL: | H40 I25 I28 J24 M54 O15 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33242 |
| By: | Baleke Emmanuel; Christopher Mulenga |
| Abstract: | The function that Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) play in diversifying investment portfolios has attracted much attention. These investment vehicles present an alluring chance for investors to expand the diversification of their portfolios beyond the traditional holdings of equities and bonds. This overview seeks to give readers a thorough knowledge of the critical role that real estate investment trusts (REITs) play in boosting portfolio diversity, focusing on the rapidly developing economy of Lusaka, Zambia. Apart from equities and bonds, in the past, investors mostly allocated their funds to conventional asset classes such as equities and bonds. However, due to the limitations of these traditional assets and the desire for more diversification, interest in alternative investment possibilities has grown, with REITs emerging as a prominent rival. Unlike equities and bonds, which are subject to market and economic cycles, REITs frequently have a unique risk-return profile. Because of their weaker connection with other asset classes, they make a compelling option for portfolio diversification. As an alternative investment vehicle, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) have become incredibly popular worldwide, offering investors a way to diversify their portfolios outside of traditional asset classes. Regarded as a major turning point in the development of real estate financing, the introduction of REITs into the international financial market has presented investors with many benefits and prospects. In Zambia, where REITs have been gaining popularity, this study focuses on the function of these investment vehicles in diversifying investment portfolios. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) play a unique role in the thriving economic centre of Lusaka, Zambia. REITs invite investors to participate in the growth of the local real estate market as the Zambian real estate industry continues its significant growth and development. Individuals and institutions can profit from income potential and diversification advantages by investing in Zambian REITs, and they can also help the real estate industry in the nation grow. This study project aims to clarify the complexities of REITs in relation to Lusaka, Zambia. It seeks to investigate their possible benefits, the laws that control them, and the practical ramifications for Lusaka investors. The goal of this research is to provide a thorough grasp of how REITs might function as a crucial part of diversified investment portfolios in the particular economic environment of Lusaka, Zambia. |
| Keywords: | Diversification; Investment; Portfolio; real estate; REITs |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:2024-003 |
| By: | Lingbo Huang; Jun Zhang |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a novel school choice system by incorporating school bundles into the standard framework. Schools are grouped into hierarchical bundles and offered to students as options for preference reports. By listing a bundle, a student seeks admission to any school within the bundle without ranking them. This approach addresses students' difficulty in forming precise preference rankings and expands the number of schools students can report on constrained preference lists, potentially enhancing their match likelihood and welfare. We develop a modified deferred acceptance mechanism that maintains stability while accommodating bundle reports. Laboratory experiments validate our theoretical findings, showing that well-designed bundles aligned with student preferences improve welfare and matching rates without compromising fairness. Practical applications are discussed. |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2501.04241 |
| By: | Louie van Schalkwyk; Liezl Emsley |
| Abstract: | Legislation governing the sale and lease of immovable property by South African municipalities to third parties is extensive, multi-faceted and often overlapping. Municipalities must also consider their overall objectives and mandate stated in the Constitution of South Africa. The central theme of these objectives is the delivery of social value to the local community. This study aims to determine to what extent legislative requirements applicable to municipal immovable property transactions support the realisation of social value objectives. This qualitative research follows a case-study approach by investigating and analysing the processes followed at two South African metropolitan municipalities when undertaking immovable property transactions. The selected municipalities are the City of Cape Town Municipality and eThekwini Municipality. The study identifies and considers municipal officials' challenges in applying the legislation. The findings illustrate how the comprehensive legislative requirements, aimed at transparency and avoiding corruption, inadvertently discourage social value creation. Recommendations are made for legislative improvements to streamline the transaction process. |
| Keywords: | municipal property transactions; social value creation; South Africa |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-040 |
| By: | Berliant, Marcus; Tabuchi, Takatoshi |
| Abstract: | To investigate questions related to migration and trade, a model of regional or international development is created by altering Melitz and Ottaviano (2008) to include a labor market. The model is then applied to analyze poverty traps and the home market effect. We find that in the spatial economics context of migration but no trade, poverty can persist unless population in one region of many is pushed past a threshold. Then growth commences. In the context of trade but no migration, the home market effect holds for a range of parameters, similar to previous literature. However, unlike previous literature, we find that if populations in the countries are large, the home market effect can be reversed. |
| Keywords: | Monopolistic competition; Poverty trap; Home market effect; Labor market clearing |
| JEL: | F12 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–12–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122854 |
| By: | Abbate Nicolás Francisco; Gasparini Leonardo; Ronchetti Franco; Quiroga Facundo |
| Abstract: | In this study, we examine the potential of using high-resolution satellite imagery and machine learning techniques to create income maps with a high level of geographic detail. We trained a convolutional neural network with satellite images from the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and 2010 census data to estimate per capita income at a 50x50 meter resolution for 2013, 2018, and 2022. This outperformed the resolution and frequency of available census information. Based on the EfficientnetV2 architecture, the model achieved high accuracy in predicting household incomes ($R^2=0.878$), surpassing the spatial resolution and model performance of other methods used in the existing literature. This approach presents new opportunities for the generation of highly disaggregated data, enabling the assessment of public policies at a local scale, providing tools for better targeting of social programs, and reducing the information gap in areas where data is not collected. |
| JEL: | C81 C45 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aep:anales:4701 |
| By: | Kaputula, Mboyonga; Oliveira Cunha, Juliana |
