Over the past half-century, Baltimore County, Maryland has experienced various policy measures that have shaped development patterns. This thesis analyzes three spatially explicit parcel-level models of residential development in Baltimore County to examine the effects of land-use regulations on multiple density classes from 1996 to 2008. The first model analyzes the entire county, while the second analyzes areas outside the county urban growth boundary, while the third model studied areas inside the boundary. While this region has been previously analyzed, prior studies have generally ignored policy affects upon the density of new residential subdivisions. The use of a binary dependent variable, i.e. develop or not develop, represents a critical oversight as this assumes policy measures exert a uniform impact across all development types. This study addressed this issue with the literature by using a multinomial logit model to differentiate the effects of various development policies to better understand residential growth. The objective of this research is to determine what factors influence individual landowner's decision to convert an undeveloped property to residential use. The impacts of rural conservation (RC) zoning and urban growth boundaries (UGB) comprise the prominent land-use regulations analyzed in this study. The empirical estimates provided significant evidence that maximum density zoning effectively limits the density of new residential development in almost every model. Other policy measures, mainly rural legacy areas and critical areas, were generally found to be ineffective at limiting growth. This research concludes that maximum density zoning comprises the strongest tool for limiting development to a density mandated by the county government. Finally, maps depicting the predicted probability of development at two densities are included and discussed to indicate the areas most likely to be subdivided for residential land use.

In this thesis, I study the impact of minimum wage policy and city agglomeration on wages and employment in local labour markets. This is an important topic because having a better understanding of the determinants of regional wage differentials and employment offers insights into: the roles played by local production, consumption and city structures; the standard of living enjoyed by workers with different human capitals; and policy recommendations for the future minimum wage law and city planning regulations. I use local occupation and geographic information to assess how highly productive occupations and local consumption amenities sort workers and generate local wage differentials. I also use this information to construct instruments that enable the accurate estimation of the effects of policy interventions. After an introduction in chapter 1, chapter 2, The Impact of the Minimum Wage on the Wage Distribution: Evidence from China, provides an empirical estimation of the effects of minimum wages using a Chinese household survey. I introduce new instrumental variables, relating to transport costs and local productivity, to control for the potential median wage endogeneity. The instrument variable regressions indicate that the effective minimum wage, defined as the ratio between the minimum wage and the median wage, significantly reduces the lower tail wage inequality — measured by the wage differential between the 50th and the 10th percentiles— by up to 0.3 per cent. In chapter 3, The MinimumWage and Its Impact onWage and Employment, joint work with Coen Teulings, we propose a novel framework for estimating the effects of minimum wages by considering the neoclassical wage and labour participation equations at the same time. To estimate the non-linear censored model with correlated error terms, we provide a five-step procedure and use maximum likelihood estimation. After correcting the bias using occupation information and city size, we find that effective minimum wage correlate significantly with the proportion of workers earning below minimum wage. I study the structure of city and commuting in chapter 4, Consumer City and the Sharing Economy. Based on the international trade literature, I develop a theoretical model with multiple cities, which have different amenities and productivities. In equilibrium, the unobservable parameters are estimated using local employment, wage, and commuting information. Cities show strong agglomeration effects in both productivity and consumption amenities. A counterfactual technological improvement, providing a cheaper transportation for workers and consumers, leads to a more concentrated employment distribution, commuting pattern and higher utility. In the final chapter, Agglomeration and Sorting, joint work with Coen Teulings, we show that agglomeration externalities are strongly related to the occupational structure. At the same time, regional differences in house prices offset these externalities. We develop a multi-region model with regional heterogeneity in workers and jobs, tradable versus non-tradable commodities, consumption amenities, regional house prices, non-homothetic utility, and interregional labour mobility. The model fits the regional data on the fixed wage effects, the return and mean level of human capital, land prices, and the city-rural area distinction well. We use land values to calculate the value of agglomeration.

This paper presents a theoretical growth model that accounts for technological interdependence among regions in a Mankiw-Romer-Weil world. The reasoning behind the theoretical work is that technological ideas cannot be fully appropriated by investors and these ideas may diffuse and increase the productivity of other firms. We link the diffusion of ideas to spatial proximity and allow for ideas to flow to nearby regional economies. Through the magic of solving for the reduced form of the theoretical model and the magic of spatial autoregressive processes, the simple dependence on a small number of neighbouring regions leads to a reduced form theoretical model and an associated empirical model where changes in a single region can potentially impact all other regions. This implies that conventional regression interpretations of the parameter estimates would be wrong. The proper way to interpret the model has to rely on matrices of partial derivatives of the dependent variable with respect to changes in the Mankiw-Romer-Weil variables, using scalar summary measures for reporting the estimates of the marginal impacts from the model. The summary impact measure estimates indicate that technological interdependence among European regions works through physical rather than human capital externalities.

