Journal of Regional Science最新文献

In this paper, we study the relationship between organized crime, corruption, and economic growth on a data set from Italian regions for the period 1996–2013. Our working hypothesis is that organized crime can embezzle part of the public expenditure aimed at productive uses by threatening and bribing public officers. To assess the consequences for regional growth we estimate a finite mixture covariate measurement model and find that the relationship between public expenditure and per capita GDP is characterized by parameter heterogeneity. Specifically, regions are partitioned in clusters identified by the initial level of organized crime. The effect of public expenditure on per capita GDP differs across clusters of regions: in the regions with the higher levels of organized crime public expenditure has a negative effect on per capita GDP, and the estimated share of embezzled public expenditure is higher, amounting to approximately 10% of its book value. Differently, in the regions with lower levels of organized crime the effect of public expenditure on per capita GDP is positive and the estimated share of embezzled public expenditure is lower. The empirical analysis is shown to be consistent with a theoretical growth model à la Barro (1990) augmented by corruption orchestrated by organized crime.

Residents' personal identification with places (regions, cities, towns, and so on) and with what places are supposed to stand for often determines their place-supportive attitudes and behaviors. However, little is known about how residents' identification with the characteristics of places and their adoption of place-related norms and values specifically affect residential mobility intentions and pro-local consumption tendencies, which are key topics in many spatial development plans and place marketing. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by using a structural equation modeling approach and a cross-place survey in Germany with 612 residents. The findings show that resident-place identification, on the basis of residential need satisfaction, increases residents' intentions to stay in a place and pro-local consumption preferences. These findings suggest that spatial planners and public managers can support the socioeconomic development of cities and regions and increase residents' willingness to stay in a place by strengthening their individual identification with places. We discuss the implications of our findings for the marketing and branding of places.

We introduce the definition of two distinct trade elasticities corresponding to imports from regions located in the same country (national elasticities) and foreign regions located in other countries (foreign elasticities). We resort to a three-tier nested CES utility structure to derive the corresponding demand gravity equations. In absence of tariffs within single markets, we identify and recover the elasticities through a precise measure of generalized transport cost that combines economic, engineering, and logistic criteria. Results using PPML estimation methods on EU trade data show that national elasticities double in value their foreign counterparts. Our estimates allow revisiting previous results on border effects, gains from trade, and CGEs.

The aim of this article is to exploit an innovative spatial econometric approach to map and study the evolving patterns of industrial districts (IDs). The procedure can be classified as a $��\; ��k��$-means cluster-wise regression procedure and is designed to detect homogeneous areas of subcontracting activity. These spatially contiguous aggregations of subcontractors are identified in terms of production function homogeneity and are defined as spatial regimes. Using this procedure, it is possible to detect two important sources of agglomeration economies that are commonly associated with the presence of an industrial district. The methodology is tested on a sample of Italian micro and small-sized subcontracting firms operating in the footwear industry, showing its effectiveness in identifying the most commonly known IDs in this sector. Most ID regimes are persistent over time, despite the high turnover rates in the local subcontracting population after the 2008 financial crisis. These results can be explained by the presence of locally rooted competencies and context-specific knowledge bases that persist despite the changing actors operating in the locality. Our evidence also shows that location in an ID does not necessarily entail benefits in terms of performance for subcontracting firms.

We investigate if Airbnb diffusion affects residential property values differently across and within cities leveraging the heterogeneity of five Italian cities in terms of tourist attractiveness, local housing markets, and socioeconomic conditions. We find that Airbnb density growth leads to increases in house prices in all cities. Within-city, the impact is positive both in centers and in the suburbs in more touristic towns, but only in the center in the others. Moreover, Airbnb may increase or decrease the center–periphery price gap. Our results suggest that the different impact of Airbnb on housing submarkets is driven by local disparity conditions.

This paper reexamines Krugman's core-periphery model by substituting his constant elasticity of substitution (CES) utility with a general additively separable utility that comprehensively captures the pro-competitive effect while preserving the income effect. The heterogeneous consumption patterns of skilled workers and unskilled workers introduce a demand adjustment effect. The resulting interaction <span>between</span> the dispersion force, driven by the pro-competitive effect and the demand adjustment effect, and the agglomeration force stemming from the “second nature,” leads to various possible location patterns. These comprehensive demand and supply linkages generate novel evolutionary paths and bifurcation diagrams. Notably, high trade costs do not always lead to complete dispersion, and free trade does not necessarily result in agglomeration. Furthermore, multiple phases of redispersion are also possible.