Monthly Archives

April 2014

CCG Reports

From Border Barriers to Bi-National Promise

We set out to understand the
economic and social/cultural challenges posed by excessive border
friction between the U.S. and Mexico, to reframe the narrative about the border, demonstrating
how it can be utilized to promote economic and cultural development,
and to offer a set of concrete recommendations for improvements,
among them.

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April 22, 2014
Rana Florida ColumnsRana Florida Columns: CityRana Florida Columns: Work

The Huffington Post : 5 Things Entrepreneurs Need From Their Cities

Every city hopes to attract the next Facebook, Google, Instagram or Twitter. To lure such entrepreneurial startups, they follow the same route that city leaders of their grandparents’ generation did — cutting taxes, easing regulations, and in general trying to create a business-friendly climate. But what are entrepreneurs really looking for in a city?

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April 21, 2014
Files / Working Papers

Regional Studies : The Happiness of Cities

This research examines the factors
that shape the happiness of cities, whereas much of the existent literature has focused on the happiness of nations. It is argued that in
addition to income, which has been found to shape national-level happiness, human capital levels will play an important role in the
happiness of cities. Metropolitan-level data from the 2009 Gallup–Healthways Survey are used to examine the effects of human capital on city happiness, controlling for other factors. The findings suggest that human capital plays the central role in the happiness
of cities, outperforming income and every other variable.

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April 16, 2014
Files / Working Papers

Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society : The creative class, post-industrialism and the happiness of nations

Our research examines the role of post-industrial structures and values on happiness across the nations of the world. We argue that these structures and values shape happiness in ways
that go beyond the previously examined effects of income. Our analysis explores whether income has different effects on countries at different stages of economic development. Our
results indicate that post-industrial structures and values have a stronger effect on happiness in higher income countries, where the standard of living has surpassed a certain level. Income,
on the other hand, has a stronger impact on happiness in low-income countries.

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April 16, 2014
Files / Working Papers

Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society : The Creative Class and the crisis

The economic crisis contributed to sharp increases in US unemployment rates for all three of the major socio-economic classes. Results from regression models using individual-level data from the 2006–2011 US Current Population Surveys indicate that members of the Creative Class had a lower probability of being unemployed over this period than individuals
in the Service and Working Classes and that the impact of having a creative occupation became more beneficial in the 2 years following the recession. These patterns, if they continue,
are suggestive of a structural change occurring in the US economy—one that favours knowledge-based creative activities.

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April 16, 2014
Files / Working Papers

Journal of Economic Geography : Geographies of scope: an empirical analysis of entertainment, 1970–2000

The geographic clustering of economic activity has long been understood in terms of economies of scale across space. This paper introduces the construct of geographies of scope, which we argue is driven by substantial, large-scale geographic concentrations of related skills, inputs and capabilities. We examine this through an empirical analysis of the entertainment industry across US metropolitan areas from 1970 to
2000.

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April 16, 2014
Files / Working Papers

China’s Development Disconnect

China is currently seeking to transform its economic structure from a traditional industrial to a more innovative, human-capital driven, and knowledge-based economy. Our research examines the effects of three key factors on Chinese regional development in an attempt to gauge to what degree China has transformed from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy, based on higher
levels of (1) technology and innovation, (2) human capital and knowledge/professional/creative
occupations, and (3) factors like tolerance, universities, and amenities which act on the flow of the first two. We employ structural equation models to gauge the effects of these factors on the economic performance of Chinese regions. Our research generates four key findings.

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April 16, 2014
Files / Working Papers

Industry and Innovation : Creative Jobs, Industries and Places

This special issue publishes some of the interesting work that is going on within the creative economy research field. This concept of the creative economy has been the focus of our own
research for more than a decade. The most fundamental level building block of the creative economy is, of course, creative individuals. Richard Florida’s The Rise of the Creative Class
(2002) illustrated that every single human being has creative potential, and discussed the economic value of such creative individuals for innovation in industry. At the industry level,
“creative industries” has been the terminology to describe industries where individual creativity is systematically harnessed to achieve high levels of innovation, namely, high-tech industries with a high R&D or programming component, as well as cultural industries such as
entertainment or design (Caves, 2000; Throsby, 2001; Hesmondhalgh, 2002).

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April 16, 2014
CitiesEmploymentFiles / Working Papers

Regional Studies : The Geography of Inequality: Difference and Determinants of Wage and Income Inequality across US Metros

This paper examines the geographic variation in wage inequality and income inequality across US metros. The findings indicate that the two are quite different. Wage inequality is closely associated with skills, human capital,technology and metro size, in line with the literature, but these factors are only weakly associated with income inequality. Furthermore, wage inequality explains only 15% of income inequality across metros. Income inequality is more closely associated
with unionization, race and poverty. No relationship is found between income inequality and average incomes and only a modest relationship between it and the percentage of high-income households.

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April 7, 2014