The transport and urban economics literature applies different labor supply approaches when studying economic or planning instruments. Some studies assume that working hours are endogenous while the number of workdays is given, whereas others model only decisions on workdays. Unfortunately, empirical evidence does hardly exist on account of missing data. Against this background, we provide an assessment of whether general effects of transport policies are robust against the modeling of leisure demand and labor supply. We introduce different labor supply approaches into a spatial general equilibrium model and discuss how they affect the welfare implication of congestion policies. We, then, perform simulations and find that in many cases the choice of labor supply modeling not only affects the magnitude of the policy impact but also its direction. While planning instruments are suggested to be quite robust to different labor supply approaches, the way of modeling labor supply may crucially affect the overall welfare implications of economic instruments such as congestion tolls. Based on these findings it becomes clear which labor supply approach is the most appropriate given specific conditions. Our study also emphasizes the need for better micro labor market data that also feature days of sickness, overtime work used to reduce workdays, the actual number of leave days, part-time work, days with telecommuting etc.

Die Beiträge des Sammelbandes sind im Rahmen eines Forschungs- und Doktoranden-seminars vorgetragen und diskutiert worden, das im Dezember 2010 in Potsdam stattfand und an dem Wissenschaftler der Staatlichen Universität für Wirtschaft und Finanzen, St. Petersburg, und Wissenschaftler der Lehrstühle für Statistik und Ökonometrie sowie für Volkswirtschaftslehre, insbesondere Wirtschaftstheorie, der Universität Potsdam teilnahmen. Die Veröffentlichung der Aufsätze zeigt zum einen die Vielfalt der Forschungsfelder an beiden Universitäten, die sich aus den unterschiedlichen Schwerpunkten der wissenschaftlichen Einheiten ergeben, sie zeigt auch zum anderen in beispielhafter Weise die unterschiedlichen Forschungstraditionen und Forschungsstile an beiden Universitäten. Die Beiträge beziehen sich sowohl auf ausgewählte Branchen und als auch auf bestimmte raumwirtschaftliche Fragestellungen.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the potential effects of the planned Brenner Pass opening in 2028. The thesis is divided into 3 studies: in the first, we will provide a methodological description of possible approaches to be used in this type of analysis. In the second, we will propose an experiment to understand if it is possible to exploit the default effect to induce a modal shift towards the most sustainable means of transportation: the train. In the third study, we will conduct a simulation by applying the model constructed by Monte et al in 2018. The simulation results demonstrate that the opening of the Brenner Base Tunnel will lead to an increase in welfa re in the Trentino Alto Adige region (+0.2%), along with other socio economic changes such as increased commuting and housing costs. Theresults of the second study highlight the potential of a simple policy based on the default effect, pushing over half ( 54%) of the participants to repeatedly choose the most sustainable option.

La thèse aborde la question des déterminants du développement territorial du tourisme et propose un cadre d'analyse des mécanismes jouant sur localisation des firmes touristiques. D'un point de vue théorique, elle mobilise principalement le champ de l'économie spatiale mais aussi celui de l'économie du tourisme et les théories du capital social. La thèse est constituée de deux parties, mêlant chacune approche théorique et empirique. La première partie est centrée sur l'influence des aménités. Après avoir clarifié les contours de cette notion, elle analyse, à l'aide de modèles micro-économiques, l'influence de leur répartition spatiale sur le développement touristique. Les résultats de ces modèles sont ensuite testés à travers une analyse économétrique. La deuxième partie porte sur l'influence du tissu d'entreprises touristiques et sur le jeu des interactions spatiales. Elle propose une grille de lecture des mécanismes marchands et non marchands à travers lesquels les entreprises touristiques proches interagissent et analyse d'une part les déterminants de ces interactions et d'autre part leurs effets en termes de développement touristique. Méthode économétrique et études de cas sont ensuite mobilisées pour valider l'analyse théorique. La thèse conclut à l'importance de la répartition spatiale des aménités au sein des territoires. En effet, celle-ci conditionne l'attractivité touristique mais aussi l'émergence d'interactions spatiales entre entreprises touristiques qui, jusqu'à un certain seuil, ont pour effet de renforcer le développement touristique. / This PhD thesis aims at identifying the determinants of territorial development of tourism and provides a framework for analysing the mechanisms of tourism firm location. From a theoretical point of view, spatial economics is the main field mobilized, complemented by tourism economics and social capital theories. The thesis is divided into two parts, each one combining theoretical and empirical analysis. The first part focuses on the effect of amenities. After a clarification of the concept of amenities, the impact of their spatial distribution on tourism development is analysed on the basis micro-economic models. The theoretical assumptions are then tested using an econometric analysis. The second part focuses on the interactions between clustered tourism firms interact and on the influence of these mechanisms on tourism development. An analytical framework is proposed in order to highlight market and non-market mechanisms of spatial interactions. This framework allows to identify the determinants of these interactions and their effects on tourism development. A second empirical analysis, which includes estimations as well as case studies, is then designed in order to validate the theoretical analysis. The thesis concludes that the spatial distribution of amenities within the territories plays an important role. Indeed, it affects not only tourist attractiveness but also the emergence of spatial interactions between tourism businesses, which, up to a certain level, may enhance tourism development.

