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on Economic Geography |
| By: | Martinho, Vítor João Pereira Domingues |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to present a further contribution to the analysis of absolute convergence, associated with the neoclassical theory, of the sectoral productivity at regional level. Presenting some empirical evidence of absolute convergence of productivity for each of the economic sectors in each of the regions of mainland Portugal (NUTS II) in the period 1986 to 1994. This work aims, also, to study the Portuguese regional agglomeration process (NUTs II), using the linear form the New Economic Geography models that emphasize the importance of spatial factors (distance, costs of transport and communication) in explaining of the concentration of economic activity in certain locations. |
| Keywords: | convergence; agglomeration; Portuguese regions; linear models panel data |
| JEL: | C23 R12 O14 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:32986&r=geo |
| By: | Martinho, Vítor João Pereira Domingues |
| Abstract: | This work aims to test the Verdoorn Law, with the alternative specifications of (1)Kaldor (1966), for five Portuguese regions (NUTS II) from 1986 to 1994. It is intended to test, even in this work, the alternative interpretation of (2)Rowthorn (1975) of the Verdoorn's Law for the same regions and periods. The results of this work will be complemented with estimates of these relationships to other sectors of the economy than the industry (agriculture and services sectors) and for the total economy of each region. This work aims, yet, to study the Portuguese regional agglomeration process, using the linear form the New Economic Geography models that emphasize the importance of spatial factors (distance, costs of transport and communication) in explaining of the concentration of economic activity in certain locations. In a theoretical context, it is intended, also, to explain the complementarily of clustering models, associated with the New Economic Geography, and polarization associated with the Keynesian tradition, describing the mechanisms by which these processes are based. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration; polarization; Portuguese regions; linear models |
| JEL: | C23 R12 O14 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:32999&r=geo |
| By: | Martinho, Vítor João Pereira Domingues |
| Abstract: | With this work we try to analyse the agglomeration process in the Portuguese regions, using the New Economic Geography models. This work aims to test, also, the Verdoorn Law, with the alternative specifications of (1)Kaldor (1966), for the 28 NUTS III Portuguese in the period 1995 to 1999. It is intended to test the alternative interpretation of (2)Rowthorn (1975). With this study we want, also, to test the Verdoorn´s Law at a regional and a sectoral levels (NUTs II) for the period 1995-1999. The importance of some additional variables in the original specification of Verdoorn´s Law is yet tested, such as, trade flows, capital accumulation and labour concentration. This study analyses, also, through cross-section estimation methods, the influence of spatial effects in productivity in the NUTs III economic sectors of mainland Portugal from 1995 to 1999, considering the Verdoorn relationship. The aim of this paper is, yet, to present a contribution, with panel data, to the analysis of absolute convergence and conditional of the sectoral productivity at regional level (from 1995 to 1999). The structural variables used in the analysis of conditional convergence is the ratio of capital/output, the flow of goods/output and location ratio. |
| Keywords: | new economic geography; Verdoorn law; convergence; cross-section and panel data; Portuguese regions |
| JEL: | R10 O18 C23 C21 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33022&r=geo |
| By: | Martinho, Vítor João Pereira Domingues |
| Abstract: | This work aims to test the Verdoorn Law, with the alternative specifications of (1)Kaldor (1966), for five Portuguese regions (NUTS II) from 1986 to 1994. It is intended to test, also in this work, the alternative interpretation of (2)Rowthorn (1975) of the Verdoorn's Law for the same regions and periods. The results of this work will be complemented with estimates of these relationships to other sectors of the economy than the industry and for the total economy of each region. This work aims, yet, to study the Portuguese regional agglomeration process, using the linear form of the New Economic Geography models. In a theoretical context, it is intended, also, to explain the complementarily of clustering models, associated with the New Economic Geography, and polarization associated with the Keynesian tradition, describing the mechanisms by which these processes are based. The aim of this paper is, yet, to present a further contribution to the analysis of absolute convergence, associated with the neoclassical theory, of the sectoral productivity at regional level. Presenting some empirical evidence of absolute convergence of productivity for each of the economic sectors in each of the regions of mainland Portugal (NUTS II) in the period 1986 to 1994. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration; polarization; convergence; Portuguese regions; panel data |
