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This paper discusses whether high‐speed rail (HSR) construction in China promotes urban economic growth, and it uses social network analysis (SNA) and a panel threshold model. We provide robust evidence that HSR networks have non‐linear effects on the urban economy. Urban location and transportation hub status change as the density of HSR networks increases, and from 2008 to 2017, the national average annual growth rate of the weighted degree centrality (WDC) was 44.93%. We find the WDC and betweenness centrality (BC) have positive influences on urban economic growth. However, HSR network expansion reduces the economic benefits of HSR because the marginal contribution of new HSR lines to economic productivity decreases and there is a crowding out effect caused by excessive agglomeration. HSR networks can promote the economy of Western China to a greater extent and can promote the economy more in small cities than in large and medium‐sized cities. These findings can help the government rationalize its strategy for designing HSR lines in various regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional inequality in the process of economic growth has recently been a popular topic. This paper creatively proposes contribution decomposition methods to divide various regions' contributions into economic contribution and population contribution. The methods consider not only economic growth but also population change, which may be more effective than the traditional method that uses the per capita GDP (gross domestic product) as its single measurement indicator. Moreover, the objective is to take a step forward and reveal the spatio‐temporal evolution characteristics of regional disparities by integrating barycentre model and economic development equilibrium model. Lastly, the applicability of the research method proposed in this paper is verified by a case study of Jiangsu province, China; the results show a new regional economic pattern in Jiangsu province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we argue that it is necessary to apply economic impact models in smart specialization policy in order to come up with reliable economic impact estimations. Solutions suggested in the smart specialization (S3) literature for economic impact assessments cover the economic effects only partially. To estimate the impacts in the industrial, regional and national dimensions in their entirety the application of specifically designed economic models becomes necessary. We extended the geographic macro and regional (GMR)‐Hungary policy impact model with additional features to make this model applicable for S3 economic impact estimations. In our policy simulations we illustrate how the application of this model helps policy‐makers in the prioritization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the deep and protracted recession that plagues the Greek regions, exports have shown some positive signs of resilience. This paper explores through a spatial econometric analysis of SUR models, first, the changes that occurred in exports by the (NUTS 3 level) regions for the period 2008–2012 to offer resistance against the crisis and to stimulate growth, which entail expansion of export demand, improvement in the quality of agricultural products, deeper specialization in broad low‐technology sectors and simultaneous increases in the variety inside these sectors and second, the ability of exports to transfer their growth gains to the broader economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to their often‐cited role as global service hubs, world cities are also global innovation hubs with their connectivity in knowledge networks crucial for the innovation clusters they harbour. While both aspects of world cities' global connectivity may allow their urban economies to grow, we argue that specialization in one of these two networks may increase economic performance. We provide systematic evidence of this substitution effect by examining the changing positions of 129 world cities in inter‐city innovation and service firm networks (2000–2012). Fixed effects panel analysis of city GDP growth confirm that the two networks are partial substitutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to previous studies on the economic impact of universities that focus on the demand side, this study centres on universities' effects on the supply side of the economy. Through a case study of the Spanish University System, this paper proposes a methodology based on counterfactual scenarios and growth accounting to estimate the long-term impacts of universities on their regional economies. Our study evaluates the stylized impacts of universities' activities on human capital, salaries and occupation of the working age population, on generation of technological capital and, finally, on the GDP growth of the Spanish economy in the period 1989-2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural heritage has been recognized as fundamental for local development. In particular, some recent works have highlighted the role of sophisticated transmission channels of this relationship, that is local creativity and cosmopolitan identity. Following a territorial perspective, the present work aims at combining the two approaches, in the belief that there could be a synergic interplay between creativity and cosmopolitan identity, reinforcing their individual effects. Accordingly, an original conceptual and operational taxonomy characterizing cultural cities is put forward. The contribution of the different identified patterns to urban and regional growth is assessed, as well as their capacity to valorize cultural participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the inter‐regional economic inequality index and the gross state product per capita for the Mexican states over the period 1940–2015, we apply regime dynamics and hierarchical cluster analysis for segmenting the sample into regimes of Mexican states with similar performance. Robust econometric models are studied showing