| Abstract: | This policy brief explores the need to strengthen the collection of recurrent property taxes and the role of technology for property identification and valuation in Lusaka. |
| JEL: | E6 R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2024–08–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126095 |
| By: | Francois Viruly; Carsten Lausberg; Björn-Martin Kurzrock; Max Hammer; Dayni Sanderson |
| Abstract: | There is growing evidence that small–scale developers play an active role in delivering affordable housing units in South Africa. Small-scale developers tend to focus on backyard developments, and opportunities on land released by different tiers of government. The success and growth of these private sector-led projects are, however, constrained by the availability of finance and the structure of financial products offered to the market. While financing for end-users is increasingly being addressed, developer finance seems to have received less attention. This research aims to provide an understanding of the role of development finance in the decisions made by small-scale developers in South Africa. The research conclusions are derived from an analysis of the international literature and several open-ended interviews undertaken with market specialists and small- scale developers in South Africa. It suggests that development housing finance instruments should be based on a deep understanding of the decision-making characteristics of small-scale developers in the affordable housing market. |
| Keywords: | Decision-making; housing development; Housing Finance; Housing Markets; South Africa |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-011 |
| By: | Adetoun Otepola |
| Abstract: | This research delves into the transformative power of Human-Centred Design (HCD) in Accra, Ghana, exploring its impact on smart city planning and the well-being of its occupants. By embracing a human-centric approach, Accra has revolutionized its built environment, prioritizing collaboration, sustainability, and the satisfaction of its diverse population. In the vibrant metropolis of Accra, Ghana, a groundbreaking approach to smart city planning has emerged, placing humans at the heart of its design. Recognising the intrinsic value of its occupants, Ghana has adopted Human-Centered Design (HCD) as a guiding principle in urban development. This approach aims to create a city that caters to the needs, aspirations, and well-being of its diverse population. By prioritizing human- centric design, Ghana strives to enhance sustainability, foster collaboration, and improve the overall quality of life for its citizens. This case study explores the transformative impact of HCD in Accra, showcasing how a human- centric approach can drive change and inspire smart cities globally. Mixed-methods research design, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques were used. The study focuses on Accra, Ghana, as a leading example of a smart city that has successfully adopted HCD principles in urban planning. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. The qualitative techniques included in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with key stakeholders, including city planners, designers, technology experts, and occupants from diverse backgrounds. These interviews provided valuable insights into the decision-making processes, challenges, and perceived impacts of HCD in Accra. In addition, focus groups were held with occupants from different neighborhoods and demographic groups to understand their experiences, satisfaction levels, and perceptions of HCD practices. This allowed for a deeper exploration of the human element and its impact on the built environment. The researchers also spent time in selected HCD-implemented spaces, observing interactions, collaboration, and the overall user experience. This provided a firsthand perspective on how HCD principles translate into daily life in Accra. The quantitative aspects included a survey administered to a representative sample of Accra residents to quantify their satisfaction levels, perceived benefits, and areas for improvement regarding HCD practices. Performance metrics including building performance data, including energy consumption, waste management efficiency, and equipment lifespan, were analysed to evaluate the impact of HCD on sustainability and overall city efficiency. Advanced statistical techniques, including regression analysis and correlation studies, were applied to survey and performance data to identify patterns and relationships.The findings of this case study highlight the profound impact of HCD in Accra’s smart city planning:Occupant Satisfaction: Qualitative and quantitative data revealed exceptionally high levels of occupant satisfaction with HCD practices. Occupants felt valued, heard, and appreciated the collaborative nature of the city’s infrastructure. Focus group discussions uncovered themes of increased community engagement, improved quality of life, and a sense of belonging.Collaboration: HCD principles fostered a culture of collaboration between occupants, city planners, and designers, leading to co-created solutions and enhanced decision-making.Sustainability: The integration of sustainable practices, such as energy-efficient technologies and eco- friendly materials, reduced environmental impacts and enhanced the city’s resilience.Well-being: HCD approaches improved overall well-being through access to green spaces, community engagement, and improved air quality.Accra’s transformative journey towards becoming a human-centric smart city showcases the immense potential for HCD to drive innovation, enhance social equity, and improve the citizen experience. By prioritizing collaboration, sustainability, and occupant satisfaction, Accra has set a precedent for urban planning on a global scale. The mixed-methods research design revealed significant impacts on various aspects of city management, underscoring the importance of placing humans at the heart of smart city development. This case study on Accra, Ghana, presents compelling evidence of the transformative power of Human-Centered Design in smart city planning. Through a human-centric approach, Accra has revolutionized its built environment, enhancing collaboration, efficiency, and social equity. The findings highlight how HCD can shape a future where cities are designed around positive human experiences and aspirations. As urban planning continues to evolve, adopting HCD principles can foster inclusive, thriving, and resilient communities. Effective design, especially design that is concerned with complex problems, requires community involvement. In addition, smart cities are an example of complex environments that require community involvement in design to achieve effective and impactful results. This study analysed the far-reaching implications of HCD and its potential to enhance social equity and shape a future centred around positive human experiences. The findings showcase Accra’s successful journey towards becoming a responsive, efficient, and inclusive smart city, offering valuable lessons for urban planning worldwide. This paper highlights how HCD principles have been applied in Accra’s urban planning and the resulting positive outcomes for its citizens. |
| Keywords: | Accra; collaboration, sustainability; Ghana; HCD; Human-centred Design; occupant satisfaction; smart city planning; Social equity; Urban Planning; Well-Being |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-015 |
