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We show that initial public offerings (IPOs) have nontrivial positive spillover effects on local labor markets, business environments, consumer spending, real estate, and migration. We mitigate endogeneity concerns about unobserved heterogeneity with restrictive geographic fixed effects coupled with a matching procedure. We show that it is the listing decision, which encompasses both a wealth and liquidity shock, that induces economic spillovers. Conditional on an IPO occurring, we estimate that an additional $10 million in IPO proceeds is associated with an extra 41 jobs and 0.7 new establishments locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial diversification depends on spillovers from related industries and nearby regions, yet their interaction remains largely unclear. We study economic diversification in China during the period 1990–2015 and present supportive evidence on both spillover channels. We add to the literature by showing that these two channels behave as substitutes when explaining new entries and exits, and by using acceleration campaigns of high-speed rail to address some endogeneity concerns with regional spillovers. Our findings confirm the role of relatedness and geographical distance in the diffusion of economic capabilities and support the idea that improvements in transportation can facilitate the diffusion of productive capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By combining arguments from regional economics and family business research, the aim of this article is to test the relationships among local export spillovers, management characteristics, and export propensity on a large sample of Spanish manufacturing firms over the 2003–2015 period. We find that family-managed firms, compared to their non-family counterparts, benefit more from being located in regions with a high density of exporters. Because of their firm-specific social capital and strong embeddedness in local networks, family-managed firms are better positioned to leverage the spatially bounded flow of knowledge and information in these regions, resulting in a higher likelihood to export than non-family firms. Additionally, our results show that the knowledge spillover effect is stronger for small and low-tech family firms' export propensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land-use planning influences economic performance as it can intervene with location-specific and heterogeneous production externalities. This paper examines the impacts of heterogeneous externalities on local employment growth using a panel model framework with block-level land-use data inventory for Chicago. Cross-industry spillovers provide positive impacts on growth, but the mechanisms behind them differ across sectors and spatial scales. Improved understanding of heterogeneity in agglomeration economies can better support plan-making and urban economic performance. The results show significant and positive influence of cross-industry spillovers, a missing consideration in existing planning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firm-level responses to privatization have not been widely studied. Drawing from industrial organization economics, the resource-based view, and interorganizational cooperative strategy, the author develops an integrated theory to show how privatization encourages early entry; how delayed market liberalization reinforces first mover benefits; and how firms with specialized resources, an entrepreneurial orientation, and local partner collaborations gain postprivatization competitive advantage. The author constructs a model and provides case illustrations to support the theoretical development, discusses implications of the research, proposes methods to test the model, and makes suggestions for future inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the effect of a large scale infrastructure investment, namely the construction of the Oresund bridge, on the local and supra-regional economy. We employ the synthetic control method to construct counterfactual regions that mimic the trajectory of Malmo and Southern Sweden without treatment. Our results point to a positive effect. However, placebo tests in space and time only reveal statistical significance at a larger regional level. The results suggest that spillover effects are eminent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The objective of this study was to quantify the impact of public investment in space programs on the regional economic activity in the areas host to the program launch operations. I implement an econometric strategy that takes the timing of the Shuttle program retirement as a natural experiment to investigate the role of public investment in space as a driver of regional economic activity. I rely on a technique known as the synthetic control method to estimate the counterfactual outcomes for the Space Coast. Comparing the observed outcomes with the estimated counterfactual outcomes provides evidence of large spillover effects of the Shuttle program in the economy of the Space Coast. My results suggest that discontinuing the Shuttle program made payroll in Brevard County on average $824 million lower than the counterfactual outcome for every year since the final Shuttle mission, for a cumulative reduction in payroll of $3.3 billion below potential by 2015. In percentage terms, payroll grew at an average annual rate of 1.88% where its counterfactual growth rate was 5.25%. Evidence on employment suggests employment growth of 0.43% annually relative to counterfactual employment growth of 1.6%, keeping the recovery from the Great Recession anemic. Together, these estimates provide strong evidence that public investment in space is a boon for economic activity. The implications for space policy with this evidence are clear: public investment in space generates large and significant regional economic activity that needs to be taken into account when considering the costs and benefits of the investment. Further implications of the evidence for regional planners and firm managers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to existing literature on the relationship between productivity and innovation through the knowledge spillover effects. To this end, we consider both a theoretical model and an empirical analysis in Russia. The investigation is based upon a dataset composed of 85 Russian regions for the