IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ivi/wpasad/2006-12.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Rational Underdevelopment

Author

Listed:
  • Ignacio Ortuño Ortín

    (Universidad de Alicante)

  • Klaus Desmet

    (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)

Abstract

We propose a two-region two-sector model of uneven development,where technological change benefits either the lagging or the leading region. Inthis framework inter-regional transfers may lead to persistentunderdevelopment; by raising wages, transfers reduce the chance of thebackward region adopting a new technology and taking o.. Due to uncertaintyabout which region benefits from technological change, the backward regionmay rationally choose to remain underdeveloped, while the advanced regioncontinues to pay transfers. The model provides a rationale for cases, such asItaly’s Mezzogiorno, where the same rich region subsidizes the same poorregion on a continuous basis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ignacio Ortuño Ortín & Klaus Desmet, 2006. "Rational Underdevelopment," Working Papers. Serie AD 2006-12, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    • Handle: RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2006-12
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ivie.es/downloads/docs/wpasad/wpasad-2006-12.pdf
    File Function: Fisrt version / Primera version, 2006
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mehra, Rajnish & Prescott, Edward C., 1985. "The equity premium: A puzzle," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 145-161, March.
    2. George A. Akerlof & Andrew K. Rose & Janet L. Yellen & Helga Hessenius, 1991. "East Germany in from the Cold: The Economic Aftermath of Currency Union," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(1), pages 1-106.
    3. Brunello, Giorgio & Lupi, Claudio & Ordine, Patrizia, 2001. "Widening differences in Italian regional unemployment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 103-129, January.
    4. 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.
    5. Klaus Desmet, 2002. "A Simple Dynamic Model of Uneven Development and Overtaking," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(482), pages 894-918, October.
    6. Alesina, Alberto & Perotti, Roberto, 1998. "Economic Risk and Political Risk in Fiscal Unions," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(449), pages 989-1008, July.
    7. Patrick Bolton & Gérard Roland, 1997. "The Breakup of Nations: A Political Economy Analysis," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1057-1090.
    8. Campbell, John Y., 1999. "Asset prices, consumption, and the business cycle," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 19, pages 1231-1303, Elsevier.
    9. Matsuyama, Kiminori, 1992. "Agricultural productivity, comparative advantage, and economic growth," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 317-334, December.
    10. Hans-Werner Sinn & Frank Westermann, 2000. "Two Mezzogiornos," CESifo Working Paper Series 378, CESifo.
    11. Klaus Desmet & Ignacio Ortuño Ortín, 2007. "Rational Underdevelopment," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 109(1), pages 1-24, March.
    12. Albert Alesina & Stephan Danninger & Massimo Rostagno, 2001. "Redistribution Through Public Employment: The Case of Italy," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 48(3), pages 1-2.
    13. Kandel, Shmuel & Stambaugh, Robert F., 1991. "Asset returns and intertemporal preferences," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 39-71, February.
    14. Bayoumi, Tamim & Masson, Paul R., 1995. "Fiscal flows in the United States and Canada: Lessons for monetary union in Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 253-274, February.
    15. David E. Wildasin, 1994. "Income Redistribution and Migration," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 27(3), pages 637-656, August.
    16. Persson, Torsten & Tabellini, Guido, 1996. "Federal Fiscal Constitutions: Risk Sharing and Moral Hazard," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(3), pages 623-646, May.
    17. Padoa Schioppa, Fiorella Kostoris & Basile, Roberto, 2002. "Unemployment Dynamics of the 'Mezzogiornos of Europe': Lessons for the Mezzogiorno of Italy," CEPR Discussion Papers 3594, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Andrea Boltho & Wendy Carlin & Pasquale Scaramozzino, 1999. "Will East Germany become a new Mezzogiorno?," Chapters, in: John Adams & Francesco Pigliaru (ed.), Economic Growth and Change, chapter 13, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Brezis, Elise S & Krugman, Paul R & Tsiddon, Daniel, 1993. "Leapfrogging in International Competition: A Theory of Cycles in National Technological Leadership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1211-1219, December.
    20. Krugman, Paul, 1987. "The narrow moving band, the Dutch disease, and the competitive consequences of Mrs. Thatcher : Notes on trade in the presence of dynamic scale economies," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1-2), pages 41-55, October.
    21. Gerlinde Sinn & Hans-Werner Sinn, 1994. "Jumpstart: The Economic Unification of Germany," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262691728, December.
    22. Persson, Torsten & Tabellini, Guido, 1996. "Federal Fiscal Constitutions: Risk Sharing and Redistribution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 979-1009, October.
    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. Gilad Aharonovitz, 2011. "Knowledge-based spatial differences in economic activity, job related migration and housing related migration," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 46(1), pages 159-188, February.
    2. Amitrajeet A. Batabyal & Peter Nijkamp, 2019. "The magnification of a lagging region’s initial economic disadvantages on the balanced growth path," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 719-730, October.
    3. Marcus Gumpert, 2020. "Underdevelopment through Productivity Improvement Measures in an Advanced Region," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 865-872.
    4. Amitrajeet A. BATABYAL, 2018. "Note On Local Public Good Induced Spillovers Between A Leading And A Lagging Region," Regional Science Inquiry, Hellenic Association of Regional Scientists, vol. 0(2), pages 11-16, July.
    5. Batabyal, Amitrajeet & Nijkamp, Peter, 2014. "Some properties of the technology gap between leading and lagging regions," MPRA Paper 71596, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Batabyal, Amitrajeet & Yoo, Seung Jick, 2019. "Heterogeneity and the Provision of a Public Good in Leading and Lagging Regions," MPRA Paper 96812, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Sep 2019.
    7. Klaus Desmet & Ignacio Ortuño Ortín, 2007. "Rational Underdevelopment," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 109(1), pages 1-24, March.
    8. Christos Ap. LADIAS & Filipos RUXHO & Fernando Jos? Calado e Silva Nunes TEIXEIRA & Susana Soares Pinheiro Vieira PESCADA, 2023. "The Regional Economic Indicators And Economic Development Of Kosovo," Regional Science Inquiry, Hellenic Association of Regional Scientists, vol. 0(1), pages 73-83, June.
    9. Marcus Gumpert, 2019. "Multidimensional Core-peripheral Model," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 192-208.
    10. Marcus Gumpert, 2019. "Multidimensional Core-peripheral Model," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 192-208.
    11. Ramon Tremosa-i-Balcells & Joan Costa-i-Font, "undated". "The "relative competitiveness" patterns of Spanish regions after the European Monetary Union (1999-2002)," Studies on the Spanish Economy 169, FEDEA.
    12. Amit Batabyal & Peter Nijkamp, 2014. "Technology, Learning, and Long Run Economic Growth in Leading and Lagging Regions," ERSA conference papers ersa14p893, European Regional Science Association.

