Johan Klaesson

Commuters' non-linear response to time distances

Abstract.Established analyses of labour market commuting are based on random choice models and gravity type models. In these models generalised transport costs are formulated as exponential or log-linear distance dependent functions. This paper presents empirical observations, which imply that time distances influence the commuting behaviour in a non-linear way, such that the time sensitivity is much lower for very short and long distances, whereas intermediate distances display a high time sensitivity. This is explained in a model that is parameterised and estimated. The results are important for understanding and predicting commuter behaviour. It also helps to delineate space, as in classical traditions, into local, intra-regional and extra-regional space.

How Local are Spatial Density Externalities? Neighbourhood Effects in Agglomeration Economies

Andersson M., Klaesson J. and Larsson J. P. How local are spatial density externalities? Neighbourhood effects in agglomeration economies, Regional Studies. The geographic scale at which density externalities operate is analysed in this paper. Using geocoded high-resolution data, the analysis is focused on exogenously determined within-city squares (‘neighbourhoods’) of 1 km2. The analysis confirms a city-wide employment density–wage elasticity and an economically significant density–wage elasticity at the neighbourhood level that attenuate sharply with distance. Panel estimates over 20 years suggest a neighbourhood density–wage elasticity of about 3%, while the city-wide elasticity is about 1%. It is argued that the neighbourhood level is more prone to capture learning, e.g. through knowledge and information spillovers. This interpretation is supported by (1) significantly larger neighbourhood elasticities for university educated workers and (2) sharper attenuation with distance of the effect for such workers.

CREATIVE MILIEUS IN THE STOCKHOLM REGION

This chapter intends to demonstrate that the Stockholm region is the key centre for knowledge development, innovations and intellectual creativity in Sweden. The region is an attractor for individuals with ambitions and talents in political, economic and cultural life. At the same time novel ideas and solutions diffuse from the Stockholm region to other regions of the country. A major effort in the study is to describe occupations with regard to (i) the skills of a job and (ii) the tasks associated with a job. Moreover, the knowledge intensity of an ur-ban region can be related to the absorption capacity of firms in the region, implying that firms can make use of all sorts of novelties in the world economy as stimuli for own imi-tations and innovations. Compared to other parts of Sweden, the Stockholm region has both a richer inflow of creative ideas and a larger absorptive capacity. This allows the Stockholm region to function as a source of innovation and business renewal for the rest of the country as novelties diffuse through the regional hierarchy.

Regional Interaction and Economic Diversity : exploring the role of geographically overlapping markets for a municipality’s diversity in retail and durables

This paper is devoted to the study of municipal diversity in retail and durables. Specifically, it analyzes how a region’s relative market-accessibility in a system (or hierarchy) of municipalities affects the extent of diversity. In the theoretical part of the paper a simple modelmunicipal diversity in retail and durables is introduced, which incorporates the municipality’s position in a system of municipalities. Using this model as a point of reference, the paper explores the relationship between market-size and diversity in Swedish regions from 1993 to 2001 by means of a panel data approach. Three types of market-sizes are considered: (i) intramunicipal,(ii) intra-regional and (iii) extra-regional. It is shown that the relationships between diversity and the three types of market-sizes differ between different types of municipalities in the hierarchy, implying that such a classification is warranted. One particular finding that corresponds to the agglomeration shadow-effects usually discussed in NEG-theories is that large municipalities gain from proximity to surrounding municipalities while small municipalities do not.

Determinants of Entry and Exit: The Significance of Demand and Supply Conditions at the Regional Level

Determinants of Entry and Exit : The Significance of Demand and Supply Conditions at the Regional Level

Urban–Rural Development in Sweden

Economic activities are confined to urban metropolitan areas in developed countries. The service sector oriented both towards consumers and producers comprises of a substantial part of the economy and, in general, these sectors are dependent on access to regional purchasing power. Jane Jacobs (1969) stressed the importance of urbanisation as an explanation for economic growth when she argued that the diverse economy in urban regions stimulate innovative activities. Thereby urban diversity is likely to cause productivity to increase and promote economic growth. In Jacobs (1984) seminal book “Cities and the Wealth of Nations” she argued that metropolitan regions and urban economies serve as the backbone and engine of the wealth of nations, not vice versa.

The Spatial Industrial Dynamics of the ICT Sector in Sweden

At the Lisbon European Council meeting of 23–24 March 2000, the European Union put itself forward to a new strategic goal: “to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy of the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social coherence”. As part of this goal a comprehensive eEurope action plan was set up and approved at the Feira European Council meeting. The aim of the action plan is to advance Europe further on the road to the new, digital economy.

Accessibility and market potential analysis

The purpose of this chapter is to overview the advances in the field of measuring and modeling the influence of geographic market potential and accessibility. In general the models are designed to ...

Innovation in the hospitality industry: Firm or location?

The hospitality industry is a rapidly growing revenue generator in many countries and is becoming economically important for generating employment and for integrating of immigrants into the labor market. As an industry where firms face fierce competition, it is important for the firms to maintain their competitiveness by distinguishing themselves from others through continuous improvements and innovations. In this article, we investigate the determinants of innovation in the hospitality industry by analyzing survey data gathered from over 900 firms in Sweden. In the analysis, we differentiate between firm-specific and location-specific features. We conclude that the most important characteristics that explain innovation lie within the firm itself, not the location. These results provide important insights regarding firm- versus location-placed innovation policies.

Location of leisure: the New Economic Geography of leisure services

Abstract Understanding more about the geographic location of leisure services is an important quest for research. For a long time now in developed economies, almost all employment growth is occurring within the service sector. In this sector, leisure services are fast growers. This means that the location of these services is important for economic growth and for employment opportunities of local market areas. Regional policy-makers time and again highlight these sectors as future engines of growth. This paper investigates the role of local demand in determining the availability and the scale of various types of leisure services. The analysis is motivated by observed regularities that indicate large and persistent interregional differences in the location and growth of leisure services. Based on a New Economic Geography framework, we investigate the role of local and regional demand for the size of leisure services in geographically separate markets in Sweden. We use data for 290 Swedish municipalities for the period 2002–2013 and run year-municipality fixed-effects regressions. Our main findings suggest a strong dependency on local demand, and less on the demand originating from other regions.