| JEL: | R10 O18 C23 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33021&r=geo |
| By: | De Silva, Dakshina G.; McComb, Robert P. |
| Abstract: | If localization economies are present, firms within denser industry concentrations should exhibit higher levels of performance than more isolated firms. Nevertheless, research in industrial organization that has focused on the influences on firm survival has largely ignored the potential effects from agglomeration. Recent studies in urban and regional economics suggests that agglomeration effects may be very localized. Analyses of industry concentration at the MSA or county-level may fail to detect important elements of intra-industry firm interaction that occur at the sub-MSA level. Using a highly detailed dataset on firm locations and characteristics for Texas, this paper analyses agglomeration effects on firm survival over geographic areas as small as a single mile radius. We find that greater firm density within very close proximity (within 1 mile) of firms in the same industry increases mortality rates while greater concentration over larger distances reduces mortality rates. |
| Keywords: | Firm Survival; Agglomeration; Localization; and Knowledge Externalities |
| JEL: | O18 R12 |
| Date: | 2011–08–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:32906&r=geo |
| By: | Andersson, Martin (CIRCLE, Lund University and BTH); Klaesson, Johan (CENSE, Jönköping International Business School); P Larsson, Johan (CENSE, Jönköping International Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper reassesses the relationship between density and productivity by using detailed geo-coded data on wages and employment in Sweden. The contribution is empirical and builds on an analysis of spatial units of exactly the same size in terms of geographic surface. The data divide Sweden into areas of one square kilometer, and describe each area in terms of wages, worker characteristics and industry structure. Since the geographic areas are of constant size, the sheer number of employees in an area is an ‘exact’ measure of employment density. We find a significant relationship between density and productivity across squares. The estimated elasticity is in the 9-10 percent interval, and is insensitive to whether we employ a standard OLS estimator or a panel fixed effects estimator. Neighbor characteristics also matter in ways consistent with the idea of positive agglomeration externalities, where a location in a square with high density neighbors reflects proximity to (or a location in) a larger agglomeration. Moreover, the estimated relationship between productivity and density is insensitive to the chosen spatial scale. |
| Keywords: | density; productivity; spatial dependence; geo-coded data; external scale economies; agglomeration externalities; Sweden; Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP) |
| JEL: | C21 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2011–08–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0255&r=geo |
| By: | Vítor João Pereira Domingues Martinho (Polytechnic Agricultural School of Viseu) |
| Abstract: | This work aims mainly to present a project of research about the identification of the determinants that affect the mobility of labor. The empirical part of the work will be performed for the NUTS II and NUTS III of Portugal, from 1996 to 2002 and for 1991 and 2001, respectively (given the availability of statistical data). As main conclusion it can be said, for the NUTS II (1996-2002), which is confirmed the existence of some labor mobility in Portugal and that regional mobility is mainly influenced positively by the output growth and negatively by the unemployment rates and by the weight of the agricultural sector. NUTS III level (1991 and 2001) is something similar, but with this level of spatial disaggregation (and in this period) the basic equipment (amenities), particularly in terms of availability of housing, are the main determinants of migration. |
| Keywords: | net migration; Portuguese regions; panel and cross-section estimations |
| JEL: | J0 J1 J2 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pil:wpaper:80&r=geo |
| By: | Miriam Frey (Osteuropa-Institut, Regensburg (Institut for East European Studies)); Carmen Wieslhuber |
| Abstract: | Even though Kazakhstan is one of the most successful transition countries in Central Asia it has been neglected in the literature on regional convergence. This paper fills this gap with an empirical analysis of the growth process on the regional level using annual gross regional product (GRP) data for the period 1998–2008 for the 16 Kazakh regions. In particular, we look at the sigma- and absolute beta-convergence. Given the growing variation in GRP over time, sigma-convergence cannot be found for Kazakhstan. The data show that there is also no evidence for absolute sigma-convergence. In contrast, the Kazakh regions even seem to diverge. |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ost:memopp:52&r=geo |
