french english

Publications > Cahiers (English)> N° 58-59, 1st and 2nd terms 2001


ECONOMIE SPATIALE ET GEOGRAPHIQUE
Application à l'agriculture, l'agro-alimentaire et l'espace rural

Presentation by B. Schmitt and Y. Surry

Agglomération et marché
[Agglomeration and market interaction]

Masahisa FUJITA*, Jacques-François THISSE** (* Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-01, Japon. e-mail : fujita@kier.kyoto-u.ac.jp - ** CORE, Université catholique de Louvain, voie du Roman Pays 34, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique et CERAS, Ecole nationale des ponts et chaussées, Paris. e-mail : thisse@core.ucl.ac.befr)

In : Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, n° 58-59, 2001, pp 11-57

Summary - The most salient feature of the spatial economy is the presence of a large variety of economic agglomerations. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the main explanations of this universal phenomenon, as they are proposed in urban economics and modern economic geography. Because of space constraints, we focus on the most recent contributions. Since models of comparative advantage have been extensively studied by international and urban economists, while models of spatial competition have attracted a lot of attention in industrial organization, we restrict ourselves to multiregional models of industrial agglomeration based on monopolistic competition. The paper is organized as follows. In the first part, we show why the competitive framework can hardly be the foundation for the economics of agglomeration. We then briefly review the alternative modeling strategies. In the hope to make our paper accessible to a broad audience, the second part presents in detail the two (specific) models that have been used so far to study the spatial distribution of economic activities. This leads us to put aside non-market institutions and mechanisms that stand at the source of various agglomeration externalities. Several extensions of these models are then discussed. This includes the comparison of market and optimum outcomes, the impact of forward-looking migrations and of urban costs, as well as the role of a heterogeneous labor force and of intermediate commodities. We conclude with some suggestions for further research together with some policy implications.

Key-words : agglomeration, cities, trade, competition.

Économie spatiale et économie publique
[Spatial economics and public economics]

Alain GUENGANT* (* CREREG, Université de Rennes 1, Faculté des sciences économiques, 7, place Hoche, 35065 Rennes cedex. e-mail : guengant@univ-rennes1.fr)

In : Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, n° 58-59, 2001, pp 59-79

Summary -The article gives a survey of recent developments in local public economics based on the main international journals in this field. The evolution in the last ten years is characterized by an increasing focus on the spatial dimension. If spending behavior models still emphasize a non-spatial approach, models of tax competition now begin to take this dimension more explicitly into account. However, models of land capitalization still provide the most accurate analysis of the interaction between space and the supply of local public goods, especially since they are enri-ched by the contributions of the new economic geography.

Key-words : median voter, congestion costs, tax competition, fiscal capitalization.

Les systèmes productifs localisés : un bilan de la littérature
[Local productive systems : a survey of the literature]

Claude COURLET* (* IREPD, Université Pierre Mendès France, BP47, 38040 Grenoble cedex. e-mail : courlet@clio.upmf-grenoble.fr)

In : Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, n° 58-59, 2001, pp 81-103

Summary - This article presents an assessment of the literature on local productive systems (LPS), emphasising the origins and development of this concept. Thir brief review of literature allows to stress the important contribution of Alfred Marshall’s theoretical developments to the most recent works dealing with LPS (involving the analysis of inductrial districts in Italy, the clusters in developing countries, the adoption of innovations in rural areas, etc.). The notion of LPS allows, first, to understand the organisation of linkages among firms located in the same area, and second, to clarify the nature of externalities generated by their proximity. A LPS can be literally defined as a cluster characterised by the proximity of productive systems (industrial and service firms, research centres, interfaces, etc.) which are interrelated at different degrees. However, LPS is not a stable concept and is subject to many different interpretations, two of which are the focus of this article.

Key-words : industrial district, productive system, externalities, local development.

Économétrie et données spatiales : une introduction à la pratique
[Econometrics on spatial data : a beginner's guide]

Hubert JAYET* (* Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Laboratoire des mécanismes économiques et dynamiques des espaces européens, 59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq cedex. e-mail : jayet@pop.univ-lille1.fr)

In : Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, n° 58-59, 2001, pp 105-129

Summary - This contribution is an introduction to the main topics of spatial econometrics. We start analyzing the main problems raised by spatial data. The first one is heterogeneity : statisticians must take account of the fact that spatial units may not be directly comparable. They must correct for differences in size, form, structure and so on. The second one is interaction among units located in space, the intensity of which decreases with distance. These interactions lead to spatial autoregression and spatial autocorrelation. Then, the paper introduces to the main instruments used to represent and analyze spatial autocorrelation and autoregression : spatial graphs, weight matrices, contiguity matrices. It presents the main tests used to detect spatial autocorrelation, color tests on qualitative data, Moran and Geary tests for quantitative data. It shows how these tests can be interpreted. An illustrative example is also provided. Last, the paper shows how to deal with spatial autocorrelation and autoregression on the example of linear models. The main types of spatial linear models are presented : spatially autoregressive, spatially autocorrelated and their combination. Then, we explain why least squares methods are not well suited to estimate this type of models. Most often, econometric analysis will rest upon maximum likelihood methods. The paper shows how to use these methods in the specific context of spatial models, in order to find parameters estimates and to make tests on them.

