DOES MIGRATION REDUCE REGIONAL DISPARITIES? THE ROLE OF SKILL‐SELECTIVE FLOWS

The existence of income per capita disparities is a striking feature of European regional development, while increasing internal migration is often cited as a convergence factor. This paper states that this argument is too simple if migration concerns skilled workers. To support this statement, the focus is on skill-selective migration flows: first, it is shown how easily they can happen (for instance, they can be caused by different regional wage settings); then, a model is used to investigate the effects of different regional endowments of immobile factors on migration. The model shows that skill-selective migration can, in some cases, lead to increasing income per capita disparities and, for this reason, policy makers need to pay attention when attempting to narrow regional disparities by easing interregional migration.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN EAST ASIA: FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF SPATIAL ECONOMICS

This paper examines the recent evolution of regional integration in East Asia, and discusses the prospects and tasks of further integration. After an overview of the globalization and regional integration trend in EU, NAFTA and East Asia during the past half-century, we introduce the basic framework of spatial economics, often called the new economic geography. In terms of globalization and regional integration, it is important to examine the general effects of decreasing transport costs (broadly defined) on spatial distribution of economic activities. Given this theoretical framework, we examine the changing economic interdependency within East Asia, as well as that between East Asia and the rest of the world over the last three decades. Next, we focus on regional diversity and disparity in East Asia. Finally, we compare the regional integration in EU with that of East Asia, and examine the tasks and prospects of further promotion of East Asian integration.     

REGIONAL CONVERGENCE AND THE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF PERIPHERAL AREAS IN TURKEY

The objective of this paper is to examine regional convergence and core-periphery relations in Turkey. The main question explores the degree to which there has been a transformation of interregional disparities in terms of "convergence" and performance of peripheral regions in Turkey by considering GDP per capita over the 1980-97 period. As a result of σ and β convergence (absolute and conditional) analyses, following Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1995), there is no evidence for convergence across both provinces and the functional regions in Turkey from 1980 to 1997. Moreover, a high level of the spatial dependence was revealed. Therefore, the level of regional GDP per capita growth was highly related to the neighbors and disparities are still obvious between the east and west of Turkey. Most of the new dynamic areas are also located in the west. Notwithstanding policies for "Priority Provinces in Development" (PPD), the findings of the convergence analysis indicates that PPDs do not grow faster than core-developed provinces. Moreover, the majority of them remained as poor regions with their neighbors. While the PPDs share similar features compare to the developed provinces, they are differentiated in terms of their performance.     

STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN CHINA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH DURING THE REFORM PERIOD

We identify some empirical evidences for the structural changes in the determinants of regional growth, disparities and the convergence speed to the per capita GDP equilibrium during the reform period of 1978–1998 in China. We estimate a growth regression model by augmenting the Solow model with a provincial-level panel data set. The existence of conditional convergence is confirmed throughout the reform period, but the convergence speed is faster in the 1990s than the early reform period. Agro-industry-based rural development contributed to regional growth and eased interregional disparities in the early reform period. Foreign capital inflows took a significant leading role for regional growth during the 1990s, but aggravated interregional disparities. Education and non-state enterprises were among the other keys for regional growth throughout the reform period. These results implies that for achieving sustainable and balanced growth in future, it is essential to extend foreign capital investment to the interior regions, in association with further development of human capital resource and non-state local enterprises.     

AGGLOMERATION AND SUB‐REGIONAL DISPARITIES UNDER DECENTRALIZATION: EVIDENCE OF SPATIAL CLUSTERING OF LAND VALUES IN THE PHILIPPINES

Like other developing countries, the Philippines aims for balanced spatial development. This paper investigates the pattern of sub‐regional disparities by applying the global Moran I and local Moran I_i test statistics on land values data for 1986–2000. Overall, both provincial and city land values diverge spatially. Local clustering of land values is found only within and around Metro Manila. While the results suggest persistent agglomeration economies during the decentralization period, partly because of bias in the fiscal transfer system, they also indicate that other government policies were effective in promoting land values immediately outside Metro Manila.     