| By: | Apablaza, Mauricio; Sehnbruch, Kirsten; González, Pablo; Méndez, Rocío |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a multidimensional synthetic index for measuring the quality of employment using the Alkire–Foster method. The results generated by this index highlight important differences between Chile's regions, but also a process of convergence, which has been mostly driven by regulatory changes and public policy rather than economic growth. The paper shows how much a synthetic index can contribute to regional analysis and how it can inform policymakers by focusing attention on the most vulnerable workers in regional labour markets. |
| Keywords: | labour markets; Latin America; quality of employment; regional convergence; regional studies |
| JEL: | J40 J48 N56 R23 |
| Date: | 2023–12–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:115453 |
| By: | Banu Demir; Beata Javorcik; Piyush Panigrahi; Banu Demir Pakel; Beata Smarzynska Javorcik |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how improved internet infrastructure impacts supply chains and economic activity, focusing on Türkiye. Using the expansion of fiber-optic networks and firm-to-firm transaction data, we find that better connectivity shifts input sourcing to well-connected regions and diversifies supplier networks. We estimate a spatial equilibrium model with endogenous network formation and rational inattention and find that high-speed internet reduced information acquisition and communication costs. Enhanced connectivity increased real income by 2.2% in the median province. Our findings underscore the importance of digital infrastructure investments in fostering economic growth by improving supply chain efficiency and broadening firms’ access to suppliers. |
| Keywords: | digitalization, production networks, supply chains |
| JEL: | L14 O33 R12 D83 H54 F14 D22 F15 L86 R58 O18 C63 Q55 E22 H41 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11567 |
| By: | Muringani, Jonathan; Dahl Fitjar, Rune; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the complex relationship between political and social trust, government quality, and economic development across 208 regions in the European Union (EU). We use a pooled data generalized structural equation model (GSEM) to show that political trust serves as a fundamental driver of regional economic development in the EU. Political trust is, in turn, influenced by both social trust and government quality. Social trust and government quality have quadratic effects on political trust, showing diminishing returns, while the effect of political trust on economic development is linear. Political trust mediates the relationship between social trust and economic development entirely, while government quality retains a direct relationship with economic development. These findings underscore the fundamental role that political trust plays as a mechanism through which both formal and informal institutions shape regional development. |
| Keywords: | political trust; social trust; quality of government; regional economic development; EU |
| JEL: | R11 H11 D73 |
| Date: | 2024–12–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:125630 |
| By: | Christopher P. Chambers; Yusufcan Masatlioglu; Christopher Turansick |
| Abstract: | People are influenced by their peers when making decisions. In this paper, we study the linear-in-means model which is the standard empirical model of peer effects. As data on the underlying social network is often difficult to come by, we focus on data that only captures an agent's choices. Under exogenous agent participation variation, we study two questions. We first develop a revealed preference style test for the linear-in-means model. We then study the identification properties of the linear-in-means model. With sufficient participation variation, we show how an analyst is able to recover the underlying network structure and social influence parameters from choice data. Our identification result holds when we allow the social network to vary across contexts. To recover predictive power, we consider a refinement which allows us to extrapolate the underlying network structure across groups and provide a test of this version of the model. |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2501.02609 |
| By: | Li, Qiaosi; Zhao, Qunshan |
| Abstract: | Three-dimensional (3D) city models offer visual representation, interaction, analysis, and exploration of urban landscapes. However, most cities do not have open 3D city model datasets. This study used large-scale high-density airborne LiDAR point clouds to produce 3D building and tree datasets for Glasgow City. We proposed an open-source and efficient data analysis workflow that integrated a weakly supervised deep learning point cloud classification algorithm and a data-driven 3D model reconstruction method. The Glasgow 3D city model datasets include 3D building and tree data. The cross-reference results show that our building footprint aligned well with UK Ordnance Survey data (intersection over union of 82.67\% for overlay, R = 0.93 and RMSE = 1.84 m for building height). Building models well represent outer shell features with an average RMSE = 0.54 m for the distance between point clouds and reconstructed models. This accurate 3D city model data can be used in multiple environmental applications in Glasgow, and the open-source data generation workflow can be extended to other major cities for similar applications. |
| Date: | 2024–12–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:5g8wy |
| By: | Ntwanano Hlekane; Chioma Okoro |
| Abstract: | Sustainable financing options for housing conversions for low-income earners are essential for global and emerging nations' investment growth. Africa's housing finance system prioritises middle- and upper-income groups, making it rigid for marginalised income groups to enter the housing market. Consequently, poor designs, affordability, corruption, housing quality, and ineffective programmes have destabilised housing policies. The study aimed to identify effective financing models for housing delivery in Africa. The study adopted a systematic review approach. Google Scholar, Emerald Insight, Ebscohost and Scopus databases were used to identify peer- reviewed journal articles, eBooks and conference papers from 2019 to 2024. The study focused on countries that emphasise the reduction of housing crisis such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique and Uganda, based on severity, frequency, and accessibility. that savings, self-reliance or self-help funding, incremental funding through PPP (institutional financing, funding from both private and governmental organisations), mortgage refinancing and microfinance loans, community financing/neighbourhood cooperatives and informal savings groups. The study recommends government support, collaboration initiatives and knowledge sharing to enhance the effectiveness of these alternative funding mechanisms for sustainable housing conversions that solely benefit low-income earners. |
| Keywords: | Africa; financing housing models; housing conversion; incremental housing financing; sustainable financing |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-021 |
| By: | Cantero Lara Sofía |