| By: | Paul Deng (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School); Gary Jefferson (Department of Economics, Brandeis University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the conditions that may auger a reversal of China’s increasingly unequal levels of regional industrial productivity during China’s first two decades of economic reform. Using international and Chinese firm and industry data over the period 1995-2004, we estimate a productivity growth-technology gap reaction function. We find that as China’s coastal industry has closed the technology gap with the international frontier relative to interior regions, labor productivity growth in the coastal region has begun to slow in relation to the interior. This may serve as an early indicator of China’s initial movement toward reversing the widespread income inequality. |
| Keywords: | Inequality, Economic Growth, Productivity Convergence, Regional Disparity, Sustainability, China, International Comparison of Productivity (ICOP) |
| JEL: | O4 O18 O30 R11 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:brd:wpaper:32&r=geo |
| By: | Monica Brezzi; Lewis Dijkstra; Vicente Ruiz |
| Abstract: | To account for differences among rural and urban regions, the OECD s established a regional typology, classifying TL3 regions as predominantly urban (PU), intermediate (IN) or predominantly rural (PR) (OECD, 2009). This typology, based essentially on the percentage of regional population living in urban or rural communities, has proved to be meaningful to better explain regional differences in economic and labour market performance. However this typology does not take into account the presence of economic agglomerations if they happen to be in neighbouring regions. For example, a region is classified as rural or intermediate regardless its distance from a large urban centre where labour market, access to services, education opportunities and logistics for firms can be wider. Previous work reveals great heterogeneity in economic growth among rural regions and the distance from a populated centre could be a significant factor explaining these differences. For the latter, the OECD regional typology is extended to include an accessibility criterion. This criterion is based on the driving time needed for at least half of the population in a region to reach a populated centre of with 50 000 or more inhabitants. The resulting classification consists of four types of regions: Predominantly Urban (PU), Intermediate (IN), Predominantly Rural Close to a city (PRC) and Predominantly Rural Remote (PRR). For the time being, the extended typology has only been computed for regions in North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States) and Europe. The extended typology is used to compare the dynamics of population and labour markets. Remote rural regions show a stronger decline in population and a faster ageing process than rural regions close to a city. The remoteness of rural regions is in fact a significant factor explaining regional outflows of working age population, confirming that this extended typology captures the economic distance from market and services. Remote rural regions appear economically more fragile: lower employment rates (Canada and Mexico) and economic output (Europe).<BR>Afin de prendre en compte les différences entre les régions rurales et urbaines, l’OCDE a établi une typologie régionale qui classe les régions TL3 en 3 catégories : régions majoritairement urbaines (PU), intermédiaires (IN) ou à prédominance rurale (PR), (OCDE, 2009). Cette typologie, qui repose essentiellement sur le pourcentage de la population régionale vivant dans des communautés urbaines ou rurales, s'est révélée significative pour mieux expliquer les différences régionales au niveau de la performance économique et du marché du travail. Toutefois, cette typologie ne tient pas compte de la présence de grandes agglomérations, si celles-ci se trouvent dans des régions voisines. Par exemple, une région est considérée comme rurale ou intermédiaire indépendamment de sa distance d'un grand centre urbain, où le marché du travail, l'accès aux services, les possibilités d'éducation et l’offre logistique pour les entreprises peuvent être meilleurs. Des travaux antérieurs révèlent une grande hétérogénéité de croissance économique entre les régions rurales, et la distance d'un centre fortement peuplé pourrait être un facteur important pour expliquer ces différences. C’est pour cette raison que la typologie régionale de l'OCDE a été élargie afin d’y inclure un critère d'accessibilité. Ce critère est basé sur le temps de trajet que doit réaliser au moins la moitié de la population d’une région pour atteindre un centre urbain de 50 000 habitants ou plus. La classification qui en résulte se compose de quatre types de régions: Majoritairement Urbaines (PU), Intermédiaires (IN), à prédominance rurale proches d'une ville (RPC) et à prédominance rurale éloignées (PRR). Pour l'heure, la typologie élargie n'a été calculée que pour les régions en Amérique du Nord (Canada, Mexique, États-Unis) et en Europe. La typologie élargie est utilisée pour comparer la dynamique de la population et celle des marchés du travail. Elle montre que les régions rurales éloignées ont une baisse plus importante de leur population et un processus de vieillissement plus rapide que les régions rurales proches d'une ville. L'éloignement des régions rurales est en effet un facteur important pour expliquer les migrations régionales de la population en âge de travailler, ce qui confirme que cette typologie élargie prend bien en compte la distance économique du marché et des services. Les régions rurales éloignées apparaissent plus fragiles au niveau économique : des taux d'emploi inférieurs (Canada et Mexique) et une production économique moindre (Europe). |
