A Simple Model of Functional Specialization of Cities

Resorting to the method proposed by Matsuyama (2013), this paper develops a static equi- librium model of a system of cities in which ex ante identical locations specialize in stages of production different in the degree of dependence on routine and nonroutine local services sec- tors, the latter of which is tied to an agglomeration force due to monopolistic competition a ́ la Dixit and Stiglitz (1977). The model is simple in that the system is summarized by a second-order differential equation, which has a unique non-degenerate city size distribution with the comove- ment of income, population, factor prices, and urban diversity as observed for the U.S. cities. Two examples of use of the model are then illustrated: analyses of welfare gain from functional specialization and optimal income redistribution, the latter of which provides an important impli- cation of an increasing importance of interactive activities in a modern developed economy for income redistribution. Although extending the model makes the model analytically intractable, it is still characterized by a differential equation easily solved with a numerical method and thus useful for further analyses

A Simple Model of Functional Specialization of Cities

Resorting to the method proposed by Matsuyama (2013), this paper develops a static equi- librium model of a system of cities in which ex ante identical locations specialize in stages of production different in the degree of dependence on routine and nonroutine local services sec- tors, the latter of which is tied to an agglomeration force due to monopolistic competition a ́ la Dixit and Stiglitz (1977). The model is simple in that the system is summarized by a second-order differential equation, which has a unique non-degenerate city size distribution with the comove- ment of income, population, factor prices, and urban diversity as observed for the U.S. cities. Two examples of use of the model are then illustrated: analyses of welfare gain from functional specialization and optimal income redistribution, the latter of which provides an important impli- cation of an increasing importance of interactive activities in a modern developed economy for income redistribution. Although extending the model makes the model analytically intractable, it is still characterized by a differential equation easily solved with a numerical method and thus useful for further analyses

Team Production and the Allocation of Creativity across Global and Local Sectors

Team production is introduced into a two-sector Ricardian comparative advantage model in order to investigate its role in shifting high-skilled agents from a sector in which they have comparative advantage to a sector in which they have comparative disadvantage especially focusing on a case where environments of team production in the latter sector are improving. The first result is that team production changes the nature of comparative advantage, possibly leading to reallocation of creativity. The second result is that the likelihood of the shift is limited, and even in a case of success, policy targets (improving the environments of team production) should be selected carefully since those targets are different in the likelihood of shifting creativity, and the most likely case is associated with non-monotonic dynamics of the allocation of creativity

都市の機能的特化

学位の種別: 課程博士審査委員会委員 : （主査）東京大学教授 田渕 隆俊, 東京大学教授 大橋 弘, 東京大学教授 林 正義, 東京大学准教授 尾山 大輔, 東京大学特任講師 Michal FabingerUniversity of Tokyo(東京大学

The Impacts of Firms' Technology Choice on the Gender Differences in Wage and Time Allocation: A Cross-Country Analysis

This paper investigates the impacts of firm technology choice on cross-country variations in gender gaps---particularly those variations in the wages and time devoted to home production. For this purpose, we construct a general equilibrium model that includes firm technology choice and home production. The numerical results reveal that the cross-country variations in both the wage and time gender gaps are substantially affected by technology choice---which suggests the persistence of the gender gap---and that a convergence in the technology choice across countries does not imply smaller cross-country variations in all gender gap--related measures

The Impacts of Firms' Technology Choice on the Gender Differences in Wage and Time Allocation: A Cross-Country Analysis

This paper investigates the impacts of firm technology choice on cross-country variations in gender gaps---particularly those variations in the wages and time devoted to home production. For this purpose, we construct a general equilibrium model that includes firm technology choice and home production. The numerical results reveal that the cross-country variations in both the wage and time gender gaps are substantially affected by technology choice---which suggests the persistence of the gender gap---and that a convergence in the technology choice across countries does not imply smaller cross-country variations in all gender gap--related measures

The Impacts of Firms’ Technology Choice on the Gender Differences in Wage and Time Allocation : A Cross-Country Analysis

This paper investigates the impacts of firms’ technology choice on the cross-country variations in gender gaps, especially those of the wage and time devoted to home production which vary from country to country. For this purpose, we construct a general equilibrium model with firms’ technology choice as well as home production.The term technology includes labor market institutions, corporate culture and so onthat would affect the labor productivity of each gender in different ways and reflectsthe relative labor abundance of each gender. The numerical results show that the cross-country variations in both gender wage and time gaps are considerably affected by thetechnology choice, suggesting the persistence of the gender gap; and that a convergence in the technology choice across countries does not imply smaller cross-country variations in all measure of the gender gaps

Task Trade and the Size Distribution of Cities

Taking account of the increasing importance of task trade in urban contexts, this paper provides a model of a system of cities in which ex ante identical locations specialize in tasks that differ in their skill intensity, resulting in a unique size distribution of cities. The necessary and sufficient condition for a power law including Zipf's law is derived, and a quantitative analysis shows that the model is consistent with the size distribution of U.S. cities. A welfare analysis is also conducted, suggesting that the welfare loss due to spatial inefficiency is fairly small

Comparative Advantage and Skill Premium of Regions

This paper provides one explanation of why there is observed a positive correlation between skill premium and income of regions. In doing so, this paper provides a model of self-organized sorting and skill premium with a continuum of heterogeneous individuals and that of industries or tasks within a production process. It is found that the positive correlation merges through the interaction between the location-occupation choice by individuals and regional comparative advantage. The spatial equilibrium, sorting, and product differentiation play a key role in determining the way how such interaction works