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Integration, Agglomeration and Welfare

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  • Michael Pflüger

    () (Department of Economics, Technical University of Darmstadt)

  • Jens Südekum

    () (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz)

Abstract

This paper studies the social desirability of agglomeration and the efficiency arguments for policy intervention in a simple, analytically solvable ‘new economic geography’ model with two trade integrating regions. The location pattern emerging as market equilibrium is “bubble-shapedâ€, i.e. it features dispersion of firms both at high and low trade costs and stable equilibria with partial agglomeration of firms in addition to core-periphery equilibria for intermediate levels of trade costs. Our central finding is that the market equilibrium is characterised by over-agglomeration for high trade costs and under-agglomeration for low trade costs. For very high and very low levels of trade costs as well as for an intermediate range of trade costs, the market equilibrium yields the socially optimal degree of agglomeration. An important implication of this result is that, on efficiency grounds, regional policy should foster the dispersion of firms for a range of high trade costs only, but agglomeration for a range of low trade costs. Hence, regional policies, such as those pursued by the European Union which are aimed at fostering dispersion in general, are counterproductive when trade integration is deep enough.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Research Group Heterogeneous Labor, University of Konstanz/ZEW Mannheim in its series Working Papers of the Research Group Heterogenous Labor with number 04-24.

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Length: 28 pages
Date of creation: 23 Dec 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:knz:hetero:0424

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References

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  1. Tabuchi, Takatoshi & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2001. "Taste Heterogeneity, Labour Mobility and Economic Geography," CEPR Discussion Papers 3114, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  2. TABUCHI, Takatoshi & THISSE, Jacques-François, 2003. "Regional specialization, urban hierarchy, and commuting costs," CORE Discussion Papers 2003060, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
  3. OTTAVIANO, Gianmarco & THISSE, Jacques-François, 2003. "Agglomeration and economic geography," CORE Discussion Papers 2003016, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
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  5. Vincent Dupont & Philippe Martin, 2006. "Subsidies to poor regions and inequalities: some unpleasant arithmetic," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(2), pages 223-240, April.
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  7. Paul Krugman, 1990. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," NBER Working Papers 3275, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  8. Gianmarco Ottaviano & Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques-FranÁois Thisse, 2002. "Agglomeration and Trade Revisited," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 43(2), pages 409-436, May.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Broll, Udo & Roldán-Ponce, Antonio & Wahl, Jack E., 2007. "Barriers to Diversification and Regional Allocation of Capital," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 14/07, Dresden University of Technology, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
  2. Theresa Grafeneder-Weissteiner & Ingrid Kubin & Klaus Prettner & Alexia Prskawetz & Stefan Wrzaczek, 2012. "Coping with Inefficiencies in a New Economic Geography Model," Working Papers 1204, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
  3. Matthias Wrede, 2009. "Heterogeneous Skills and Homogeneous Land: Segmentation and Agglomeration," MAGKS Papers on Economics 200922, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
  4. Rainald Borck & Hyun‐Ju Koh & Michael Pflüger, 2012. "Inefficient Lock‐In And Subsidy Competition," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 53(4), pages 1179-1204, November.
  5. Broll, Udo & Roldán-Ponce, Antonio & Wahl, Jack E., 2010. "Spatial allocation of capital: The role of risk preferences," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 03/10, Dresden University of Technology, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
  6. Broll, Udo & Roldán-Ponce, Antonio & Wahl, Jack E., 2012. "Regional investment under uncertain costs of location," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 01/12, Dresden University of Technology, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
  7. Pflüger, Michael P. & Tabuchi, Takatoshi, 2008. "Trade and Location with Land as a Productive Factor," IZA Discussion Papers 3716, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  8. Jun Oshiro, 2011. "Tariff Policy and Transport Costs under Reciprocal Dumping," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 11-17, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics and Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP).
  9. Schaeffer, Y. & Charlot, S., 2012. "Inequality aversion, income redistribution and economic geography," Working Papers 201204, Grenoble Applied Economics Laboratory (GAEL).
  10. Kurata, Hiroshi & Nomura, Ryoichi & Suga, Nobuhito, 2011. "A Chamberlinian Agglomeration Model with External Economies of Scale," Discussion paper series. A 242, Graduate School of Economics and Business Administration, Hokkaido University.

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