Pub Date : 2025-10-06DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104158
Heejin Kim
This paper studies the heterogeneous effects of converting a local disamenity into a public park on neighborhood characteristics and housing prices. The analysis focuses on the case of The 606, a multi-use bike trail park in Chicago transformed from an abandoned railroad bed. Using the synthetic control method, I estimate that housing prices near The 606 have changed between -10% and 40% across locations, with greater increases observed in low-income neighborhoods, particularly those adjacent to higher-income areas. Further analysis of demographic changes suggests that households with higher educational attainment place greater value on the amenity, with suggestive evidence of a similar relationship for income. Results also indicate that housing-price impacts are amplified through endogenous gentrification, reflecting a preference among residents for proximity to affluent neighborhoods.
{"title":"The effects of improving a local amenity on housing markets and neighborhoods: Evidence from Chicago","authors":"Heejin Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104158","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104158","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper studies the heterogeneous effects of converting a local disamenity into a public park on neighborhood characteristics and housing prices. The analysis focuses on the case of The 606, a multi-use bike trail park in Chicago transformed from an abandoned railroad bed. Using the synthetic control method, I estimate that housing prices near The 606 have changed between -10% and 40% across locations, with greater increases observed in low-income neighborhoods, particularly those adjacent to higher-income areas. Further analysis of demographic changes suggests that households with higher educational attainment place greater value on the amenity, with suggestive evidence of a similar relationship for income. Results also indicate that housing-price impacts are amplified through endogenous gentrification, reflecting a preference among residents for proximity to affluent neighborhoods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104158"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145332915","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-03DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104155
Florian Mayneris
I find that on average, the firm-level labor share slightly increases with local employment density in the manufacturing sector, but this relationship is heterogeneous across industries. Through the lens of a theoretical framework featuring a CES production function, I show that this heterogeneity arises because both the density-elasticity of the relative cost of labor (adjusted for productivity) and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor vary across industries. The magnitude of the effects I find implies that in several industries, agglomeration economies are not Hicks-neutral. Moreover, the higher the density-elasticity of the firms’ labor share, the lower their propensity to locate in denser areas, all else being equal.
{"title":"Does the urban wage premium imply a higher firms’ labor share in big cities?","authors":"Florian Mayneris","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104155","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104155","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>I find that on average, the firm-level labor share slightly increases with local employment density in the manufacturing sector, but this relationship is heterogeneous across industries. Through the lens of a theoretical framework featuring a CES production function, I show that this heterogeneity arises because both the density-elasticity of the relative cost of labor (adjusted for productivity) and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor vary across industries. The magnitude of the effects I find implies that in several industries, agglomeration economies are not Hicks-neutral. Moreover, the higher the density-elasticity of the firms’ labor share, the lower their propensity to locate in denser areas, all else being equal.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104155"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-03DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104157
Carlianne Patrick
Comparing properties in districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in locally designated historic districts with those in properties proposed, eligible but not designated districts, this paper estimates the differential effect on housing values of National Register and local historic district status while explicitly considering the effects of overlapping designations. Results indicate significant 9–12 % increases in property values after the district is listed on the National Register and substantial declines in prices from local district designation after accounting for their overlap with National Register districts. Sales volume increases after both types of designation. National Register listing is associated with more new construction and subdivision as well as an increase in construction financing for existing properties. Local designation is associated with more permitted renovations and less new construction and subdivision.
{"title":"The value of historic district status","authors":"Carlianne Patrick","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104157","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104157","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Comparing properties in districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places and in locally designated historic districts with those in properties proposed, eligible but not designated districts, this paper estimates the differential effect on housing values of National Register and local historic district status while explicitly considering the effects of overlapping designations. Results indicate significant 9–12 % increases in property values after the district is listed on the National Register and substantial declines in prices from local district designation after accounting for their overlap with National Register districts. Sales volume increases after both types of designation. National Register listing is associated with more new construction and subdivision as well as an increase in construction financing for existing properties. Local designation is associated with more permitted renovations and less new construction and subdivision.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104157"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145267253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-26DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104156
Jordi Jofre-Monseny
This paper estimates the effects of population density on biodiversity, with a focus on bird biodiversity in Spain. My estimates imply that a 1 percent increase in population density reduces the share of municipal area with high biodiversity value by between 0.1 % and 0.17 %. The estimates are robust to alternative specifications, identification strategies, and biodiversity measures. Land use changes are not the main mechanism at work, as biodiversity in densely populated areas is low across all land uses. In a counterfactual exercise, I find that moving people from rural to urban areas increases the overall area of high biodiversity value, as the gains in rural areas dominate the losses in cities.