| Keywords: | ageing, rural regions, distance to markets, OECD regional typology, labour market mobility, road networks |
| JEL: | C80 J61 R1 R4 |
| Date: | 2011–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:govaab:2011/6-en&r=geo |
| By: | Gorecki, Paul K.; Hennessy, Hugh; Lyons, Seán |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how local government planning regulations and charges affect the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure. We explore the economic rationale for local government regulation of such infrastructure, which we suggest should be based on managing negative externalities. Using data from Ireland, we find that the observed geographical pattern of impact fees is inconsistent with the economic rationale for them. A simple econometric model of the number of telecoms masts in each county also suggests that the level of impact fees is negatively associated with mast deployment. This paper also examines other regulatory factors that affect the provision of new infrastructure. We find wide regional variation in these regulations but are unable to quantify their impact on infrastructure provision. Such regulatory complexity places extra compliance burdens on private operators, which may in turn distort the level and regional pattern of network investment. We suggest further regional harmonisation of development policy towards telecoms infrastructure to avoid exacerbating regional disparities in rollout of services. |
| Keywords: | data/Econometric model/investment/Ireland/Policy/Regional disparities/regulation |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp401&r=geo |
| By: | Kalenkoski, Charlene M. (Ohio University); Lacombe, Donald J. (West Virginia University) |
| Abstract: | The authors employ spatial econometrics techniques and Annual Averages data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1990-2004 to examine how changes in the minimum wage affect teen employment. Spatial econometrics techniques account for the fact that employment is correlated across states. Such correlation may exist if a change in the minimum wage in a state affects employment not only in its own state but also in other, neighboring states. The authors show that state minimum wages negatively affect teen employment to a larger degree than is found in studies that do not account for this correlation. Their results show a combined direct and indirect effect of minimum wages on teen employment to be -2.1% for a 10% increase in the real effective minimum wage. Ignoring spatial correlation underestimates the magnitude of the effect of minimum wages on teen employment. |
| Keywords: | minimum wage, teen employment, spatial econometrics |
| JEL: | J08 J21 J38 J48 C31 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5933&r=geo |
| By: | Natalia Magnani (University of Trento, Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale); Andrea Vaona (Department of Economics (University of Verona)) |
| Abstract: | In a multivariate setting, we document that renewable energy generation has a positive impact on economic growth at the regional level in Italy. We do so by adopting panel data unit-root and cointegration tests as well as Granger non-causality tests relying on the system GMM estimator. Our results are interpreted in three ways. Renewable energy generation alleviates balance-of-payments constraints and reduces the exposure of a regional economy to the volatility of the price of fossil fuels and to negative environmental and health externalities deriving from non-renewable energy generation. Therefore, our evidence supports policies promoting renewable energy generation. |
| Keywords: | renewable energy generation, economic growth, panel unit root and cointegration tests, Granger causality, Italy, panel error correction model, regions. |
| JEL: | O13 O18 R11 N70 Q42 Q43 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:12/2011&r=geo |
| By: | Cem Karayalcin (Department of Economics, Florida International University); Mehmet Ali Ulubasoglu (Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University, Victoria 3125, Australia) |
| Abstract: | Many developing economies are characterized by the dominance of a super metropolis. Taking historical Rome as the archetype of a city that centralizes political power to extract resources from the rest of the country, we develop two models of rent-seeking and expropriation which illustrate di?erent mechanisms that relate political competition to economic outcomes. The "voice" model shows that rent-seeking by different interest groups (localized in di?erent specialized cities/regions) will lead to low investment and growth when the number of such groups is small. The "exit" model allows political competition among those with political power (to tax or expropriate from citizens) over a footloose tax base. It shows that when this power is centralized in relatively few urban nodes, tax rates would be higher and growth rates lower. Our empirical work exploits the connection between urban wealth (with the political power it affords) and national soccer championships. By using a cross-country data set for 103 countries for the period 1960-99, we ?nd strong and robust evidence that countries with higher concentrations in urban wealth¨Cas proxied by the number of di?erent cities with championships in national soccer leagues¨Ctend to have lower long-run growth rates. |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fiu:wpaper:1108&r=geo |
