John P. Blair

Major Factors in Industrial Location: A Review

This article reviews findings of industrial location literature. Prior to the 1970s, the conventional view was that access to markets, labor, raw materials, and transportation were the dominant locational factors. More recent studies indicate that the traditional factors are still most important, but their dominance has been reduced as productivity, education, taxes, community attitudes toward business, and other factors have been recognized as influential. The most recently recognized locational determinants give additional scope to policies to enhance a communitys economic competitiveness.

Quality competition and public schools: Further evidence

Abstract This paper contributes to the literature on competition in public schools. Borland and Howsen (1992) showed that the “market structure” of public schools affected academic performance. In this note, we consider the possibility that the performance of neighboring school districts could influence performance. Student academic performance was modeled as a function of control variables and competition from neighboring school districts. Academic performance of subject school districts was shown to be positively associated with the performance of neighboring districts but the effect was small. The findings confirm the Borland and Howsen implication that additional efforts to strengthen interjurisdictional competition may be useful.

The Central City Elasticity Hypothesis: A Critical Appraisal of Rusk's Theory of Urban Development

Abstract This paper critically analyzes the elasticity hypothesis proposed by David Rusk in his book Cities Without Suburbs. Rusk argues that cities that can expand their borders to capture vacant land for new development are associated with higher levels of economic growth and development. This paper points out the theoretical and empirical limitations of Rusks analysis. Systematic empirical evidence from 117 central cities revealed necessary but not sufficient evidence in support of the elasticity hypothesis. Although indicators of metropolitan growth appear to support the hypothesis, indicators of metropolitan economic welfare are not consistent with it. The paper concludes that theoretical limitations and weak empirical support show the potential benefits of expanded central city control over regional development to be less significant than the elasticity hypothesis implies.

Hidden Economic Development Assets

The productive informal economy is often ignored as an economic development asset because it is difficult to measure. This article examines the case for including the informal sector in urban development strategies. Size estimates suggest that the informal sector is large and growing more rapidly than GNP Therefore, it is substantial enough to warrant a role in economic development planning. Several factors, including lower opportunity costs of participation, circumvention of means tests, a dense set of social and institutional relationships, and demographic composition contribute to generating a more active informal economy in central cities. Policy options are suggested to capitalize on the productive informal economy, including more careful monitoring, supplementing the social safety net, strengthening the role of training, and encouraging entrepreneurship and job development.

The Market for Jobs: Locational Decisions and the Competition for Economic Development

A market for industrial locations has emerged in recent years. On one side of the market, cities compete with each other to attract jobs; on the other side, firms seek subsidy payments for providing jobs. These developments have been noted, but until now have not been viewed as an explicit market. This article provides evidence of the markets development and identifies factors that have stimulated the markets growth. It demonstrates that costs of using the market have declined, but benefits have increased. The study goes on to show that the market can be efficient under certain conditions, but that major impediments to efficiency exist. Finally, it discusses how the market for jobs is likely to evolve.

Ties that Bind Reexamined

Correlations between indicators of economic success of central cities and their suburbs have been used as evidence that the suburbs depend on central cities for economic development. This article revisits the suburban dependency thesis by considering the supposition that state-level variables contribute to the success of both central city and suburbs. Thus the correlations between central cities and suburban indicators of development may be due to the fact that both are influenced by state-level activities rather than suburban central-city dependence. In addition this article examines different linkages between the central city and its inner and outer suburbs. Our findings suggest that the extent of suburban dependence is less than previously thought.

Institutions, quality competition and public service provision: The case of public education

This paper contributes to the literature on integovernmental competition in two ways. First, the institutional setting within which public services are delivered is analyzed with respect to the impact on the quality of services provided. Previous studies have measured competition only in terms of governmental structure, ignoring the issue of service quality and the potential for differentiating local governmental jurisdictions along quality dimensions. Second, the outcome of competition is defined in terms of service quality. Previous studies generally have measured the outcome of competition by examining the fiscal effects of fragmentation and accountability through service costs or tax revenue impacts. School districts were used to empirically test quality competition. Student academic performance was modeled as a function of control variables and the degree of competition from neighboring school districts. Academic performance in public schools was positively associated with the performance of neighboring districts, although the effect was small. These findings, however, suggest that strategies to strengthen interjurisdictional competition may be useful in enhancing public service quality.

Inner-City Neighborhoods and Metropolitan Development:

This article describes the types of economic isolation that are embedded in various theories of neighborhood poverty. The literature suggests that there are a variety of reasons why inner-city areas are economically isolated. However, inadequate guidance is provided regarding whether poor neighborhoods will benefit from regional prosperity. Census data were examined to determine whether there is an association between changes in metropolitan economic welfare and changes in family income in poor census tracts. No association between the welfare indicators was found, supporting the economic-isolation hypothesis. The analysis of policies designed to strengthen ties between poor neighborhoods and metropolitan areas leads to the suggestion that connections be strengthened by supplementing the creation of economic linkages with broad-based social integration.

Benefits from a Baseball Franchise: An Alternative Methodology

Rosentraub and Swindell presented a fiscal impact study of a minor league franchise in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They concluded that it would not be advisable for the city to provide a substantial subsidy to the franchise because the extra tax revenues generated by the team would be insufficient to justify the subsidy. Their conclusions rest on faulty methodology. The largest benefit from the franchise is the additional income that Fort Wayne residents would receive due to extra spending. These important benefits were treated as negligible in the Rosentraub and Swindell study. A benefit-cost approach provided a framework for a more complete accounting of the benefits to Fort Wayne residents. When all the benefits to local residents are considered, a larger subsidy could have been justified Had a larger subsidy induced the team to locate in Fort Wayne, citizen welfare could have been enhanced.

Price effects of surface street traffic on residential property

Purpose - – The purpose of this study is to gauge and compare the impact of surface street traffic externalities on residential properties. Limited previous research indicates that negative externalities dominate for single-family houses. Our objective is to verify that this result applies to our sample, and to determine if the same result extends to multi-unit rental properties. Design/methodology/approach - – Hedonic regression is used to analyze data from 9,680 single-family house transactions and 455 multi-unit rental properties to measure the influence of surface street traffic on the price of the two property types. Findings - – Houses located adjacent to an arterial street sold at a 7.8 per cent discount, on average, compared to similar houses located on collector streets. Limiting the analysis to houses adjacent to an arterial street (where traffic counts were available), price and traffic count are negatively related. The results for multi-unit rental dwellings are dramatically different. Multi-unit properties adjacent to an arterial street sold at a 13.75 per cent premium compared to similar properties on collector streets, and when limiting the analysis to properties on arterial streets, no significant relationship was detected between price and traffic volume. Originality/value - – This is the first empirical study of the influence of surface street traffic on both single-family houses and multi-unit rental residential property. Evidence is provided that traffic externalities impact the two types of properties quite differently. To the extent that this result applies to other locations, the authors suggest planners may be able to use such information to reduce the negative effect of traffic externalities on residential property associated with changes that will increase traffic flow.