| Abstract: | In this work I examine the impact of the school calendar on suicides in adolescents (10-19 years) in a developing country -Argentina-. To do this, I use a regression discontinuity design based on suicide administrative data that allows me to exploit the temporal and geographical variability in the start date of the school calendar. The results confirm the existence of a negative impact of the school calendar on adolescent suicide in Argentina. In the days after the beginning of the school year, the number of deaths by suicide is reduced by 35% in relation to the previous days. The mechanism analysis, which exploits the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, shows that the presence of parents in the household operates as a protective factor that reduces the number of suicides. These results are robust against age placebos (i.e., there are no differences in the number of suicides between older cohorts who presumably have already finished their school years) and temporal placebos (i.e., there are no differences when considering dates other than the actual school start date). These findings have important implications for educational policy. |
| JEL: | I2 I1 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aep:anales:4714 |
| By: | Sofia Amaral; Aixa Garcia-Ramos; Selim Gulesci; Sarita Oré; Alejandra Ramos; Maria Micaela Sviatschi; Maria Micaela Sviatschi |
| Abstract: | Gender-based violence (GBV) at schools is a pervasive problem that affects millions of adolescent girls worldwide. In partnership with the Ministry of Education in Mozambique, we developed an intervention to increase the capacity of key school personnel to address GBV and to improve students’ awareness as well as proactive behaviors. To understand the role of GBV on girls’ education, we randomized not only exposure to the intervention but also whether the student component was targeted to girls only, boys only, or both. Our findings indicate a reduction in sexual violence by teachers and school staff against girls, regardless of the targeted gender group, providing evidence of the role of improving the capacity of key school personnel to deter perpetrators. Using administrative records, we also find that in schools where the intervention encouraged proactive behavior by girls, there was an increase in their school enrollment, largely due to an increased propensity for GBV reporting by victims. Our findings suggest that effectively mitigating violence to improve girls’ schooling requires a dual approach: deterring potential perpetrators and fostering a proactive stance among victims, such as increased reporting. |
| Keywords: | gender-based violence, schooling |
| JEL: | O12 J16 I25 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11506 |
| By: | Matthew Freedman; David Neumark |
| Abstract: | Place-based programs aim to encourage economic and community development in defined geographic areas. They frequently offer tax incentives, grants, loans, or regulatory relief to private or non-profit entities for investing in specific communities. Funding can support a range of activities, including investments in job creation, infrastructure, workforce development, affordable housing, and more. Interest in spatially targeted interventions in the U.S. has waxed and waned over time in response to changing political environments, policy advocacy, and the evolving conclusions of academic research. The nature of place-based programs themselves has also evolved – often building on the lessons learned from past research and experience, but sometimes ignoring these lessons. In this chapter, we review what we have learned from past place-based job creation programs in the U.S. context. We also describe some of the newest developments in place-based policymaking and how recent programs’ successes and failures in heeding past lessons have contributed to their relative effectiveness. |
| JEL: | H71 J2 J38 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33272 |
| By: | Sam M. Mwando; Manya M. Mooya; Elisabeth Musvoto |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to review published articles on private property developers’ locational decisions for the period 1970-2023 to provide a comprehensive review and offer implications for academic researchers and industry practitioners. A thorough and systematic review of published literature was conducted until December 2023 across Scopus, Elsevier (ScienceDirect), and Google Scholar. Manual research was performed using Litmap and Research Rabbit to identify relevant papers. Thirty-nine research studies on property developers' decision-making met the inclusion criteria and were critically evaluated using internationally accepted standards. The data were extracted, and the findings were summarised and synthesised in a narrative format. This review shows that knowledge about property developers' locational decisions remains theoretically unstructured, with scholars primarily relying on mainstream economic theory and traditional methodologies to understand developers’ decisions. The findings are categorised as follows, i) geographical context of knowledge production, ii) profile and nature of property developers, iii) strategies and motivations of developers, iv) the link between urban planning and property developers’ decisions, and v) methodological insights. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to review property developers' locational decisions literature, providing valuable insights and guidance for researchers and practitioners in the property development sector. |
| Keywords: | Built Environment; Decision-Making Process; location decisions; property developers; Urban Planning |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-024 |
| By: | Freitas-Monteiro, Teresa; Ludolph, Lars |
| Abstract: | Asylum seekers who migrate from developing countries to Europe frequently experience victimization events during their journey. The consequences of these events for their economic integration into destination countries are not yet well explored. In this paper, we analyze how victimization during asylum seekers’ journeys affects their labor market integration in Germany by using survey data collected in the aftermath of the 2015 refugee crisis. Our data allow us to account for the exact timing and geography of migration, such that samples of physically victimized and nonvictimized refugees are balanced along a wide range of characteristics. We find that, compared to nonvictimized refugees, refugees who were physically victimized during their journey to Germany favor joining the labor force and taking up low-income employment rather than investing in host country human capital. To explain these findings, we explore a range of potential mechanisms and find suggestive evidence that experiencing physical victimization in vulnerable situations is not only associated with a decline in mental health but also with a “loss of future orientation” among physically victimized refugees, leading them to discount future payoffs more heavily. |
| Keywords: | education; labor market integration; refugees; victimization |
| JEL: | F22 J15 J21 O15 |
| Date: | 2025–02–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126235 |
| By: | Adam Masotya; Prisca Simbanegavi; Malcolm Weaich; Yewande Adewunmi; Pride Ndlovu; Faranani Gethe |
