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on Economic Geography |
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Issue of 2024–12–09
five papers chosen by Andreas Koch, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung |
| By: | Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés; Bartalucci, Federico; Lozano-Gracia, Nancy; Dávalos, María |
| Abstract: | Territorial development theory and practice have witnessed significant change in recent times. This change has increasingly put the spatial dimension at the centre of development policies. Where agglomeration-focused policies derived from urbanization and agglomeration economics were once prominent, their empirical limitations have become increasingly apparent. Greater territorial polarization and pervasive left-behindedness has underscored the need for a more inclusive territorial development approach prompting increased interest in understanding and addressing regional disparities to ensure more equitable economic growth. This article synthesizes the growing interest in territorial development, which has driven to the adoption of what are increasingly place-based and place-sensitive approaches to development. The article also emphasises the need for complementary between efficiency-driven and equity-focused interventions, while highlighting emerging topics in regional economics research, including the role of institutions, agency, and external megatrends such as the green transition. We conclude by advocating a place-sensitive approach that tailors policies to regional challenges, promoting economic potential, diversification, and inclusivity across all regions. |
| Keywords: | economic development; growth; efficiency; equity territories; regions |
| JEL: | R11 O18 R58 Q56 |
| Date: | 2024–12–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:125629 |
| By: | Wenxiao WANG (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law); Shandre THANGAVELU (Sunway University, The University of Adelaide) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the relationship between city agglomeration and firm-level performance of global value chains (GVCs) in China. Using a novel dataset of night-time light data and survey data from Chinese manufacturing firms, the dynamic changes of urban agglomeration in China are studied, analysing their impact on firm-level productivity, GVC participation, and GVC upstreamness. The results highlight that the concentration of economic activity in urban areas can lead to productivity gains for firms, especially in the upstream stages of GVCs, which is characterised by higher value-added activities and better access to knowledge and technology. The study also finds that urban agglomeration promotes industrial specialisation and human capital spillovers, further improving the upstreamness of firms in GVCs. Firms in larger cities also tend to be more productive, participate more in GVCs, and are closer to the final demand of GVCs. |
| Keywords: | city agglomeration, global value chains, productivity, upstreamness, GVC participation |
| JEL: | F14 F23 |
| Date: | 2024–06–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:era:wpaper:dp-2024-14 |
| By: | Xu, Tao; Hu, Yabei |
| Abstract: | The government of China, to hone manufacturing’s competitive edge, has adopted a series of regional industrial policies to stimulate advanced manufacturing clusters as facilitators of agglomeration effects, utilisers of factor endowments, and implementers of innovation solutions, by playing the role of facilitating state. Focusing on advanced manufacturing cluster policies in East China’s Jiangsu Province, the research employs a mixed data analysis methodology on a sample of 52 documents collected from the Jiangsu government and affiliated units. The policy orientations and priorities are examined under the triple analytical framework in terms of themes, instruments, and controls, applying textual mining and the PMC index model. The results reveal the alignment of policy themes with high-quality development strategy, the government preferences for the supply dimension in policy instruments, the emphasis on planning directive in policy controls, together with the relatively high internal consistency of the AMC policy toolkit by Jiangsu. Therefore, the research spotlights the importance of leveraging comparative strengths based upon the facilitating state institution, and of deploying internally coherent, scientific, and efficient initiatives that exploit more potential of advanced manufacturing clusters to foster sustainable prosperity from the perspective of new structural economics. |
| Keywords: | Advanced Manufacturing Cluster; Regional Industrial Policy; Mixed Text Analysis; Facilitating State; East China’s Jiangsu Province |
| JEL: | L5 L6 O1 O14 O19 O2 O24 O25 O3 O4 R5 |
| Date: | 2023–02–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120904 |
| By: | Titik ANAS (Padjajaran University and Presisi Indonesia); Widdi MUGIJAYANI (Presisi Indonesia); Estiana CAHYAWATI (Presisi Indonesia); Muhammad RIDHO (Presisi Indonesia) |
| Abstract: | : The aim of this paper is to evaluate the importance of urban amenities to economic development using Indonesia as a case study. Indonesia has rich micro-level data on urban amenities, which we group in this paper into 12 categories, namely education, health, religious, and shopping facilities; accommodations; banks; historical sites; recreation sites; restaurants; public transportation stations; modern shopping facilities; and gas stations. Using panel data of 2007 and 2014, we test how urban amenities affect regional development, proxied by employment and population growth. We show that education and shopping facilities significantly affect the growth of employment and population. We also found that the effect of the availability of education facilities is stronger in the regions with industrial parks. |
| Keywords: | firm-level data; globalisation; productivity |
| JEL: | F15 F23 |
| Date: | 2024–06–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:era:wpaper:dp-2024-09 |
| By: | Batabyal, Amitrajeet; Beladi, Hamid |
| Abstract: | We analyze how a permanent shift in political power in a region that is creative a la Richard Florida affects tax policy and economic outcomes. There are three groups of individuals in our region: laborers or workers, creative class members or entrepreneurs, and the elites. The elites initially hold political power but then they lose it to the creative class. We describe the Markov perfect equilibrium of the political game between the above three groups. Specifically, we first derive the optimal taxes that are levied on the elites and on the creative class, by the creative class. Next, we compute the discounted utility of the elites when the creative class holds political power and compare this to their utility when they are in control of politics. |
| Keywords: | Creative Class, Elite, Entrepreneur, Political Game, Tax Policy |
| JEL: | H21 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–06–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122595 |