{"title":"Biodiversity and population density","authors":"Jordi Jofre-Monseny","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104156","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104156","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper estimates the effects of population density on biodiversity, with a focus on bird biodiversity in Spain. My estimates imply that a 1 percent increase in population density reduces the share of municipal area with high biodiversity value by between 0.1 % and 0.17 %. The estimates are robust to alternative specifications, identification strategies, and biodiversity measures. Land use changes are not the main mechanism at work, as biodiversity in densely populated areas is low across all land uses. In a counterfactual exercise, I find that moving people from rural to urban areas increases the overall area of high biodiversity value, as the gains in rural areas dominate the losses in cities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104156"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-23DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104154
Lorien Sabatino, Giorgio Caramma
In this paper, we study how information technology (IT) affects road safety through higher enforcement of traffic laws. Thanks to unique administrative geo-localized data on the universe of road accidents in a major Italian city, we assess the impact of IT on road safety within a quasi-random experiment that exploits the roll-out of intelligent red-light cameras in road intersections. Our findings suggest that IT-based enforcement significantly reduces accidents, both in the short and long run. The impact is extremely local, and it is not driven by displacement effects toward uncontrolled roads. Exploring potential mechanisms, we find that increased road safety can be explained by higher coordination: IT improves coordination among road users by restraining them toward more compliant behavior. In turn, this affects overall road safety. Finally, a simple cost–benefit analysis shows large revenues from ticketing for the local administration, as well as significant savings compared to police patrols.
{"title":"Information technology and road safety","authors":"Lorien Sabatino, Giorgio Caramma","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104154","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104154","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, we study how information technology (IT) affects road safety through higher enforcement of traffic laws. Thanks to unique administrative geo-localized data on the universe of road accidents in a major Italian city, we assess the impact of IT on road safety within a quasi-random experiment that exploits the roll-out of intelligent red-light cameras in road intersections. Our findings suggest that IT-based enforcement significantly reduces accidents, both in the short and long run. The impact is extremely local, and it is not driven by displacement effects toward uncontrolled roads. Exploring potential mechanisms, we find that increased road safety can be explained by higher coordination: IT improves coordination among road users by restraining them toward more compliant behavior. In turn, this affects overall road safety. Finally, a simple cost–benefit analysis shows large revenues from ticketing for the local administration, as well as significant savings compared to police patrols.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104154"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-18DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104152
Pierre-Philippe Combes , Clément Gorin , Shohei Nakamura , Mark Roberts
This paper analyzes urbanization patterns across Sub-Saharan Africa circa 2015 using a dartboard algorithm and high-resolution gridded population data to delineate urban areas and urban cores, cities and their population centers, and towns. Key empirical regularities are presented regarding urban hierarchies and internal city structures. Urbanization rates often exceed official ones and vary considerably across countries from 29.4 % in Gabon to 78.1 % in Kenya. Within countries, delineated areas show great size diversity following Zipf's law, without much urban primacy. Cities' land area increases slightly less proportionally to their population. Monocentric population patterns with declining population density toward peripheries largely dominate, though some large multicentric extended, not necessarily capital, cities exist.
{"title":"An anatomy of urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Pierre-Philippe Combes , Clément Gorin , Shohei Nakamura , Mark Roberts","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104152","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104152","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper analyzes urbanization patterns across Sub-Saharan Africa circa 2015 using a dartboard algorithm and high-resolution gridded population data to delineate urban areas and urban cores, cities and their population centers, and towns. Key empirical regularities are presented regarding urban hierarchies and internal city structures. Urbanization rates often exceed official ones and vary considerably across countries from 29.4 % in Gabon to 78.1 % in Kenya. Within countries, delineated areas show great size diversity following Zipf's law, without much urban primacy. Cities' land area increases slightly less proportionally to their population. Monocentric population patterns with declining population density toward peripheries largely dominate, though some large multicentric extended, not necessarily capital, cities exist.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104152"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-16DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104153
Nicola Mauri , Linus Peter
This paper examines the income and substitution effects of intergovernmental transfers by analyzing a reform of the municipal-level transfer system in a Swiss canton. The reform modified transfer formulas, changing both the amounts received from several transfers and the contribution rate to a fiscal capacity equalization scheme. We exploit this quasi-experimental variation to separately identify income effects and the “incentive effect” of equalization transfers. Our results show that local taxes responded to changes in transfer sums, but not to changes in contribution rates — contrasting with previous studies that find positive tax responses to higher contribution rates at the local level.