| Abstract: | This study compares occupant satisfaction in green versus conventional residential real estate in South Africa. It investigates the benefits and satisfaction levels related to green developments, particularly in terms of energy savings and socio-economic impacts. The research aimed to determine if there is a significant difference in occupant satisfaction between green and conventional residential developments. A quantitative approach was employed, utilizing stratified random sampling to survey 160 occupants from two developments: Crossberry Central (green) and Little Manhattan (conventional). Data was analysed using the Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon W tests due to non- normal data distribution. The findings indicate that occupants of green developments report significantly higher satisfaction levels. Key areas of satisfaction include air quality, utility savings, and environmental benefits. Green developments demonstrate higher levels of satisfaction regarding reduced utility bills, improved indoor air quality, and contributions to environmental conservation. The study concludes that green residential developments significantly enhance occupant satisfaction compared to conventional housing. This suggests a socio-cultural shift towards valuing sustainable living environments, emphasising the importance of promoting green building practices to improve both environmental and occupant well-being. |
| Keywords: | Green Buildings; occupant satisfaction; residential developments; South Africa |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:2024-044 |
| By: | Machin, Stephen (London School of Economics); Sandi, Matteo (London School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Research studying connections between crime and education is a prominent aspect of the big increase of publication and research interest in the economics of crime field. This work demonstrates a crime reducing impact of education, which can be interpreted as causal through leveraging research designs (e.g., based on education policy changes) that ensure the direction of causality flows from education to crime. A significant body of research also explores in detail, and in various directions, the means by which education has a crime reducing impact. This includes evidence on incapacitation versus productivity raising aspects of education, and on the quality of schooling at different stages of education, ranging from early age interventions, through primary and secondary schooling and policy changes that alter school dropout age. From this evidence base, there are education policies that have been effective crime prevention tools in many settings around the world. |
| Keywords: | education, crime |
| JEL: | K42 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17483 |
| By: | Davis, Donald (Columbia University); Mengus, Eric (HEC Paris); Michalski, Tomasz Kamil (HEC Paris) |
| Abstract: | Labor market polarization is among the most important features in recent decades of advanced country labor markets. Yet key spatial aspects of this phenomenon remain under-explored. We develop four key facts that document the universality of polarization, a city-size difference in the shock magnitudes, a skew in the types of middle-paid jobs lost, and the role of polarization in the great urban divergence. Existing theories cannot account for these facts. Hence we develop a parsimonious theoretical account that does so by integrating elements from the literatures on labor market polarization and systems of cities with heterogeneous labor in spatial equilibrium. |
| Keywords: | Labor Market Polarization; Great Urban Divergence; System of Cities; Inequality |
| JEL: | D63 |
| Date: | 2024–06–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:heccah:1525 |
| By: | Moreno, Frede; Sulasula, Josephine |
| Abstract: | This study explores flood risk adaptation strategies and the resilience of riverbank-dwelling families in major urban centers of the Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines. It examines the challenges these communities face in coping with recurrent flooding and identifies the factors that influence their ability to adapt to flood risks. Geospatial mapping further supported the analysis of flood-prone areas. The findings reveal that while families use a variety of adaptation strategies, including home elevation, temporary relocation, and community-based early warning systems, their effectiveness is constrained by limited resources, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient local governance. Social capital and community networks play a critical role in resilience, but vulnerability remains high due to lack of formal support and resources. The study highlights the importance of inclusive disaster risk management policies, strengthened governance, and the potential of public-private partnerships in enhancing flood resilience. It contributes to the understanding of disaster governance and offers actionable recommendations for improving flood adaptation in vulnerable communities. |
| Keywords: | Flood risk, adaptation strategies, resilience, riverbank-dwelling families, Zamboanga Peninsula, local governance, disaster risk management, social capital, public-private partnerships, community-based adaptation. |
| JEL: | D1 D6 D62 D8 H2 H23 H24 H3 Q5 |
| Date: | 2024–12–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123052 |
| By: | Smeets, Chayenne; Cebotari, Victor |
| Abstract: | This study uses longitudinal data to examine the educational performance—specifically self-reported grades in Science, English, and Mathematics—of male and female students in Ghana whose parents have either moved within the country or abroad. The study analyzes responses from 741 secondary school students over the years 2013, 2014, and 2015. Findings indicate that boys with at least one parent living internationally often attain grades that are similar to or better than those of their counterparts from non-migrant families. On the other hand, girls from migrant families typically do not exhibit significant differences in grades compared to girls from non-migrant backgrounds. A key risk factor highlighted in the study is the detrimental effect of parental divorce or separation on the academic outcomes of children from migrant families. |
| Date: | 2024–12–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:b6sz9 |
| By: | Herrera Gómez Marcos; Elosegui Pedro; Michelena Gabriel |
| Abstract: | Multi-regional input-output (MRIO) matrices are an important tool for regional economic analysis, but compiling the data for them remains challenging, especially in developing countries like Argentina. There is no consistent, up-to-date, official national I-O table available for Argentina, and data at the provincial level is limited and fragmented across different sources. This paper develops a premier (limited information) multi-regional input-output matrix for Argentina 2019 making a dual contribution: (i) constructing the first MRIO table for Argentina using official and customized sources, and (ii) evaluating I-O multipliers, providing insights for future applications. The MRIO table includes 5 regions aggregating the 24 Argentinean provinces and 20 economic sectors. While only basic multipliers are presented, the table provides a foundation for more in-depth input-output modeling and analysis of production, consumption, and trade linkages between regions and sectors in Argentina. We found a high concentration in the provinces of the Pampeana region in gross output, value added and regional internal inputs, although less in external inputs, confirming the asymmetric structure of the country. In addition, the analysis of multipliers allows us to detect some relevant links in the peripheral regions reflecting the interaction of spatial location and sector specialization in a federal and heterogeneous open developing economy. |
| JEL: | C67 D57 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aep:anales:4739 |