period 2010-2014. In particular, the effect of R&D Spillovers are analysed through the use of spatial econometric techniques. In so doing, we have allowed the productivity of each region to be affected by the productivity of nearby regions. Results show that R&D significantly affects Russian regions productivity and that productivity spillover across regions matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper we investigate the role of patents in the relationship between R&D activity, spillovers and employment at the firm level. A reduced-form labour demand equation is estimated. Our analysis is based upon a dataset consisting of 879 R&D-intensive manufacturing firms worldwide for which information was collected for the period 2002-2010. We use data from all EU R&D investment scoreboard editions issued every year until 2011 by the JRC-IPTS (scoreboards). Since the innovation output of the industrial strategy of every firm is the number of patents, the main contribution to the existing literature is to investigate also the impact of patents/R&D ratio and patents/spillovers ratio on employment level. The empirical results suggest a significant impact of R&D spillover effects on company employment although the results differ substantially according to the spillover stock, which may considerably affect policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interactions between air transport activities, airport location, local society and the regional economy are of great importance in policy decisions. Air traffic growth enhances the development of the economy and brings benefits to users. On the other hand, negative externalities are borne to great extent by the local community. Sustainable development policy requires all the effects caused by the provision of air services to be included in a comprehensive assessment of air transport activities. The objectives of this study were to discuss the role of air transport development policy as an instrument for sustainable development, investigate the external costs of aviation with particular emphasis on the effect of Limited Use Area (LUA) related to aviation noise on the local community, and estimate to what degree this impact stabilizes over a period of time. The social cost of noise was evaluated through a complementary market, namely a change in the value of properties located in an area affected by airport activities. Hedonic price modelling was applied to evaluate the association between the LUA being established on the basis of the actual and predicted noise related to the operation of the Warsaw Chopin Airport, the largest airport in Poland, and housing prices in Warsaw. The estimates suggested that the impact of aviation noise on land use policy had implications for the housing market. The results of the study showed that aviation noise was negatively associated with the price value of apartments in multifamily buildings. However, the degree of this association changed over time. After policy intervention and the official implementation of the actual LUA around Warsaw Airport in 2011, the decrease in the price value of dwellings located within the LUA was stronger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Suicide rates at the county level may be influenced by various macro-level factors emanating from surrounding communities. The purpose of this paper is to measure the extent of geographic spillover effects from socioeconomic factors on suicide rates.Design/methodology/approach Using county level, panel data over the years 2002-2007, a spatial dependence function is applied to measure how socioeconomic factors within surrounding counties may influence suicide rates in neighboring, adjacent counties in the state of TN.Findings A negative correlation is identified between divorce and suicide rates within each county, which seems to contradict traditional beliefs that these variables move together. Also contrary to expectations, unemployment and suicide are not significantly related within counties. When the analysis measures the spillover effects of surrounding communities, county-level variables such as income, crime, and church density are significant. And although the signs on income and crime are consistent with past findings, church density counters research expectations.Practical implications These results suggest that certain socioeconomic factors influence suicide in surrounding communities, while others do not. Incorporating spatial analysis into future research on suicide and mental health may assist practitioners with suicide prevention. Appropriate prevention policies should be designed and implemented at the local or regional level. Regional differences make broad policies based on national data inappropriate for local areas that differ from national norms.Originality/value Studies on the external links to suicide and suicide rates have made significant contributions to raise the understanding about mental health issues. Very few, however, have directly employed research methods to capture spillover effects when the study encompasses spatial elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the point of view on four aspects which contain transportation investment, infrastructure construction, freight turnover and transportation of human resources, this paper using the spatial econometric methods on the spillover effect of 31 Provinces Panel Data of traffic infrastructure on regional economic growth in China from 2013to2015. The empirical analysis are as follows, (1) The comprehensive variable traffic infrastructure has significant spatial spillover effect on regional economic growth; (2) The opening degree, capital stock and the level of scientific research also has significant positive effects on regional economic growth; (3) Transport infrastructure on regional economic growth spatial contribution reached 37%; (4) The rate of city effect on regional economic growth is not significant; (5) The transportation infrastructure significantly affect the growth of the regional economy of the Central part and Western part in China but not so significant in eastern regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates what sustains large firms in China and identifies the determinants of firm sustaining. With the understanding of the triple process of economic transition, this study explores the influence of global-local interaction and regional factors on business sustaining. Based on the Annual