基于广义熵指数对十大城市群经济发展差异的分析

本文利用中国城市级数据,以十大城市群为研究对象,考察了它们的经济发展差异,并运用广义熵方法进行了总体差异的分解。研究发现:中国整体差异的扩大,很大程度上源于十大城市群间的不均衡发展,而城市群内部各城市之间发展水平差异对全国整体差异的影响并不显著;十大城市群内部城市间的经济差异在逐步减小,但全国其他地区与十大城市群之间的经济差异在不断扩大;城市群间和城市群内部城市间的差异都受到空间因素影响。     

我国土地出让收入增长的影响因素与地区差异——基于空间动态面板模型的实证研究

利用1999～2008年的省级面板数据和空间动态面板广义矩(GMM)估计方法,本文考察了我国各地区土地出让收入增长的影响因素和地区差异。研究发现,各地方政府的土地出让收入间存在横向竞争,土地出让收入在全国范围内呈现一定的收敛性。财政分权程度、经济发展水平和市场化水平是影响各地土地出让收入增长的主要因素,并且其影响程度和方向呈现明显的地区差异。具体而言,东部地区的横向竞争程度高于全国平均水平和中西部地区。财政分权和经济发展水平对东部地区土地出让收入增长的影响不显著,市场化水平的影响显著为正。而财政分权对中西部地区土地出让收入增长的影响显著为负,经济发展水平的影响显著为正,市场化水平的影响不显著。     

International trade,integration and industrial location: The case of Germany

The paper confronts empirical results on the spatial distribution of integration effects and export activities in the FRG with prediction based on different theoretical approaches. It is proved that integration has at most very slightly favoured the higher agglomerated regions, and has not been to the detriment of the periphery. Export activities contributed to regional industrial despecialization and to decreasing interregional disparities. Population potentials, calculated with different distance parameters, regional productivity, the sectoral composition of industry, and average firm size are tested as explanatory variables. The results question that there are contemporary effective ‘regional’ determinants of integration effects.     

REGIONALISM AND FREE-MARKET REFORM: THE CASE OF POLAND

In Poland, there is a widening gap between well-developed core regions and depressed peripheral ones. This article argues, on the one hand, that any EU- or government-funded assistance to less developed areas should be accompanied by nationwide liberalisation and, on the other, that lack of reform and increasing regional disparities might fuel discontent in the worst-off regions, which, in turn, might make politicians adopt a fully-blown interventionist policy.     

PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC SECTOR ENTERPRISES IN PAKISTAN: PROSPECTS FOR REDUCING REGIONAL IMBALANCES*

This paper tests the somewhat counterintuitive hypothesis that public firms are more efficient than their private sector counterparts. A factor analysis (9 industrial groups/34 industries) indicated that for all Pakistani provinces, public enterprises contributed relatively more value added which supports the findings of Naqvi and Kamal. The paper also concludes that a policy to reduce Pakistan's regional income disparities by privatizing public enterprises would likely be ineffective.     

THE POLITICS OF CASINO GAMBLING

This paper examines the politics that has permeated the development and implementation of public policy in Britain around casino gambling during the last 15 years. Casino gambling is said to be always controversial, with many claims and counter‐claims about its impact on individuals and communities. The author reviews the evolution of the Gambling Act 2005 to highlight the nature of the politics of casino gambling in liberal democracies and draws some lessons from the British experience that may assist policy‐making with regard to casino gambling in the future.     

Regional Disparities in Japanese Banking Performance

This paper investigates whether technical inefficiency in production in the Japanese banking industry exhibits regional disparities by using the stochastic frontier model and data from the fiscal year 1999. First, we find evidence of regional disparities in technical inefficiency. Second, we find that regional disparities in technical inefficiency explain some of the disparities in regional income growth. Recent collapse of the regional banking systems in Japan was responsible for regional economic slumps. Third, we find that strong competition among banks and educational improvement by banks lead to improvements in banking performance. Finally, we find that the Merger Promotion Act currently in operation in Japan undermines recovery policies for regional banking.     

REGIONAL OFFICES IN SINGAPORE: SPATIAL AND STRATEGIC INFLUENCES IN THE LOCATION OF CORPORATE CONTROL

This paper reports a postal questionnaire survey of 130 regional offices in Singapore. The survey examines location decisions, current location evaluation and business objectives of regional offices. The extent to which competition for regional offices is possible among Asian business centers and the regional development consequences of business strategy linked to regional offices are assessed. Variations among regional offices according to country of origin and year of establishment are analyzed. The survey concludes that Singapore retains its lead as a center for regional offices, but that the sources of its attractiveness are changing and that it is not gaining from any relocation of corporate control out of Hong Kong. Public policy incentives to attract regional offices in competition to Singapore may be most successful if aimed at Asian organizations. Promotion to offices from North America and Europe should emphasize the relative growth opportunities in Southeast and East Asia.     

INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN PAKISTAN

Despite considerable concern by the government, deep regional disparities remain a persistent and troubling feature of Pakistan's economy. Although stark inter-provincial differences have received the most attention, both policy-makers and research scholars also need to address profound intra-provincial inequalities. Using factor analysis, this paper examines the relationship between investments in "hard" infrastructural development and inter-provincial and intra-provincial disparities in Pakistan. Overall, the paper argues that a very close association exists in Pakistan between regional infrastructure endowment and broad levels of socio-economic development. Specifically, data indicate the striking importance of transport within and across regions. The analysis investigates the importance of differing types of transport infrastructure for regional development. The paper concludes with policy recommendations concerning levels, types and mix of hard infrastructural investments that might provide policy-makers with the best opportunity for alleviating income disparities.     