| By: | Karine Moukaddem (Aix-Marseille School of Economics, Aix-Marseille University); Marion Dovis (Aix-Marseille School of Economics, Aix-Marseille University); Josephine Kass-Hanna (IESEG School of Management); Léa Bou Khater (AUB); Eva Raiber (Aix-Marseille School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Migration aspirations, the hope and ambition to leave the origin country, are recognized as the key initial step that may lead to actual migration. Drawing on data from a nationally representative survey conducted in Lebanon among 1, 500 women aged 18-35, this study investigates the role of social networks and life aspirations (education, career, marriage and fertility) in shaping migration aspirations, in a context of severe economic crisis and massive emigration wave. Based on a stylized model that integrates aspirations into a standard utility maximization problem, we postulate that individuals aspire to migrate if their life aspirations cannot be locally fulfilled. Furthermore, we focus on local networks to examine their influence on women’s migration aspirations. Our analysis reveals a peer effect, where a higher share of women’s network planning migration increases their migration aspirations. Additionally, unlikely career and education aspirations, but not family aspirations, are associated with a stronger desire to emigrate. These findings highlight the need for a nuanced approach to understanding the interplay between social networks, aspirations, and migration decisions. They offer valuable insights for researchers and policymakers aiming to address the drivers of women’s emigration in Lebanon and other crisis contexts. |
| Date: | 2024–08–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1715 |
| By: | Vaalavuo, Maria; Holster, Tuukka; Kuusinen, Heidi; Skogberg, Natalia |
| Abstract: | Existing research has shown that immigrants’ health care use and costs are lower compared to native population. The aim of this study is to analyse 1) how average health care costs differ between newly arrived immigrants and natives in Finland, 2) whether the costs of immigrants converge to the level of natives over time, and 3) how other factors of integration are associated with convergence in health care use. We use individual-level register data on total working-age (18-64) population living in Finland between 2008 and 2017 combined with their health care use and costs in public specialised health care sector from the national Care Register for Health Care. Our analysis sample includes all working-age immigrants who arrived in Finland between 2008-2010 and divided in eight groups by region of origin. We use a 10 per cent random sample of native-born Finns as a comparison group. Information on earlier arrived immigrants is used in additional analyses. We follow the study population’s (n=296, 956) health care costs from 2011 to 2017. To illustrate trajectories in health care costs, we employ growth curve models. Our results show that immigrants have lower health care costs compared to natives and they do not converge to the native level over a 7-year observation period. This finding holds also among immigrants who have more local social, cultural, and economic capital. Notably, the costs differ remarkably between sectors of health care, different immigrant groups, and by other factors. However, the determinants of health care costs appear to function relatively similarly among natives and immigrants. Information on these differences is crucial for assessing equity in the distribution of health care. Our results can also be used to improve the accuracy of regional predictions of models that forecast health expenditures at the regional level in Finland. In addition to better health among immigrants, lower health care use and costs among immigrants may indicate, for example, different approaches to health care use or unmet needs due to barriers to accessing health care services. It seems that the ‘healthy immigrant effect’ is an oversimplification of the reality. To make informed policy decisions, future research is needed to uncover the factors behind the lower health care use among immigrants and whether this affects health outcomes and health inequality. |
| Date: | 2024–12–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:5rxvy |
| By: | Marc Kaufmann; Joël Machado; Bertrand Verheyden |
| Abstract: | Empirical evidence suggests that the majority of immigrants who initially planned a temporary stay end up staying permanently in the host country. Since beliefs about the duration of stay are a strong determinant of integration, many long-term migrants may end up less than optimally integrated. We theoretically model migrants with potential misperceptions about their future utility and wage prospects in the host country relative to their country of origin. We describe conditions under which these misperceptions generate, and conditions on observables that identify, unexpected staying. These conditions involve pessimism about the endogenous long-term wage for which migrants are indifferent between staying and leaving: either they overestimate the probability of earning less than this indifference wage, or they underestimate their utility in the destination country when earning this wage. Using the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we find that higher levels of pessimism about utility and wages at arrival are associated with staying in the long-term in Germany despite having initially predicted a temporary stay. |
| Keywords: | Migrant integration, return intentions, unexpected staying, misperceptions, pessimism; SOEP |
| JEL: | F22 D91 J61 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1215 |
| By: | Catherine Kariuki; Nicky Nzioki |
| Abstract: | According to the National Land Policy, Kenya hosts many refugees. These are people fleeing from civic strife from their war or economically challenged countries. These refugees will often be there for the better part of their lives. The refugees occupy public land and ASAL regions. The location of these refugee camps is often in fragile ecosystems. Their activities over the years have led to systematic ecological degradation. Despite a National land Policy created in 2009, the country has been unable to improve the status of refugee camps. The research method was based on a theoretical framework which includes a literature review on the impact of refugee presence on the host country. Primary data was collected from one refugee camp and international and local agencies working in these areas. Data analysis was done using available statistical methods. Refugee camps, which initially were supposed to serve fleeing people for a short period, have now turned into permanent settlements. However, the facilities offered remain temporary; the land is affected permanently and will take several years to recover from degradation. The study will rely on desk research and very little case study. This is because most of the refugee camps are located in the more difficult-to-reach parts of the country. The paper contributes to the literature review and offers ways to manage refugee camps to protect a fragile ecosystem |
| Keywords: | Camps; fragile ecosystem; housing; refugees; settlements. |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-001 |
| By: | Tomisi Olusegun Adegunle; Olusegun Adebayo Ogunba |