| By: | Aurelio Bruzzo; Michelle Lins de Moraes |
| Abstract: | THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DISPARITIES IN ARGENTINA AND THE FOCEM. WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF THE EU COHESION FUND? Comparing the economical integration processes that have been started since few decades in South America with what has been realized in Europe, it is evident a strong analogy. Consequently, the analysis of problems that have been found out and solutions that have been experimented, through a financial land distribution model for the European economy, can be considered useful tool on the analysis of South American one, being understood all geographical and institutional differences characterizing the two realities. In this paper, with specific reference to Argentina, we will try to check if the acquired experience on regional re-balancing management policy, already gained by the EU's Cohesion Fund could promote an improvement on FOCEM management, which is an analogous fund, established some years ago between the four South American countries belonging to Mercosur in order to reduce the deep socio-economic disparities existing between and within them. |
| Keywords: | Regional Disparities; MERCOSUR; FOCEM; EU's Cohesion Fund |
| JEL: | R12 R |
| Date: | 2011–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udf:wpaper:201110&r=geo |
| By: | Patrick Bayer; Robert McMillan |
| Abstract: | Tiebout’s classic 1956 paper has strong implications regarding stratification across and within jurisdictions, predicting in the simplest instance a hierarchy of internally homogeneous communities ordered by income. Typically, urban areas are less than fully stratified, and the question arises how much departures from standard Tiebout assumptions contribute to observed within-neighborhood mixing. This paper quantifies the separate effects on neighborhood stratification of employment geography (via costly commuting) and preferences for housing attributes. It does so using an equilibrium sorting model, estimated with rich Census micro-data. Simulations based on the model using credible preference estimates show that counterfactual reductions in commuting costs lead to marked increases in racial and education segregation and, to a lesser degree, increases in income segregation, given that households now find it easier to locate in neighborhoods with like households. While turning off preferences for housing characteristics increases racial segregation, especially for blacks, doing so reduces income segregation, indicating that heterogeneity in the housing stock serves to stratify households based on ability-to-pay. Further, we show that differences in housing also help accentuate differences in the consumption of local amenities. |
| JEL: | H41 I20 R21 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17364&r=geo |
| By: | Raphael Anton Auer; Philip Ulrich Sauré |
| Abstract: | We develop a general equilibrium model of vertical innovation in which multiple firms compete monopolistically in the quality space. The model features many firms, each of which holds the monopoly to produce a unique quality level of an otherwise homogenous good, and consumers who are heterogeneous in their valuation of the good's quality. If the marginal cost of production is convex with respect to quality, multiple rms coexist, and their equilibrium markups are determined by the degree of convexity and the density of quality-competition. To endogenize the latter, we nest this industry setup in a Schumpeterian model of endogenous growth. Each firm enters the industry as the technology leader and successively transits through the product cycle as it is superseded by further innovations. The intrinsic reason that innovation happens in our economy is not one of displacing the incumbent; rather, innovation is a means to di-erentiate oneself from existing firms and target new consumers. Aggregate growth arises if, on the one hand, increasingly wealthy consumers are willing to pay for higher quality and, on the other hand, private firms' innovation generates income growth by enlarging the set of available technologies. Because the frequency of innovation determines the toughness of product market competition, in our framework, the relation between growth and competition is reversed compared to the standard Schumpeterian framework. Our setup does not feature business stealing in the sense that already marginal innovations grant non-negligible prots. Rather, innovators sell to a set of consumers that was served relatively poorly by pre-existing firms. Nevertheless, "creative destruction" prevails as new entrants make the set of available goods more di-erentiated, thereby exerting a pro-competitive e-ect on the entire industry. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:snb:snbwpa:2011-10&r=geo |