The components of regional disparities in Europe

The aim of this paper is to analyse the components of development disparities across the EU NUTS 2 regions by means of a new method of decomposition of per capita GDP. Decomposition first provides evidence of a remarkable inconsistency of the per capita GDP indicator at regional NUTS 2 level. This is addressed by proposing an “adjusted” development index. The analysis highlights in general the relatively greater importance of productivity and employment differentials over structural features, such as industry mix and demographic structure, although the picture becomes more complex when the focus shifts to the lagging-behind EU regions.     

中国人均公园绿地面积区域差异多尺度分析

人均公园绿地面积作为与新型城镇化建设中“以人为本”理念最为密切的度量城市绿地建设水平的指标,其在不同空间尺度上均存在一定的区域差异,探明人均公园绿地面积区域差异在多尺度下的演变规律,廓清我国人均公园绿地面积区域差异特征及最佳研究尺度,具有一定的理论价值和实践意义。综合运用差异指数和尺度方差等方法,将地带、省、市3个尺度纳入统一框架,探究1996～2016年我国人均公园绿地面积区域差异的演变规律。研究表明：1）差异指数测算显示,3种尺度下区域差异均长期存在,具有显著的尺度效应;2）尺度方差分解表明,尺度方差及贡献率由大到小依次为市级、省级、地带级,即尺度越小,其尺度方差越大,对区域差异的贡献份额越大。以期丰富城市绿地建设水平区域差异的研究视角,为制定差异化的城市绿地区域建设政策提供科学依据。     

Exploratory spatial data analysis of the distribution of regional per capita GDP in Europe, 1980−1995

The aim of this paper is to study the space-time dynamics of European regional per capita GDP. A sample of 138 European regions over the 1980–1995 period provides clear evidence of global and local spatial autocorrelation as well as spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of regional per capita GDP. The detection of spatial clusters of high and low per capita GDP throughout the period is an indication of the persistence of spatial disparities among European regions. The dynamism of European regions is investigated by exploring the spatial pattern of regional growth. Implications for applied econometric work on the convergence of European regions are then suggested. Received: 11 September 2000 / Accepted: 11 March 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Previous versions of this article were presented at the 6th RSAI World Congress 2000 “Regional Science in a Small World”, Lugano, Switzerland, May 16–20, 2000 and the 40th ERSA Congress “European Monetary Union and Regional Policy”, Barcelona, Spain, August 29 – September 1, 2000. We would like to thank L. Anselin, R.J.G.M. Florax, A. Getis, C. Baumont, an and suggestions. We would also like to thank Eurostat: G. Decand and A. Behrens from the regional statistics section (division E4) as well as J. Recktenwald and I. Dennis for the help they provided on the Eurostat-Regio database. The usual disclaimer applies.     

Spatial disparities in the European Union: an analysis of regional polarization

This paper examines the degree of polarization in the European Union regional per capita income distribution between 1977 and 1999 from several complementary perspectives. Specifically, we have combined a non-parametric analysis with the information provided by various polarization measures proposed by the literature on personal income distribution. The results reveal that the European regions tend to cluster into different per capita income classes during the study period. Nevertheless, the level of intra-distribution mobility is relatively low, especially in regions at the upper and lower ends of the distribution. In any event, regional polarization has decreased over time, as a consequence of various factors sometimes working in opposite directions. Additionally, the empirical evidence provided reveals that the geographical location of the various regions and the differences in their productivity levels, play a major role in explaining the polarization patterns observed in the European Union.     

Regional disparities in the European Union and the enlargement process: an exploratory spatial data analysis, 1995–2000

The aim of this paper is to study the space–time dynamics of European regional per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in the perspective of the enlargement of the European Union using exploratory spatial data analysis. We find strong evidence of global and local spatial autocorrelation as well as spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of regional per capita GDP in a sample of 258 European regions including regions from acceding and candidate European countries over the period 1995–2000. However, contrary to previous results obtained in the literature highlighting a North–South polarization scheme, the enlargement process leads to a new North–West–East polarization scheme. The economic dynamism of EU15 regions and acceding or candidate regions is also investigated by exploring the spatial pattern of regional growth. Implications for regional development and cohesion policies are finally suggested.     

