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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Kuan-Pin Lin; Zhi-He Long; Mei Wu |
| Abstract: | Using techniques of spatial econometrics, this paper investigates ƒÐ-convergence of provincial real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in China. The empirical evidence concludes that spatial dependence across regions is strong enough to distort the traditional measure of ƒÐ-convergence. This study focuses on the variation of per capita GDP that is dependent on the development processes of neighboring provinces and cities. This refinement of the conditional ƒÐ-convergence model specification allows for analysis of spatial dependence in the mean and variance. The corrected measure of ƒÐ-convergence in China indicates a lower level of dispersion in the economic development process. This implies a smaller divergence in real per capita GDP, although convergence across regions is still a challenging goal to achieve in the 2000s. </span></td></tr> |
| Keywords: | ƒÐ-Convergence, Moran's index, spatial dependence, spatial lag |
| JEL: | C23 O18 O53 R11 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:hstdps:d05-155&r=geo |
| By: | Robinson, D.K.R.; Rip, A.; Mangematin, V. |
| Abstract: | Based on the analysis of two clusters in nanotechnologies (MESA+ in the Netherlands and Minatec in Grenoble in France), the paper examines the emergence and effects of technological agglomeration. The social and technical arrangements of a regional centre for nanotechnology both enable and constrain the ongoing activities and research lines that can be followed. Technology platforms and their co-location are a pre-requisite for nanotechnology research and agglomeration of such platforms are both a means and outcome for institutional entrepreneurs to mobilise resources, build networks and construct regional centres of excellence in nanotechnology. Technological agglomeration shapes the networks that evolve and leads to the convergence of scientific disciplines. |
| Keywords: | TECHNOLOGICAL AGGLOMERATION;TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM;CLUSTER;DISTRICT; CONVERGING TECHNOLOGY;MULTILEVEL ACTIVITIES |
| JEL: | M13 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gbl:wpaper:200603&r=geo |
| By: | Ron Martin; Peter Sunley |
| Abstract: | In recent years, economic geographers have seized on the concepts of ‘path dependence’ and ‘lock-in’ as key ingredients in constructing an evolutionary approach to their subject. However, they have tended in to invoke these notions without a proper examination of the ongoing discussion and debate devoted to them within evolutionary economics and elsewhere. Our aim in this paper, therefore, is, first, to highlight some of the unresolved issues surround these concepts, and, second, to explore their usefulness for understanding the regional economic evolution. We argue that in many important aspects, path dependence and lock-in are place-dependent processes, and as such require geographical explanation. At the same time, there has been little discussion of regional path creation: te assumption has been that new technological-economic paths emerge at random or spontaneously across space, an assumption that we find too simplistic. This leads on to the key question as to why some regional economies become locked into development paths that lose dynamism, whilst other regional economies seem able to avoid this danger and in effect are able ‘reinvent’ themselves through successive new paths or phases of development. We conclude that whilst path dependence is an important feature of the economic landscape, the concept requires further elaboration if it is to function as a core concept in an evolutionary economic geography. |
| Keywords: | path dependence, evolutionary economic geography, regional economic evolution, lock-in |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:0606&r=geo |
| By: | Takatoshi Tabuchi (Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo); Jacques Thisse (Center for operations research and econometrics (CORE), Universite catholique de Louvain) |
| Abstract: | We have considered a general equilibrium model with monopolistically competitive markets, in which urban centers are service suppliers to all the agricultural regions as well as to the other urban centers. We have retained the forward and backward linkages of NEG to generate the agglomeration of firms and workers in cities. Our main result is that central places arise endogenously when transport costs take intermediate values. |
| Date: | 2006–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2006cf414&r=geo |
| By: | Huber, Peter |
| Abstract: | The author analyzes regional labor market disparities in transition by presenting some data and summarizing existing literature. He finds that large and persistent regional labor market disparities developed in virtually all transition countries and that there is some evidence of polarization. Differences in starting conditions and market access seem to be the major reasons for regional divergence in transition. Furthermore, regional wages are only slightly more flexible than in many European Union labor markets, interregional migration is low, and capital seems to move toward high wage and low unemployment urban centers rather than to the most backward regions. Policy should thus take a long-run perspective on the existing regional disparities, focus on removing barriers to mobility, review existing institutions for implementing regional policy, and aim at a close coordination of regional and labor market policy instruments. |
| Keywords: | Labor Markets,Economic Theory & Research,Markets and Market Access,Youth and Governance,Country Strategy & Performance |
| Date: | 2006–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3896&r=geo |
