The effect of state and local taxes on economic growth: A spatial dynamic panel approach

This study revisits the growth effects associated with subnational fiscal policy. This, to my knowledge, is the first attempt to address the potential endogeneity of fiscal policy control variables. More specifically, the analysis used in this study implements a general method of moments spatial dynamic panel data model estimation procedure to arrive at a more refined set of estimates for the growth effects attributed to state and local fiscal policy. In deriving the estimable equation, this study extends a factor market approach for modelling regional output into a strategic interaction framework.     

Urban sprawl and municipal budgets in Spain: A dynamic panel data analysis

Urban sprawl has recently become a matter of concern throughout Europe, but it is in southern countries where its environmental and economic impact has been most severe. This low‐density, spatially expansive urban development pattern can have a highly marked impact on municipal budgets. Thus, local governments may see sprawl as a potential source of finance, in terms of building‐associated revenues and increased transfers from upper tiers of government. At the same time, sprawl leads to increased levels of expenditure, as it may raise the provision costs of certain local public goods and requires greater investment in extending basic infrastructure for new urban development. What, therefore, is the net fiscal impact of urban sprawl? Do local governments consider the long‐run net fiscal impact of new urban growth or do they simply focus on its short‐term benefits, ignoring future development costs? This paper addresses these questions by analysing the dynamic relationship between urban sprawl and local budget variables. To do so, we estimate a panel vector autoregressive model using data for 4,000 Spanish municipalities for the period 1994–2005. Computed generalized impulse response functions show: (i) that sprawl considerably increases demand for new infrastructure; (ii) that the capital deficit generated by this new infrastructure is covered in the main by intergovernmental transfers and, to a lesser extent, by revenues linked to the real estate cycle; and (iii) that sprawl leads to a short‐term current surplus, as the increase in current revenues offsets the increase in current expenditures due to public service provision for new developments. Overall, these findings point to a moral hazard problem for local governments in which inordinate intergovernmental transfers and development revenues encourage excessive urban sprawl.     

Trade openness and regional income spillovers in Brazil: A spatial econometric approach*

This paper employs a spatial Durbin growth model to estimate the impact of trade openness on regional per capita income in Brazil using a data set of 469 Brazilian micro‐regions over the period 2004–2007. We calculate the direct, indirect and cumulative impact on per capita income of trade openness and human capital in these micro‐regions. Results indicate that greater trade openness in a region promotes economic development locally, while exerting negative influence on per capita income of the neighbouring regions. Our findings also show that human capital has a positive – direct and indirect – impact on the economic development of Brazilian micro‐regions.     

Estimating standard errors in spatial panel models with time varying spatial correlation

We connect time varying spatial correlation patterns to examples in the theoretical and empirical literature. Then we use simulation experiments to compare the performance of estimation techniques that use spatial weights matrices ( W ) and those that do not. The results suggest that the pattern of time varying correlation does impact inference, but not as much as the W misspecification literature suggests. We find choosing the appropriate inferential method is less of a concern if the data generating process follows a hub‐spoke correlation structure. Finally, we confirm earlier results that the cluster robust modifications proposed by Bester et al. (2011) perform well if the group sizes are chosen appropriately.     

The effect of growth in foreign born population share on county homicide rates: A spatial panel approach

Using US county homicide mortality data and a spatial Durbin panel regression model which accounts for the spatial clustering of homicide deaths and unobserved heterogeneity between counties, this study examines the impact of changes in foreign born population share on changes in county homicide rates. Increases in the foreign born population share are associated with reductions in the homicide rate, a process observed most clearly in the South region of the US. This reduction is largely the result of spillover, the indirect effect of growth in the immigrant population in one county on homicide rates in other counties.     

Modelling spatial externalities in panel data: The Spatial Durbin model revisited*

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it extends the spatial Durbin model to panel data allowing for non‐spherical disturbances and proposes two alternative estimators based on ML techniques. While one of the estimators exhibits more degrees of freedom, the other is computationally less burdensome. Results from a Monte Carlo study reveal that both estimators have satisfactory small sample properties also in cases when the error structure is in effect spherical. Second, the paper demonstrates that conventional testing procedures may wrongly reject the existence of spatial externalities. In particular, it shows that the incidence of a type II error increases as the spatial weight matrix becomes denser. Este artículo tiene un doble objetivo. Primero, amplia el modelo espacial de Durbin a datos de panel, permitiendo perturbaciones no esféricas y propone dos estimadores alternativos basados en técnicas de aprendizaje automático (ML). Mientras que uno de los estimadores exhibe un mayor número de grados de libertad, el otro es menos problemático en cuanto a su cómputo. Los resultados de un estudio de Monte Carlo mostraron que ambos estimadores poseen propiedades satisfactorias en cuanto a pequeños muestreos, incluso en casos en los que la estructura del error es de hecho esférica. Segundo, el artículo demuestra que los procedimientos convencionales de ensayo podrían rechazar erróneamente la existencia de externalidades espaciales. En particular, se muestra que la incidencia en un error de tipo II aumenta a medida que la matriz ponderada espacial se vuelve más densa.      

