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This paper compares the merits of regional and firm based approaches for analysing the effect of agglomeration economies on firm deaths in Ireland. We aggregate a comprehensive data set on Irish firm deaths to Electoral Division (ED) level, the lowest geographical scale available. Estimates of the effect of agglomeration on firm deaths from a regional analysis at ED level using a cross-sectional spatial-autoregressive spatial error model are compared with firm-level estimates from a contemporary log-log model with spatially weighted agglomeration regressors. While estimates of the effects of agglomeration using these alternative methods is much discussed in existing literature rarely are the approaches or results compared. We show that contrasting results are found using the same data set dependent upon the unit of analysis used. Diversity lowers regional and firm deaths while specialisation raises regional deaths but lowers firm deaths. Greater urbanisation does not have a significant effect on firm hazard rates or equivalent regional estimates. While regional estimates provide evidence on the existence and nature of spatial dependence (negative in this case), firm estimates do not provide evidence that agglomeration in neighbouring regions is the source of this spatial dependence. No empirical analysis to our knowledge directly compares regional and firm based approaches for analysing the effect of spatial agglomeration economies on firm deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical patterns of land-use development across many countries in the Global North have generally been characterised by land-use segregation, low-density settlements, and limited transport accessibility. This can lead to inefficient regional developmental patterns and can increase the environmental degradation attributable to regional expansion. Numerous metrics and datasets have been employed to infer the sustainability and efficiency of these developments. Here, we quantify and visualise the relative entropy of land-use configurations across the Republic of Ireland using a novel dataset. Specifically, we combine the discipline-standard CORINE Land Cover 2018 dataset and OpenStreetMap data, which provides more thorough land-use classifications in urban areas. Spatial differences in relative entropy are visualised using a spatial typology distinguishing between areas exhibiting low and high levels of relative entropy. Our Main Map visualises the coverage of both CORINE and OpenStreetMap datasets, compares relative entropy estimates for both datasets, and illustrates the disparities in cross-dataset estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper analyses the impact of institutional proximity, cognitive proximity and geographical proximity (in the form of agglomeration economies) on the firm-level productivity of foreign-owned firms in Ireland. The analysis of agglomeration economies, consisting of internal economies of scale, localization economies, related variety and urbanization economies, has a strong pedigree in regional economics literature. Increasingly, however, alternative explanations of firm-level productivity performance have been explored with institutional and cognitive proximity often identified as other important determinants of performance. This paper presents an analysis of the importance of agglomeration economies (based on geographical proximity) versus institutional and cognitive proximity (which may be a-spatial). Design/methodology/approach: A series of measures capturing regional level agglomeration economies are generated as well as measures of institutional and cognitive proximity. The impact of these effects on foreign-owned firm-level productivity is analysed using data from the Irish Census of Industrial Local Units 2009. The estimation method employed is general method of moments (GMM) which allows for the potential endogeneity of variables within the system of analysis. Findings: The results reveal that institutional proximity has a positive impact on productivity. A possible reason for this result is that local units of the same nationality are sharing knowledge in relation to successfully conducting business in Ireland. However, cognitive proximity is found to be statistically insignificant. Agglomeration economies are also important with urbanization economies and the availability of skilled labour having a positive effect on productivity. Originality/value: The key contributions of this paper are as follows; firstly, the paper provides the first test of the institutional and cognitive proximity hypotheses on productivity while also controlling for a series of internal and external agglomeration economies. Secondly, the analysis considers, firm level, regional level and national level indicators as determinants of firm's productivity. In combining micro and macro level indicators, the paper attempts to answer the call of Van Oort et al. (2012) for such analyses. Thirdly, the paper provides the first detailed examination of the role of 'proximity' on foreign-owned manufacturing firms in the Irish context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sustainable retail development implies that retail centres should serve their communities economically and socially, while not degrading local environments. However, existing literature identifies that retail centres often create negative externalities, impacting the sustainable development of both the core and peripheries of city regions. International evidence also shows that retail sprawl and transport emissions have been exacerbated by existing planning architecture, notably retail parks. This has resulted in commercial centres shifting from high streets to car-dependent, suburban retail centres, worsening congestion levels and environmental degradation. This paper examines how location-effects influence transport-related emissions and travel mode choice when shopping in Ireland's five major administrative city regions. This paper adapts 2016 Census commuting data, and utilises retail and residential location data, to estimate hypothetical travel-related emissions within a multi modal transportation network incorporating cars, buses, cycling, and walking. This analysis is performed at the Small Area level for Ireland's five major cities and their surrounding commuter belts. The results show that retail centres generating the most travel-related emissions tend to be found outside city cores, in the fringe areas of built-up city environments, and that these retail centres are generally only accessible to car users. This supports theories suggesting that accessibility-centred development is the best option to combat the ill effects of sprawl, and that car dependency worsens the environmental degradation associated with sprawling developments. Above all, this study highlights the excessive environmental degradation caused by car dependent retail environments and offers direction for future policymaking. • Car dependent retail centres exacerbate transport-related emissions. • Peripheral retail centres are generally car dependent, worsening travel-related emissions. • Retail centres accessible to sustainable transport users generate less travel-related emissions. • Car dependency increases as distances from city cores increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population shrinkage has gained attention from academics and policymakers in recent years, due to the long-term implications the phenomenon has for public service delivery and the viability of urban and rural communities. We visualise the socio-temporal evolution of population shrinkage and growth, utilising a spatially rectified dataset containing population data from seven Census of Population covering the 1986–2016 period in the Republic of Ireland. Spatial changes in population distribution are visualised in a map that classifies small administrative units using a spatial typology distinguishing between those experiencing population growth or shrinkage, across the 30-year period. The temporal dimensions of these developments are considered in a sequence of inset maps that apply the same typology to identify the intercensal changes. Overall, the map facilitates the visual communication of long-run population trends, the identification of areas experiencing limited or no growth, and indicates the relative consistency of these trends over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]