County Amenities and Net Migration

U.S. county-level net migration data and a general spatial model are used to examine the effects of various amenities on migration decisions. Results suggest that higher county cancer risks and the presence of superfund sites in a county, or a higher ranking on the Environmental Protection Agency's hazard ranking system, reduce the relative attractiveness of a county to prospective migrants, while natural amenities on balance attract migrants, ceteris paribus. The results also reveal spatial dependence among contiguous counties in terms of net migration behavior.Environmental Economics and Policy,

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: A COUNTY-LEVEL ANALYSIS

The effect of social capital on economic growth is examined using linear regression analysis and U.S. county-level data. Results reveal that social capital has a statistically significant, independent positive effect on the rate of per-capita income growth.economic growth, social capital, U.S. counties, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development,

County Amenities and Net Migration

U.S. county-level net migration data and a general spatial model are used to examine the effects of various amenities on migration decisions. Results suggest that higher county cancer risks and the presence of superfund sites in a county, or a higher ranking on the Environmental Protection Agency's hazard ranking system, reduce the relative attractiveness of a county to prospective migrants, while natural amenities on balance attract migrants, ceteris paribus. The results also reveal spatial dependence among contiguous counties in terms of net migration behavior

County amenities and net migration

U.S. county-level net migration data and a general spatial model are used to examine the effects of various amenities on migration decisions. Results suggest that higher county cancer risks and the presence of superfund sites in a county, or a higher ranking on the Environmental Protection Agency’s hazard ranking system, reduce the relative attractiveness of a county to prospective migrants, while natural amenities on balance attract migrants, ceteris paribus. The results also reveal spatial depend-ence among contiguous counties in terms of net migration behavior. Key Words: amenities, migration, spatial econometrics Natural amenities such as open spaces, scenic lakes, rivers, beaches, mountain vistas, and mild temper-atures are widely believed to be important factors considered by migrants, as are the types of amenities that are provided only in larger cities—such as Broadway musicals and theatre productions. While previous studies have examined the effects of nat-ural and related amenities on migration (e.g., Knapp and Graves, 1989; Mueser and Graves, 1995), or population change (Deller et al., 2001), the effects on migration decisions of adverse local environ-mental and health conditions have been largely ignored in the literature.1 Using a laboratory exper-imental setting, Greenwood, McClelland, and Schulze (1997) found that the presence of a nuclear waste facility in Yucca Mountain in Nevada may affect employment-related migration decisions, for example. Our study expands upon this and other previous work on the determinants of (net) migra-tion using U.S. county-level data by systematically including health and environmental risks in migra-Anil Rupasingha is assistant professor of economics at the America

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: A COUNTY-LEVEL ANALYSIS

The effect of social capital on economic growth is examined using linear regression analysis and U.S. county-level data. Results reveal that social capital has a statistically significant, independent positive effect on the rate of per-capita income growth

Social and institutional factors as determinants of economic growth: Evidence from the United States counties

In the search for explanations of persistent differences in economic growth rates, the conditional convergence growth model has introduced the possibility of incorporating a wide set of factors as determinants of growth. Controlling for spatial dependence, we assess the contribution of differences in social and institutional variables on growth rates of per capita income for counties in the United States. The empirical results indicate that, ceteris paribus, social and institutio variables explain some of the differences in convergence rates among counties. In particular, (i) ethnic diversity is associated with faster rates of economic growth; (ii) higher levels of income inequality are associated with lower rates; and (iii) higher levels of social capital have a positive effect on economic growth rates.Economic growth, ethnic diversity, income inequality, social capital, U.S. counties

The Economic Impacts of Self-Employment

Even as self-employment continues to increase, policymakers remain largely unaware of this trend and fail to see it as an opportunity for addressing enduring joblessness. In part, this is explained by limited data on the self-employed and by widespread perceptions that returns to self-employment are low; that the self-employed are merely patching together piecemeal work opportunities requiring limited skills; and that there are no local economic impacts or spillover benefits into other sectors. Contrary to these perceptions, recent studies suggest that self-employment has tangible positive economic impacts not only on wage and salary employment but also on per capita income growth and poverty reduction. This article synthesizes the pertinent emerging literature and assesses dynamics of the lags involved between self-employment shocks and subsequent employment growth