Did industrialisation lead to segregation in cities of the nineteenth century? The case of Uppsala 1880–1900

ABSTRACT

How did industrialisation affect land use and residential patterns in cities of the nineteenth century? We use census data and GIS mapping techniques to analyse class segregation and changes to the spatial structure using the case of Uppsala, Sweden between 1880 and 1900. We find that there was a clear concentration of business activity in the central district and in proximity to the transportation hubs. Since these activities became more numerous but remained concentrated, they likely increased land values in the central areas of the city, inducing the lowest social classes to locate away from the centre. However, while these households were pushed out, it did not result in the type of class segregation we observe in many twentieth-century cities. Before the widespread use of transport technologies allowing populations to sprawl, city expansion in the type of middle-sized city that we study led instead to increased density and mixed uses in the central areas.     

Did children's education matter? Family migration as a mechanism of human capital investment: evidence from nineteenth‐century Bohemia

This article analyses the rural–urban migration of families in the Bohemian region of Pilsen in 1900. Using a new 1,300‐family dataset from the 1900 population census, the role of children's education in rural–urban migration is examined. The findings indicate that families migrated to the city such that the educational attainment of their children would be maximized, and that there is a positive correlation between family migration and children being apprentices in urban areas. The results suggest that rural–urban migration was powered not only by the exploitation of rural–urban wage gaps but also by aspirations to engage in human capital investment.     

Spending,saving, or investing? Risk management in sixteenth‐century Dutch households1

In the past one of the main challenges to households was that of coping with adversity. War, plague, famine, and flood were a constant threat, and could reduce what little improvements families had made in productivity. Economic growth therefore required a means of absorbing external adversities. To see how well late medieval households coped with adversity, this investigation focuses on the households of a small town and its surroundings in early modern Holland. Our findings reveal that several severe external shocks around 1500 had little effect on the general level or distribution of wealth, which suggests that certain forms of insurance may have protected the population. The results show that households increasingly invested in capital markets rather than employing such techniques as scattered holdings and hoarding. This fact indicates that such investment played a vital role in a household's risk aversion strategy. The change from unproductive to more productive risk‐aversion strategies also provides some clues about progress with respect to insurance during Holland's financial revolution.     

Does high M4 money growth trigger large increases in UK inflation? Evidence from a regime-switching model

March 2007 saw an increase of 3.1% in UK inflation and triggeredthe first explanatory letter from the Governor of the Bank ofEngland to the Chancellor of the Exchequer since the Bank ofEngland was granted operational independence in May 1997. Theletter gave rise to a lively debate on whether policymakersshould pay attention to the link between inflation and M4 moneygrowth. Using UK data since the introduction of inflation targetingin October 1992, we show that: (i) the relationship betweeninflation and M4 growth is not stable over time, and (ii) thetendency of M4 to exert inflationary pressures is conditionalon annual M4 growth exceeding 9.8%. Above this threshold, themoney effect on inflation is very small. The implication isthat the Monetary Policy Committee should not be particularlyworried for not paying close attention to M4 money movementswhen setting interest rates.     

To make or to buy from a common supplier? Strategic considerations and welfare consequences

Consider two downstream firms that each can either produce an input in-house or purchase it from an upstream supplier. We show that depending on the difference between the supplier's and the downstream firms' in-house production costs, outsourcing by both firms could help them achieve a Pareto improvement or leave them trapped in a prisoner's dilemma. Furthermore, we find that two downstream firms may play a chicken game in which each makes a sourcing decision different from its rival if the input supplier is not as efficient as in the previous cases. The welfare implications of various sourcing outcomes are explored.     

Trilemma-Dilemma: Constraint or Choice? Some Empirical Evidence from a Structurally Identified Heterogeneous Panel VAR

Open Economies Review - We use a heterogeneous panel structural VAR approach to study the role of international financial integration in determining the effectiveness of monetary policy under...     

Higher wages in exporting firms: self-selection, export effect, or both? First evidence from linked employer-employee data

While it is a stylized fact that exporting firms pay higher wages than non-exporting firms, the direction of the link between exporting and wages is less clear. Using a rich set of German linked employer-employee panel data we follow over time plants that start to export. We show that the exporter wage premium does already exist in the years before firms start to export, and that it does not increase in the following years. Higher wages in exporting firms are thus due to self-selection of more productive, better paying firms into export markets; they are not caused by export activities.     