Este trabalho investiga a eficiência produtiva dos setores industriais nas regiões brasileiras. Para isso, utiliza um painel de dados da Pesquisa Industrial Anual do IBGE para o período de 2000 a 2006, desagregado por mesorregiões, setores da indústria de transformação e por setores de intensidade tecnológica. São estimados modelos de fronteira de produção estocástica para obtenção das estimativas das eficiências produtivas regionais e setoriais. Esses indicadores de eficiência são então analisados com base na literatura de economia espacial e das Cadeias Espaciais de Markov, que visam investigar o efeito da boa e da má vizinhança. Os resultados indicam que as mesorregiões mais eficientes tendem a localizar-se na faixa litorânea do Brasil, mas, na medida em que tratamos de setores mais básicos da economia, há maior dispersão da alta eficiência pelo espaço brasileiro. Além disso, percebe-se um deslocamento, ao longo do tempo, de altos índices de eficiência para as mesorregiões do Centro-Oeste. Em relação à eficiência setorial, observou-se que, em geral, os setores menos intensivos em tecnologia são menos eficientes: constatou-se que o setor de Alta Intensidade Tecnológica é 11% mais eficiente do que o setor de Baixa Intensidade. Os resultados das análises da influência das economias espaciais sobre a eficiência produtiva indicam que a vizinhança afeta o desempenho competitivo da região, constatando-se que o efeito da boa vizinhança em estimular o aumento da eficiência é maior do que o efeito da má vizinhança em retraí-la. Além disso, concluiu-se que as economias espaciais influenciam a eficiência produtiva regional. Em geral, as economias de aglomeração têm influência positiva sobre a eficiência, enquanto que, em relação às economias de urbanização, encontramos a predominância dos efeitos de congestionamento. As economias de localização apresentaram um efeito forte e positivo sobre a eficiência das atividades industriais das mesorregiões, indicando que regiões mais especializadas mostraram-se mais eficientes. / This thesis investigates the productive efficiency of the industrial sectors in Brazilian regions. It uses a panel data set from Pesquisa Industrial Anual of IBGE during 2000 to 2006, disaggregated by mesoregions, industrial manufacturing sectors and by technological intensity sectors. It estimates stochastic frontiers of production to obtain regional and sectorial productive efficiency indicators. These efficiency indicators are analyzed based on the spatial economy literature and on Spatial Markov Chains, which investigate the effect of good and bad neighborhoods. The results indicate that the most efficient mesoregions tend to be located on the coast of Brazil, but, as we deal with more basic sectors of the economy, there is a larger dispersion of high efficiency on Brazilian space. Furthermore, we realize, as the time passes, an increasing motion of high efficiency levels to mesoregions of the Center-West. Considering the sectorial efficiency, we observed that, in general, the less technological intensive sectors are less efficient: we verify that the High Technological Intensity sector is 11% more efficient than the Low Intensity sector. The results from analyzing the influence of the spatial economies on the productive efficiency indicate that the neighborhood affects the competitive performance of the region; verifying that the effect of a good neighborhood in stimulating the enhance of the efficiency is higher than the effect of the bad neighborhood on contracting it. We also concluded that the spatial economies influence the regional productive efficiency. In general, the agglomeration economies have positive influence on efficiency, but considering the urbanization economies, the congestion effect predominates. The localization economies present a strong and positive effect on the efficiency of industrial activities of the mesoregions, indicating that more specialized regions are seen as more efficient.