| Abstract: | The study addressed the need for holistic capturing of factors influencing residential property development in information provided to prospective investors in Africa and research papers generated on the continent. It investigated the influence exerted by an eclectic range of factors (returns on investment, macro-economic factors, market maturity, transparency ease of doing business, and socio-political factors) on the rate of addition to residential property stock in Africa, to provide information that could enhance property FDI and LDI on the continent. Nigeria (and particularly its city of Ibadan) was offered as an example of African countries in this regard. Questionnaires were administered to estate surveying and development firms in Ibadan, while secondary data were sourced from records of the Ibadan Town Planning Authority and websites of Nigeria’s Central Bank and the World Bank. The data obtained were regressed against the number of properties produced over the period 2013 to 2023. The regression results (and particularly their high coefficients of determination) highlighted that many factors influence the decision to invest in property. It was recommended that guidance manuals and databanks for prospective property investors should provide information on all relevant factors. |
| Keywords: | foreign and local direct investment; Nigeria; Residential Real Estate |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:afr:wpaper:afres2024-051 |
| By: | Michael Fritsch (Friedrich Schiller University Jena); Matthias Huegel (University of Kassel); Maria Greve (University of Utrecht, Netherlands); Michael Wyrwich (University of Groningen, Netherlands and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We describe the procedure for compiling a list of industrial monuments in the regions of Germany and the resulting data set. In addition, we provide an overview of the regional distribution of the number of industrial monuments in Germany. The data set is publicly available on the Internet. |
| Keywords: | Industrial monuments, regional culture, cultural memory |
| JEL: | C8 N9 R1 Z1 |
| Date: | 2025–01–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2025-0061 |
| By: | Andrea Xamo (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Roberto Ricciuti (Department of Economics (University of Verona)) |
| Abstract: | Italy, a latecomer country to industrialization, faced the hurdles of lacking coal in the age of steam. When the technology for long-distance electricity transmission became available, it invested heavily in hydropower. By 1911, 42.7% of Italy’s installed industrial power came from hydroelectricity. Using methodologies rooted in New Economic Geography (NEG) and factor endowment theories, we analyze the location of industrial activity across Italian provinces during the census years 1901 and 1911. We evaluate the influence of electric power as a distinct factor alongside traditional determinants such as market potential, human capital, and energy intensity. Our approach incorporates new data on GDP, literacy, and energy stocks, enabling a fine-grained analysis at the NUTS-3 level. Dependent variables include provincial shares of industrial employment and GDP, regressed on interactions between industrial and provincial characteristics. Baseline OLS findings highlight the role of electricity in industrial location, with its influence growing markedly between 1901 and 1911. Alternative specifications and instrumental variable techniques confirm these results, underscoring electricity’s transformative role in reducing Italy’s dependence on water-powered manufacturing. These findings align with broader interpretations of electrification’s role in enabling industrial diversification and regional economic development during the Second Industrial Revolution. |
| Keywords: | Electrification, industry location, Italian manufacturing, market potential, factor endowments, Liberal Italy. |
| JEL: | N73 N93 O18 R30 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:01/2025 |
| By: | Pylak, Korneliusz; Mickiewicz, Tomasz; Kitsos, Tasos |
| Abstract: | Our study explores the factors influencing the creation and closure of firms in urban micro-spaces, highlighting the relationship between Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) and non-KIBS sectors. Employing 2007-2019 firm-level data from Warsaw, the capital of Poland, we uncover overlooked micro-geographical and sectoral patterns. We reveal spatial and sectoral interdependencies, highlighting the cross-sectoral effects of density and age of incumbent firms on new firm creation and closure. Our findings highlight the potential of policies supporting KIBS to generate positive multiplier effects, cultivating entrepreneurial ecosystems while accounting for micro-geographical contexts. |
| Date: | 2024–12–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:emv45 |
| By: | Brian Duncan; Stephen J. Trejo |
| Abstract: | Many U.S.-born descendants of Mexican immigrants do not identify as Mexican or Hispanic in response to the Hispanic origin question asked in the Census and other government surveys. Analyzing microdata from the 2000 U.S. Census and the 2001-2019 American Community Surveys, we show that the age at arrival of Mexican immigrants exerts an important influence on ethnic identification not only for these immigrants but also for their U.S.-born children. Among Mexican immigrants who arrived as children, the rate of “ethnic attrition”—i.e., not self-identifying as Mexican or Hispanic—is higher for those who migrated at a younger age. Moreover, the children of these immigrants exhibit a similar pattern: greater ethnic attrition among children whose parents moved to the United States at a younger age. We unpack the relative importance of several key mechanisms—parental English proficiency, parental education, family structure, intermarriage, and geographic location—through which the age at arrival of immigrant parents influences the ethnic identification of their children. Intermarriage turns out to be the primary mechanism: Mexican immigrants who arrived at a very young age are more likely to marry non-Hispanics, and the rate of ethnic attrition is dramatically higher among children with mixed ethnic backgrounds. |
| JEL: | J15 J62 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33329 |
| By: | Giannantoni, Costanza; Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés |
| Abstract: | Declining fertility and the persistent underrepresentation of women in the labour market are key concerns of our time. The fact that they overlap is not fortuitous. Traditionally, women everywhere have faced a conflict in balancing their career ambitions with family responsibilities. Yet, the pressures arising from this conflict vary enormously from one place to another. Existing research has tended to overlook the geographical features of this dilemma, which could result in an inadequate understanding of the issue and lead to ineffective policy responses. This paper examines how variations in the quality of regional institutions affect women’s capacity to reconcile career and motherhood and, consequently, gender equality within Europe. Using panel data from 216 regions across 18 European countries, we uncover a positive effect of regional institutional quality on fertility rates, taking into account variations in female employment. Moreover, we show that European regions with better government quality provide a more reliable environment for managing the career/motherhood dilemma often faced by women. In contrast, women living in regions with weaker government institutions are more constrained in both their career and childbearing options. |
| Keywords: | fertility; gender equality; institutional equality; European regions |
| JEL: | J11 J13 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–11–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:125631 |
| By: | Baraldi, Anna Laura; Cantabene, Claudia; De Iudicibus, Alessandro; Fosco, Giovanni |
