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What makes cities more productive? Agglomeration economies and the role of urban governance: evidence from 5 OECD countries

Author

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  • Ahrend, Rudiger
  • Farchy, Emily
  • Kaplanis, Ioannis
  • Lembcke, Alexander C.
Abstract
This paper estimates agglomeration benefits across five OECD countries, and represents the first empirical analysis that combines evidence on agglomeration benefits and the productivity impact of metropolitan governance structures, while taking into account the potential sorting of individuals across cities. The comparability of results in a multi-country setting is supported through the use of a new internationally-harmonised definition of cities based on economic linkages rather than administrative boundaries. In line with the literature, the analysis confirms that city productivity increases with city size but finds that cities with fragmented governance structures tend to have lower levels of productivity. This effect is mitigated by the existence of a metropolitan governance body.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahrend, Rudiger & Farchy, Emily & Kaplanis, Ioannis & Lembcke, Alexander C., 2015. "What makes cities more productive? Agglomeration economies and the role of urban governance: evidence from 5 OECD countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64619, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:64619
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/64619/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Alexandra Tsvetkova & Rudiger Ahrend & Joaquim Oliveira Martins & Alexander C. Lembcke & Polina Knutsson & Dylan Jong & Nikolaos Terzidis, 2020. "The spatial dimension of productivity: Connecting the dots across industries, firms and places," OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2020/01, OECD Publishing.
    3. Peter Mayerhofer & Peter Huber, 2019. "Notwendigkeit und Möglichkeiten kooperativer Raum- und Wirtschaftsentwicklung in der Metropolregion Wien. Problemfelder, Handlungsoptionen, Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 69764, March.
    4. Gornig, Martin & Schiersch, Alexander, 2019. "Agglomeration economies and firm TFP: different effects across industries," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203597, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cities; productivity; governance; agglomeration economies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • 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
    • R50 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - General

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