We analyze the impact of economic development policies and highway infrastructure improvements on growth of per capita income and jobs in Michigan counties. The policies considered for analysis have significant impact on growth outcomes. However, this effect is non-linear. Significant...

This study uses modeled Small Area Estimates data to analyze the labor market influences on child poverty rates in local areas. These data support analysis of small geographic areas as well as at different points of the business cycle. Statistical tests appropriate for data with geographic and...

Urban sprawl has been criticized for its disproportionate impact on the environment. Yet urban areas are in fact less land-intensive than recent rural development patterns. Residential first-movers into such virgin areas may spark waves of ensuing development without incorporating the true...

This article illustrates the commonly overlooked sample selection problem inherent in using rural classification methods that change over time due to population changes. Since fast-growing rural areas grow out of their rural status, using recent rural definitions excludes the most successful...

In this paper, we provide evidence based on New Economic Geography Models and estimate the statistical effects of second nature advantages to shed some light on the locational transformation of the manufacturing sector in Mexico. Changes in regional industry shares and regional wages during...

Blending regional studies with growth econometrics, we apply the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) methodology to income, employment, and population growth over 1990-2000 for all 254 Texas counties organized in 24 geographic regions. Several results are discussed, along with the role of wages...

In this paper, I perform a spatial econometric analysis of the determinants of regional specialization patterns across EU regions. Spatial correlation is evident, but this is due mostly to spatial error autocorrelation. Spatial interaction caused by positive economic interdependencies might be...

A large and growing literature has developed to explain how state and local policies affect factor markets, firm location, and economic growth; but it has emerged in three distinct threads. These threads have variously emphasized how policy and natural amenities affect regional economic growth,...

Regional science is highly relevant in assessing issues that tangibly impact our lives. Conversely, economics is so fixated on mathematical rigor that it does not have the impact on policy that it should. Similar constructive criticisms apply to geography. To illustrate how regional scientists...

Food processing firms are often seen as potential sources of growth for rural areas. This paper examines the influence that agglomeration, labor, product and input markets, infrastructure, and government fiscal attributes have on food manufacturing investment flows. The analysis uses a spatial...