|
on Economic Geography |
| By: | Germà Bel (University of Barcelona); Xavier Fageda (University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | Information exchanges across firms within cities are considered to be one of the major agglomeration forces in the regional economics literature. In addition, the quality of transport infrastructures arises as one of the major determinants in the location decisions of firms across cities and hence on urban economic growth. However, the significance of information exchanges between cities and the role of airports as a mean of managing such information efficiently has received much less attention. We deal with these issues through the empirical analysis of the determinants of the location of large firms´ headquarters across major European urban areas, focusing the attention on the attractiveness of a city for large firms due to the supply of non-stop intercontinental flights. |
| Keywords: | Headquarters, Airports, Information. |
| JEL: | L93 R10 R58 |
| Date: | 2005–11–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0511008&r=geo |
| By: | Valentina Meliciani (University of Rome II); Franco Peracchi (University of Rome II - Centre for International Studies on Economic Growth (CEIS)) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies convergence in per-capita GDP across European regions over the period 1980-2000. We use median unbiased estimators of the rate of convergence to the steady-state growth path, while allowing for unrestricted patterns of heterogeneity and spatial correlation across regions. By permitting the model parameters to be completely different across regions, not only we avoid imposing strong a priori assumptions but we are also able to analyze the spatial patterns in the estimated coefficients. Our results differ from those found using conventional estimators. The main differences are: i) the mean rate of convergence is much lower; ii) for most regions this rate is zero; iii) the number of regions for which we reject equality in trend growth rates is substantially lower. We also find significant evidence of correlation of growth rates across neighbor regions and across regions belonging to the same country. |
| Keywords: | Regional convergence, median unbiased estimation, heterogeneous panel models |
| JEL: | R11 C40 C49 |
| Date: | 2004–10–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:58&r=geo |
| By: | Claude LACOUR (IERSO, IFReDE-GRES); Stéphane VIROL (IERSO, IFReDE-GRES) |
| Abstract: | With the paddle of a new period of programming, the European regional policy must face the challenge of widening in the East like with that of the insertion of Europe in universalization. In this European space where exists a demographic, economic and policy concentration, in an omnipotent center, the regions become capital parts of the reorganization of the economic, social and space bond : the European regional policy is and will remain thus a central stake for the development of this space. This article tries to put forward the bases of this policy and to determine new spaces concerned. |
| Keywords: | Research, European integration, co-operation-coordination, polycentric concentration, structuring of space, regional integration of spaces |
| JEL: | R12 R14 R58 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grs:wpegrs:2005-21&r=geo |
| By: | Andrew K. Rose |
| Abstract: | If one ranks cities by population, the rank of a city is inversely related to its size, a well-documented phenomenon known as Zipf's Law. Further, the growth rate of a city's population is uncorrelated with its size, another well-known characteristic known as Gibrat's Law. In this paper, I show that both characteristics are true of countries as well as cities; the size distributions of cities and countries are similar. But theories that explain the size-distribution of cities do not obviously apply in explaining the size-distribution of countries. The similarity of city- and country-size distributions is an interesting riddle. |
| JEL: | F00 R12 |
| Date: | 2005–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11762&r=geo |
| By: | Juergen Antony (University of Augsburg, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a multi regional growth model of the second generation type with horizontal and vertical innovations. Technology goods are tradable between regions, creating a regional analogy of the weak scale effect introduced by Jones (2004). Per capita production in one region is a function of the weighted population sizes of trading partner regions. Thus the scale of partner regions diffuses between them. This result is empirically tested using data on the NUTS regions of the EU 15. A highly significant relationship is found between per capita GDP and an interregional scale variable, defined as a weighted sum of the populations of all EU 15 regions. |
| Keywords: | regional growth, scale effects, international trade |
| JEL: | R12 O33 O52 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aug:augsbe:0281&r=geo |
| By: | Carlo Altomonte; Italo Colantone |
| Abstract: | We exploit the census of Romanian firms to provide a microfounded analysis of the sources of regional disparities in the country. To this extent, we adapt to the regional case a decomposition of firm-level output dynamics based on semi-parametric productivity estimates. The methodology, robust to different techniques of TFP estimation, allows us to analyze the sources of regional disparities controlling for the heterogeneity in firms’ characteristics. In particular, we measure various compositional effects of multinational enterprises (MNEs)on regional growth, finding that regional disparities are to a large extent endogenous to the interaction between firm-level dynamics and initial market conditions. |
| Keywords: | regional convergence, multinational firms, productivity, transition economies. |
| JEL: | F12 F23 L10 P20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:16105&r=geo |
| By: | Viego Valentina (UNSUR) |
| Abstract: | This paper offers a review of the main progress made in entrepreneurship analysis and institutional economics, discussing its possible integration to general theory of economic development, considering the increasing importance that these topics have gained in contemporary approaches of terriorial development. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, institutions, local economic development |
