Regional Economics Commons^™

Remittances, Institutions, And Inequality In Developing Countries, Karla Borja, Joshua D. Hall

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

The private transfers sent by immigrant workers back to their home countries, or remittances, can improve the development of recipient countries through poverty reduction, higher education, and new business formation. However, the effect of remittances on income inequality is still debatable. While some studies suggest that these transfers are sent to the poor, other investigations find that remittances are directed toward higher-income cohorts, widening the gap between rich and poor. This study provides new evidence about potential income inequality reduction driven by remittances and quality of institutions. For instance, weak institutions discourage the usage of remittances toward productive ventures, more …

Drivers Of Agricultural Productivity In Agriculture-Based Economy, Olatokunbo H. Osinowo, Rahman A. Sanusi

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Stagnation in agricultural productivity, especially in an economy with fast and persistently growing population, would compromise food security. This study examined the factors influencing agricultural productivity in an agriculture-based economy. The study used a 35-year period (1980 – 2014) panel data focusing on Agricultural Productivity (AP), Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Government Agricultural Expenditure (EXP), Agricultural Trade Barrier (ATB), Consumer Price Index (CPI), Farm Machinery (MACH), Fertilizer Consumption (FERT), Human Capital (HCAP) and Irrigation (IRRG). Data were analyzed using Impulse Response Function (IRF) and Panel Least Squares (PLS) regression technique. The IRF revealed that there was a positive and stable …

The Spatial Distribution Of Urban Consumer Service Firms: Evidence From Yelp Reviews, Brad Humphreys, Josh Matti

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

A growing literature employs distance-based measures of localization to assess the spatial distribution of firms with a focus on manufacturing across a country. We analyze the spatial concentration of a variety of consumer services firms in the Phoenix, AZ area using geo-referenced Yelp data from over 29,000 establishments. Results from a K-density approach indicate substantial localization and service differentiation among localized firms. Firm concentration varies across service cost and quality; higher quality/cost establishments tend to cluster. Our results further understanding of the modern urban landscape as cities are increasingly centers of consumption.

Wildfire Risk Perception And Homeowner Mitigation: Evidence From Montana, Madison G. Nagle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fire prevention managers find that homeowners often do not perform mitigation actions that could reduce the damage and spread of wildfire. There is widespread belief among these fire professionals that one of the primary reasons that homeowners do not perform mitigation actions is that homeowners misperceive the risk that wildfire poses. Thus, a significant component of fire prevention programs’ focus on increasing homeowner awareness of the risk. However, it is possible that homeowners are aware of the fire risk but choose not to mitigate because of a variety of reasons, to include the costs of mitigation, limited monetary liability that …

Data File 2, West Virginia University, University Of Tennessee, Knoxville

Appalachian Coal Industry Ecosystem

This file contains information on whether a county is above or below the Appalachian median for the following measures: Dependence, Impact, and Risk. More detailed information is found in the report County-level CIE Supply Chain Analysis.

Front Matter- 2018 State Of The Commonwealth Report, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

Cover, front matter, table of contents, sponsors, and other materials for the 2018 State of the Commonwealth Report authored by the Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University.

2018 State Of The Commonwealth Report, Vinod Agarwal, Barbara Blake, Ethan Crouson, Steve Daniel, Nikki Johnson, James V. Koch, Tim Komarek, Feng Lian, Sharon Lomax, Janet Molinaro, Isaiah Smith, Jay Walker, Hannah White, Ziniya Zahedi, Robert Mcnab

State of the Commonwealth Reports

This is Old Dominion University's fourth State of the Commonwealth Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, its president, John R. Broderick, the Board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.

The report maintains the goal of stimulating thought and discussion that ultimately will make Virginia an even better place to live. The recent improvements in the Commonwealth's economic performance present an opportunity …

Implications Of Macroeconomic Controls In Ghana, Wisdom Takumah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ghana’s desire to achieve sustainable economic growth with relatively stable price level pursue both monetary and fiscal policies that could lead to macroeconomic. This study examines the effects of fiscal and monetary policy on economic growth and determine the level of convergence of growth for Ghana using structural equation modeling (SEM) using time series data from 2008 to 2017. Both short run and long-run results revealed that the ratio of government spending to private investment was statistically significant and it exerted a positive impact on economic growth, an indication that government expenditure is a key channel through which we can …

Crisis And Reorganization In Urban Dynamics: The Barcelona, Spain, Case Study, Rafael De Balanzó Joue, Nuria Rodriguez-Planas

Publications and Research

We use adaptive cycle theory to improve the understanding of cycles of urban change in the city of Barcelona, Spain, from 1953 to 2016. More specifically, we explore the vulnerabilities and windows of opportunity these cycles of change introduced in the release (Ω) and reorganization (α) phases. In the two recurring cycles of urban change analyzed (before and after 1979), we observe two complementary loops. During the front loop, financial and natural resources are efficiently exploited by homogenous dominant groups (private developers, the bourgeoisie, politicians, technocrats) with the objective of promoting capital accumulation based on private (or private-public partnership) investments. …