    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. Ugo Fratesi, 2008. "Regional policy from a supra-regional perspective," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 42(3), pages 681-703, September.
    2. Celentani, Marco & Conde-Ruiz, J. Ignacio, 1996. "The political economy of international private insurance and fiscal policy," UC3M Working papers. Economics 6164, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía.
    3. Page, William, 2003. "Germany's Mezzogiorno revisited: Institutions, fiscal transfers and regional convergence," Research Notes 9, Deutsche Bank Research.
    4. Antonio Sciala' & Paolo Liberati, 2008. "The impact of economic openness on the vertical structure of the public sector," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0085, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    5. Smolny, Werner, 2010. "Dynamic adjustment and long-run equilibria: Panel data estimates for the East German states," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1223-1229, September.
    6. Luque, Jaime & Morelli, Massimo & Tavares, José, 2014. "A volatility-based theory of fiscal union desirability," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1-11.
    7. Beramendi, Pablo, 2007. "Inequality and the Territorial Fragmentation of Solidarity," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(4), pages 783-820, October.
    8. Ortuno-Ortin, Ignacio & Sempere, Jaume, 2006. "A theoretical model of nations, regions and fiscal integration," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 132-157, January.
    9. Parviainen, Seija, 1998. "Redistribution and Risk Sharing in EMU," Discussion Papers 159, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    10. Carsten Hefeker & Michael Neugart, 2015. "Fiscal Transfers in a Monetary Union with Exit Option," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 489-508, August.
    11. Alberto Alesina & Ignazio Angeloni & Federico Etro, 2001. "The Political Economy of International Unions," NBER Working Papers 8645, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Becerra, Ligia Melo, 2004. "Intergovernmental fiscal relations : the Colombian case," Economics PhD Theses 0304, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    13. Fidrmuc, Jan, 1999. "Stochastic Shocks and Incentives for (Dis)Integration," CEPR Discussion Papers 2104, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    14. repec:esr:chaptr:jacb200011 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. José Tavares, 2012. "Fiscal Union Consensus Design Under The Threat Of Autarky," 2012 Meeting Papers 202, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    16. Jonathan Rodden, 2010. "Federalism and Inter-regional Redistribution," Chapters, in: Núria Bosch & Marta Espasa & Albert Solé Ollé (ed.), The Political Economy of Inter-Regional Fiscal Flows, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Morgenroth, Edgar, 2000. "Regionalisation and the Functions of Regional and Local Government," Papers BP2001/4, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    18. Persson, Torsten & Tabellini, Guido, 2002. "Political economics and public finance," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 24, pages 1549-1659, Elsevier.
    19. Erich Gundlach, 2003. "Growth Effects of EU Membership: The Case of East Germany," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 237-270, September.
    20. Oscar Bajo-Rubio & Carmen Díaz-Roldán, 2003. "Insurance Mechanisms against Asymmetric Shocks in a Monetary Union a Proposal with an Application to EMU," Recherches économiques de Louvain, De Boeck Université, vol. 69(1), pages 73-96.
    21. Timothy Goodspeed & Andrew Haughwout, 2012. "On the optimal design of disaster insurance in a federation," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-27, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    inter-regional transfers; regional policy; uneven development.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy
    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ivi:wpasad:2006-12. 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: Departamento de Edición (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ievages.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.