scholarly journals Local Economic Development, Agglomeration Economies, and the Big Push: 100 Years of Evidence from the Tennessee Valley Authority

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Kline ◽  
Enrico Moretti
2013 ◽  
Vol 129 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Kline ◽  
Enrico Moretti

Abstract We study the long-run effects of one of the most ambitious regional development programs in U.S. history: the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Using as controls authorities that were proposed but never approved by Congress, we find that the TVA led to large gains in agricultural employment that were eventually reversed when the program’s subsidies ended. Gains in manufacturing employment, by contrast, continued to intensify well after federal transfers had lapsed—a pattern consistent with the presence of agglomeration economies in manufacturing. Because manufacturing paid higher wages than agriculture, this shift raised aggregate income in the TVA region for an extended period of time. Economists have long cautioned that the local gains created by place-based policies may be offset by losses elsewhere. We develop a structured approach to assessing the TVA’s aggregate consequences that is applicable to other place-based policies. In our model, the TVA affects the national economy both directly through infrastructure improvements and indirectly through agglomeration economies. The model’s estimates suggest that the TVA’s direct investments yielded a significant increase in national manufacturing productivity, with benefits exceeding the program’s costs. However, the program’s indirect effects appear to have been limited: agglomeration gains in the TVA region were offset by losses in the rest of the country. Spillovers in manufacturing appear to be the rare example of a localized market failure that cancels out in the aggregate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-196
Author(s):  
Jintong Tang ◽  
Zhi Tang

This research extends bribery research toward entrepreneurial theory and practice by examining how bribery impacts new venture disbanding in China. Existing research suggests that bribery may enhance firms’ competitive advantage; however, building off of resource-based view and taking into consideration the institutional context in China, the current study proposes that firm bribery activity hurts new ventures by increasing the hazard of venture disbanding. Further, guided by resource dependence theory, this study examines how local economic development and organizing activity moderate the relation between bribery and disbanding. In particular, it is proposed that when local economic development is suffering, or when firms are not engaging in appropriate organizing activities, bribery will lead to higher chance of new venture disbanding. Data from Chinese entrepreneurs support these hypotheses.


Author(s):  
Eduardo I Palavicini Corona

The XXI century has reached the end of its first 20 years. Along the years, it has posed complex challenges to economists and economic geographers. For example, the results of elections and consultations in different countries have shown a strong sympathy with political positions that question the benefits of free international flows of goods, services, labour and capital. By the same token, some academics argue that despite international economics theory clearly acknowledges that free trade causes winners and losers, the expected higher gains have not been effectively used to compensate the losers. This article explores the main challenges of international economic integration in sub-national territories in Switzerland and Mexico to better understand the importance of delivering relevant and competent public policies based on territorial specificity.


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