Natural Amenities And Rural Development: A Multilevel Analysis Of Regional Trends And Local Patterns, Dawson Reisig

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As rural communities began seeing increased rates of growth following the rural rebound of the 1970’s, many studies have examined the causes and consequences of this shift through the lens of regional amenities and migration trends. Additionally, as development patterns have moved outwards from concentrated growth in urban areas to sprawling development at the rural-urban fringe, many studies have examined the locations of rural development in relation to open space and the amenities it provides. However, examinations of the relationship between these two processes have been severely lacking in the field of land use studies, despite widespread acknowledgement that the …

Convergence Towards An Optimal Currency Area In The European Union, Santiago Botto Tornielli

Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award

This essay uses the European Union as a case study to analyze the conditions for an optimal currency area, the regional differences that give rise to divergences from optimal conditions, and how to measure divergence. The essay reviews the extensive body of theoretical literature on optimal currency areas (OCA), analyzes the historical evidence and documents that outline the economic institutions of the EU, and performs an empirical factor analysis on different possible indicators of convergence to identify to the most important variables. In the absence of adjustment mechanisms, economic geography plays an essential role in forming an OCA because members …

Value Chains: Production Upstreamness And Downstreamness Revisited, Patricio Aroca, Randall Jackson

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Measures devised to quantify value chain position have been used increasingly in recent years. While the constructs underlying these measures are meaningful, this paper identifies an overlooked implementation problem. Proposed algorithms have been applied as though the underlying data represent flows. Implementation data are drawn from modern input-output accounting frameworks that recognize secondary production explicitly. Unadjusted Use matrices are not conventional flows matrices because they do not identify the industries from which commodities originate. We demonstrate logical inconsistencies that arise, provide correct flow matrix formulations for upstreamness and downstreamness measures, and present empirical comparisons of correct and incorrect formulations.

Impacts Of The Changes Made To Solar Net Metering By Northern California Community Choice Aggregators, Steven Benton Shoemaker

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

When Northern California Community Choice Aggregation Programs (CCAs) took over the role of sourcing electricity from the incumbent utility (Pacific Gas and Electric, or PG&E), they also made changes to how solar customers were treated. In the Humboldt, Sonoma, Marin, and San Mateo County regions, solar customers that were net exporters of electricity received an additional $0.01/kWh credit on the generation portion of their bill. This policy is inherited from one CCA to another, and, given the CCAs are projected to serve 18 million Californians by 2020 (Cal CCA, 2018), understanding its impact - on a solar customer's bottom line …

Three Essays On Local Public Finance, Thomas Daniel Woodbury

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This dissertation seeks to develop the subject of local public finance in a manner consistent with the political economy of local governments. For ease of description, each essay will be discussed briefly.

The first essay is titled "The Provision of Generalized Local Public Goods Financed by Distortionary Taxation." This essay models the provision of a local public good that is simultaneously utilized as a public consumption good and a public intermediate good. Since the public good can simultaneously enter both utility and production functions, it is considered a "generalized public good." This is done to model the provision of infrastructure …

Race To The Bottom? Local Tax Break Competition And Business Location, Evan Mast

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 2, Number 1, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke, Omar Solís, Esmeralda Muñiz

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Material From The 13th Border Economic Forum, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke, Patrick Schaefer

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Infrastructure Impacts On Commercial Property Values Across El Paso In 2013, Arturo Bujanda, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr.

Border Region Modeling Project

Real estate property value analysis is used for municipal taxation and budgeting. Commercial properties make up a large percentage of the property tax base in many, if not most, taxing jurisdictions. Data constraints limit the number of analyses conducted on commercial property value patterns. This study employs a fairly extensive data set to address that problem in the context of El Paso in 2013. The sample contains data for 105,611 commercial real estate parcels. Empirical analysis is conducted using geographically weighted regression analysis. Results confirm that parameter estimation for the commercial property data in this sample should be conducted using …

Human Development And Subnationalism: A Disaggregated Analysis Of Indian States: Kerala And Uttar Pradesh, Manika Garg

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates achievements in human development outcomes on health, education, and poverty indicators across Indian states, in order to discern what factors might influence a state’s better orientation toward social policies. After conducting data analysis, the study explains differences in outcomes, as achieved by Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, by building an argument of subnational solidarity and its impact on determining the state’s policy agendas.

Analysis Of The Economic Impact Of Constructing A Nba Arena On The Host City, Grant Gilchrist

CMC Senior Theses

Using economic data collected from 24 different Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the US, this thesis investigates the impact of constructing a new National Basketball Association (NBA) arena on the host city’s economy. When a simplistic model is implemented, which does not control for other economic factors or individual subject heterogeneity, significantly positive economic impacts of arena construction are observed. However, when a more appropriate model specification is implemented that controls for economic activity and individual heterogeneity, these effects are no longer statistically significant. This comparative analysis ultimately highlights the importance of appropriate model specification and supports the conclusion that new …