How New Economic Geography Explains Provincial Wage Disparities: Generalised Methods of Moments Approach

In recent years, new and promising developments have made new economic geography (NEG) a popular framework for examining the spatial distribution of economic activity around the world. A major NEG prediction is that wages are higher in regions with a large market and easy access to suppliers of inte...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hien Th anh Hoang, Linh T. D. Huynh, George S. Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch 2019-03-01
Series:Экономика региона
Subjects:
Online Access:http://economyofregion.com/current/2019/72/3149/pdf/
_version_ 1827886200306794496
author Hien Th anh Hoang
Linh T. D. Huynh
George S. Chen
author_facet Hien Th anh Hoang
Linh T. D. Huynh
George S. Chen
author_sort Hien Th anh Hoang
collection DOAJ
description In recent years, new and promising developments have made new economic geography (NEG) a popular framework for examining the spatial distribution of economic activity around the world. A major NEG prediction is that wages are higher in regions with a large market and easy access to suppliers of intermediate inputs. Based on this principle, we examine this hypothesis by using provincial data in Vietnam. Since the Doi Moi reform in 1986, the Vietnamese economy has successfully transformed from a centrally planned to a market-based economy. The Vietnamese experience has been seen as a valuable case study for other economies in transition. This paper estimates a structural model of NEG using Vietnamese provinces data for the period 2000 — 2012. Using instrumental variables based on the principle of generalised method of moments (GMM), we take account of potential endogeneity problem between regressors. We provide evidence that the industrial linkages and trade costs are statistically significant and quantitatively important in explaining variation in provincial wages. This finding is robust to controlling for a wide range of considerations. Moreover, local governments need to strengthen human capital as the first step towards improving average wages. Indeed, a better education system is not only instrumental to raising average earnings per worker, but also crucial for minimizing income inequality in the long run.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T19:59:09Z
format Article
id doaj.art-bef7d052e37641ab8a9047c024f1c8b2
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2072-6414
2411-1406
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T19:59:09Z
publishDate 2019-03-01
publisher Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch
record_format Article
series Экономика региона
spelling doaj.art-bef7d052e37641ab8a9047c024f1c8b22023-08-02T02:37:13ZengRussian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Economics of the Ural BranchЭкономика региона2072-64142411-14062019-03-0115120521510.17059/2019-1-16How New Economic Geography Explains Provincial Wage Disparities: Generalised Methods of Moments ApproachHien Th anh Hoang0Linh T. D. Huynh1George S. Chen2Duy Tan UniversityTh e University of Da NangUniversity of New EnglandIn recent years, new and promising developments have made new economic geography (NEG) a popular framework for examining the spatial distribution of economic activity around the world. A major NEG prediction is that wages are higher in regions with a large market and easy access to suppliers of intermediate inputs. Based on this principle, we examine this hypothesis by using provincial data in Vietnam. Since the Doi Moi reform in 1986, the Vietnamese economy has successfully transformed from a centrally planned to a market-based economy. The Vietnamese experience has been seen as a valuable case study for other economies in transition. This paper estimates a structural model of NEG using Vietnamese provinces data for the period 2000 — 2012. Using instrumental variables based on the principle of generalised method of moments (GMM), we take account of potential endogeneity problem between regressors. We provide evidence that the industrial linkages and trade costs are statistically significant and quantitatively important in explaining variation in provincial wages. This finding is robust to controlling for a wide range of considerations. Moreover, local governments need to strengthen human capital as the first step towards improving average wages. Indeed, a better education system is not only instrumental to raising average earnings per worker, but also crucial for minimizing income inequality in the long run.http://economyofregion.com/current/2019/72/3149/pdf/New economic geographyagglomeration economiesindustrial linkagesmarket accesstrade costswage equationliving costshuman capitalprovincial panel datageneralised method of momentsVietnam
spellingShingle Hien Th anh Hoang
Linh T. D. Huynh
George S. Chen
How New Economic Geography Explains Provincial Wage Disparities: Generalised Methods of Moments Approach
Экономика региона
New economic geography
agglomeration economies
industrial linkages
market access
trade costs
wage equation
living costs
human capital
provincial panel data
generalised method of moments
Vietnam
title How New Economic Geography Explains Provincial Wage Disparities: Generalised Methods of Moments Approach
title_full How New Economic Geography Explains Provincial Wage Disparities: Generalised Methods of Moments Approach
title_fullStr How New Economic Geography Explains Provincial Wage Disparities: Generalised Methods of Moments Approach
title_full_unstemmed How New Economic Geography Explains Provincial Wage Disparities: Generalised Methods of Moments Approach
title_short How New Economic Geography Explains Provincial Wage Disparities: Generalised Methods of Moments Approach
title_sort how new economic geography explains provincial wage disparities generalised methods of moments approach
topic New economic geography
agglomeration economies
industrial linkages
market access
trade costs
wage equation
living costs
human capital
provincial panel data
generalised method of moments
Vietnam
url http://economyofregion.com/current/2019/72/3149/pdf/
work_keys_str_mv AT hienthanhhoang howneweconomicgeographyexplainsprovincialwagedisparitiesgeneralisedmethodsofmomentsapproach
AT linhtdhuynh howneweconomicgeographyexplainsprovincialwagedisparitiesgeneralisedmethodsofmomentsapproach
AT georgeschen howneweconomicgeographyexplainsprovincialwagedisparitiesgeneralisedmethodsofmomentsapproach