People, Places, and Public Policy: Some Simple Welfare Economics of Local Economic Development Programs
中文摘要
大多数国家在工资、收入和失业率方面都存在巨大且持续的地理差异。日益增多的一类基于地域的政策试图通过面向弱势社区、城市或地区的公共投资和补贴来缩小这些差异。基于地域的政策有可能深刻影响经济活动的区位，以及各社区的工资、就业和产业构成。这类项目在美国乃至世界各地十分普遍，但直到最近才得到经济学家的深入研究。我们考察以下问题：谁会从基于地域的干预中受益？全国层面的收益是否超过成本？哪些类型的干预最有可能奏效？为研究这些问题，我们构建了一个简单的空间均衡模型，用以刻画基于地域的政策对地方经济和全国经济的福利效应。利用该模型，我们批判性地考察了支持基于地域政策的经济学依据，并评估了有关其影响的最新证据。最后，我们总结了若干政策启示，并指出了未来研究的方向。
Abstract
Most countries exhibit large and persistent geographical differences in wages, income, and unemployment rates. A growing class of place-based policies attempts to address these differences through public investments and subsidies that target disadvantaged neighborhoods, cities, or regions. Place-based policies have the potential to profoundly affect the location of economic activity, along with the wages, employment, and industry mix of communities. These programs are widespread in the United States and throughout the world but have only recently been studied closely by economists. We consider the following questions: Who benefits from place-based interventions? Do the national benefits outweigh the costs? What sorts of interventions are most likely to be effective? To study these questions, we develop a simple spatial equilibrium model designed to characterize the welfare effects of place-based policies on the local and the national economy. Using this model, we critically evaluate the economic rationales for place-based policies and assess the latest evidence on their effects. We conclude with some lessons for policy and directions for future research.