| By: | Alessandro STERLACCHINI (Universita' Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Management ed Organizzazione Aziendale); Francesco VENTURINI (Universita' Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Economia) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, a set of knowledge base indicators are used as explanatory variables of the 1995-2002 growth performances of 150 NUTSII regions belonging to ten countries of the former EU15. Their impact is estimated by controlling for the initial levels of the dependent variables, the structural features of the regions and the presence of spatial correlation. The results show that GDP per capita growth is positively affected by the intensity of R&D and the share of adults with tertiary education. The R&D intensity is particularly effective in explaining the growth of labour productivity while that of occupation ratio is significantly influenced by the intensity of higher education. Thus, although structural characteristics and starting levels of economic performances have differently shaped the rates of economic growth across regions, our findings strongly support the Lisbon strategy as they indicate that, also within the EU, a sustained investment in R&D, knowledge and education is rewarding. |
| Keywords: | knowledge innovation education endowment, regional economic growth |
| JEL: | O18 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:253&r=geo |
| By: | G. Bertuzzi; L. Lambertini |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:400&r=geo |
| By: | Jean Bonnet (CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - http://crem.univ-rennes1.fr/ - [CNRS : UMR6211] - [Université Rennes I][Université de Caen] - []); Sylvie Cieply (CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - http://crem.univ-rennes1.fr/ - [CNRS : UMR6211] - [Université Rennes I][Université de Caen] - []); Marcus Dejardin (CREW - Centre de Recherche sur l'Economie Wallonne - http://www.fundp.ac.be/facultes/eco/departements/economie/recherche/centres/crew - [Facultés Universitaires Notre Dame de la Paix Namur] - [] - []) |
| Abstract: | Abstract: Financial constraints affecting new firms are some of the factors most cited for<br />impeding entrepreneurial dynamics from flourishing. This article introduces the problem of<br />regional patterns of financial constraints. The research is conducted with regard to the French<br />regions and the new French firms being tracked at the firm level. It refers to entrepreneurial<br />projects that are concretized in new firms. General entrepreneurial intentions in the French<br />population that are aborted due to financial constraints are not reported. The point is of<br />importance as the firm financing conditions are considered. First, an assessment of the<br />regional banking activity leads to the conclusion of a relatively homogeneous situation, the<br />activity in the core-region Île-de-France appearing however more contrasted. Second, the<br />financial constraints affecting new firms are distinguished according to a four-case typology<br />of credit rationing. It appears, inter alia, that a majority of firms is not facing credit rationing,<br />but also that a non-negligible share is “self-constrained”. The classification is, third and<br />finally, differentiated according to the regions. Despite the relatively homogeneous banking<br />supply, some differences may still be at work. The explanations are hypothetical at this stage but<br />evidence suggests that the regional dimension should definitely deserve further attention. |
| Keywords: | Financial constraints; Credit rationing; New Firms; Regional Disparities |
| Date: | 2006–04–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:halshs-00010330_v1&r=geo |
| By: | Nelly Exbrayat (CREUSET (EA 3724) - Centre de Recherche Economique de l'Université de Saint Etienne - http://creuset.univ-st-etienne.fr - [] - [Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne] - []); Stéphane Riou (CREUSET (EA 3724) - Centre de Recherche Economique de l'Université de Saint Etienne - http://creuset.univ-st-etienne.fr - [] - [Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne] - []) |
| Abstract: | Impact of positive public good spillovers on international capital tax competition in a spatial economy with two countries imperfectly integrated and with different levels of productivity. |
| Keywords: | Localisation des entreprises; Economie internationale; Externalités; |
| Date: | 2006–03–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:ujm-00000001_v1&r=geo |
| By: | Lesley Chiou (Department of Economics, Occidental College) |
| Abstract: | This paper quantifies the degree of competition and spatial differentiation across retail channels by exploiting a unique dataset that describes a consumer's choice of store. I estimate a consumer's choice of retailer in the sales market for DVDs among online, mass merchant, electronics, video specialty, and music stores. Using a discrete choice model, I allow for unobserved heterogeneity in preferences for store types and disutility of travel. A consumer's traveling cost varies by income, and substitution occurs proportionately more among stores of the same type. Conditional on price and distance, the average consumer still prefers Wal-Mart over most other stores. |
| Keywords: | discrete choice, retail, spatial differentiation |
| JEL: | C25 L81 |
| Date: | 2005–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:occ:wpaper:3&r=geo |
| By: | Robert Baade (Department of Economics and Business, Lake Forest College); Robert Baumann (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross); Victor Matheson (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross) |
| Abstract: | Professional sports franchises have used the lure of economic riches as an incentive for cities to construct new stadiums and arenas at considerable public expense. An analysis of taxable sales in Florida cities demonstrates that none of the 6 new franchises or 8 new stadiums and arenas in the state since 1980 have resulted in a statistically significant increase in taxable sales in the host metropolitan area. In addition, using the numerous work stoppages in professional sports as test cases, again no statistically significant effect on taxable sales is found from the sudden absence of professional sports due to strikes and lockouts. |
| Keywords: | sports, strikes, economic impact, baseball, football, basketball, hockey, stadiums |
| JEL: | L83 R53 |
| Date: | 2006–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hcx:wpaper:0604&r=geo |
| By: | Giulio Cainelli (Università degli Studi di Bari); Donato Iacobucci (Università Politecnica delle Marche) |