Survey of Industrial Firms in China during 1998-2005, this paper employs the Cox proportional hazard model to confirm that global, provincial and local forces are critical for the sustaining of large firms. Particularly, the presence of foreign firms shows strong competition effect at the prefecture city level but no spillover effect at the provincial level. Provincial market-oriented institutions and market potential however are crucial to sustain businesses in China. Non-state-owned enterprises such as private and foreign firms are more dependent on market-oriented institutions than state own enterprises. Firms which are able to reap from agglomeration economies and local governmental supports are more likely to sustain. In addition, local factors show different impacts on business sustaining in different regions. The findings indicate that both market and state can play a substantial role in sustaining businesses in transitional economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates tourism's effects on economic performance at the national and regional levels, accounting explicitly for the existence of regional spillovers. The results suggest that there are important regional spillover effects on output, employment, and investment, respectively, and regions benefit differently from tourism located in the region and tourism located elsewhere in the country. The geographical pattern that emerges from the results is that the direct effects are more important in the central regions, while spillovers are more important in the northern and southern regions, the latter being one of the most important touristic regions in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Spatial Economic Analysis is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although the theoretical framework on agglomeration externalities and the channels through which they influence the regional economy appear well established, the empirical evidence on their magnitude and impact has been rather ambiguous and inconclusive. Applying the concepts of related and unrelated variety to an interregional European dataset and using spatial panel analysis, this paper provides critical information on the type and functioning of agglomeration externalities in relation to regional heterogeneity in knowledge intensity and innovation. We demonstrate that modeling this regional heterogeneity in a spatial panel setting is a crucial condition for identifying the positive agglomeration effects of (un)related variety on regional growth. The outcomes have substantial implications for European regional policy: We argue that policies should be both conceptually enriched and more empirically informed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We provide a comprehensive overview of the strengths and weaknesses of different spatial econometric model specifications in terms of spillover effects. Based on this overview, we advocate taking the SLX model as point of departure in case a well-founded theory indicating which model is most appropriate is lacking. In contrast to other spatial econometric models, the SLX model also allows for the spatial weights matrix W to be parameterized and the application of standard econometric techniques to test for endogenous explanatory variables. This starkly contrasts commonly used spatial econometric specification strategies and is a complement to the critique of spatial econometrics raised in a special theme issue of the Journal of Regional Science (Volume 52, Issue 2). To illustrate the pitfalls of the standard spatial econometrics approach and the benefits of our proposed alternative approach in an empirical setting, the Baltagi and Li (2004) cigarette demand model is estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Spatial Economic Analysis is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Mixed results on the validity of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) relationship in South Asian countries motivates this paper to conduct a further inquiry. Existing studies lack appropriate treatment of cross-country dependence in the testing procedure. In this paper we employ a method that allows us to identify the degree of cross-sectional dependence (CSD) and apply panel unit root test to accommodate this dependence on the real exchange rate series of five South Asian countries in the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) which include Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. We find evidence of strong cross-country dependence, cross-country correlation being 0.735. Our panel unit test results support the validity of long-run PPP in the sample countries. This result is in contrast to the previous studies in similar countries which did not accommodate CSD in their estimation. This finding implies that real shocks do not have any permanent effect on the real exchange rate and other things remaining the same, no active policy intervention is warranted for the sustainability of external balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper expands upon the classical Granger causality test with spatial dimensions to investigate the causal linkages between regional economic output and surface transportation infrastructure with a focus on the Northeast Corridor in the United States. To improve the validity of estimation, a panel data set of surface transportation infrastructure including highways, public intercity railways, and public transit, which are measured in real monetary value for the period 1991-2009, is adopted. Granger causality tests with integrations of various forms of spatial spillover interactions are analyzed in different spatial vector autoregressive models. The empirical results reveal that the spatial Granger causality test is able to capture a broader geographic scale of causality than the classical approach, but the causality between regional economic output and surface transportation infrastructure is sensitive to the model specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether the convergence hypothesis in 13 Korean regional economies for the period 1985 to 2011 exists allowing technological spillover and spatial interdependence. We use the spatial dynamic panel data approach including the spatial Durbin model. When we use the spatial lag model (SAM) with spatial fixed, we find that there is a positive spillover effect of growth among Korean regions and that convergence speed rate is faster