A dissertação aborda as dimensões econômica e morfológica da organização espacial da atividade industrial na Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre - RMPA, propondo interfaces entre a Ciência Econômica e o Planejamento Urbano e Regional. O objetivo da pesquisa consiste em identificar se e como as propriedades morfológicas das redes de circulação urbana e rodoviária são capazes de informar tendências em processos de organização espacial da atividade industrial em ambientes urbanos. Neste sentido, foi realizado um estudo de caso multidimensional e multiescalar a partir de cinco recortes espaciais de cinco municípios da RMPA – Alvorada, Cachoeirinha, Gravataí, Porto Alegre e Viamão – e seus complexos industriais, áreas contínuas de zoneamento funcional destinados à indústria. A hipótese é de que os potenciais de movimento e as probabilidades de fluxo, depreendidas por medidas de centralidade morfológicas e espaciais captam padrões locacionais e de organização espacial das atividades industriais. Isto é verificado a partir da correlação geoestatística entre análises configuracionais da rede de circulação urbana, apoiadas nas concepções teórico-metodológicas da sintaxe espacial, e as análises econômico-locacionais, da localização das estruturas industriais, fundamentadas nas teorias econômicas. Os resultados dispostos permitiram concluir que existem correlações estatísticas significativas entre a lógica de organização espacial da indústria em áreas urbanas e as propriedades morfológicas multiescalares da configuração espacial da rede de circulação urbana, indicando que hierarquias de centralidade morfológica, informando potenciais de movimento e probabilidades de fluxo na rede urbana de circulação, captam tendências do processo de organização produtiva. / Dissertation addresses the economical and morphological dimensions of industrial activities spatial organization in the Porto Alegre’s Metropolitan Region – PAMR, proposing interfaces between Economic Science and Urban and Regional Planning. The research objective is to describe and analyse if and how the morphological properties of road and circulation urban networks are able to inform trends about the industrial activities spatial organization processes in urban areas. The empirical study multidimensional and multiscalar analyses encompasses PMAR’s five municipalities – Alvorada, Cachoeirinha, Gravataí, Porto Alegre and Viamão and their industrial complexes, continuous industrial-dedicated functional zones. The hypothesis is that movement potentials and flow probabilities informed by centralities´ hierarchies correlate to industry locational patterns and spatial organization. This is verified applying geostatistical correlations between road circulation networks spatial configuration measures, based on space syntax methodology; and locational analyses of industrial structures placement, based on economic theories. Results makes it possible to conclude that there are significant statistical correlations between industrial spatial organization logics in urban areas and multiscalar centrality measures for road circulation networks, indicating that the urban centralities hierarchies – and the network morphological properties – capture trends about this process.

A dissertação aborda as dimensões econômica e morfológica da organização espacial da atividade industrial na Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre - RMPA, propondo interfaces entre a Ciência Econômica e o Planejamento Urbano e Regional. O objetivo da pesquisa consiste em identificar se e como as propriedades morfológicas das redes de circulação urbana e rodoviária são capazes de informar tendências em processos de organização espacial da atividade industrial em ambientes urbanos. Neste sentido, foi realizado um estudo de caso multidimensional e multiescalar a partir de cinco recortes espaciais de cinco municípios da RMPA – Alvorada, Cachoeirinha, Gravataí, Porto Alegre e Viamão – e seus complexos industriais, áreas contínuas de zoneamento funcional destinados à indústria. A hipótese é de que os potenciais de movimento e as probabilidades de fluxo, depreendidas por medidas de centralidade morfológicas e espaciais captam padrões locacionais e de organização espacial das atividades industriais. Isto é verificado a partir da correlação geoestatística entre análises configuracionais da rede de circulação urbana, apoiadas nas concepções teórico-metodológicas da sintaxe espacial, e as análises econômico-locacionais, da localização das estruturas industriais, fundamentadas nas teorias econômicas. Os resultados dispostos permitiram concluir que existem correlações estatísticas significativas entre a lógica de organização espacial da indústria em áreas urbanas e as propriedades morfológicas multiescalares da configuração espacial da rede de circulação urbana, indicando que hierarquias de centralidade morfológica, informando potenciais de movimento e probabilidades de fluxo na rede urbana de circulação, captam tendências do processo de organização produtiva. / Dissertation addresses the economical and morphological dimensions of industrial activities spatial organization in the Porto Alegre’s Metropolitan Region – PAMR, proposing interfaces between Economic Science and Urban and Regional Planning. The research objective is to describe and analyse if and how the morphological properties of road and circulation urban networks are able to inform trends about the industrial activities spatial organization processes in urban areas. The empirical study multidimensional and multiscalar analyses encompasses PMAR’s five municipalities – Alvorada, Cachoeirinha, Gravataí, Porto Alegre and Viamão and their industrial complexes, continuous industrial-dedicated functional zones. The hypothesis is that movement potentials and flow probabilities informed by centralities´ hierarchies correlate to industry locational patterns and spatial organization. This is verified applying geostatistical correlations between road circulation networks spatial configuration measures, based on space syntax methodology; and locational analyses of industrial structures placement, based on economic theories. Results makes it possible to conclude that there are significant statistical correlations between industrial spatial organization logics in urban areas and multiscalar centrality measures for road circulation networks, indicating that the urban centralities hierarchies – and the network morphological properties – capture trends about this process.