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We investigate to which extent shopping centers are drivers of economic development by studying how distance to newly established shopping centers affects the performance of incumbent firms located in the suburbs of the three Swedish major metropolitan areas (Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö) between 2000 and 2016. We use a regression setup with 27,000 firm-year observations and explore the possible heterogeneity imposed on the results from two main elements of spatial economics theory: the size of the new retail area and the distance from the new retail area to the analyzed incumbents. We observe a clear difference in the direction of the effects of large versus small shopping centers. While competition forces are much stronger when large shopping centers make entry, yielding an average negative effect of 5% on incumbent firm revenue and 3% on firm employment, results indicate an opposite pattern for smaller shopping centers, with firm revenue and firm employment increasing by 4 and 3%, respectively. Moreover, we also observe that both agglomeration and competition effects attenuate sharply with distance from the new entrant, confirming one of the central premises of retail location theory. Finally, the results indicate that the geographical scope of the effects is much wider in the case of larger shopping centers, with the estimates becoming insignificant at about 9-10 km from the new entry, as compared to 3-4 km in the case of smaller retail centers.

Sammanfattning i punktform: Om DAC med dagenskostnad skulle användas för uppfångning av koldioxid motsvarande världens årliga utsläpp, skulle det årligen kosta en summa motsvarande en fjärdedel av världsekonomin. Av de fåtal företag som bedriver direktuppfångning av atmosfärisk koldioxid (DAC) har bara ett av dessa offentliggjort sina kostnader. Företaget redovisar idag en kostnad som uppgår till 5600 SEKper insamlat ton.•Det finns dock stor potential för minskade kostnader över tid. Osäkerheten i denna potential är mycketstor eftersom innovation, lärkurvor och energipriser generellt är svåra att uppskatta på längre sikt. Efter en bästa gissning baserat på liknande kostnadsminskningar som för ex. solceller och vindkraft uppskattar vi kostnaderna för DAC att sjunka till ca. 750 SEK/tCO2 år 2050, eller någonstans mellan 168–2092 SEK. Med utvecklingstakten ovan blir DAC samhällsekonomiskt lönsamt omkring år 2045. För att nå denna potential krävs kraftiga investeringar i stöttande infrastruktur för snabb uppskalning och ekonomiska incitament för infångande (och senare lagring) av koldioxid. Koldioxidskatter och andra typer av policyåtgärderpåverkar när DAC:s blir lönsam.

Forskningen om inkomstojämlikhet har utvecklat modeller för att analysera inkomstspridning men har underlåtit att inkludera entreprenörskap – ett allt vanligare yrkesval. Vi undersöker hur antalet och typen av företagare påverkar inkomstskillnaderna i Sverige. Vi finner en tydlig polariseringseffekt av andelen företagare i arbetskraften: Egenföretagare ökar inkomstspridningen genom att flertalet har låga inkomster relativt löntagare, medan det omvända gäller för aktiebolagsföretagare. Påverkan sker således främst i svansarna av fördelningen, och den tycks vara som störst för egenföretagare.

Using detailed Swedish full population data on regional migrants, this paper addresses the question of whether the urban wage premium, and “thick” labor market matching effects, are found only among the higher educated or across all educational groups, and whether the urban population threshold for these type of effects varies by educational category. Estimating initial wages, average wage level and wage growth 2001-2009, we find similar matching effects for all educational groups in the three largest metropolitan areas, but very weak effects for cities ranked 4th - 6th in the urban hierarchy. Our findings suggest that positive urban matching effects are not limited to those with higher education, but that there are distinct population thresholds for these type of effects, regardless of educational background.

In a much cited 2008 article, Per Pettersson-Lidbom uses regression discontinuity to test for Swedish party effects on economic policies such as municipal taxation, spending and employment. We reassess the issue using the same estimator as Pettersson-Lidbom but new data on all factual coalitions, including minority coalitions as well as those previously deemed as undefined on a left and right wing political scale (constituting about 20 percent of the sample used in Pettersson-Lidbom’s study). This makes it possible to remove a systematic bias against centre-right coalitions in Pettersson-Lidbom’s study. We find that a majority of the previous findings stand, with sometimes even slightly stronger effects, but not as regards the proportional income tax rate and number of government employees per capita. Parties seem to matter for economic outcomes, but not always, and some parties more than others.