Economic growth and regional income inequality in Brazil

This paper analyses the evolution of regional inequality in Brazil in the period 1939–1995. Based on a data set organized by the author, indicators of per capita income dispersion among states and regions are presented and their evolution over time is analyzed. The correlation between the regional initial level of per capita income and its growth is considered, testing for Beta convergence. The speed of convergence is calculated in two different forms, the neoclassical model and the coefficient of variation, the later allowing for the analysis of oscillations in inequality over time and its relationship to national economic growth rates. The Kuznetz hypothesis, relating regional income inequality and level of development, is tested. The results indicate the presence of signs of regional income convergence in Brazil, but with important oscillations in the evolution of inequality over time as well as across regions within the country. The association of regional inequality with national income growth produced interesting results, indicating a promising line for future research. Received: April 1996/Accepted: February 2000     

Regional costs-of-living with congestion and amenity differences: an economic geography perspective

Standard models of the “new economic geography” predict that costs-of-living are low in the central and high in peripheral region, due to the fact that consumers in the periphery have to bear transportation cost for manufacturing varieties. In reality, however, only some goods are cheaper in economic centres, whereas the overall costs-of-living (including housing costs) tend to be higher. In this paper we use an analytically tractable economic geography model with an immobile housing stock, so that regional agglomeration drives up housing prices. We show that a core-periphery structure can endogenously emerge in which the core is the more expensive area in equilibrium. We also analyse the efficiency of spatial cost-of-living differences and augment the model to include an exogenous regional difference in the form of a consumption amenity.     

Stochastic convergence tests for US regional per capita personal income; some further evidence: a research note

This paper contributes to the time-series literature on US regional income convergence. We apply unit root tests to metropolitan and nonmetropolitan per capita personal income series from 1969 to 2001. We show that some of the mixed results on regional income convergence in the time-series literature may be the result of using different unit root tests. We demonstrate these mixed results with our data. Then, using a test we consider the most appropriate, we generate results which reject the hypothesis that US regional incomes are nonstationary. Thus, we provide additional support for the regional convergence of US per capita regional income.     

Regional investment incentives in Germany: Impacts on factor demand and growth

The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of regional investment incentives – a main component of regional policy in West Germany – on regional factor demand (investment and labor), growth and convergence of per capita income for the period 1978 to 1989. Demand for investment and labor arise from a model of cost minimization at given output with a putty-clay production function. The production function allows for regional technical efficiency. To model the output effect on factor demand an auxiliary output function is specified. In estimating the functions attention is given to the short-run dynamics and the long-run behaviour of factor demand by error-correction models. The empirical long-run relationships are then used to simulate the effects of regional investment incentives. In contrast to most studies for other countries the empirical results provide evidence that regional policy in Germany induces not only additional investment but also creates positive employment effects. However, the effects of regional investment incentives on growth and convergence of labor productivity are negligible. Received: October 1996/Accepted: May 1999     

House prices in Sweden: The significance of attributes

The paper describes an empirical study of house prices in Sweden. The purpose is to assess marginal (hedonic) prices of different characteristics of single family houses and to indicate regional variations in these. The method used—regression of house prices on attributes—allows us also to calculate regional prices of a house with a given set of attributes, i.e. comparing prices of identical houses in different regions. On the basis of a large number of sales it is possible to conclude that the real estate markets of Sweden do not differ qualitatively from those of USA and Great Britain. The same types of characteristics seem to have hedonic prices. The most important are the size of the building and the lot, the age of the real estate, the quality of its interior, and its location both in terms of accessibility and social environment. Regional variation in prices of ‘identical’ houses are substantial. The price level of the most expensive region is three times the price level of the cheapest region. Implicit prices on attributes also vary regionally, most pronounced in the cases of social environment, lot size, accessibility and living space.     