the direction of causality between economic inequality and income per capita, and the existence of a U‐shaped curve for the interdependence between economic growth vs economic inequality, and threshold levels. We additionally demonstrate the existence of inequality traps. The education literacy rate as a control variable indicates an inverted U‐shaped curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport infrastructure has represented one of the cornerstones of development and cohesion strategies in the European Union (EU) and elsewhere in the world. However, despite the considerable funds devoted to it, its impact remains controversial. This paper revisits the question of to what extent transport infrastructure endowment - proxied by regional motorways - has contributed to regional growth in the EU between 1990 and 2004. It analyses infrastructure in relationship to other factors which may condition economic growth, such as innovation, migration, and the local 'social filter', taking also into account the geographical component of intervention in transport infrastructure and innovation. The results of the two-way fixed-effect (static) and difference GMM (dynamic) panel data regressions indicate that infrastructure endowment is a relatively poor predictor of economic growth and that regional growth in the EU results from a combination of an adequate 'social filter', good innovation capacity, both in the region and in neighbouring areas, and a region's capacity to attract migrants. The meagre returns of infrastructure endowment on economic growth raise interesting questions about the opportunity costs of further infrastructure investments across most of Western Europe. Resumen La infraestructura de transporte ha venido siendo una de las piedras angulares de las estrategias de desarrollo y cohesión en la Unión Europea ( UE) y el resto del mundo. Sin embargo, y a pesar de los considerables recursos que se le ha dedicado, su impacto es un tema controvertido. Este artículo revisa el interrogante de hasta que punto ha contribuido la dotación de infraestructura de transporte - representada por las autopistas regionales - al crecimiento regional en la UE entre 1990 y 2004. Se analiza la infraestructura en relación a otros factores que podrían condicionar el crecimiento económico, como la innovación, la migración, y el 'filtro social' local, teniendo en cuenta asimismo el componente geográfico de la intervención en la infraestructura de transporte y la innovación. Los resultados de las regresiones de datos de panel de efectos fijos (método estático) de doble vía y MGM por diferencias (método dinámico) indican que la dotación de infraestructura es un pobre indicador del crecimiento económico y que el crecimiento regional en la UE tiene su origen en una combinación de un 'filtro social' adecuado, en una buena capacidad innovadora tanto en la región como en áreas vecinas, y en la capacidad de la región de atraer migración. Los escasos retornos para el crecimiento económico de la dotación de infraestructura suscitan cuestiones interesantes sobre los costos de oportunidad de futuras inversiones en infraestructura para la mayoría de Europa Occidental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the impact of public investment on regional economic growth and convergence at the NUTS 3 level in Greece. Using a new database of public expenditure per region for the period 1978-2007, it proposes a model which captures not just the impact of public investment in Greek prefectures, but also the spillover effects related to the existence of externalities from neighbouring regions. The results point to a positive long-run impact of public investment per capita on regional economic growth - but not on convergence - which also generates considerable spillover effects. However, the returns vary according to different types of public investment, with education and infrastructure spillovers having the highest impact. In general, public investment externalities seem to be more relevant for regional growth than direct public investment in each region. Finally, the impact of different types of public investment in Greece is mediated by politics and political factors, but the effect of politics disappears once we control for political-period-specific spatial-invariant variables. Resumen Este artículo estima el impacto de la inversión pública en el crecimiento económico regional y la convergencia a nivel NUTS 3 en Grecia. Haciendo uso de una nueva base de datos de gasto público por región para el periodo 1978-2007, se propone un modelo que identifica no solamente el impacto de la inversión pública en las prefecturas griegas, sino también los efectos de spillover relacionados con la existencia de externalidades procedentes de regiones vecinas. Los resultados apuntan a un impacto positivo a largo plazo de la inversión pública per cápita en el crecimiento económico regional - pero no en la convergencia - el cual genera unos efectos de spillover considerables. Sin embargo, los retornos varían de acuerdo con los diferentes tipos de inversión pública, siendo la educación y los spillovers de infraestructura los de mayor impacto. En general, las externalidades de inversión pública parecen tener una mayor relevancia para el crecimiento regional que la inversión pública directa en cada región. Para terminar, el impacto de los diferentes tipos de inversión pública en Grecia se ve influido por sus políticas y otros factores políticos, pero el efecto de las políticas desaparece una vez que se controlan las variables espacialmente-invariantes de tipo político ligadas a un periodo específico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth is an important priority for many local governments. There is a long-standing theoretical debate on how to best organize government for economic growth. There is surprisingly little empirical research focusing on how government organization affects regional growth. In this paper we forward several recent measures of government fragmentation in contrast to the common measure of government units per capita