Convergence and regional productivity differences: Evidence from Greek prefectures

We study the effect of technology gaps and capital deepening on the productivity growth of Greek prefectures over the period 1971-1995. The empirical results show that Greek prefectures tended to converge over time, contrary to conventional wisdom. It is found that capital deepening plays a significant role in explaining productivity differences at the regional level. The empirical results are discussed in detail.We would like to thank the anonymous referees for helpful comments and suggestions. Thanks also go to Professor Clive Richardson and M. Terrasi for his constructive comments which improved the quality of the paper substantially. All errors remain the responsibility of the authors.Received: April 2001 / Accepted: May 2003     

Evaluating regional cuts in the payroll tax from a firm perspective

With few exceptions, reduced payroll taxes are analysed with regard to employment and wage effects. Our study extends the impacts to cover several possible firm outcomes using a multilevel modelling approach. Between 20 and 55 % in the variation, the outcomes can be explained by municipality differences. On firm level, the result follows a clear business logic. In the short run, profits and turnover increased which later on transforms into increased wages. After 7 years, we find the indication of impacts on investments. Thus, the support has some short-term impacts that are reduced with time and the long-term effects are questionable.     

Commercial rented housing: two sectors in the Netherlands

This contribution analyses the different developments and roles of two commercial rented sectors in the Netherlands: rented dwellings owned by individuals (private landlords) and rented dwellings owned by institutional investors. Characteristics of properties and households are specified in relation to tenure. An analysis follows of household characteristics of non-movers and movers to, from and within the commercial rented sector. Some policy issues are dealt with, which are relevant for the commercial rented sector. The commercial rented dwellings owned by persons are predominantly pre-war, small, cheap dwellings with a modest quality. They form part of the urban renewal problem. The owners are small-scale landlords, mostly not professional, who do not invest in ambitious renovation or new dwellings. For this sector the future is not very bright. For starters on the housing market and elderly people, this urban sector may have a limited function. The commercial rented dwellings owned by institutions are predominantly post-war (built after 1960), spacious, expensive dwellings with a high quality. The owners are pension funds and insurance companies which sell their properties often after 15 to 20 years when conditions are favourable. This sector has a strategic function at the upper side of the rental market where rents are decontrolled. Well-to-do households in a flexible urban labour market and elderly people are the most important target groups for this sector. This sector demonstrates how a free rental market functions and enriches the whole housing sector with relevant market signals. Hugo Priemus holds the chair in housing at Delft University of Technology, where he is also managing director of OTB Research Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies.     

地域特征视角下的大学校园景观营造

对地域特征进行了解读,论述了地域特征与大学校园景观之间的关系,提出了大学校园景观中地域特征的营造原则与策略,强调了依据地域特征设计大学校园景观的重要性。     

区域视角下城镇人口规模预测例析——以甘肃省临夏市为例

合理预测城市人口规模,是控制城市建设用地规模,保证城市规划对城市发展发挥有效调控作用的关键性前提。在城市规划的编制过程中,对城市人口规模和城市化水平的预测,直接影响着相应时段内城市建设用地规模的规划与决策。当人口规模预测发生偏失时,会直接导致城市规划建设用地规模不准确,造成城市建设用地的紧张或者浪费,也会给城市基础设施...     

Technological innovation and regional economic growth in Mexico: a spatial perspective

The aim of this investigation is to analyze the effect of technological innovation on Mexico’s regional economic growth during 1995–2007. It is argued that the inclusion of the spatial dimension in empirical analysis is still a rare practice in Mexico and even in international studies. Such inclusion allows studying the pattern of spatial interaction, the possible effects of spatial diffusion and the estimation of robust parameters. We apply the spatial data analysis methodology that has three components: (a) exploratory analysis, (b) visualization and (c) spatial econometric modeling. The main result suggests that technological innovation has a positive effect on Mexico’s regional economic growth. The empirical evidence also suggests that there is a positive effect coming from cross-border diffusion effects of technological knowledge. It also implies that states with stronger innovation activity benefited from spatial technological externalities and hence faster economic growth.     

