IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/hwwadp/26183.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

New economic geography in Germany: Testing the Helpman-Hanson model

Author

Listed:
  • Brakman, Steven
  • Garretsen, Harry
  • Schramm, Marc

Abstract

In this paper we find evidence that the new economic geography approach is able to describe and explain the spatial characteristics of an economy, in our case the German economy. Using German district data we estimate the structural parameters of a new economic geography model as developed by Helpman (1998) and Hanson (1998) and we find confirmation for a spatial wage structure. The advantage of the Helpman-Hanson model is that it incorporates the fact that agglomeration of economic activity increases the prices of local (non-tradable) services, like housing. This model thereby provides an intuitively appealing spreading force that allows for less extreme agglomeration patterns than predicted by the bulk of new economic geography models. Based on different estimation strategies and taking a number of features of the re-unified German economy into account, we do not only test for the spatial distribution of wages but also for the spatial structure with respect to German unemployment, employment and land prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2002. "New economic geography in Germany: Testing the Helpman-Hanson model," HWWA Discussion Papers 172, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:hwwadp:26183
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/19334/1/172.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alex Anas & Richard Arnott & Kenneth A. Small, 1998. "Urban Spatial Structure," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 1426-1464, September.
    2. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 1995. "The Wage Curve," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026202375x, December.
    3. Paul Krugman & Anthony J. Venables, 1995. "Globalization and the Inequality of Nations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 857-880.
    4. Michael Funke & Jörg Rahn, 2002. "How efficient is the East German economy? An exploration with microdata," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 10(1), pages 201-223.
    5. Puga, Diego, 1999. "The rise and fall of regional inequalities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 303-334, February.
    6. Steven Brakman & Harry Garretsen, 1993. "The Relevance of Initial Conditions for the German Unification," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 163-181, May.
    7. Pines,David & Sadka,Efraim & Zilcha,Itzhak (ed.), 1998. "Topics in Public Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521561365.
    8. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    9. Diego Puga, 2002. "European regional policies in light of recent location theories," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 373-406, October.
    10. Gordon H. Hanson, 2000. "Scale Economies and the Geographic Concentration of Industry," NBER Working Papers 8013, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Hans‐Werner Sinn, 2002. "Germany’s Economic Unification: An Assessment after Ten Years," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 113-128, February.
    12. H. Hanson, Gordon, 2005. "Market potential, increasing returns and geographic concentration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 1-24, September.
    13. Venables, Anthony J, 1996. "Equilibrium Locations of Vertically Linked Industries," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 37(2), pages 341-359, May.
    14. OTTAVIANO, Gianmarco I.P. & THISSE, Jacques-François, 2001. "On economic geography in economic theory: increasing returns and pecuniary externalities," LIDAM Reprints CORE 1506, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    15. Krugman, Paul & Venables, Anthony J., 1996. "Integration, specialization, and adjustment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-5), pages 959-967, April.
    16. J.Peter Neary, 2001. "Of Hype and Hyperbolas: Introducing the New Economic Geography," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 536-561, June.
    17. Faini, Riccardo, 1999. "Trade unions and regional development," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 457-474, February.
    18. Hanson, Gordon H, 1997. "Increasing Returns, Trade and the Regional Structure of Wages," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(440), pages 113-133, January.
    19. Steven Brakman & Harry Garretsen & Marc Schramm, 2000. "The Empirical Relevance of the New Economic Geography: Testing for a Spatial Wage Structure in Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 395, CESifo.
    20. repec:hhs:iuiwop:430 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry, 1993. "The Relevance of Initial Conditions for the German Unification," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 163-181.
    22. Paul Krugman, 1998. "Space: The Final Frontier," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 161-174, Spring.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:rre:publsh:v:36:y:2006:i:3:p:254-78 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Annekatrin Niebuhr, 2003. "Market Potential and Regional Disparities in Europe," ERSA conference papers ersa03p178, European Regional Science Association.
    3. S. Brakman & H Garretsen & M. Schramm, 2003. "The Strategic Bombing of German Cities during World War II and its Impact for Germany," Working Papers 03-09, Utrecht School of Economics.
    4. Seravalli, Gilberto, 2011. "Neither easy nor impossible: Local development economics and policy," MPRA Paper 32743, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Annekatrin Niebuhr, 2008. "The impact of EU enlargement on European border regions," International Journal of Public Policy, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(3/4), pages 163-186.
    6. Michael Pfaffermayr & Peter Huber & Yvonne Wolfmayr, 2004. "Market Potential and Border Effects in Europe," WIFO Working Papers 235, WIFO.
    7. Walker, Sarah, 2012. "The (Rail)road to Structural Change: Transportation Costs, Integration, and Production Specialization," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124614, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Ulrich Zierahn, 2012. "The effect of market access on the labor market: Evidence from German reunification," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201239, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    9. Lammers, Konrad, 2002. "Die Osterweiterung aus raumwirtschaftlicher Perspektive - Prognosen regionalokonomischer Theorien und Erfahrungen aus der bisherigen Integration in Europa," Discussion Paper Series 26126, Hamburg Institute of International Economics.
    10. Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2002. "The Final Frontier? Border Effects and German Regional Wages," Discussion Paper Series 26233, Hamburg Institute of International Economics.