Nonlinearities in regional economic growth and convergence: the role of entrepreneurship in the European union regions

Nonlinearities have been identified in recent literature on growth and convergence at the cross-country level and they have been associated with a number of variables of interest such as initial conditions and human capital accumulation. This research takes the analysis at the regional level within a European context while focusing on entrepreneurship and, using semiparametric regression techniques, provides evidence for nonlinear effects of the base-year income per capita on growth suggesting that convergence may be a phenomenon restricted to particular income bands. Entrepreneurship has a positive effect on regional growth and no serious departures from linearity are detected, while evidence for an almost L-shaped relationship between income per capita levels and self-employment rates was produced. A quality-adjusted proxy for human capital stock was found to be a positive and significant determinant of economic growth across European regions but, again, no departures for linearity were detected for this effect.     

基于均衡价格形成机制的住宅价格变化特征研究

依据供求关系原理和住宅价格变化特征模型,探讨住宅均衡价格的形成机制与住宅实际价格的变化机理。利用我国35个大中城市2000～2004年的经济统计指标和住宅市场数据,识别出住宅均衡价格;并将实际价格变化分解成均衡价格变化、实际价格的均值回复和趋势性运动等三个组成部分,重点研究住宅实际价格与均衡价格之间的关系。研究表明:我国住宅市场存在由供求基础决定的均衡价格,城镇家庭人均可支配收入、个人住房抵押贷款利率水平、城镇人均居住面积、非农人口数等需求因素,以及供给成本、城市化水平和城市建成区面积等供给因素对住宅均衡价格存在显著影响;住宅实际价格的变化受到均衡价格变化的显著影响;住宅实际价格可通过自我调整回复到均衡价格水平,并存在缓慢上涨的趋势。     

Multi-regional economic growth with public good and regional fiscal policies in a small-open economy

This paper is concerned with multi-regional economic growth with environment, capital accumulation and regional public goods. The economy has a fixed number of regions, and there are a production sector and a public sector in a region. The production sector provides goods in perfectly competitive markets. The public sector, which is financed by the regional government’s tax incomes, supplies regional public goods. The public goods affect both firms and households. We show the existence of a unique equilibrium in the dynamic system. We simulate the equilibrium of 3-region economy and examine effects of changes in some parameters on the spatial economy. The comparative statics analysis provides some important insights. For instance, as the technologically least advanced region (TLAR) improves its productivity or amenity, the national output and wealth are reduced, and more people are attracted to the region from the more productive regions. The labor forces in the TLAR’s two sectors are increased, and the labor forces in the other two regions are reduced. The change pattern for the capital distribution is similar to the change in the population distribution. The output levels of the two sectors in the TLAR are increased and in the other two regions are reduced. The TLAR’s total and per capita expenditures on public goods are increased; the other two regions’ total and per capita expenditures are reduced. The per-worker output level, wealth and consumption level per capita, wage rate in the TLAR are increased, and those variables in the other two regions are reduced. The lot size falls and the land rent rises in the TLAR, and the trends are opposite in the other two regions.     

Richard Florida’s creative capital in a trading regional economy: a theoretical investigation

We first construct a theoretical model of a regional economy with two sectors. One sector uses physical and creative capital—in the sense of Florida (The rise of creative class. Basic Books, New York, NY, 2002)—to produce a knowledge good that is traded. The other sector uses physical and social capital to produce a good that is not traded. Second, we provide the first formal analysis of the creative capital accumulation decision faced by individuals in this regional economy and we compute the optimal length of time during which creative capital is accumulated. Next, we determine the relative return to creative capital and we use this return to conduct comparative statics exercises with our model’s four parameters. Finally, we show that for a given interest rate, the relative price of the nontraded good is higher in regional economies where more creative capital is accumulated.     

Nonsense on wheels

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of spatial and temporal patterns in housing supply in Australia over the period 2005–06 to 2015–16. It shows that by international standards, per capita housing supply is very strong in Australia. However, housing supply is concentrated in areas with relatively high prices. Over time, some changes in the geography of housing supply are emerging, including a closer match between the supply of units and “job-rich” locations. This paper concludes by discussing how understanding patterns of new supply can help policymakers determine interventions that increase housing supply’s impact to alleviate inflationary pressures, hence improving housing affordability.     