Employment,income, migration and public services: A simultaneous spatial panel data model of regional growth*

We estimate a regional spatial panel simultaneous‐equations growth model, using a five‐step new estimation strategy that generalizes an approach outlined in Kelejian and Prucha. The study region consists of the 418 Appalachian counties 1980?2000. Estimates show feedback simultaneities among the endogenous variables, conditional convergence with respect to the respective endogenous variables, and spatial autoregressive lag and spatial cross‐regressive lag effects with respect to the endogenous variables. A key policy conclusion is that sector‐specific programs should be integrated and harmonized and that regionally differentiated development policies may yield greater returns than treating all locations the same. Estimamos un modelo de crecimiento de panel espacial regional por ecuaciones simultaneas, utilizando una nueva estrategia de estimación de cinco pasos que generaliza una enfoque descrito en Kelejian y Prucha. La región de estudio comprende los 418 condados Apalaches 1980‐2000. Las estimaciones muestran simultaneidades de retroalimentación entre las variables endógenas, convergencia condicional con respecto a las variables endógenas respectivas, y un retardo espacial autorregresivo y efectos de retardo regresivos cruzados espaciales con respecto a las variables endógenas. Una conclusión clave sobre políticas es que los programas sectoriales específicos deberían estar integrados y armonizados, y que las políticas de desarrollo diferenciadas regionalmente podrían producir mejores retornos que si se tratasen todas las localizaciones del mismo modo.      

Commuting effects in Okun's Law among British areas: Evidence from spatial panel econometrics

This paper examines Okun's Law using a spatial panel approach on NUTS 3 data for Great Britain over the period 1985–2011. The basic specification used as a starting point for the spatial analysis is the relationship between real output growth and unemployment rate changes. This is extended to incorporate spatial lags, to test for the presence of commuting effects, and to accommodate spatial residuals dependence. We estimate various spatial panel models, controlling for heterogeneity across areas, and find consistent evidence of a significant Okun's coefficient. Results also show that spillover effects from labour mobility and interregional linkages matter and have important implications for the validity of the empirical law.     

Crime and regional economic growth in Mexico: A spatial perspective

The aim of this paper is to examine the effects of crime on regional economic growth in Mexico. We estimate a growth model using a spatial panel data model and test for the presence and type of spatial interaction, as proposed by Elhorst. Our results suggest that a two‐way spatial Durbin model best fits the data, crime exerts a negative total effect on economic growth across Mexican states, particularly homicides and robbery, and significant spillover effects seem to reinforce the negative impact on regional growth.     

Housing Allowance and the Recipient's Homeownership: Evidence from a Panel Data Study in Sweden

This paper investigates whether housing allowance affects recipients' tenure choice in Sweden. To answer this question, a two-stage conditional maximum likelihood probit (2SCMLP) model is applied in a panel data setting to simultaneously control for individual heterogeneity, state dependence and endogeneity. The empirical study is based on administrative data of housing allowance recipients living in three major metropolitan areas of Sweden between the years 1994 and 2002. The results indicate that the housing allowance positively affects recipients' homeownership propensity in Sweden. Therefore the worry of a ‘rental trap’ is dismissed within the Swedish housing allowance system. Instead, we conclude that the Swedish housing allowance system is doing a fairly good job in supporting low-income households to obtain and maintain their homeownership. Furthermore, no evidence was found to indicate that the reform of the Swedish housing allowance system in 1996–97 essentially changed this fact.     

GIS and spatial data analysis: Converging perspectives

This article identifies some of the important developments in GIS and spatial data analysis since the early 1950s. Although GIS and spatial data analysis started out as two more or less separate areas of research and application, they have grown closer together over time. We argue that the two areas meet in the field of geographic information science, with each supporting and adding value to the other. The article starts off providing a critical retrospective of developments over the past 50 years. Subsequently, we reflect on current challenges and speculate about the future. Finally, we comment on the potential for convergence of developments in GIS and spatial data analysis under the rubric of geographic information science (GIScience).JEL Classification: C1, C31, C8     