{"title":"The influence of intergovernmental transfers on local taxes: Evidence from Switzerland","authors":"Nicola Mauri , Linus Peter","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104153","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104153","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the income and substitution effects of intergovernmental transfers by analyzing a reform of the municipal-level transfer system in a Swiss canton. The reform modified transfer formulas, changing both the amounts received from several transfers and the contribution rate to a fiscal capacity equalization scheme. We exploit this quasi-experimental variation to separately identify income effects and the “incentive effect” of equalization transfers. Our results show that local taxes responded to changes in transfer sums, but not to changes in contribution rates — contrasting with previous studies that find positive tax responses to higher contribution rates at the local level.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104153"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-16DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104140
Jiahong Gao , Robert R. Reed
During the Great Financial Crisis, there were significant numbers of mortgage defaults that took place. One explanation for this behavior was due to protections for mortgage borrowers across different states in the U.S. Further, the increased defaults contributed to instability in the financial system which also affected the willingness of banks to fund mortgages. How does the legal environment regarding mortgage default affect mortgage rates and access to housing? In particular, how does the impact depend on the degree of liquidity risk and the susceptibility of intermediaries to banking crises? We study these questions in a version of Diamond and Dybvig (1983) where banks with limited commitment issue mortgages through maturity transformation and can raise liquidity by selling loans on secondary markets. In turn, we also study how the legal landscape affects the stability of the banking system. Interestingly, banks are not necessarily less stable at lower penalties for default. In addition, regardless of the probability of a financial crisis, relatively high protections for borrowers maximize social welfare. That is, in general, a full-recourse policy is not optimal.
{"title":"Housing, mortgage recourse, and financial fragility","authors":"Jiahong Gao , Robert R. Reed","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104140","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104140","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During the Great Financial Crisis, there were significant numbers of mortgage defaults that took place. One explanation for this behavior was due to protections for mortgage borrowers across different states in the U.S. Further, the increased defaults contributed to instability in the financial system which also affected the willingness of banks to fund mortgages. How does the legal environment regarding mortgage default affect mortgage rates and access to housing? In particular, how does the impact depend on the degree of liquidity risk and the susceptibility of intermediaries to banking crises? We study these questions in a version of Diamond and Dybvig (1983) where banks with limited commitment issue mortgages through maturity transformation and can raise liquidity by selling loans on secondary markets. In turn, we also study how the legal landscape affects the stability of the banking system. Interestingly, banks are not necessarily less stable at lower penalties for default. In addition, regardless of the probability of a financial crisis, relatively high protections for borrowers maximize social welfare. That is, in general, a full-recourse policy is not optimal.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104140"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-13DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104141
Enning Tang , Ming Gao , Wei You
This paper investigates whether a location’s growth benefits or suffers from proximity to a big city and explores the underlying mechanisms. Using county-level data from China for 1990–2020, we find that an area’s being close to a big city (in the 150–250 km range) reduces its decadal population growth rate by 2.9–3.6 percentage points relative to areas beyond 250 km, which we call the urban growth shadow effect. Initial agricultural employment share has the strongest power to explain whether the negative effect exists. The mechanism is consistent with lower opportunity costs of migration for people employed in agriculture, yet contrasts with core–periphery models that give transport costs a central role. Notably, this effect exhibits a temporal trend. Over time, being proximate to a big city becomes increasingly beneficial.
{"title":"Structural transformation and the urban growth shadows: County-level evidence from China, 1990–2020","authors":"Enning Tang , Ming Gao , Wei You","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104141","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104141","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates whether a location’s growth benefits or suffers from proximity to a big city and explores the underlying mechanisms. Using county-level data from China for 1990–2020, we find that an area’s being close to a big city (in the 150–250 km range) reduces its decadal population growth rate by 2.9–3.6 percentage points relative to areas beyond 250 km, which we call the urban growth shadow effect. Initial agricultural employment share has the strongest power to explain whether the negative effect exists. The mechanism is consistent with lower opportunity costs of migration for people employed in agriculture, yet contrasts with core–periphery models that give transport costs a central role. Notably, this effect exhibits a temporal trend. Over time, being proximate to a big city becomes increasingly beneficial.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104141"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-08DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104139
Ari Anisfeld , Jordan Rosenthal-Kay
One rationale for place-based policy is that local development produces positive productivity spillovers. We examine the employment spillovers from a large local development project: opening a casino. Comparing employment in neighborhoods that won a casino license to runner-up neighborhoods that narrowly lost, we find that casinos create jobs in their immediate vicinity. However, we estimate net job losses overall when considering the broader neighborhood. Employment gains concentrate in the leisure and hospitality industry, suggesting spillovers are industry-specific or are driven by demand-side forces like trip-chaining. We develop theory to show that our estimates imply a rapid spatial decay of productivity spillovers.
{"title":"How local is local development? Evidence from casinos","authors":"Ari Anisfeld , Jordan Rosenthal-Kay","doi":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104139","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104139","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>One rationale for place-based policy is that local development produces positive productivity spillovers. We examine the employment spillovers from a large local development project: opening a casino. Comparing employment in neighborhoods that won a casino license to runner-up neighborhoods that narrowly lost, we find that casinos create jobs in their immediate vicinity. However, we estimate net job losses overall when considering the broader neighborhood. Employment gains concentrate in the leisure and hospitality industry, suggesting spillovers are industry-specific or are driven by demand-side forces like trip-chaining. We develop theory to show that our estimates imply a rapid spatial decay of productivity spillovers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48196,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science and Urban Economics","volume":"115 ","pages":"Article 104139"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145060277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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