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In the context of location choice, firms face a trade-off between the increasing agglomeration benefits and the rising costs of doing business along the high-speed rail (HSR) corridors. This study examines the causal impact of the HSR extension on industrial movement patterns in China's Greater Bay Area (GBA). We analyze two firm-level datasets for the period 2007–2018 using the difference-in-differences method. We find that after the HSR extension, large-scale manufacturing firms exhibit a decentralization trend in the central GBA. We also find that the service sector shows a clustering pattern in the GBA. However, this pattern differs between the GBA and other regions, urban districts, and suburban counties, highlighting the redistribution effect of the HSR extension on industrial growth across regions. These findings have important implications for industrial policymaking, as they help decision-makers reflect on the potential industrial movement trend in relation to the impact of HSR expansion. • HSR has causal impact on firm/industry relocation in China GBA. • Large-scale manufacturing firms exhibit a decentralization trend. • Service sector shows a clustering pattern in the GBA. • Industrial movement pattern differs between the GBA and other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The location of industrial firms is an important matter of freight transport for the economical movement of goods in reducing transport costs and travel distance. This study suggests strategies for freight transport management, investigating the impact of transport infrastructure on the location choice of firms in the manufacturing industry by sector at the micro-spatial level using a time-fixed/region-random effects two-way error component model. The estimated models consider manufacturing firms classified into four sectors (i.e., high, medium-high, medium-low, and low technology). Different types of transport infrastructure variables were found to influence the location choice of firms, depending on the transport accessibility and cost-efficiency needs of each manufacturing sector. The findings presented in this paper provide evidence useful to establish geographical policy strategies towards infrastructure planning for smart growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, the film industry in China has experienced dramatic growth. However, little research has been conducted to examine the features of this fast-growing sector from the geographical perspective. Drawing on quantitative data sources, this paper presents a pilot study of the changing geographies of film production and consumption in mainland China. It explores the tendencies of concentration and deconcentration in China’s film sector, identifies the major centres of film production and consumption in the country, and investigates the factors that may impact the formation and transition of such geographical patterns. The major purpose is to enrich our understanding of the economic geography of the film industry by providing new evidences from a transitional economy. The outcome reveals that the development and spatial distribution of the film industry in China have been affected both by market and non-market factors. Compared to its counterparts in Western countries, the Chinese state tends to play a more influential role in shaping the patterns of film production and consumption in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firm (employment) location influences the behaviour of individuals and households in the short and long term. This paper presents simulations conducted to test the ability of an office location model to replicate the actual choices of office firms in the Greater Toronto Area. It is found that including explicit search areas can significantly increase the ability of location models to replicate actual choices by office firms. In addition, simulation procedures themselves have an impact on the forecasting capabilities of the modelling system. Finally, despite the suggested improvements, the model system’s ability to replicate location decisions of specific firms is somewhat limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current practice, transportation planning often ignores the effects of major transportation improvements on land use and the distribution of land use activities, which might affect the accessibility impacts and economic efficiency of the transportation investment strategies. In this paper, we describe the model specification and application of the land use transport interaction model TIGRIS XL for the Netherlands. The TIGRIS XL land-use and transport interaction model can internationally be positioned among the recursive or quasi-dynamic land-use and transport interaction models. The National Model System, the main transport model used in Dutch national transport policy making and evaluation, is fully integrated in the modeling framework. Accessibility modeling and evaluation are disaggregated and fully consistent, which is not common in accessibility modeling research. Logsum accessibility measures estimated by the transport model are used as explanatory variables for the residential and firm location modules and as indicators in policy evaluations, expressing accessibility benefits expressed in monetary terms. Modeling results indicate that accessibility changes from transport investments in the Netherlands have a significant but modest positive influence on the location choice of residents and firms. This is probably mainly due to the spatial structure and already dense and well developed transport networks, and the large influence of national, regional and local governments on the Dutch land use markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Models estimated to examine the linkages between broadband speed and firms. [•] Both geographic and sectoral variations in relationship of interest examined. [•] Linkages between broadband speed and agricultural and rural establishments. [•] Broadband likely substitutes for agglomerative disadvantages of more remote locales. [•] Infrastructure quality critical to economic