The distribution of regional property crime and police deployment—The price of equality

This study allows the probability of being apprehended to be a function of the number of police per capita, and assumes that the total supply of police is fixed. A country consists of two communities, which are characterized by their population densities. Minimizing national property crime creates distinct crime rates in both communities. The less-densely-populated community has more police per capita and tolerates a lower level of criminal activity but surprisingly also suffers from a higher crime rate. To balance the crime rate between the two communities, some of the police must be moved from the more-densely-populated community to the less-densely-populated one. The shift must be associated with an increment of national overall crime, the price of achieving outcome equality. This study defines the same crime rate in both communities as the outcome equality. An easily achieved and supervised equality is having the same number of police per capita in both communities, defined as the initial equality. Its price is also the increment of overall national crime. The formulas used to measure both prices are proposed and compared.Received: October 2002 /Accepted: April 2004Financial support from the Alumni Association of the Department of Economics, Soochow University is gratefully acknowledged.     

Economic growth in Brazil: a spatial filtering approach

This paper examines the importance of space to per capita GDP growth in Brazil for the period 1980–2004 at the micro-regional level. The role of space is investigated by applying a spatial filter that eliminates the spatial dependence of the data and allows comparison with the original data. The conditioning variables become insignificant after removing spatial dependence. This suggests that the statistical significance of the growth determinants is intrinsically linked to geographical location and indicates the importance of space to regional growth in Brazil. Moreover, these results show that the convergence process is different across spatial regimes after removing this dependence.     

Environmental Kuznets curve and the water footprint: an empirical analysis

Water is an essential element for life, playing an important role in economic development, although it is threatened by negative externalities that do not make it available for everyone. The main purpose of this article is to offer insightful empirical evidence of the nexus between economic growth and water usage. In this article we investigate the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis using a country's water footprint as an indicator of water impact. Using linear and nonlinear models we estimate, through the ordinary least square, the relationship between water impact and gross national income (GNI) per capita for 94 Countries. Our study shows an N‐shape curve, which does not confirm the EKC hypothesis, both for the relationship between Water Footprint per capita and GNI per capita and Grey Water Footprint per capita and GNI per capita. From this results, a number of recommendations can be provided to strengthen the water resources policies and management.     

Regional convergence in the European Union: From hypothesis to the actual trends

Economic convergence or non-convergence between countries and regions continues to attract analytical attention in Europe. To converge in real terms and not only in terms of nominal variables is one of the basic aims of the European Union Treaty. A first objective of this paper is to offer an overview on what is actually happening in the European Union in contrast to some generally accepted hypotheses and models predicting regional convergence. Empirical evidence shows that after a period of (relative) regional convergence in GDP per capita as well in terms of labour productivity, this process has almost completely ended. Possible explanations go from the most pro-convergence theories (optimists) to those that outweigh real obstacles to theoretical assumptions (pessimists). As a second objective the paper examines two important facts that can contribute to explaining the actual trends. The first is named the `national effect', where regions of each country have economic behaviour strongly linked to the national economy as a whole. The second is the `differential' behaviour of many European regions in terms of economic outcomes.  Some suggestions and conclusions are drawn from the facts and the trends observed in the European integration process. Received: May 2000/Accepted: December 2000     

Human capital and per capita product: A comparison of US states

This article analyzes the extent to which human capital differences can explain the differences in gross state product (GSP) per capita levels between the richer and poorer states of the US. It uses 1990 Census and Bureau of Economic Analysis data on educational attainment, wage levels of different segments of the labor force, and GSP to compare New York – our representative rich state – with the poorest third of the states. The findings indicate that human capital differences explain at least 49% of the observed difference in GSP per capita between New York and each of the poor states. Received: 19 May 1999 / Accepted: 19 September 1999