Komei Sasaki

Effects of subcenter formation on urban spatial structure

Abstract This paper evolves a closed city model with a subcenter, discussing the equilibrium urban shape, and conducts the comparative static analysis. It is shown that the establishment of a subcenter keeps most properties obtained in a monocentric city unchanged. As for the effect of subcenter location, the utility level of residents necessarily increases as the subcenter location moves farther from the CBD.

Optimal urban growth controls

Abstract Urban growth controls are analyzed from the standpoint of owner-residents to maximize their utility level. The basic framework follows the Brueckner-Lai model [Brueckner, J.K., Lai, F.-C., 1996. Urban growth with resident landowners. Regional Science and Urban Economics 26, 125–143], but effects of production activity, congestion externality, and public good provision, each of which affects actual urban growth control, are incorporated into the models.

Roles of Public Capital in Pakistan’s Economy: Productivity, Investment and Growth Analysis

This study analyzes the role of public capital in Pakistan’s economy, tracing the relationship between productivity of public capital and economic growth. We estimate a production function, with public capital as an inputs. The results indicate that the productivity (output elasticity) of aggregate as well as different components of public capital are sufficiently high. We also analyze substitutability and complementarity between public and private capital by estimating investment functions, revealing that public capital has worked as a substitute for private investment. The net effect of public capital on the national economy is analyzed by estimating reduced forms, with the result that public capital has a positive net effect on national product. The growth analysis shows that the contribution of public capital is declining over time.

Regional difference in total factor productivity and spatial features: Empirical Analysis on the Basis of a Sectoral Translog Production Function

Abstract This paper applies a sectoral production function of translog type to Japanese regional data, introducing the variables of spatial attributes as the determinants of the technological level in the region, and thereby analyses the regional difference in total factor productivity.

An empirical analysis of linear aggregation problems: The case of investment behavior in Japanese firms

Abstract Some economists have analysed empirically linear aggregation problems from various view-points and get results which seem to justify the use of aggregated data. However, some were based on only one experiment. Using more experiments we shall analyse empirically two important aggregation problems for the case of the investment behavior of firms. In contrast to earlier studies, our results indicate that the aggregation biases of macroparameters are rather large and the explanatory power of the macroequations is not necessarily higher than that of a sum of microequations.

Interjurisdictional commuting and local public goods

This paper deals with the provision and finance of local public goods, where free riding across communities emanates from interjurisdictional commuting. In a two-city model with inter-city commuting incorporated, the relationship between a market equilibrium and an optimizing solution is investigated. Instruments for achieving Pareto-efficient locations, production and commuting are proposed.

A household production approach to the evaluation of transportation system change

Abstract This paper intends to present a model for evaluating nationwide and interregional transportation system change from the viewpoint of the users welfare. The model stems primarily from an adaptation of the household production approach, and thereby represents a departure from traditional methods of evaluation. In the development of our model, the transportation system changes are regarded as technical changes in the trip production function. With proper assumptions regarding the specified utility and trip production functions, it is possible to empirically evaluate the transportation system change and to measure the technical change in trip production function.

Evaluation of Road Capacity and Its Spatial Allocation

This study intends to analyze quantitatively the economic effects of road capacity and its spatial allocation using the regional econometric model. The result of simulation analysis stresses that theeconomic effect of a certain amount of road capacity greatly varies according to its spatial allocation.

Local public goods and their capital-gain effects

Abstract An attempt is made to analyze the capital-gain effect of local public goods and to investigate the conditions under which the efficient provision of local public goods and optimal population size are realized. This requires a two-period model where an owner-resident takes into consideration the effects of public good provision on both the utility from their consumption and the land value. In this study, the Brueckner-Joo model [Brueckner, J.K., Joo, M.-S., 1991. Voting with capitalization. Regional Science and Urban Economics 21, 453–469] is improved so that internal consistency is met, and optimal population size is determined as well. As for the allocative efficiency test of public goods provision, a hypothesis different from that of Brueckner–Wildasin is derived. Where public goods are provided by current residents on the basis of their capital-gains motivation, the sign of the coefficients of public good variables in the land price regression gives different signals to different groups of residents, concerning the efficiency of public goods provision. It is also shown that the optimal population size in a city is necessarily larger than the efficient size which minimizes the per capita provision cost of public goods. This suggests that, under the capital-gain hypothesis, the coefficient of population size must be significantly negative in the land price regression.

Effects of urban transportation system change on land prices in the setting of owner-occupied residence

Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of transportation improvement on the land development process and land price structure in an owner-occupied residence setting. A dynamic model of household and landowner in which the role of land as an asset is explicitly considered is presented, and the process of land development and land price change after the announcement of transportation improvement is investigated. During the period between the announcement and the completion of urban transportation improvement, it is observed that the price of the land that is presently used for agriculture but will be developed in the future is higher than the agricultural land price.