Andrea Caragliu (p), Roberta Capello, Ugo Fratesi

Jeroen van Haaren

The international trade literature defines border effects as the decrease in trade flows between areas sharing an international border, thereby pointing at a demand-side mechanism. This paper suggests that a supply-side channel is also at play. Where border regions are insufficiently endowed with or do not efficiently exploit internal assets, a compensation mechanism can take place, either by exploiting external resources or compensating the lack of assets with their efficient use. Evidence based on the universe of 1,398 European NUTS3 regions suggest that, rather than intervening on physical or institutional borders, Cross-border Cooperation Funds should focus mainly on social barriers.

Antonio Accetturo (p), Michele Cascarano, Guido de Blasio

Andrea Caragliu

From the VIII to early XIX century, coastal areas in Italy (especially, the South) were raided by pirates
coming from the shores of Northern Africa. This paper documents that to protect themselves,
residents of coastal places relocate inwards to mountainous and rugged areas. It also shows that the
relocation had persistent effects. Overpopulation in areas less suitable for economic development
determined that affected areas remained underdeveloped for a long period after the pirates’ threat
was over. We also present suggestive evidence that mislocation of population had negative
aggregate effects on the economy.

Jeroen Van Haaren (p), Frank van Oort, Anna Wildeboer

Antonio Accetturo

This paper elaborates on the relationship between the presence and quality of local restaurants and house prices. Local house price premiums are derived for the availability, diversity and quality of restaurants in neighborhoods. This paper extends the consumer-city thesis to the micro-level of homes in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We add to the traditional hedonic house prices models which so far are mostly based on structural housing attributes, physical and social neighborhood characteristics and public amenities. We add a consumption amenity and show that restaurant availability and diversity significantly affect house prices. Furthermore, we find indications that quality moderates the effect of availability, as middle tier quality restaurants drive the availability premium. We use historic instruments on permits and employment to make a case for causality of the effects.