Entrepreneurial quality and regional development: Characterizing SME sectors in low income areas*

This paper analyses the characteristics of SMEs in less‐developed areas in comparison with more advanced economies. The conceptual framework includes different factors making up the so‐called ‘entrepreneurial quality’ of the SME sector: the personal characteristics of the entrepreneurs (motivations and previous experience), different dimensions of the SMEs’ entrepreneurial orientation, and the patterns of the SMEs’ insertion in national and global value chains. The empirical analysis uses data of SMEs in four different Spanish provinces representing examples of low income economies and comparatively high income ones, respectively. Results show the SMEs in the low income economies to be characterized by a lower entrepreneurial quality.     

Factor productivity differences and missing trade problems in a regional HOV model

Recent empirical papers testing the performance of the Heckscher‐Ohlin‐Vanek (HOV) model suggest the need to relax its restrictive assumptions in order to reconcile the theory with the data. This paper examines whether introducing factor productivity differences could help to improve the performance of the HOV model in a regional setting. Using a new dataset of 17 Spanish regions and three different HOV specifications, this paper seeks the existence of Hicks‐neutral (HN) or factor‐augmenting industry‐neutral (FAIN) technological differences. The data support the existence of HN technological differences, which contributes to a remarkable improvement of the regional HOV performance since the so‐called missing trade problem largely disappears. Algunos artículos empíricos recientes evaluando el desempeño del modelo Heckscher‐Ohlin‐Vanek (HOV) sugieren la necesidad de relajar sus suposiciones restrictivas para poder conciliar la teoría con los datos. Este artículo examina si el introducir diferencias en la productividad de los factores podría ayudar a mejorar el desempeño del modelo HOV en un marco regional. Mediante la utilización de un nuevo conjunto de datos de 17 regiones españolas y tres especificaciones diferentes de HOV, este artículo busca la existencia de diferencias tecnológicas neutrales en el sentido de Hicks (HN) o de un aumento de factores neutral en cuanto a la industria (FAIN). Los datos apoyan la existencia de diferencias tecnológicas HN, que contribuyen a una mejora notable del desempeño HOV regional ya que en gran medida desaparece el problema del así llamado comercio desaparecido.      

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.     

Spatial model selection strategies in a SUR framework. The case of regional productivity in EU

The purpose of the paper was to compare two well-known model selection strategies, the so-called Specific-to-General, Stge, and General-to-Specific, Gets, in a context of spatial SUR models. The two strategies use a battery of misspecification tests obtained in a maximum likelihood framework. The robust tests to local misspecification errors in the alternative hypothesis and the common factor test have been developed with this purpose. The paper includes a Monte Carlo experiment to compare their performance in a situation of small sample sizes. The results are mixed: Both alternatives work well under ideal conditions, but their efficiency deteriorates for different departures such as non-normality or endogeneity. All in all, Stge appears to be slightly preferable although our impression is that the two are complementary and can be used in common. The paper finishes with an application to the case of productivity for a large set of European regions.     

Center-down development in perspective: Labor absorption and interdependence in Brazilian regional industries

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the effect of a center-down pattern of regional development on industrial labor absorption. Sectoral labor reallocation is analyzed in two less developed regions of Brazil with contrasting levels of development and linkage to the most developed region. Labor absorption performances are related to factor use characteristics and the mix of capital and labor intensive industries in each region. An empirical model is tested to determine the degree of interdependence between labor intensive industries in each region and its relation to labor absorption.     