Key-words : econometrics, spatial data, autocorrelation.

Localisation des productions agricoles et concentration géographique de la demande
[Location of agricultural output and geographical concentration of demand]

Karine DANIEL * (* INRA ESR, rue de la Géraudière, BP 71627, 44316 Nantes cedex 03 et Université Paris I-TEAM (CNRS). e-mail : daniel@nantes.inra.fr)

In : Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, n° 58-59, 2001, pp 131-167

Summary - This paper investigates the contributions of spatial and variety dimensions to agri-food prices and location of agri-food productions between regions. It presents a stylised model of multiple producers, supplying differentiated products to consumers in different regions. This model describes long run location processes. Production is characterised by aspects that give rise to both increasing and decreasing returns to scale. Marginal cost pricing is inappropriate in this context. The long run equilibrium price received will reflect the premium paid by consumers who value variety, and one type of transport cost inner to farms. The price paid by consumers also includes two other transport costs. One is a traditional exportation cost. The other one is a collection cost of outputs in farms, it is an element of the competitiveness of agri-food industries. One implication is that the optimal size of a farm reflects a trade off between increasing returns that arise from fixed costs and decreasing returns due to internal transportation costs. Another implication is that there is a potential to increase returns to fixed factors (land) by capitalising on consumers’ ability to distinguish varieties. Products are differentiated according to their geographical origin of production. The final equilibrium solution generates cultivated areas in both regions. Those areas depend on the competitiveness of farms and agri-food industries (traditional competitive advantages). Those areas also depend on the structural parameters of the economy. One of those parameters is the location of the population, which determines the location of demand. Given this model framework, we simulate the impact of a population concentration process in one of the regions on the location of agricultural activities. If the agricultural area is not restricted the concentration of the population in one region induces a relocation of the agricultural activities in this region. If this area is restricted, an improvement of land productivity (yields) in the area where the population increases allows production to increase without increasing the cultivated area. This technical progress contributes to increase the amount of production per farm. It also modifies the initial equilibrium in terms of labour force distribution between sectors.

Key-words : location, agriculture, economic geography, migrations.

Politiques publiques et délocalisation des activités industrielles vers les espaces ruraux : une analyse théorique
[Public policies and relocation of manufacturing activities to rural areas : a theoretical analysis]

Sylvie CHARLOT* (* UMR INRA/ENESAD, Économie et sociologie rurales, 26, bd du Docteur Petitjean, 21000 Dijon. e-mail : charlot@enesad.inra.fr)

In : Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, n° 58-59, 2001, pp 169-192

Summary - The objective of this paper is to assess some economic effects of rural development policies. The analytical framework being used is based on the «economic geo-graphy» (two regions) model developed by Krugman (1991), within which a government sector is introduced. We assume that all non-agricultural activities are concentrated in the urban region. Activities tied to land are located in the two regions - the rural and urban areas. In this model, there is a national central authority which taxes urban households and allocates public spending in the rural region. We focus on the conditions necessary for moving a non-agricultural firm from the urban to the rural area. Two kinds of economic policies are examined. In the first case, we assume that public investments made in the rural area are provided to rural households as an additional source of income. This policy leads to a spatial redistribution of income and affects the size of local markets. The implied income tax rate for urban households is thus an increasing function of: i) the share of the rural sector in the economy and ii) the transport cost of goods borne out by the rural households. In the case of a developed economy (characterised by a high preference for diversity and a high share of the manufacturing sector), this tax rate is indeed high. This stems from the classical agglomeration forces observed in economic geography. In the second kind of economic policy, public investments are devoted to promoting productive infrastructures in the rural area. We show that this second policy costs less in terms of income tax rate for urban households than the first policy. This is because, in the second case, the productive infrastructures generate a real advantage for firms located in the rural area. Finally, this paper shows that a policy promoting infrastructures in the rural area might be a more efficient policy instrument for rural development than an income redistribution policy.

Key-words : rural areas, public policies, economic geography, land planning.

