Accounting for Air Pollution Emissions in Measures of State Manufacturing Productivity Growth

A Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index is employed to account for both marketed output and the output of pollution abatement activities of U.S. state manufacturing sectors for –1986. The index allows us to decompose the change in productivity into measures of change in efficiency and technical change. By accounting for the change in emissions, average annual productivity growth is 3.6 percent, whereas it is 1.7 percent when emissions are ignored. We also find adjusted productivity growth improved after 1977, and "Frost Belt" states with rapidly growing manufacturing sectors have significantly higher rates of productivity growth than "Sun Belt" states with slow growing manufacturing sectors.     

TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN MANUFACTURING FURTHER EVIDENCE FROM THE STATES*

In this paper, we first develop a measure of total factor productivity (TFP) growth and summarize a source-of-growth analysis for the manufacturing sector of 48 states. As have others, we find little association between TFP growth differentials and output growth differentials for census regions. At the staterather than the regional level, however, we find a positive association between TFP growth and output growth. We use cross-sectional data to estimate the determinants of the variation in TFP growth. Two results emerge that are important for regional policy and for understanding national productivity trends. First, state investments in education and in transportation infrastructure may affect TFP growth. Second, energy price increases in the early 1970s had no differential effects on productivity growth across states. We also explore the determinants of manufacturing output growth and find that TFP growth, demand growth, wage growth, wage levels, and state corporate income tax rates are significant.     

LOCAL INPUT AND PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN U.S. MANUFACTURING: 1972–2002*

ABSTRACT This research analyzes manufacturing growth and decline across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan regions during the 1972–2002 period. We decompose real value added growth across local labor market areas in the lower 48 U.S. states into contributions from labor, capital, and total factor productivity. We then estimate a model describing the long‐run growth of labor, capital, and productivity and find that increased productivity increases the growth of labor and capital, as well as a positive correlation between labor and capital stock growth. We also find evidence that human capital investment and agglomeration economies encourage productivity growth, while unionization discourages it.     

THE IMPACTS OF TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE ON PROPERTY VALUES: A HIGHER-ORDER SPATIAL ECONOMETRICS APPROACH

ABSTRACT.  We evaluate the impacts of enhanced transportation systems on property values for U.S. manufacturing firms, allowing for higher-order spatial error correlation. We use a state-level model of production cost and input demand that recognizes the productive contribution of public transportation infrastructure stocks. Our findings include significant impacts on property shadow values and input composition from both public highway and airport investment. We also find that these effects have a spatial dimension that depends on the proximity of the transport system; at least one and as many as three spatial error lags are significant in our estimating equations. Further, recognizing production growth from transportation system improvements augments the associated incentives for private capital investment.     

Firm-level productivity growth returns of social capital: Evidence from Western Europe

We analyze the firm-level labor productivity growth returns of social capital—defined as a synthetic measure of “generalized trust,” “active participation,” and “social norms”—using a large sample of manufacturing firms in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. We find that firms' labor productivity growth is higher in areas with a better social capital endowment. The positive returns of social capital are, nevertheless, unevenly distributed across firms, with smaller, less productive, less capital-endowed, and low-tech firms benefitting the most from operating in strong social capital ecosystems.     

TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH AND AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES IN MANUFACTURING, 1959-73*

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the determinants of productivity growth in the manufacturing sector of states over the period 1959-1973. Special emphasis is placed on isolating the effects of a state's urbanization characteristics on productivity growth. Urbanization characteristics considered include the spatial arrangement of cities along with the standard measures of urbanization. The results indicate that while both scale economies and technical change are related to urbanization characteristics the effects tend to be offsetting; no relationship is found between urbanization and overall productivity growth as measured by total factor productivity growth.     

资源、环境约束与制造业增长模式转变

本文运用非参数的环境生产前沿方法,通过构建产出端既包括行业产出增长,又包括污染物排放的方向性环境技术效率评价模型,以规模以上制造业28个行业为研究对象,采用线性规划求解方法,研究资源环境约束下制造业的增长模式,探讨制造业增长模式转变的可行性。认为,中国制造业环境技术效率提高明显;考察期内,烟草制品业、皮革毛皮羽毛(绒)及其制品业、通信设备计算机及其他电子设备制造业三个行业环境技术均达到了效率前沿面;2003年成为制造业和轻、重工业环境技术效率发生变化的转折点。在现有技术下,转变制造业高能耗、高污染的粗放型增长模式,使制造业向"低投入-高产出-低排放"的集约型增长模式转变具有一定的可行性。     

INCOME INEQUALITY,ECONOMIC GROWTH,AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME GAINS: EVIDENCE FROM THE U.S. STATES*

ABSTRACT This paper first investigates a relationship between economic growth and income inequality using U.S. states data, a state cost‐of‐living deflator, and nonlinearity. It then explores the distribution of income gains among different income groups. We find that the impact of inequality on growth is nonlinear. Lowering inequality or increasing it substantially reduces growth; thus stable inequality may be good for growth. Economic growth affects incomes of the poor, the middle‐income group, and the rich similarly with the elasticity of one. Education and labor market policies become important in promoting growth and improving income gains of the poor.     