Metropolitan/non-metropolitan divergence: A spatial Markov chain approach

This article examines spatial aspects of distributional dynamics and finds that the distribution of US metropolitan incomes relative to their neighbours has diverged during the 1969-1999 period. Use of a spatial Markov approach shows that non-metropolitan neighbours of metropolitan regions have tended to converge during the period, with roughly equal rates of upward and downward mobility within the distribution. Non-metropolitan regions, not neighbouring metropolitan regions, show much less tendency to converge and reveal higher rates of downward rather than upward mobility. Results highlight regional differences in mobility coherence, with metropolitan areas in the West tending to outpace their non-metropolitan neighbours.Received: 12 August 2002, Accepted: 18 July 2003, JEL Classification: C21, R11, R12I would like to thank the editor and three anonymous referees for constructive and thorough comments. Any remaining errors are my own. This research was partially supported by a West Virginia University Faculty Senate Travel Grant and travel funds provided by the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 49th Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International, November 2002, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.     

Vacancy rates and low-rent housing: a panel data analysis

There is evidence of a shortage of low-rent housing stock in Australia. But there is a puzzling aspect to this evidence because it would appear that vacancy rates in the low-rent housing stock are relatively high. The paper establishes this relationship using a unique panel database for two very different cities within Australia. This panel database permits measurement of various dimensions of housing supply across value segments in a metropolitan private rental housing market and at different points in time. Our research findings describe vacancy patterns, turnover of tenancies and survival rates of properties by rent value segments and explore associations with the spatial concentration and polarisation of the low rent housing stock.

Port facilities,regional spillovers and exports: Empirical evidence from Spain

This paper analyses whether regions benefit from their neighbours' transport facilities. We focus on ports and estimate a gravity model of trade that includes port facilities indicators as explanatory variables. The model is estimated by using exports from 19 Spanish regions to 45 countries from 2000 onwards. To test for the existence of regional spillovers, we construct a weight matrix that takes into account the relative importance of the neighbouring ports, as well as the quality of port infrastructure in destination countries. The findings suggest that regional spillovers play a larger role than port facilities themselves in the growth of Spanish exports.     

Analysing spatial patterns in lateral house connection blockages to support management strategies

The performance of lateral house connections has a direct impact on sewer serviceability. Despite the potential consequences of a blockage, these components are generally maintained with a reactive approach. As inspection data on the condition of lateral house connections are scarce, this study adopts a statistical procedure to support proactive strategies by analysing spatial blockage patterns to identify system parts with higher blockage incidences. First, a Monte Carlo simulation test provides insight into whether the spatial variation of the blockage likelihood is significant. This justifies the identification of explanatory factors by means of a bootstrapped generalised additive model. Application of the procedure to two databases containing 10 years of lateral house connection blockage data, revealed factors such as building age, sewer system type and ground settlement rate to explain spatial differences in the blockage likelihood. Furthermore, a likelihood ratio test demonstrated that the addition of a spatial smoother improved model performance. This smoother was able to account for additional spatial variation caused by explaining factors for which no data were available. The procedure provides key information for inspection and rehabilitation strategies by taking into account the model performance in assessing the trade-off between costs and benefits in terms of serviceability.     

Skilled labour mobility, networks and knowledge creation in regions: a panel data approach

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relative contribution of different features of the local labour market for inventors on regional patenting. By means of a knowledge production function and a sample of 276 European regions, we assess whether local labour mobility of inventors, as well as the scale and extent of their collaborative research networks, correlates with innovation outcomes. In the second part of the paper, we extend the analysis to the role of spatial mobility of knowledge workers and cross-regional research networks as predictors of regional patenting.     

空间数据挖掘中的数据预处理技术研究

针对原始空间数据存在的问题及空间数据挖掘模型对输入数据集的要求和期望,提出了一个面向空间数据挖掘的数据预处理工作流程,结合具体工程实例证明该方法实现了面向空间数据挖掘的数据预处理模块,具有一定的推广价值。     

Testing for fiscal competition among French municipalities: Granger causality evidence in a dynamic panel data model

The purpose of this article is to produce further empirical insights into fiscal competition among local governments within an original framework. Relying on Granger's methodology, we address the question of possible causality at municipal level, between local budget variables (public expenditure and taxes) and residential location patterns. Tests are performed on a sample of 27 French municipalities belonging to the same suburban area for the 1987–1996 period. We identify two different strategies. Some localities compete in the tax rate variable while others act on public expenditure. If we consider public investment spending and taxes results strongly reject the adaptive hypothesis and clearly support the idea of fiscal competition. If we retain operating expenditure results indicate that both behaviors are accepted. Received: 31 August 2000 / Accepted: 11 May 2002 RID="*" ID="*" I would like to thank Jean-Sébastien Pentecote for his Wingauss assistance as well as three anonymous referees for their helpful comments.