Empirical studies of international labor migration, modelling average outcomes, suggest migrants move to enhance returns to their labor. In contrast, major international surveys show less than a third of internal migrants as motivated by employment reasons. Using Swedish panel data for the years 2001-2009, this paper addresses this disconnect by examining the full distribution of migrant income changes. Results from initial CEM matching and quantile regression suggest that large returns to internal migration are mostly captured by the higher educated. Much if not most of migration outcomes are however a wash and indeed often negative in terms of pay – off. This suggests models of average outcomes as insufficient in addressing human capital motivated migration.

In this paper, we test two hypotheses as regarding potential effects of domestic and international migration on wage inequality. One related to the possibility of wage competition, and another alternative hypothesis related to fixed set-up costs and indivisibilities for different types of industries within the local labour market. Using detailed information on Swedish local labour markets, derived from Swedish full population data, for 1993 and 2003, a panel model of percent changes in inequality is estimated. Thereby controlling for local level fixed effects as well as other competing explanations, the results suggest that positive net migration may affect income dispersion regardless of possible negative wage competition.

Empirical studies on internal labor migration are usually based on observed patterns of net flows into local labor markets with relatively lower unemployment and relatively higher real wages. Evidence here suggests that internal migrants move to enhance returns to their labor. In contrast, major surveys in the USA, the UK and Australia show that less than a third of internal migrants are motivated primarily by employment reasons. A possible explanation for this disconnect revolves around average and individual outcomes from migration. Using a sample of 39 000 Swedish regional migrants, this paper addresses this disconnect by examining the distribution of short and long term migrant income changes, and the factors that predict their placement within this distribution. We show that returns to migration do matter, especially for the more educated migrants. Overall, however, about a third of all migrants had negative short term returns to migration and about 40 percent make below median gains even in the long run. The data support a view that average outcomes are an insufficient way to measure the role of human capital motivated migration.

Using unique Swedish longitudinal full-population data and logistic regression, this paper explores whether start-ups of foreign born female heath care workers are structurally (i.e. comparatively higher unemployment and lower wages) or culturally (defined as country of birth) motivated. While structural factors are significantly related to female entrepreneurship regardless of origin, no additional effect is found whether for foreign born more broadly defined, or when adding specific country of birth. Thus, we conclude that structural disadvantage motives, based on gender rather than ethnicity, dominate over possible cultural motives for entrepreneurship.

This paper addresses potential effects of immigration on wage income of predominantly low income Swedish born workers. Using unique individual full population panel data for two time-periods, 1993- 1999 and 1997-2003, we estimate two fixed effect models controlling for both individual and local labor market characteristics as well as individual and regional fixed effects. The models are tested for a range of population sub-groups, the compulsory and upper secondary educated and workers within certain shares of the local income distribution (using different below median percentile levels as population cut-off points). The estimates show mainly a positive relationship between increasing shares of foreign born and wage income of Swedish born workers.

The questions addressed in this paper are (i) whether immigration and domestic migration over time contributes to changes in wage inequality, and (ii) if so, which parts of the income distribution are these changes associated with? Finally, (iii) what are the correlates of changes in inequality, and does ethnic and educational background of the migrant population matter? Using full population data for 1993 and 2003 for Swedish local labour markets, a fixed effect model is estimated. Factors associated with increasing wage inequality are positive net migration of the Swedish born, increasing educational inequality and low levels of employment. Immigration and domestic migration of the foreign born has no statistically significant effect.

Föreliggande artikel bygger på två regionala befolkningsframskrivningar, den ena av Landstingsförbundet (2000), den andra av Nygren och Person (2001). Dessa visar att nu som tidigare beror regionernas befolkningsmässiga framtid till största del av de flyttningsantaganden som görs. De beskriver också en delvis ny situation där tidigare omflyttningar gett regionala skillnader i befolkningsstruktur, något som medför tillbakagång i avfolkningsregioner och tillväxt i storstadsområden oavsett omflyttningar. Framskrivningarna pekar på ganska dramatiska regionala förändringar, både i total befolkningsmängd och i den arbetsföra delen av befolkningen (20-65 år). I artikeln diskuteras vad dessa förändringar kan tänkas innebära, dels för kommuners finansiella situation, dels för den regionala tillgången på arbetskraft. Avslutningsvis argumenteras för att befolkningsutvecklingen på många håll kan komma att utgöra ett betydande hinder för ekonomisk tillväxt och att detta bör beaktas i det regionala utvecklingsarbetet.