to examine how government competition influences growth, testing them in a metropolitan statistics area (MSA) growth model for 1992−2002. Going somewhat against the current embrace of regional collaboration, our results suggest that regions with relatively fragmented governments had stronger relative economic performance over the study's time frame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the determinants of self‐employment income is critical to entrepreneurial development strategies if the development goal is to increase incomes not just employment. Using American Community Survey data, unconditional quantile regression is used to investigate differences in the relationship between entrepreneurial income and an array of individual, industry, and regional characteristics across the self‐employment income distribution. Personal attributes, such as education, race, age, and gender, both explain differences in self‐employment income and vary in importance across the income distribution. Regional agglomerative effects are significantly positive and stronger at the upper end of the self‐employed income distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model of the Chinese economy we investigate the economic effects of relaxing China's household registration system over the period 2008 to 2020. The modelling results show that reducing the institutional restriction to rural labour movement will encourage rural workers to move from agricultural and rural non-agricultural sectors into urban sectors. This enhanced labour movement will not only increase China's GDP and real consumption of households but it will also raise the real wages of agricultural and rural non-agricultural workers. Although the real wage of rural migrant workers will increase at a slightly lower rate than in the baseline scenario, rural migrant workers remain considerably better paid than agricultural and rural non-agricultural workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare a set of econometric studies that measure the effect of net internal migration in neoclassical models of long-run real income convergence and derive 67 comparable effect sizes. The precision-weighted estimate of beta convergence is about 2.7 per cent. An increase of one percentage point in the net migration rate of a region increases the per capita income growth rate in that region on average by about 0.1 percentage points. Introducing a net migration variable in a growth regression increases the estimate of beta convergence slightly. Studies that use panel models or IV estimation methods yield smaller coefficients of net migration in growth regressions, while the opposite holds for regressions controlling for high-skilled migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between tourist demand and supply is investigated employing four time series models. To test for Granger causality a bivariate vector autoregression framework is used. Empirical results from each model are derived for the island of Sardinia (Italy) over the time span 1955 to 2004. The first model suggests supply is demand-driven; the second model implies a bi-directional Granger-causal relationship between demand and capacity. The third and fourth models indicate demand is quality-driven. This empirical finding implies that an environmental conservation policy may be feasible without compromising the number of tourists visiting Sardinia and hence its economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops an economic growth model with residential distribution. The model synthesises the main ideas in the Solow-Uzawa growth model, the Alonso urban model, and the Muth housing model with perfect competition in all the markets, by proposing an alternative approach to household behaviour. We show that economic growth with the economic geography is governed by a single differential equation and analyse dynamic behaviour of the model. For explanation, we simulate the model over time and space. Resumen. Este estudio desarrolla un modelo de crecimiento económico con distribución residencial. El modelo sintetiza las ideas principales del modelo de crecimiento de Solow-Uzawa, el modelo urbano de Alonso, y el modelo de vivienda de Muth con una competencia perfecta en todos los mercados, por medio de proponer un enfoque alternativo al comportamiento de hogares. Mostramos que el crecimiento económico con la geografía económica está gobernado por una única ecuación diferencial y analizamos el comportamiento dinámico del modelo. A modo de explicación, realizamos una simulación del modelo en el tiempo y en el espacio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an overview of the recent development in the new economic geography (NEG), and discusses possible directions of its future development. Since several surveys on this topic already exist, we focus on the selected features of NEG which are important yet have attracted insufficient attention, and also on the recent refinements and extensions of the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elasticities are estimated for long-run solutions of Markov chains of income distribution for the European regions. The results indicate that there will be no major changes in these long-run solutions for lower income states in the Markov chain and that effects on higher income states will be only moderate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying the lag-augmented vector autoregression approach developed by Toda and Yamamoto (1995), we analyse the causal relationships among GDP, private capital, transport user cost, and port capital in Japan, and investigates the dynamic and accumulated effects of port capital formation on other variables from 1966 to 1997. Results from our analysis indicate that the causal relationships between port capital and other variables are significant. Port capital development leads to accrual of considerable magnitudes of both flow and stock effects. We conclude that structural economic effects of forming port capital are substantial for Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]