Regional Science Policy and Practice最新文献

This paper analyses the role of knowledge externalities, which may result from agglomeration economies and regional knowledge, on regional export productivity. Knowledge externalities are the result of knowledge transmission between economic agents, being its dissemination not limited to regional borders and varies between technological intensity sectors. Using a panel of 23 NUTS III Portuguese regions and the 137 Brazilian mesoregions with export data for High and Medium-High technological intensity and Low technological intensity sectors, we found a larger productivity gap between the High and Medium-High Technological sector and the Low Technological sector in Portugal than in Brazil. Using spatial econometric techniques, we found a positive impact of R&D on export productivity in the High and Medium-High Technological sector, but only in the Portuguese case. The spatial spillover effects are different in the two countries. The specialisation and diversifications economies have a negative impact on the export productivity in the Portuguese High and Medium-High Technological sector. In the Brazilian case, it was estimated a positive direct and total effect on productivity due to specialisation economies.

Employing advanced statistical methods on qualitative data, this study explores territorial clusters of municipality leaders (ML) and educational leaders (EL) in Hungary, based on their sustainability priorities. It assesses how these clusters influence stakeholder engagement strategies and decision-making across local, national, and global scales. The analysis reveals synergies and divergences between ML and EL, emphasizing their combined potential in addressing the socio-economic and environmental facets of sustainability. The findings highlight the importance of collaborative ML and EL efforts in fostering systemic change underscoring the pivotal role of local actors in multilevel governance for sustainable development.

This paper explores the regional impacts of heterogeneous fiscal redistribution policies on urbanrural income gaps. We construct market income and final income measures and use quantile regressions to estimate the impact across income deciles and across urban and rural areas of the different fiscal redistribution systems that operate regionally in Spain. To do that, we combine microdata from the Living Conditions Survey and Household Budget Survey for the 2017–2020 period. The results show that there is a 6 % urbanrural income gap for market income and that redistribution reduces it to 4 % for final income. Individuals in the lower deciles are more affected by the urbanrural income gap before and after fiscal interventions. There is large heterogeneity in the size of this income gap across regions and in their capacity to address it. Our results highlight the redistributive capacity of fiscal policies for narrowing the urban-rural income gap.

This paper investigates the impacts of money transfers on tax revenue in the post-socialist countries. I evaluate the effects of these money transfers on direct, indirect, and total tax revenues in post-socialist countries. The Westerlund Cointegration test assesses the presence of a long-term relationship between money transfers and tax revenues, while the panel ARDL (Autoregressive Distributed Lag) model measures the effects of money transfers on tax revenues. The results show that money transfers increase tax revenue primarily via both direct and indirect taxes. Money transfers are not directly taxed, due to difficulties to tax and the possible discouraging effects on remitting. They can provide financial resources for entrepreneurs and facilitate the employment of idle production capacities, which results in increased economic activity and employment. As a consequence, money transfers could indirectly increase direct taxes via income taxes on bolstered economic activities and employment. In addition, money transfers are primarily used for improving and sustaining household welfare, which increases consumer spending. Therefore, increased consumption is taxed via indirect taxes.

In Europe, the economic contraction starting in 2007–2008 has called for new economic policy tools. This paper analyses one of such policies, i.e. the network contract. Network Contracts are an innovative policy introduced in Italy with Law 9 April 2009, N. 33. This policy fosters the creation of firm aggregations with an ad hoc contract, without resorting on mergers. Network contracts are meant to increase economic efficiency for all firms involved in the contract. The paper employs a unique data base with panel data on companies’ balance sheets for the period 2007–2012 along with data on the characteristics of their network contract. The effect of signing a network contract on the economic performance of the single firms and their aggregations is econometrically analyzed. Empirical results suggest in particular that (i.) firms signing a network contract tend to outperform firms that do not, and (ii.) network contracts whose members agree to commit more effort in the contract tend to outperform network contracts with less formally stated degrees of commitment.

While fair trade certifications are aimed to improve the socioeconomic conditions of small producers, no conclusive results exist about its effect. This study contributes with a holistic analysis of the effect of fair-trade certifications in Social and Solidarity Economy Organizations (SSEOs) of Ecuador on three impact variables: i. monthly average income, ii. satisfaction level with income increments and iii. Profits. Using the National Survey of Social and Popular Economy Organizations (ENOEPS, acronym in Spanish), four econometric models are estimated: i. Quantile regression, ii. Instrumental variables, iii. Generalized ordered logit model and iv. Probit model. Results suggest that the fair-trade certification is positively associated with income and its effect varies according to the income level, but there is no causal effect. Certified SSEOs are more likely to report a high satisfaction level with income increments and to report profits, compared to non-certified SSEOs. In addition, some factors have a higher effect on small organizations than on big organizations in terms of income, namely, programmed saving actions, training, barter and provincial and national scope.

The agricultural sector is a cornerstone of social and economic life in the Western Balkan (WB) countries. However, it faces challenges of slow productivity growth, limited access to assets, and vulnerability to external shocks like climate change. Agricultural policies are crucial to enhance productivity, efficiency, and standards compliance in the European Union (EU) integration context. In this context, WB countries have been developing institutional frameworks while steadily increasing budgetary transfers to agriculture and rural development. The paper enables a comparative analysis of the agriculture and rural development support policy in Albania and North Macedonia with focus on main trends and reasons for potential shortcomings in relation to the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Efforts to enhance policy frameworks, institutional capacities, and agricultural productivity will be critical in achieving alignment and fulfilling the aspirations of EU accession.

In the face of a crisis, understanding the possible determinants of economic performance can help managers act effectively. This paper examines the relationship between pre-shock firm openings and closings and regional economic resilience. Data from 294 municipalities in Brazil were analysed using descriptive statistics, ordinary least squares and quantile regression. The results show that the regions with the highest rates of firm births were also the most resilient to the COVID-19 shock. On the other hand, the least resilient regions were those with the highest pre-crisis enterprise death rates. These findings point to the promotion of entrepreneurship and institutional support for business activity as a means of enhancing the ability to withstand or recover from shocks.

This study investigates migration flows between urban and rural areas in Russia from 2011 to 2020 and explores potential drivers using a combination of Markov chain and spatial interaction modelling approaches. The findings indicate a high likelihood of rural-to-urban migration, leading to increased urbanization pressure and depopulation of rural areas in the country, further worsened by high mortality and low fertility rates. Socioeconomic and environmental factors, including population size, wages, employment, housing availability and precipitation, have a significant impact on migration flows, and the effects tend to vary according to whether the origin and destination are rural or urban. In general, origin effects are more pronounced than destination effects, meaning that the decision to migrate in Russia is mainly influenced by departure factors.