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Identifying Agglomeration Shadows: Long-run Evidence from Ancient Ports

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Hornbeck
  • Guy Michaels
  • Ferdinand Rauch

Abstract

We examine “agglomeration shadows” that emerge around large cities, which discourage some economic activities in nearby areas. Identifying agglomeration shadows is complicated, however, by endogenous city formation and “wave interference” that we show in simulations. We use the locations of ancient ports near the Mediterranean, which seeded modern cities, to estimate agglomeration shadows cast on nearby areas. We find that empirically, as in the simulations, detectable agglomeration shadows emerge for large cities around ancient ports. These patterns extend to modern city locations more generally, and illustrate how encouraging growth in particular places can discourage growth of nearby areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Hornbeck & Guy Michaels & Ferdinand Rauch, 2024. "Identifying Agglomeration Shadows: Long-run Evidence from Ancient Ports," NBER Working Papers 32634, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32634
    Note: DAE DEV EFG PE
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    Cited by:

    1. Cui, Wenyue, 2025. "Shadow and spillover: The influence of neighboring innovative cities on regional innovation growth," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Chun Chee Kok & Gedeon J. Lim, 2024. "Ethnic Proximity and Politics: Evidence from Colonial Resettlement in Malaysia," SoDa Laboratories Working Paper Series 2024-06, Monash University, SoDa Laboratories.
    3. Akihiro Otsuka, 2024. "Effects of regional network economies on industrial productivity in Japan: dynamic total factor productivity function approach," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 1111-1134, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N9 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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