than the model without spatial interdependence. However, when we use the SAM with time period fixed, or spatial fixed and time-period fixed effects, these results do not support convergence hypothesis of regional incomes. Therefore, we have to be careful to approach conclusion about convergence hypothesis in Korean regional incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that spatial distribution in sectors of an economy is not always a consequence of regional externalities. The behavior of twenty three sectors of Sonora economy is analyzed considering first its spatial distribution and later the influence of the space in such distribution. To achieve it, Moran's I and Local Indicators of Spatial Association methods were applied. A high concentration or spatial specialization it is observed, as well as a very low spatial correlation. These results allow us to conclude that the location of the analyzed sectors does not respond to regional externalities, but rather to economies of urbanization or some other non- regional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Sciences in China is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Social Sciences in China is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examines the impact of regional competitiveness on the innovative activity of entrepreneurial firms. Based on a unique and hand-collected dataset of publicly listed high-technology start-ups and university regions, this paper tests how regional competitiveness and university spillovers affect the innovation behavior of entrepreneurial firms. The results provide strong evidence that regional competitiveness and university spillovers are strong complements in fostering innovation activity of entrepreneurial firms. However, the results also raise the question whether incentives for universities and their actors might lead to crowding out effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the analysis of the impact of FDI on host countries by taking into account the regional dimension of spillover effects. Focusing on the case of Ukraine, we explore the effects of inward FDI on changes in productivity, technology, and efficiency in local firms. For the country as a whole, the results suggest that the presence of foreign-owned firms had a negative impact on productivity change in localfirms during the period 1999-2003. However, there were notable differences between the effects in the western and eastern parts of the country: the overall findings were mainly driven by the development in western Ukraine, whereas inward FDI in eastern Ukraine did not seem to have any impact on local productivity growth and technical change. These results arguably reflect deep economic and institutional differences between the two parts of Ukraine, which have led to differences in the character of incoming FDI and differences in the ability of local firms to benefit from FDI. The conclusion is that the impact of FDI on the host economy may vary even at the sub-national level, depending on the specific local environment. [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]

The Pan Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Co-operation Framework Agreement was signed in 2004. It aims to bring prosperity through partnership among nine Chinese Mainland provinces and China's two special administrative regions. In this paper, we use a dynamic panel data model to examine the economic growth of the PPRD economies from 1985 to 2009. Our analysis confirms the existence of regional growth spillover effects in the PPRD area. Our results also show that economic growth spillover effects of non-PPRD regions on the PPRD regions are greater than those among the PPRD members themselves. These findings imply that economic integration between Chinese provinces has generated considerable spillover effects on regional growth. However, the anticipated benefits of the implementation of the PPRD agreement have not been realized thus far. Therefore, greater effort should be made to promote further economic integration among these members so that their local economies can benefit from the positive spillover effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a theoretical growth model that extends the Mankiw-Romer-Weil (MRW) model by accounting for technological interdependence among regional economies. Interdependence is assumed to work through spatial externalities caused by disembodied knowledge diffusion. The transition from theory to econometrics leads to a reduced-form empirical spatial Durbin model specification that explains the variation in regional levels of per worker output at steady state. A system of 198 regions across 22 European countries over the period from 1995 to 2004 is used to empirically test the model. Testing is performed by assessing the importance of cross-region technological interdependence and measuring direct and indirect (spillover) effects of the MRW determinants on regional output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze a two-sector model of a trading creative regional economy (TCRE) of the sort studied by Florida. Our analysis focuses on two cases. The first case concerns the impact of faster neutral, whereas the second case concerns the impact of faster nonneutral, productivity growth in the tradable sector on the employment of creative people in each of a TCRE's two sectors. In both cases, the sign of the percentage change in the steady-state use of creative capital in the nontradable sector is ambiguous. In other words, the potential departure of creative people from the tradable to the nontradable sector does not depend upon whether the faster productivity growth being studied is neutral or nonneutral. In addition, because the effects of faster productivity growth in the tradable sector are not necessarily innocuous, a potential role exists for activist policy designed to countermand the possibly negative effects of faster productivity growth on either the tradable or the nontradable sector. This finding of possible 'uneven development' is consistent with Florida's view that TCREs can give rise to externalities such as uneven regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a review of the effects of organized crime on regional economic development, with particular reference to the case of Italy. After reviewing the empirical studies that analyse the relationship between crime and economic development, the paper examines the