A Note on the Shift to a Service-Based Economy and the Consequences for Regional Growth

Using data for the 50 U.S. states we relate industry-specific employment growth rates over the period 1976–1989 to the industrial compositions of the states in 1976. We explore the idea that services and manufacturing are inextricably linked and that this interdependence may be beneficial to manufacturing (through knowledge spillovers, for example). Specifically, we test whether the manufacturing sector grew faster in service-based economies. Our evidence does not support the idea of cross-fertilization from services to manufacturing.     

中国制造业重心的空间分布变化特征与趋势研究——基于2001年和2009年数据的实证分析

中国东部地区向中国内陆及周边国家的产业转移方兴未艾,很有可能发展成为全球第四次产业转移浪潮,而制造业的区域转移是该过程的主体。本文对中国制造业不同尺度的份额变化及其影响因素进行讨论并对二者关系进行计量分析,得出以下结论:第一,制造业重心基本空间格局未发生变化,但已发生明显的份额变化;第二,制造业份额变化涉及多个空间层面,并遵循随经济发展水平增长而降低的梯度原则;第三,根据2001年和2009年中国地市级尺度制造业份额变化及其影响要素间关系的理论分析和计量研究结果,中国区域制造业份额与经济发展水平呈现倒U型关系,且仍对低成本劳动力具有一定的依赖性,而交通设施改善对于制造业份额的增长具有显著的正向效应。     

THE IMPACT OF MARGINAL BUSINESS TAXES ON STATE MANUFACTURING

We estimate the impact of manufacturer business taxes on value added during the 1990s for 15 manufacturing sectors in 20 U.S. states. When the tax climate is properly measured as the potential liability arising from new investment in a state, we estimate that a 10 percent reduction in the effective tax liability is associated with a 3.5 to 5.3 percent increase in value added for the state's targeted manufacturing industry. When we isolate the value of industrial incentives from the basic tax system in our theoretically preferred marginal tax measure, we find that a 10 percent reduction in liability achieved by way of lowering taxes is associated with a 4.5 percent increase in value added while an equivalent reduction achieved by way of increasing incentives is associated with only 1.2 percent industrial growth, the latter elasticity not statistically different from zero.     

The Pace of Indian Urbanization

In contrast with conventional formulations of urban growth, Tolley proposed a simple, supply-driven model relying upon the intersectoral differential in nonlabor productivity growth as the prime motivator of urbanization in developing countries. In the present paper, we apply Tolley's model to India over the period 1951–1981 and attempt to explain its mixed performance in tracking the pace of urbanization in that country. A modified version, adjusted for inter-regional migration, is then simulated for individual Indian states; the exercise confirms actual urban growth during 1971–81 to have been generally below that predicted by Tolley's model. Tolley's assumptions then are tested through an examination of the relationship between urban growth rates and translog indexes of intertemporal productivity growth. Finally, exploratory analysis of Tolley-model deviations in the various states is used to suggest directions for extending urban growth formulations for India. We conclude with a normative examination of policy implications.     

EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS ON STATE- LEVEL MANUFACTURING CAPITAL FORMATION*

ABSTRACT We quantify the effect of environmental regulations on regional capital formation in the manufacturing sector. Our model integrates environmental regulations into a choice-theoretic model derived from Tobin's q theory of investment. It is postulated that more stringent environmental regulations raise the firm's cost of production both directly and indirectly, thus reducing the firm's q value and lowering the rate of capital formation. The empirical results indicate that the effect of environmental regulations on net capital formation is modest. We do find that environmental regulations affect regions differently. More stringent environmental regulations will improve the relative position of manufacturers in the North-east, South Atlantic and West. Over one-fourth of the dollar losses in manufacturing capacity would occur in five states: Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.     