Sustaining Sydney: The 'Green Olympics' from a global perspective

This paper grapples with the question of whether globalisation and sustainable development are at odds or can be mutually supportive, through a case study of Sydney and its successful bid for the 2000 Olympics. The systemic context for urbanisation in the global economy and recent policy developments and physical change in Sydney are discussed in light of the competing cities phenomenon. The potential of the 'Green Games' to enhance urban sustainability is then considered. Positive aspects identified included the development of new environmental benchmarks, the potential for changed business attitudes and increased consumer awareness, as well as NGO participation (particularly the IOC) in a decentralised global environmental governance regime. However, evaluated in light of the pressures imposed by a globalised economic system, their effective adoption appears to be constrained. While it remains to be seen whether Sydney's Green Games will lead to more than tokenistic changes, this paper contends that, although market based environmentalism is a good first step forward, public sector commitment will be required if strong sustainable development is to be achieved.     

Urban spatial structure,agglomeration economies,and economic growth in Barcelona: An intra‐metropolitan perspective*

This paper presents an intra‐metropolitan approach to analyse the impact of urban spatial structure on local economic growth. Focusing on the Barcelona metropolitan region (BMR) between 1986 and 2001, we estimate a municipal employment growth model in which dynamic agglomeration economies related to urban spatial structure are considered using distance to employment centres, to assess metropolitan effects, and distance‐weighted variables, to measure neighbourhood effects. The results obtained show the existence of neighbourhood specialization economies and metropolitan urbanization‐localization economies fostering local growth. All of this leads to the paper's main conclusion: urban spatial structure is important for economic growth in an intra‐metropolitan context.     

Approaches to workforce housing in London and Chicago: from targeted sectors to income-based eligibility

In many cities, people with jobs essential to daily urban life—bus drivers, teachers, police, nurses and the like—cannot afford housing in proximity to their work. Municipal efforts to counter such job–housing imbalances include targeting such workers specifically or moderate-income households, more broadly, for housing support. This article investigates and assesses housing policy for modest-income workers in two cities, Chicago and London. Based on review of documents and key informant interviews, each city’s policy context, aims, means and outcomes are analyzed. Effective strategies include working with public, private and third-sector partners to find upstream cost-effective solutions, increasing shared equity/ownership products and developing mechanisms to ensure long-term affordability of workforce housing. While each city’s policies reflect local conditions, they also are indicative of broad trends in intermediate housing policy: an increase in stakeholders involved in programme administration and delivery, a continued focus on homeownership, rising income thresholds for eligibility and a shift away from targeting employment sectors.     

Revisiting neighbourhood change from a Canadian perspective: Some supporting evidence from Vancouver

This paper argues that the several models of neighbourhood change developed in the United States are generally not applicable to Canadian cities due to differences in urban form, socioeconomic characteristics, and a host of institutional factors. A simple model is presented which extends the arbitrage model of neighbourhood dynamics. Several hypotheses are advanced and then tested on a data base covering three Vancouver, B.C. neighbourhoods from 1955 to 1981 by estimating several hedonic price equations. The hypotheses receive partial support. Implications for policymakers are then discussed.We wish to thank Jim Fitzsimmons and Judy Fountain for their computer assistance and the British Columbia Assessment Authority for providing us with data. Helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper were provided by Lawrence Jones and Douglas Diamond. We also like to acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Real Estate Council of British Columbia, the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Youth Employment Program.     

Assessing productivity changes in water companies: a comparison of the Luenberger and Luenberger-Hicks-Moorsteen productivity indicators

ABSTRACT

Interest in evaluating productivity changes in water companies has increased in recent years. In this paper, for the first time, we employ the Luenberger-Hicks-Moorsteen Productivity Indicator (LHMPI) to evaluate productivity changes in a sample of Chilean water companies from 2010 to 2016. Productivity change estimations obtained by both the Luenberger Productivity Indicator (LPI) and the LHMPI are compared. Moreover, both indicators were computed assuming constant and variable returns to scale technologies. The LHMPI estimates illustrate that productivity in Chilean water companies has slightly improved over the period studied due to the positive trend of outputs, whereas the inputs negatively contributed to productivity changes. Results from the empirical analysis enabled us to verify that the LHMPI and LPI (and their drivers) are statistically different. This conclusion illustrates that water regulators need to pay attention to the indicators used when assessing productivity changes in water companies.