regional distribution and the social costs of some crimes (in particular extortion) that can be linked to mafia type criminality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to test for the importance of local agglomeration externalities in determining inward foreign direct investment (FDI) intensity, viewed as a measure of regional attractiveness to FDI. The links between the degree of FDI inflow penetration into Italy and its determinants at the regional level are examined using alternative fixed effects panel data model specifications, also extended to include spatial effects. It is found that sectoral and regional specificities are relevant in attracting inward FDI into Italy and the different effects of intra-sector and inter-sector spillovers can be distinguished. There is also evidence that the importance of agglomeration spillovers connected to the geographical distance varies across regions, indicating both substitution and complementarity effects from FDI inflows into neighboring regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How should we think of the role of regions in relation to the global economy? Theory has surprising gaps when it comes to building a unified vision of these two scales of development. Two contributions to such a vision are proposed in this article. First, the relationship between geographic concentration and the regional economic specialization it underpins and globalization should be theorized as a dynamic process. Standard location and trade theory is not adequate for this task; instead, the dynamic relationship can be captured through growth theory. But capturing this dynamic relationship requires correcting growth theory to separate its local and its global components, which are, respectively, Marshall- Arrow and Romer externalities. Second, the missing element in all theories of geographic concentration and locally specialized development is an element labeled "context" here. A theory of context, in turn, raises important new questions about the dynamic welfare and developmental effects of contemporary processes of fragmenting and relocating production at a global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents extended commentary and criticism on the article "Regional Integration and Incomplete Club Goods: A Trade Perspective," by Chris Brummer, included within the issue, addressing regional international trade agreements (RIAs) and their structural identity according to the economic theory of club goods. The negative implications of RIAs on international trade are criticized, particularly addressing externalities created by RIAs which are financially borne by non-members and the global trade economy as a whole.

Regional analysts often identify industry clusters according to a single dimension of industrial interdependence, typically by trading patterns as revealed in national or regionalized input–output data. This is despite the fact that the theory underpinning regional industry cluster applications draws heavily on Marshall's theory of external economies, including the important role of labor pooling economies and knowledge spillovers in addition to spatially co-located suppliers. This article investigates whether industry clusters identified based on trading relationships (value chain clusters) are meaningfully different in industrial composition and geography than those derived from an analysis of occupational employment requirements (labor-based clusters). The results suggest that value chain linkages are a weak proxy for shared labor requirements, and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents a theoretical model of the role of intra-regional economies of scale and inter-regional externalities across a three dimensional regional economy. Kubo's (1995) two-dimensional analysis is extended to study the dynamic properties of the development of the three regions. We characterise dynamics and the stability of steady states, and show under what conditions the steady state is unique. Furthermore, we examine different regional development patterns both in cases of symmetric and asymmetric inter-regional externalities. We show that the condition for even regional development in Kubo's model, i.e., that inter-regional externalities are larger than intra-regional economies of scale in each region, is not sufficient for even regional development in a three region model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major developments in thought regarding regional economic growth and development are traced over the last two decades. The supply‐side micro‐foundations of regional growth have come under scrutiny in a manner which has previously not been evident. In particular, an examination of the elements of industrial clustering, regional industrial structure, and place characteristics which may promote innovation, have become a central focus of modern regional growth analysis. The micro‐foundations of these arguments are analysed, and the links between innovation and clustering explored within a transactions‐costs framework. This allows us to point to areas in which our understanding has grown over recent years, and to identify further areas of analysis which are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the importance of technological activities in explaining the differences in productivity among Spanish regions in the period 1986–1996. It quantifies the effect of the regions’ own technological innovation, and the externalities associated with technological capital, on regional development. The analysis is based on the estimation of production functions and an equation explaining total factor productivity. Although a positive significant effect is obtained at national level on a long-term horizon, the significance of the effect of technological activities on the productivity of the Spanish regions in the period 1987–1996 depends on the indicator used. However, the technological spillover effects between regions are always highly significant regardless of the indicator used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of articles related to city planning. "Promoting Retail Innovation: Knowledge Flows During the Emergence of Self-Service and Supermarket Retailing in Britain," by Andrew Alexander, Gareth Shaw and Louise Curth; "The Nature of Op Art: Bridget Riley and the Art of Nonrepresentation," by Simon Rycroft; "Was the 1937 U.S. Housing Act a Pyrrhic Victory?," by D. Bradford Hunt.