What types of houses remain vacant? Evidence from a municipality in Tokyo,Japan

Preventing the occurrence of vacant houses and reutilizing existing vacant houses are two known ways of addressing housing vacancies. This study uses parcel-level data on single-family houses in the municipality of Toshima in Tokyo, Japan, to examine determinants of the occurrence and reutilization of vacant houses. The data reveal that, conditional on land prices, houses with restricted and costly redevelopment opportunities are more likely to become vacant. The results suggest that owners with such properties disregard the redevelopment potential and, as a result, tend to have a high reservation price relative to the market value. Consequently, owners face difficulty finding a transaction partner and even become reluctant to engage in a deal (i.e., they withdraw from the market). The results also suggest that revitalization of the neighborhood community may contribute to activating vacant houses. Local governments can use an empirical assessment such as this to implement efficient measures by targeting houses that have a high probability of becoming and remaining vacant.     

The Arab Spring,a setback for gender equality? Evidence from the Gallup World Poll

Combining a unique dataset from the Gallup World Poll for the period 2009–2018 with Wolfsfeld et al.’s (2013) protest index, we evaluate the impact of the Arab Spring pro-democracy protests on gender equality in eleven Middle Eastern and North African countries. We use a difference-in-differences approach and find a negative impact of mass protests on female access to labor markets and support for women’s rights in the years following the events. In particular, a one-standard-deviation increase in the protest intensity lowered female participation rates by 3.7 % points. Likewise, Arab Spring protests significantly lowered support for women’s legal rights, occupational rights, and divorce rights. Findings are robust to different samples, alternative model specifications, omitted variable bias, and an alternative protest measure from Steinert-Threlkeld (2017). Regarding potential mechanisms, we suggest that a shift in the Arab zeitgeist towards a less secular society might help explain our findings.     

Adapt by adopting cleaner vehicles? — Evidence from a low-emission zone policy in Nanchang,China

We study how a low-emission zone (LEZ) policy affects air pollution in Nanchang, a medium-sized city located in southeastern China. By using a regression discontinuity design approach, we find that the LEZ policy improves Nanchang's air quality throughout restricted/unrestricted hours and within/outside of the designated LEZ areas. Air quality began to improve during the announcement period and improved further after the policy was enforced. These findings suggest that drivers could adapt to the foreseen LEZ policy by upgrading their vehicles; thus, to achieve policy effectiveness, it is important to make driving regulations compatible with drivers' incentives.     

Leave behind or migrate? Evidence from a field experiment in China concerning the impact of being left behind/migrating status on children's behaviour and preferences

With the great economic and social development achieved in China in the past 40 years of reform and opening up has come the extensive flow of China's very large rural labour force between urban and rural areas and among regions, as well as populations of left-behind children and migrant children who cannot be ignored. In this paper, four populations—non-left-behind children in rural areas, left-behind children in rural areas, migrant children in urban areas, and local children in urban areas—were recruited in a large-scale field experiment that included the dictator game, ultimatum game, trust game, public goods game, coin-tossing task, intertemporal choice task, a calculation contest task, and a gambling task. Both being left behind and migrating had a negative effect on the children's prosocial behaviour (including fairness, trust, trustworthiness, cooperation, and honesty) and economic decision-making (including time and competition preferences). Moreover, the effect on migrant children was relatively greater, but this effect dissipated progressively as time since migration increased. Additionally, shorter migration distances were associated with a decreased effect of migration on migrant children, and having access to one parent had a positive effect on left-behind children.     

When and why did eastern European economies begin to fail? Lessons from a Czechoslovak/UK productivity comparison, 1921–1991

Czechoslovak industrial labour productivity fluctuated around two-thirds of the UK level under the private sector regime between the wars. Under the central planning regime of the postwar period, Czechoslovakia's comparative productivity position initially improved to around three-quarters of the UK level by the early-1960s, before falling back. During the 1980s, the deterioration of Czechoslovakia's productivity performance accelerated sharply, falling to around one-third of the UK level. Central planning was able to achieve a satisfactory productivity performance during the era of mass production, but could not adapt to the requirements of flexible production technology during the 1980s.