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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2023‒10‒23
five papers chosen by Andreas Koch, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Alicia Gómez-Tello (University of Valencia); María-José Murgui-García; María-Teresa Sanchis-Llopis |
| Abstract: | Over the last two decades a handful of very rich European regions have increased the gap separating them from the European average in terms of labour productivity. In this paper we extend a spatial version of the Mankiw, Romer and Weil model (MRW, 1992) as developed by Fischer (2011) to accommodate human capital spillovers linked to agglomeration. After modelling this specific spillover, we go on to test empirically whether its effect has been to stimulate labour productivity growth in those European regions with the greatest potential to benefit from agglomeration economies. The theoretical model leads to a cross-sectional spatial Durbin model specification. The empirical analysis is carried out for 121 European regions for the period 1995-2014. We find significant conditional b-convergence, positive impacts of investment in physical and human capital, and a negative impact of population growth. Our most notable result involves the specific spillover effect that enhances the impact of investment in human capital in the most highly agglomerated regions. We find this externality significant in explaining labour productivity growth and therefore also in increasing labour productivity disparities across European regions. |
| Keywords: | Human capital, labour productivity, spatial externalities, European region |
| JEL: | R |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inf:wpaper:2023.11&r=geo |
| By: | Moritz Breul; ; |
| Abstract: | Regional strategies, such as smart specialization strategies, can set the course for future diversification. Despite its importance, surprisingly little is known about how the underlying policy-making process affects the direction of regional strategies, i.e., the priority areas that regions aim to promote. This article proposes a framework that allows to unpack the policy- making process of regional strategy development and link it to the policy outcomes. It highlights that only by considering features of this process, distributed across various actors with heterogenous interests and capabilities, can we explain why regions favor the promotion of certain types of path development over others. |
| Keywords: | Smart specialization, regional policy, regional diversification, regional transformation, regional strategies |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2320&r=geo |
| By: | Sébastien Bourdin (Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie) |
| Abstract: | The pandemic has called into question the economic, social, and territorial cohesion involved. Covid-19 has revealed and even generated regional inequalities. In this context, European regional development policies play a decisive role in mitigating the effects of the crisis. This article reviews the disparities caused by Covid-19. It then proposes an analysis of the effects of the pandemic on the design and implementation of the Cohesion Policy. Based on interviews with territorial development actors, several recommendations are suggested to improve the effectiveness of the effects of this policy. |
| Abstract: | La pandémie a remis la cohésion économique, sociale et territoriale en cause. La Covid-19 a révélé voire généré des inégalités régionales. Dans ce contexte, les politiques européennes de développement régional jouent un rôle déterminant pour atténuer les effets de la crise. Cet article propose de revenir sur les disparités engendrées par la Covid-19. Il développe une analyse des effets de la pandémie sur la conception et la mise en œuvre de la Politique de Cohésion. A partir d'entretiens auprès d'acteurs du développement territorial, plusieurs recommandations sont suggérées pour améliorer l'efficacité des effets de cette politique. |
| Keywords: | Cohesion Policy, Territorial cohesion, Regional inequalities, Territorial development, Covid-19, Politique de Cohésion, Cohésion territoriale, Inégalités régionales, Développement territorial |
| Date: | 2022–11–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04190368&r=geo |
| By: | Erik Brynjolfsson (Stanford University and NBER); Catherine Buffington (U.S. Census Bureau); Nathan Goldschlag (U.S. Census Bureau); J. Frank Li (Stanford University); Javier Miranda (Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), and Friedrich-Schiller University Jena); Robert Seamans (New York University) |
| Abstract: | We use data from the Annual Survey of Manufactures to study the characteristics and geography of investments in robots across U.S. manufacturing establishments. We find that robotics adoption and robot intensity (the number of robots per employee) is much more strongly related to establishment size than age. We find that establishments that report having robotics have higher capital expenditures, including higher information technology (IT) capital expenditures. Also, establishments are more likely to have robotics if other establishments in the same Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) and industry also report having robotics. The distribution of robots is highly skewed across establishments’ locations. Some locations, which we call Robot Hubs, have far more robots than one would expect even after accounting for industry and manufacturing employment. We characterize these Robot Hubs along several industry, demographic, and institutional dimensions. The presence of robot integrators and higher levels of union membership are positively correlated with being a Robot Hub. |
| Keywords: | robot, technology adoption, manufacturing, labor |
| Date: | 2023–10–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2023-014&r=geo |
| By: | Malte Jahn |
| Abstract: | A nonlinear regression framework is proposed for time series and panel data for the situation where certain explanatory variables are available at a higher temporal resolution than the dependent variable. The main idea is to use the moments of the empirical distribution of these variables to construct regressors with the correct resolution. As the moments are likely to display nonlinear marginal and interaction effects, an artificial neural network regression function is proposed. The corresponding model operates within the traditional stochastic nonlinear least squares framework. In particular, a numerical Hessian is employed to calculate confidence intervals. The practical usefulness is demonstrated by analyzing the influence of daily temperatures in 260 European NUTS2 regions on the yearly growth of gross value added in these regions in the time period 2000 to 2021. In the particular example, the model allows for an appropriate assessment of regional economic impacts resulting from (future) changes in the regional temperature distribution (mean AND variance). |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2309.10481&r=geo |