THE POLITICAL TRADE‐OFF BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL STRINGENCY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AMERICA*

ABSTRACT We examine the impact of the political trade‐off between rural economic development and environmental quality on the determination of environmental regulations in the U.S. intensive livestock industry. The political economy model, adapted from Fredriksson (1997) , is tested empirically, using state‐level data on environmental regulation of the U.S. livestock sector. We find that state governments respond to greater potential for water pollution with more stringent environmental regulations. Consistent with our political economy model, we also find that states with lower recent growth in per capita income implement less stringent environmental regulations.     

THE IMPACT OF SPECIFIC-SECTOR CHANGES IN EMPLOYMENT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH, LABOR MARKET PERFORMANCE AND MIGRATION

ABSTRACT.  It is common in empirical regional economics to use total employment as an explanatory variable while investigating issues such as the level and distribution of income and migration. This paper argues that sector-specific changes in employment and labor market performance can have different effects on economic growth, the collection of tax revenue, migration, and the level and distribution of household income. As such, it is important to model sectors separately. We find that expansions in employment opportunities for a high-wage sector such as computer manufacturing or bioengineering, a medium-wage sector manufacturing, and the lower-wage sector of retailing have differing economic consequences for a small city. We use a data intensive computable general equilibrium model to obtain these results.     

POLLUTION ABATEMENT EXPENDITURES AND REGIONAL MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY*

ABSTRACT. Using a sample of 63 SMSAs for the years 1974, 1978, and 1982 I find weak support for the argument that environmental regulations retard economic activity. Regression analysis of the relationship between per unit total and air pollution abatement expenditures in the manufacturing sector of these SMSAs and manufacturing employment and earnings levels reveals that these associations are negative but that the magnitudes are relatively small. For example, 10 percent higher per unit total pollution abatement costs are associated with, on average, 1064 fewer manufacturing workers (0.17 percent of total regional employment) in Sun Belt SMSAs during 1982.     

REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN LABOR DEMAND ELASTICITY: EVIDENCE FROM U.S. COUNTIES

We use a large panel dataset covering the period 1988–2010 to estimate county specific own‐wage elasticity of labor demand in the U.S. for four highly aggregated industries: construction, finance/insurance/real‐estate/service, manufacturing, and retail trade. Our estimation of a random parameter panel data model yields significant evidence of spatial variations in wage elasticity of labor demand. We relate the spatial variation in elasticity to differences in county characteristics like industry specialization, industry competition, levels of natural amenity and urbanization. Using a regression discontinuity approach we also find that probusiness states have higher labor demand elasticity.     

A Note on the Benefits to Current Residents of State Employment Growth: Is There an Industry Mix Effect on Migration?

Although there is evidence that regional employment growth benefits current residents, an unexplored aspect of this relationship is the industry composition of the growth. Using 1981–1991 migration data for the 48 contiguous U.S. states, this paper examines whether the industry mix of employment growth matters for migration. We find that state employment growth that results from having a larger share of nationally fast-growing industries leads to less net in-migration compared to growth that results from each industry in the state growing faster than its national average. Therefore, state employment growth that is attributable to its mix of industries yields greater benefits for current state residents.     

西安城市化演进过程的多层面分析与趋势预测

西安城市化演进过程与生产力布局阶段性,具有一致性的规律。文章从城市化水平的变化时间序列、城市化水平提高与经济发展的关联性两个角度,定量分析了其演化特征,特别是与经济发展的关系及其规律性,指出西安市城市化的效率在各时期不断提升(结构弹性减小),集约化程度提高,城市化、非农化逐步走向合理。城市化水平整体滞后于经济发展水平,城市化与经济发展过程又可划分为五个阶段,城市化变化与人均增长满足指数规律,城镇密度与关系的模型满足直线关系。最后文章从人口迁移、人口密度变化、城市化圈层分布和卫星城镇的发展及分工等方面对人口城市化趋势进行了探讨。     

INFERENCE BASED ON ALTERNATIVE BOOTSTRAPPING METHODS IN SPATIAL MODELS WITH AN APPLICATION TO COUNTY INCOME GROWTH IN THE UNITED STATES*

ABSTRACT This study examines aggregate county income growth across the 48 contiguous states from 1990 to 2005. To control for endogeneity, we estimate a two‐stage spatial error model and implement a number of spatial bootstrap routines to infer parameter significance. Among the results, we find that outdoor recreation and natural amenities favor positive growth in rural counties and property taxes correlate negatively with rural growth. Comparing bootstrap inference with other models, including the recent General Moment heteroskedastic‐robust spatial error estimator, we find similar conclusions suggesting bootstrapping can be effective in spatial models where asymptotic results are not well established.