Regional unemployment disparities in China

China has larger regional unemployment disparities than any other economy of comparable size. The persistence of the unemployment disparity in China has prevented the aggregate unemployment rate from decreasing even when the country’s GDP was growing at 10 percent per year. Unemployment rates rose and unemployment disparities widened in other transition economies too, but what made China’s disparities wider than those in other transition economies is the existence of a large subsistence sector, where unemployment exists only in a disguised form. This study explains the wide unemployment disparity in China with the geographically uneven distribution of the three sectors: the state sector, which suffers from a steep rise of unemployment during transition; the capitalist sector, which absorbs labor from the subsistence sector and grows rapidly; and the subsistence sector, which supplies its redundant labor to the capitalist sector. The study also presents a case study of Fuxin City, which has experienced an extremely high unemployment rate due to the reform of its main industry. Fuxin’s case is presented as a microcosm of the problems that give rise to unemployment disparities, such as massive layoffs in the state sector, lack of labor mobility in the unemployment-stricken regions, and inadequate development of the capitalist sector.     

ASSESSING THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF DEFENSE ACTIVITIES: A SURVEY OF METHODS

Defense activities exercised in a specific region may alter the region's economic performance. An accurate assessment of the potential economic impacts of defense activities is a valuable undertaking to enable regional planners to prepare for changes. The variety in the methods (among others, input–output models, economic base models, Keynesian regional multipliers, fixed‐effects estimators, and case‐study approaches) inspired by geography, sociology, and political science can pose a dilemma. We detail the historical and theoretical background of each method, as well as select exemplary cases where these methods were applied. By examining old and “new” methods, we aim to construct a typology that could be valuable to all stakeholders. In this sense, defense economics can also contribute to the allied social sciences by outlining evaluation methods that may be applicable to other fields.     

Trade, migration and regional unemployment

A by now large literature in regional economics has greatly improved our understanding of the determinants of the observed spatial disparities in productivity. However, this literature neglects what seems to be a robust and persistent fact accompanying regional productivity differences: high productivity regions also have lower unemployment than low productivity regions. In this paper, we set out a model in the New Economic Geography (NEG)/job search tradition to explore the theoretical determinants of this fact. We find that the same forces producing regional agglomeration and productivity differences also generate persistent unemployment disparities. Moreover, we highlight a contrast between the short-run and long-run effects of migration on regional unemployment. In particular, migration from the periphery to the core may reduce unemployment disparities in the short-run, but exacerbates them in the long-run.     

A REVIEW OF THE RECENT LITERATURE ON THE INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS ANALYSIS OF THE LONG‐RUN PERFORMANCE OF NATIONS

This paper reviews the recent (post‐2000) literature that assesses the importance of institutions as a factor determining cross‐country differences in growth rates or in the contemporary level of “prosperity.” It first sketches how institutional economics has evolved. It then examines critically the methods of analysis employed in the recent literature. The paper finds that this literature has made a major contribution to the analysis of the causes of economic growth but the relative importance of institutions as a determinant of long‐run growth and prosperity is still a wide open question.     

THE UNDERPINNINGS OF COUNTRY RISK ASSESSMENT

Abstract.  This paper surveys the history and current status of country risk assessment. The motivation is to understand why it is that country risk assessors have such a poor track record in anticipating the onset of financial crises. The development of the field reflects changes in the composition of international capital flows. These changes have confounded a definition of country risk, especially if a definition is centered on a particular event. It is then argued that the field has reached an impasse, and this impasse is related to the methods of abstraction and the current crisis of vision within the science of economics. This crisis of vision, as it pertains to theories of financial crises, has led to increased reliance on quantitative methods in the field of country risk. The paper concludes by proposing a new direction for the field, the first step towards which is to recognize that the object of country risk assessment is not to monitor for a particular event or symptom of financial crisis, but, rather, to monitor for a particular state of the economy.     

Disparities in Chinese economic development: approaches on different levels of aggregation

Based on a new and recent set of data on economic development in the Chinese prefectures, the paper investigates the impact of different levels of spatial aggregation on the assessment of regional disparities in China. We analyze the structure of inequalities in the light of a component analysis of the general measure of entropy, which is applied on inter-regional disparities with reference to different levels of aggregation as well as the rural/urban segmentation. We reach the conclusion that lower levels of data aggregation are to be recommended for policy purposes, that nationally homogenous discrimination still impacts favorably on urban areas, and that in many rural areas, there is a clear growth trend with diminishing regional disparities.