Distance related variables typically vary in a cross-section dimension but less so in a time dimension across cities, regions, or countries. The enlargement of the EU or the introduction of the euro, however, can be looked upon as integration shocks that are informative of the consequences of...

This paper shows that Tabellini’s recent claim to have provided evidence that culture has a causal effect on economic development is unjustified. Tabellini’s claim is based on an instrumental variables analysis in which two instruments are used to identify the supposed causal effect. One of...

This paper looks at whether immigration can mitigate the Dutch disease effects associated with booms in natural resource sectors. We first derive predicted changes in the size of the non-tradable sector from a small general-equilibrium model à la Obstfeld-Rogoff, supplemented by a resource...

We investigate the impact of research and development (R&D) subsidies on R&D inputs of large- and medium-sized firms and on additional innovation and economic activities in Chinese provinces. A panel vector autoregressive (VAR) model and corresponding impulse response function (IRF) analysis...

The paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the relative importance of economic and amenity-related location factors for attracting talents or members of the creative class. While Florida highlights the role of amenities, openness, and tolerance, others instead emphasize the role of...

This paper analyses the causal relationships in regional technological systems within a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) framework. Applying a data-driven identification strategy based on Independent Component Analysis, it shows how the regional growth dynamics of economic, research,...