vitality of rural communities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of port infrastructure on exporter behaviour, focusing on the opening of a competing inland port within Auckland. We model adoption of the new facilities among local firms, and test the impacts of uptake on future export growth. We find that the determinants of uptake are product- and firm-related, rather than location-specific. Firms use the new infrastructure in conjunction with the existing port to mitigate capacity constraints and/or access a greater range of transport options. However, we find no significant effect of the port’s introduction on firms’ subsequent export performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Firm location patterns emerge as a consequence of multiple factors, including firm considerations, labor force availability, market opportunities, and transportation costs. Many of these factors are influenced by changes in accessibility wrought by new transportation infrastructure. In this paper we use spatial statistical techniques and a micro-level data base to evaluate the effects of Madrid’s metro line 12 (known as Metrosur) expansion on business location patterns. The case study is the municipality of Alcorcon, which is served by the new metro line since 2003. Specifically, we explore the location patterns by different industry sectors, to evaluate if the new metro line has encouraged the emergence of a “Metrosur spatial economy”. Our results indicate that the pattern of economic activity location is related to urban accessibility and that agglomeration, through economies of scale, also plays an important role. The results presented in this paper provide evidence useful to inform efficient transportation, urban, and regional economic planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Firms in SEZs have better performance on average than firms outside SEZs. • Both the selection effect and the agglomeration effect drive the productivity advantage. • There is a selection of firms with higher productivity to enter the zone and firms with lower productivity to exit the zone. • Firms in SEZs gain more significant spillovers than firms outside SEZs. • Firms gain larger agglomeration effects from a cluster of the same industry than across industries. The establishment of special economic zones (SEZs) is one of the critical policies to promote economic growth. However, the relationship between SEZs and firm performance is still unclear. Using China Industrial Enterprise Database (CIED) from 1998 to 2007, this paper investigates the influence of firm location on its performance mainly from two channels: selection effect and agglomeration effect. The results suggest that firms in SEZs have better performance on average than firms outside SEZs. One reason for the productivity effect is selecting firms with higher productivity to enter the zone and firms with lower productivity to exit the zone. Agglomeration is another critical channel, and the effects are heterogeneous. Both firms in the zones and firms outside the zones gain spillovers from the zones, with the former being larger than the latter. Firms gain larger agglomeration effects from a cluster of the same industry than across industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We test the impact of agglomeration forces on the sensitivity of firm relocation to tax differentials. • Local tax differentials are positively associated with the probability of local firms' migration. • Industrial clustering can significantly reduce the effect of tax differentials on firm migration. • The effect of industrial clustering is stronger in regions with less efficient financial markets. This paper tests the impact of agglomeration forces on the sensitivity of firm relocation to tax differentials and examines the financing effects of clustering. Using data from the Annual Survey of Chinese Industrial Firms, we provide evidence that local tax differentials are positively associated with the probability of local firms' migration, but this relationship is attenuated in counties with higher levels of industrial clustering. Further analysis shows that the effect of industrial clustering is stronger in regions with less efficient financial markets. These findings support the theoretical prediction that agglomeration economies can reduce the effects of tax differentials on firm relocation by providing alternative sources of financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to understand how and why warehouses have changed location over time from central urban areas to the urban periphery: spatial decentralization. Over the last decade, the logistics industry has been restructured to transport large volumes of goods more quickly and reliably. Concurrently, the warehousing industry experienced changes in facility size and location: large warehouses have been built on the urban outskirts. This spatial shift is attributed to inventory and transport cost trade-offs: the gains from lower land prices and scale operation outweigh the increase in transport costs as warehouses decentralized from central urban areas. As a case study, I examine location choices of 5364 warehousing facilities in Los Angeles, CA. I hypothesize that (a) the location choice varies by facility size and (b) the location choice logic has changed over time. Results suggest significant differences in the effect of location choice factors over facility size and over time. For warehouses built before 1980, the most influential factors are local market, labor, and seaport/intermodal terminal proximity. In contrast, for warehouses built after 2000, lower land price and airport/intermodal terminal proximity have the greatest effects. • We examine why warehouses over the last decades have changed location. • Location determinants of 5364 warehouses in Los Angeles, CA are examined. • Facility size and built year explain the variation in warehouse location choice. • Newer, larger ones seek lower rent, better airport access, and less market access. • Potential decrease in facility cost is likely; transport cost change yet unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]