Ali Sobhani (p), Rodrigo Cardoso , Evert Meijers

Cities are centres of socioeconomic, technological and cultural development and for centuries people have flocked to cities to enjoy the benefits of urban agglomeration. However, even though cities precede capitalist economies and the generative effects of agglomeration go beyond mere economic growth, the literature on agglomeration theory mostly takes the perspective of firms and the scale and network mechanisms that allow them to thrive in cities. People and households appear, but as beneficiaries of the added productivity and income enabled by urban agglomeration. Advocating a people-centred agglomeration theory, this paper sees cities as elevators to more than economic progress and asks whether fundamental human needs are also better catered for in cities. Recent theories of human needs see them as finite and universal, while their potential satisfiers are transient and culturally defined. The implication is that some of these satisfiers may be specific to cities, especially in developing countries with strong urban-rural contrasts, which may stimulate urban migration. In other words, the question is whether there are ‘agglomeration economies’ also at work towards the satisfaction of human needs in cities, raising them from otherwise minimal levels of satisfaction due to the urban confluence of bigger quantity, better quality and greater choice of opportunities and amenities. The paper evaluates which satisfiers are only possible in cities (agglomeration benefits) and explores the correlate urban dissatisfiers (agglomeration costs). We frame human needs not only as individual states of being but also as impulses for individual and collective doing and capacities for having and interacting within a given ecosystem – e.g. a city. Therefore, we introduce moral, political, economic and social frameworks to highlight the prerequisites that must be in place to improve human need satisfaction in cities. By revisiting the original tenets of agglomeration theory, we propose new lines for need-based urban planning and policy practices.

Sabrina Pedrini (p), Pierluigi Sacco

Since 1985, the designation of the European Capital of Culture is an object of intense public attention. As of 2008, the designation has become competitive, with significant amounts of resource invested by bidding cities and with consequent high levels of social pressure and expectation from local civic societies. The program has been thought to foster stronger links and exchanges among European citizens, and has met a growing success and an increasing cultural and socio-economic impact. The competition between the cities is very intense and the initial investment made by the local communities to participate is high. Various cities have attempted to capitalize the title in different ways, but it is not easy to make long-term evaluations of the program’s actual outcomes for a specific city. The different types of performances of the cities that have had this recognition lead to wonder what are the variables of a success that has lasted for this initiative. This paper aims at carrying out a meta-analysis of the impact of ECoCs as measured in the available, vast and rapidly increasing literature. We classify such studies in terms of the preferential orientation of each capital in terms of one of the 5 macro-categories of developmental factors as developed in the theoretical framework of system-wide cultural districts. The meta-analysis allows us to draw some general conclusions and policy implications for future ECoCs and about the overall significance, viability and sustainability of the program, focusing our attention on the impact that the policies adopted to date have also had in terms of land and local development.

Lina Maddah (p), Josep Maria Arauzo Carod , Fernando Lopez

Anyone in the world would like to visit hub cities, whether it is Barcelona, Paris, Milan, London, New York or places as such. Those cities attract individuals and firms, leading to the formation of clusters in wide range of sectors: financial or other services, manufacturing, research and development, software, and many others. Clusters do benefit the economy; one general statement that has been concluded over the last decades, leading researchers to figure out the spatial distribution of firms, the natural determinants and the possibility for induced ones in response to the advantages and positive spin-offs that clustering in various industries provides. The investigation of the spatial distribution of firms has thus always been of interest for economists and policy makers. Research in this area starts from identifying certain spatial patterns to providing a range of rationalizations on their determinants or implications, which helps uncovering what is hindered beyond the development of cities among other assorted economic and social phenomena. Such studies are still preliminary when it comes to Cultural & Creative industries, the field in which the interest in has been growing in the last decade. An opening argument states that firms in CCIs locate in metropolitan areas with urban preference or smaller regions that specialize in a certain relevant sector. The purpose of this study is to identify the spatial distribution preference and clustering, if any, of firms in CCIs from a general perspective and then at industry level, in Catalonia. Subsequently, determinants of the spatial patterns and possible clusters uncovered will be analyzed. Probable determinants of such clusters can be access to other firms on industry level, consumer demand, agglomeration economies, or human capital. The study uses firms’ data from Mercantile Register (SABI), and makes use of SatScan method for clusters' identification. As well, count-data (CD) models will be used in order to identify location determinants of CCIs firms.

Carlos Goncalves (p), Cristiano Stamm , Ricardo Luis Lopes

Paraná is one of the main states of the Brazilian economy in regards to agricultural and industrial production. In addition to the importance to the country's economy, Paraná has a peculiar characteristic that is the presence of 139 municipalities in the "Western Border Region", establishing limits with Paraguay and Argentina. This peculiarity demands from the Paraná rulers differentiated strategies to promote the growth and development of this Region. One of the problems observed in the municipalities of Paraná close to the border is the illegal entry of goods produced in Paraguay and Argentina, which compete unfairly with the products of companies in the region and throughout the country. Among the main smuggled goods are cigarettes, vehicles, electronics, computer equipment and others. (this research will not address weapons and drugs). According to data from the Brazilian Federal Police, in 2017 about US$ 172 million in goods were seized, just in Paraná state. In addition, according to data from the Institute for Economic and Social Development of the Border - IDESF, it is estimated that seizures made by the federal police represent between 5% and 10% of the total illegal products entering the country. Than, the total value of illegal border trade can exceed US$ 1.7 billion. Based on the above considerations, the present study intends to analyze the impact of the smuggling practices on the Paraná Western Border Region economy and the consequent spillover effects on the rest of the country. This impact will be measured using an interregional input-output system built for the 27 Federative Units (68 sectors 128 products). The data regarding illegal entry of products will be made available by the Economic and Social Development Institute of the Border - IDESF and by Federal Police. It is known that products that enter the country illegally through the Paraná Western Border will not be all consumed within Paraná state, so a Gravity Model will be used to predict the value of illegal goods that enter through the Paraná Western Border and go to others Federative Units. It will make possible to identify the spillover effects of the illegal entry of goods by the Paraná Western Border in each Brasilian state.