As American colleges and universities have increasingly become involved in economic development since the mid-1980s, there has been a concomitant growth of interest in measuring the impacts of higher education on regional economies. This study examines the influences of 4-year colleges and universities in the United States at the metropolitan level, focusing on the internal and external factors that affect the generation of regional economic development impacts, the spatial extent of the impacts, and separating the effects of different university functions. Knowledge-based university activities, particularly teaching and basic research, are found to have substantial positive effects on regional earnings gains. The greatest impacts occur in small-and medium-sized regions, suggesting that universities may be able to act as a substitute for agglomeration economies. Spatial spillovers across regions are influential as well, indicating a relatively flat spatial gradient of university impacts that stretches to neighboring regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether the composition of industrial activity influences innovation is the key question of this paper. The analysis is based on a model that integrates different kinds of diversity measures aiming at capturing Jacobs externalities, a production specialisation measure aiming at capturing Marshall-Arrow-Romer (MAR) externalities and regions as well as sector specific variables. Tested with an extended sample of 153 European regions and 16 manufacturing sectors, the estimates suggest that both kinds of externalities significantly influence innovation, although the influence of Jacobs externalities is more important in the context of “high density” regions as well as for high tech sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper models externalities of production across regional economies. Under the assumption that knowledge diffuses without political or administrative barriers, we derive externalities that affect the steady state and the process of growth of each economy. The empirical counterpart of the reduced form equation summarizing the process of growth allows us to test for the presence of regional spillovers and to measure their magnitude. Our results for a sample of European regions show that spillovers are far from negligible, are robust to the consideration of variables within each region, and may cause nondecreasing returns at the spatial aggregate level. The paper also relates previous empirical evidence on spatial dependence in growth studies to the externalities modeled here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to point out some shortcomings of traditional approaches to the study of ‘knowledge spillovers’ and to suggest an alternative based on how knowledge is actually created and exchanged by individuals. Which regional setting is the best incubator of technological change and economic growth? Is this promoted by regional diversity or specialization of economic activity? This study will include economic analyses of geographically localized ‘dynamic knowledge externalities, Jacob's externalities, or adding new work to old, industrial classification and technology combination, human creativity, and technology combination through human action and imaginative use of resources. Employees add to, or switch their product line; individuals move from one type of production to another; individuals observe a product/process in another setting and incorporate it; individuals possessing different skills and working for different firms collaborate; and urban diversity and resource collaboration are utilized. It is concluded that problems are solved through the combination of previously unrelated things and that promoting regional specialization at the expense of spontaneously evolved local diversity might be a counter-productive policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the main challenges faced by the Middle Eastern countries as a result of developments in the international and regional economies. It inferred that the manner where Middle Eastern economies react to the challenges will be a critical cause of their process of economic growth and development including their ability to raise living standards and provide employment to a growing number of entrants in the labor force. However, a more generalized process of economic reform in the Middle East are promising as region-wide benefits can implement the gains of individual countries.

The advent and rapid improvement of computer technology has transformed economics in but a few short years as of May 1968. Initially, economists simply used computers to do what had been done previously. However, as they became more skilled with the computers and as computers became larger, faster, and cheaper, economists began to conceive of uses that were qualitatively different from those that had preceded. Increasingly, they recognized that large-scale, high-speed computers offered possibilities for developing more complex descriptions or models of social phenomena and began to conceive of the computer as an experimental tool that would permit them to evaluate a wide range of alternatives and to experiment with a large number of alternative formulations. Computer simulation model was the term most commonly applied to this new analytical tool. In some ways, of course, the semantics were less than elegant, since it could well be argued that all models are simulations.The use of computers has been particularly appealing when evaluating public investments characterized by important externalities, broad social objectives and durable installations.