| JEL: | R |
| Date: | 2005–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpur:0511007&r=geo |
| By: | Patrick Bayer (Economic Growth Center, Yale University); Stephen L. Ross (Economics Department, University of Connecticut); Giorgio Topa (Federal Reserve Bank of New York) |
| Abstract: | We use a novel dataset and research design to empirically detect the effect of social interactions among neighbors on labor market outcomes. Specifically, using Census data that characterize residential and employment locations down to the city block, we examine whether individuals residing in the same block are more likely to work together than those in nearby blocks. We find evidence of significant social interactions operating at the block level: residing on the same versus nearby blocks increases the probability of working together by over 33 percent. The results also indicate that this referral effect is stronger when individuals are similar in sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., both have children of similar ages) and when at least one individual is well attached to the labor market. These findings are robust across various specifications intended to address concerns related to sorting and reverse causation. Further, having determined the characteristics of a pair of individuals that lead to an especially strong referral effect, we provide evidence that the increased availability of neighborhood referrals has a significant impact on a wide range of labor market outcomes including employment and wages. |
| Keywords: | Neighborhood Effects, Job Referrals, Social Interactions, Social Interactions, Social Networks, Labor Supply |
| JEL: | J2 J3 J6 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egc:wpaper:927&r=geo |
| By: | Michael D. Makowsky (Economics George Mason University) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an agent-based model of urban crime, mortality, and exogenous population shocks. Agent decision making is built around a career maximization function, with life expectancy as the key independent variable. Individual rationality is bounded by locally held information, creating a strong delineation between an objective and subjective reality. The effects of population shocks are explored using the Crime and Mortality Simulation (CAMSIM), with effects demonstrated to persist across generations. The potential for social simulation as a tool for the integration of theory across multiple disciplines is explored. CAMSIM is available via the web for future research by modelers and other social scientists. |
| Keywords: | Agent-based modeling, urban geography, crime |
| JEL: | J24 K42 R0 |
| Date: | 2005–11–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sce:scecf5:91&r=geo |
| By: | Antonio Rafael Peña Sánchez (Universidad de Cádiz) |
| Abstract: | El objetivo del presente trabajo es, en primer lugar, examinar, mediante distintos indicadores, cuál ha sido la evolución del nivel de bienestar económico de Andalucía en el amplio periodo 1967-1997; en segundo lugar, analizar si la evolución experimentada por el bienestar económico andaluz se ha producido por la dinámica de la RFBDpc o/y por la distribución que se ha realizado de la misma en el conjunto de los territorios andaluces; y en tercer lugar, determinar algunos factores explicativos de la evolución seguida por el nivel de bienestar económico, tratando de establecer la influencia que han tenido tanto la evolución de los aspectos productivos de la economía andaluza, como la productividad aparente del empleo y de la tasa de empleo, y de la política redistributiva llevada a cabo por las Administraciones Públicas. |
| Keywords: | Bienestar económico, productividad aparente del empleo, tasa de empleo, política redistributiva |
| JEL: | D24 D31 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cea:doctra:e2005_20&r=geo |
| By: | Guanghua Wan (UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, Finland); Ming Lu (Employment & Social Security Research Center, & China Center for Economic Studies, Fudan University); Zhao Chen (China Center for Economic Studies, Fudan University) |
| Abstract: | China¡¯s recent accession to the WTO is expected to accelerate its integration into the world economy, which aggravates concerns over the impact of globalization on the already rising inter-region income inequality in China. This paper discusses China¡¯s globalization process and estimates an income generating function, incorporating trade and FDI variables. It then applies the newly developed Shapley value decomposition technique to quantify the contributions of globalization, along with other variables, to regional inequality. It is found that (a) globalization constitutes a positive and substantial share to regional inequality and the share rises over time; (b) capital is one of the largest and increasingly important contributor to regional inequality; (c) economic reform characterized by privatization exerts a significant impact on regional inequality; and (d) the relative contributions of education, location, urbanization and dependency ratio to regional inequality have been declining. |
| JEL: | C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C8 |
| Date: | 2005–11–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpem:0511014&r=geo |
| By: | Simón Sosvilla-Rivero |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an empirical evaluation of the economic effects of the Structural Funds received by the Spain’s Objective 1 regions through the Community Support Framework (CSF). The empirical results suggest that the funds have significantly contributed to economic growth, as well as to wealth and employment creation. Compared to a scenario without CSFs, the successive investment programmes from 1989 to 2006 would represent an average increase of 0.56 percentage points in the growth rates of the Spanish recipient regions. This increase would translate to an average increase in per capita income of 425 euros at 1999 prices. In terms of the labour market, the CSF has maintained or generated an increase of 1.46 per cent in employment compared to an alternative scenario without CSF. This in turn would represent an average reduction of 0.74 percentage points in the unemployment rate during the aforementioned period. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2005-24&r=geo |