| Abstract: | Over the last few years a growing number of contributions have shown that the presence of business groups, i.e. sets of firms legally distinct but belonging to the same owner(s), is significant. From a theoretical point of view, this presence poses the question of whether the group or the single legal unit should be considered as the elementary unit in economic analysis: i.e., what is generally meant in microeconomic theory by ‘firm’. In this paper we consider the group as the appropriate unit to delimit the firm’s boundary, i.e. as the ‘observed’ organizational form adopted by firms when they grow in size. Starting from this hypothesis, the main aim of this paper is to analyse the role of structural variables, such as spatial agglomeration and technology, in determining some features of business groups’ strategy and organization. Specifically, the analysis concerns the presence and organizational specificity of business groups based on their membership of industrial districts (as a proxy for spatial agglomeration) and to the role of spatial agglomeration and technology in vertical integration strategies. To conduct the analysis, we take advantage of a new and large data-set at firm and business group level, recently developed by ISTAT (the Italian National Statistical Institute). The data-set, referring to 2001, covers all manufacturing firms organized as joint-stock companies. |
| Keywords: | Business Groups, Agglomeration, Technology, Organisation and Strategy |
| JEL: | L22 R12 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2006.43&r=geo |
| By: | Reinhold Kosfeld (University of Kassel); Christian Dreger (DIW Berlin and IZA Bonn); Hans-Friedrich Eckey (University of Kassel) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, the framework of the aggregated Beveridge curve is used to investigate the effectiveness of the job matching process using German regional labour market data. For a fixed matching technology, the Beveridge curve postulates a negative relationship between the unemployment rate and the rate of vacancies, which is efficiently estimated using spatial econometric techniques. The eigenfunction decomposition approach suggested by Griffith (2000, 2003) is the workhorse to identify spatial and nonspatial components. As the significance of the spatial pattern might vary over time, inference is conducted on the base of a spatial SUR model. Shifts of the Beveridge curve will affect its position, and time series estimates on this parameter are obtained. In contrast to findings for the US and the UK, the results provide serious indication that the degree of job mismatch has increased over the last decade. Although the outward shift of the Beveridge curve can be explained by structural factors such as the evolution of long term unemployment, it is also affected by business cycle fluctuations. The role of cyclical factors challenges the stability property of the curve. The relationship might be inappropriate to investigate policy measures directed to improve the mismatch, such as labour market reforms. |
| Keywords: | Beveridge curve, job mismatch, business cycle, long-term unemployment, spatial SUR model |
| JEL: | C21 C23 E24 E32 |
| Date: | 2006–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2099&r=geo |
| By: | Jesus Canas; Roberto Coronado; Jose Joaquin Lopez |
| Keywords: | Maquiladora ; North American Free Trade Agreement ; Business cycles |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:feddvi:2:x:2&r=geo |
| By: | Barry Ubbels (Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Erik Verhoef (Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | In this study we have analysed policy interactions between an urban and a regional government which have different objectives (welfare of its own citizens) and two policy instruments (toll and capacity) available. Using a simulation model, we investigated the welfare consequences of the various regimes that result when both governments compete, and take sequential decisions on prices and capacities. We find that competition between governments may not be very beneficial to overall welfare in society compared with one central government. It appears that the tendency of tax exporting is very strong in this setting where commuters have to pay road tolls set by the city government. The main issue is not which exact type of game is played between the two actors, but much more whether there is cooperation (leading to first-best) or competition between governments, where of secondary importance is the question who is leading in the price stage (if there is a lea! der). Sensitivity analysis suggests that the performance for most game situations improves when demand becomes more elastic. When the price of road investment changes, the performance relative to the optimal situation remains more or less equal for all cases. |
| Keywords: | traffic congestion; road pricing; road capacity; tax competition |
| JEL: | R4 |
| Date: | 2006–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20060036&r=geo |
| By: | J. M. Arauzo; M. Manjón; M. Martín; A. Segarra |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze the regional and sector-specific determinants of industry dynamics. Concretely, we empirically tested three hypotheses (originally proposed by Shapiro and Khemani 1987) for the relationship between the entry and exit of firms in Spanish regions and sectors. The simplest one claims that entries and exits are independent. The symmetry and simultaneity hypotheses, on the other hand, take the opposite view. The symmetry hypothesis claims that barriers to entry are also barriers to exit, while the simultaneity hypothesis claims that there is a close relationship between entry and exit. Our estimates from a panel data system of equations seem to confirm the simultaneity hypothesis for Spain during the period 1980 to 1994. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaeee:219&r=geo |
| By: | Brian Bucks; Karen Pence |
| Abstract: | To assess whether homeowners know their house values and mortgage terms, we compare the distributions of these variables in the household-reported 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to the distributions in lender-reported data. We also examine the share of SCF respondents who report not knowing these variables. We find that most homeowners appear to report their house values and broad mortgage terms reasonably accurately. Some adjustable-rate mortgage borrowers, though, and especially those with below-median income, appear to underestimate or not know how much their interest rates could change. |
| Keywords: | Housing - Prices ; Home ownership ; Mortgage loans |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2006-03&r=geo |
| By: | L. Lambertini |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:398&r=geo |