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Increasing Wage Gap, Spatial Structure and Market Access: Evidence from Swedish Micro Data

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  • Nabavi, Pardis

    (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology)

Abstract

The new economic geography predicts that the wage gap will increase with accessibility to markets but does not consider the impact of spatial proximity. In contrast, urban economic theory explains wage differences by density without accounting for accessibility. Using a rich Swedish micro-panel, we empirically examine the two rival theories for males and females separately, controlling for individual, firm and regional characteristics. The regression results indicate that wage dispersion is correlated with both accessibility to markets and density. However, the urban economic theory has greatest explanatory power when we control for factors such as occupation, ethnical background, skill, firm size, technical change, ownership, commuting time, unobserved heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation.

Suggested Citation

  • Nabavi, Pardis, 2015. "Increasing Wage Gap, Spatial Structure and Market Access: Evidence from Swedish Micro Data," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 409, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0409
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    New economic geography; urban economics; spatial econometrics; micro panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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