    11. Lammers, Konrad, 2002. "Die Osterweiterung aus raumwirtschaftlicher Perspektive: Prognosen regionalökonomischer Erfahrungen aus der bisherigen Integration in Europa," HWWA Discussion Papers 195, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).
    12. Niebuhr, Annekatrin & Stiller, Silvia, 2002. "Integration Effects in Border Regions - A Survey of Economic Theory and Empirical Studies," Discussion Paper Series 26340, Hamburg Institute of International Economics.
    13. Joze P. Damijan & Crt Kostevc, 2002. "The Impact of European Integration on Adjustment Pattern of Regional Wages in Transition Countries: Testing Competitive Economic Geography Models," LICOS Discussion Papers 11802, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    14. Page, William, 2003. "Germany's Mezzogiorno revisited: Institutions, fiscal transfers and regional convergence," Research Notes 9, Deutsche Bank Research.
    15. Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2002. "The final frontier? Border effects and German regional wages," HWWA Discussion Papers 197, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).
    16. Rytchkov Oleg & Shevyakhova Elizaveta, 2004. "Regional Reallocation of Russian Industry in Transition," EERC Working Paper Series 04-10e, EERC Research Network, Russia and CIS.
    17. Niebuhr, Annekatrin, 2004. "Market Access and Regional Disparities: New Economic Geography in Europe," Discussion Paper Series 26148, Hamburg Institute of International Economics.
    18. Xizan Jin & Hongfei Yu & Fangxin Yi & Lili Chen & Song Wang, 2022. "Tolerance for Housing Unaffordability among Highly Skilled Young Migrants: Evidence from the Zhejiang Province of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-18, December.
    19. Niebuhr, Annekatrin & Schlitte, Friso, 2008. "EU enlargement and convergence: Does market access matter?," HWWI Research Papers 1-16, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2002. "New Economic Geography in Germany: Testing the Helpman-Hanson Model," Discussion Paper Series 26183, Hamburg Institute of International Economics.
    2. S. Brakman & H Garretsen & M. Schramm, 2003. "The Strategic Bombing of German Cities during World War II and its Impact for Germany," Working Papers 03-09, Utrecht School of Economics.
    3. repec:use:tkiwps:088 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Steven Brakman & Harry Garretsen & Marc Schramm, 2004. "The Spatial Distribution of Wages: Estimating the Helpman‐Hanson Model for Germany," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 437-466, August.
    5. Breinlich, Holger & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P. & Temple, Jonathan R.W., 2014. "Regional Growth and Regional Decline," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 4, pages 683-779, Elsevier.
    6. repec:esx:essedp:729 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Joze P. Damijan & Crt Kostevc, 2002. "The Impact of European Integration on Adjustment Pattern of Regional Wages in Transition Countries: Testing Competitive Economic Geography Models," LICOS Discussion Papers 11802, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    8. Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2006. "Putting new economic geography to the test: Free-ness of trade and agglomeration in the EU regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 613-635, September.
    9. Michael Roos, 2003. "Internationale Integration und die Neue Ökonomische Geographie," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 4(1), pages 107-121, February.
    10. Ottaviano, Gianmarco & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 2004. "Agglomeration and economic geography," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 58, pages 2563-2608, Elsevier.
    11. Stephen J. Redding, 2013. "Economic Geography: A Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Daniel Bernhofen & Rod Falvey & David Greenaway & Udo Kreickemeier (ed.), Palgrave Handbook of International Trade, chapter 16, pages 497-531, Palgrave Macmillan.
    12. Kristian Behrens & Frédéric Robert‐Nicoud, 2009. "Krugman's Papers in Regional Science: The 100 dollar bill on the sidewalk is gone and the 2008 Nobel Prize well‐deserved," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(2), pages 467-489, June.
    13. Maria Florencia Granato, 2011. "REGIONAL NEW ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY (refereed paper)," ERSA conference papers ersa10p747, European Regional Science Association.
    14. Head, Keith & Mayer, Thierry, 2004. "The empirics of agglomeration and trade," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 59, pages 2609-2669, Elsevier.
    15. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/10191 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Henry Overman & Stephen Redding & Anthony J. Venables, 2001. "The Economic Geography of Trade, Production, and Income: A Survey of Empirics," CEP Discussion Papers dp0508, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    17. Jens Suedekum, 2005. "Increasing returns and spatial unemployment disparities," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 84(2), pages 159-181, June.
    18. Gianmarco Ottaviano, 2003. "Regional Policy in the Global Economy: Insights from New Economic Geography," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6-7), pages 665-673.
    19. Niebuhr, Annekatrin & Stiller, Silvia, 2002. "Integration Effects in Border Regions - A Survey of Economic Theory and Empirical Studies," Discussion Paper Series 26340, Hamburg Institute of International Economics.
    20. José M. Gaspar, 2018. "A prospective review on New Economic Geography," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 61(2), pages 237-272, September.
    21. Fujita, Masahisa & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2001. "Agglomération et marché," Cahiers d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales (CESR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 58.
    22. Olga Alonso-Villar, 2006. "A Reflection On The Effects Of Transport Costs Within The New Economic Geography," Working Papers 57, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    23. Julio Martinez-Galarraga & Elisenda Paluzie & Jordi Pons & Javier Silvestre & Daniel A. Tirado, 2021. "New economic geography and economic history: a survey of recent contributions through the lens of the Spanish industrialization process," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 15(3), pages 719-751, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic geography; empirical estimation; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - 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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:hwwadp:26183. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/hwwaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.