| Abstract: | The allocation of funds to finance cohesion policies has been a significant European and national level activity. We focus on the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 programming periods within a 23-year (2000 to 2022) time frame to assess whether and how cohesion funds have affected per-capita income growth rates in the municipalities in the Objective 1 Italian regions of Calabria, Campania, Apulia, and Sicily. We use static and dynamic difference-in-differences methodologies. Municipal level examination allows us to filter out the distorting effects generated by characteristics typical of those countries whose regions have benefited from the allocation of structural funding. The literature shows that structural funding causes contrasting effects on various economic variables. We found significant increases in municipal per-capita income growth rates in the treated compared to the control group of municipalities, with increased effects starting from the 10th year after the first payment. We interpret our results in terms of income inequality; we show that funding causes a rise in both the Gini and Atkinson inequality indexes. This suggests that while EU cohesion funds have been effective for promoting income growth, they have not improved equity. |
| Keywords: | Cohesion Policies, Diff-in-Diff, Objective 1 Regions, Income growth, Inequalities |
| JEL: | C21 C22 R11 R15 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123048 |
| By: | Edward L. Glaeser |
| Abstract: | Public capacity complements urban density because externalities abound in cities and urban scale makes it possible to share infrastructure that needs to be managed. Yet, urban governments face limitations that are not experienced by private sector entities. A city cannot just stop policing if it decides it is bad at policing. Typically, public compensation and personnel policies are highly regulated either by law or by union contracts. City governments do, however, have one great advantage over private entities: a greater ability to learn from their peers. City governments do similar things throughout the world, while companies frequently specialize. Private companies have strong incentives to hide the trade secrets that make them more productive, cities do not. As individual cities do not have an incentive to make it easier for other governments to learn from them, multinational entities like the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank could enable that learning. Since climate-change-related crises are relatively rare events, city-to-city learning seems particularly important for adapting to climate change. |
| JEL: | O17 P14 R50 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33247 |
| By: | Sayan, Ramazan Caner; Bilgen, Arda; Kibaroğlu, Ayşegül |
| Abstract: | Moving beyond the purely material understanding of infrastructures, new perspectives in infrastructural regionalism assert that infrastructures and regions simultaneously shape each other. Drawing on this reciprocal relationship, we introduce the concept of ‘water regionalism’ to examine how regional factors, dynamics, and complexities shape water infrastructures, and how water infrastructures concurrently shape regions. Through qualitative research methodologies, we empirically demonstrate how this concept operates in practice by examining the history of regional planning and hydraulic infrastructure development in Turkey, particularly the process of how the South-eastern Anatolia Project (GAP) and the GAP region have shaped each other since the 1970s. |
| Keywords: | Euphrates and Tigris Basin; GAP; Turkey; water infrastructure; critical infrastructure studies; regionalism |
| JEL: | Q25 |
| Date: | 2024–11–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126296 |
| By: | David Carassus (LIREM - Laboratoire de Recherche en Management (LIREM) - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour); Pascal Frucquet (LIREM - Laboratoire de Recherche en Management (LIREM) - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour); Christophe Maurel (IAE Angers - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Angers - UA - Université d'Angers, GRANEM - Groupe de Recherche Angevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut National de l'Horticulture et du Paysage, UA - Université d'Angers); Benjamin Dreveton (IAE Poitiers - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Poitiers - UP - Université de Poitiers = University of Poitiers, CEREGE [Poitiers] - Centre de recherche en gestion - UP - Université de Poitiers = University of Poitiers) |
| Keywords: | Smart city |
| Date: | 2024–11–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04858933 |
| By: | da Cruz, Nuno F.; Ellaway, Louise; Hamilton-Jones, Imogen; Heeckt, Catarina; Rogers, Ben |
| Abstract: | This new report, led by LSE Cities and developed in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and Eurocities, is based on a Eurocities Pulse survey of 65 European cities and seven deep-dive case studies. It maps the landscape of government innovation capacity in Europe’s cities, and asks what’s working, what can cities learn from each other, and where they need more support to meet the challenges of the 21st century through city government innovation. Cities across Europe, like those around the world, are grappling with unprecedented challenges – whether it’s addressing the climate crisis, managing disruptive technologies, fostering more inclusive economies, or supporting rapidly ageing populations. The scale and urgency of these challenges mean cities are confronted, as perhaps never before, with the need to innovate. Public sector innovation – from mission-driven policies to citizens’ assemblies or new cross-sector leadership roles – is increasingly being recognised as a necessity rather than a ‘nice-to-have’. But innovation in city governments does not happen by magic. City governments must build up their innovation muscles – their capacity to generate new ideas, test them and learn the lessons. Building on work by the OECD and others, this report identifies four key components that make up a city’s capacity to innovate: leadership capabilities, organisational capabilities, analytical capabilities, partnership capabilities. This report describes how European cities are working to build their innovation capacity across these four components. |
| JEL: | N0 J50 |
| Date: | 2024–11–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126115 |
| By: | Goehausen, Johannes (Leibniz Univeristät Hannover); Thomsen, Stephan L. (Leibniz University of Hannover) |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the labor market effects of an increasing supply of high-skilled labor, resulting from a higher education expansion at established German universities. Exploiting variation in exposure across regions and cohorts, we estimate early career effects for labor market entrants. We find that high-skilled wages decline initially, particularly in non-graduate jobs, but recover over the first five years of experience. Medium-skilled workers are barely affected, while low-skilled workers benefit from higher wage growth in non-routine-intensive jobs. We explain the dynamics of the effects by two countervailing mechanisms: immediate supply effects and gradual technology effects through increasing skilled labor demand. |
| Keywords: | higher education expansion, labor market entry, wages, regional labor markets |
| JEL: | I23 I26 J31 R23 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17487 |