Les déterminants territoriaux de la compétitivité des firmes agro-alimentaires
[Spatial determinants of French agro-food firms' competitiveness]

Emmanuelle CHEVASSUS-LOZZA*, Danielle GALLIANO** (* INRA-UMR EDRA, BP 71627, 44316 Nantes cedex 03. e-mail : chevassu@nantes.inra.fr - ** INRA-ETIQ et CEDO-LEREPS, BP 27, 31326 Castanet Tolosan cedex. e-mail : galliano@toulouse.inra.fr)

In : Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, n° 58-59, 2001, pp 193-222

Summary - In an environment characterised by strong globalization trends and increasing uncertainty, firms are becoming more and more integrated within international networks. In the meantime, the new dynamics of the production system gives to localised learning an important role to play. This apparent duality leads to the question of firms’location and to the role of territory in their competitiveness. More specifically, the issue raised in this paper is the diversity of the sources of competitiveness of localised firms. The purpose is to determine the respective competitiveness effects of industrial spillovers (due to comparative advantages), spatial externalities (urban and industrial economies of agglomeration) and specific internal characteristics (due to firm organisation). These effects have been tested at the two stages of the export process : first the firms’decision to sell abroad or not and, secondly, the volume of exports of firms engaged in selling abroad. The originality of this study relates to the exploitation of the individual firms data, which allows the complexity of organisational forms (group, multiplant firm) to be linked to the diversity of spatial environments (urban areas, rural areas, etc.). Results confirm that territorial determinants play a significant role in firms’competitiveness. Among these factors, urban agglomeration economies are the most important. Thus firms located in an urban area have a greater propensity to export and export more than the others. But, taking into account the multiplant firms and their spatial organisation moderates this result. The location of their plants in several and different areas benefits their competitiveness. Finally, the fact of taking multiplant firms into account shows in particular that a firm, while benefiting from the advantages of urban district economies for its head office, can choose to locate some of its firms in rural areas in order to be more competitive. It can thus combine the generic externalities of urban agglomeration economies, required for the commercial activity of the firm, with the advantages for production of the proximity of raw materials. Industrial agglomeration plays also a significant and positive role but lesser than others. This would mean that urban economies (due to infrastructures, collective equipments or generic assets) or national specialisation have a more stimulating effect than local technological externalities.

Key-words : competitiveness, spatial externalities, multiplant firms, group of firms, food industry

Modèles économétriques des configurations des aires urbaines françaises [Econometric models of spatial urban structure : the case of French metropolitan areas]

Pierre-Yves PÉGUY* (* Laboratoire d’Économie des Transports, Unité Mixte, CNRS-Université Lumière Lyon 2 et École nationale des travaux publics de l’Etat (ENTPE), ISH, 14 avenue Berthelot - 69007 LYON. e-mail : pierre-yves.peguy@let.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr)

In : Cahiers d'Economie et Sociologie Rurales, n° 58-59, 2001, pp 223-259

Summary – This paper presents different econometric models that account for the changes or urban spatial structures in France over the last decades. These changes are characterised by a decline of population densities in city centers and by an urban sprawl for population and employment. The monocentric model offers a relevant framework to study household location choices. This model not only identifies some factors that have an impact on these choices but also predicts that population density is represented by a negative exponential function. A two-pronged empirical approach is adopted in this article. We first estimate negative exponential population densities for each of the 112 French metropolitan areas selected from the last four population censuses (1975, 1982, 1990 and 1999). These metropolitan areas count over 8000 communes (commune is the smallest administrative entity in France). Taking the gradient of this negative exponential density function allows to measure patterns of household location over time. Any econometric work based on spatial data needs to take into account spatial interactions among observations and thus to use appropriate econometric tools. Therefore, we estimate two types of spatial econometric specification for this negative exponential density function : a spatial autoregressive model and a spatial error model with two different spatial weight matrices. Estimated spatial model specifications are assessed using different statistical tests such as Lagrange multiplier and Kelejian-Robinson tests. Compared to the conventional ordinary least squares estimation results (with no spatial autocorrelation), estimated spatial models indicate that the estimates of the density gradients and central densities are lower, hence resulting in a much smoother urban sprawl trend. In the second stage, we introduce in the previous model of population densities additional explanatory variables such as the size of central city area, income and size of households, housing benefits, the infrastructures and natural amenities of the communes. As it was done previously, different spatial models are estimated. Because of technical constraints associated with the econometric procedure, we select two samples of communes, one with communes belonging to small metropolitan areas and one representing communes of great metropolitan areas. The various statistical test results led us to accept a spatial autoregressive model specification with a spatial autocorrelation of errors. Compared to the foregoing econometric results, we can observe that these new estimated models offer a better goodness-of-fit. Furthermore, these additional explanatory variables work either as agglomerative forces or dispersion forces.

Key-words : population densities, urban sprawl, spatial urban structure, monocentric model, spatial econometric models
Droits et devoirs des utilisateurs  -   copyright INRA 1999-2009  -  INRA -SAE2 (tous droits réservés) - Date de création : février 2005  -   Réalisation : Claire Tarot
Direction de la publication : Bertrand Schmitt  -   webmaster - contact -