IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/socsci/v99y2018i1p313-329.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do Airports Boost Economic Development by Attracting Talent? An Empirical Investigation at the Subcounty Level

Author

Listed:
  • Xinxiang Chen
  • Guanghua Chi
  • Guangqing Chi

Abstract

Objective The objectives of this study were to examine (1) the linkage from airports to regional talent distribution and (2) the effect of talent on regional economic development. Methods Using the data collected in Wisconsin at the municipal level, a subcounty level, in a region of the North Central United States from 1970 to 2010 and the American Community Survey 2006–2010 five‐year estimates, and random effects models and structural equation models, we employ descriptive and inferential statistics to examine the linkage from airports to talent to regional economic development. Results We find that the farther a location is away from the airport, the lower its talent share tends to be, while greater passenger flow at the nearest airport increases a location's talent share. Given the quantity of passenger flow, a longer distance from the airport also reduces a location's talent share. The results furthermore suggest that economic development is impacted positively by passenger flow and talent share and negatively by distance to an airport. Conclusion Our results underscore the intermediate role of talent between airports and regional economic development; building the linkage from airports to talent within the context of regional economic development provides important insights for local policy making aimed at attracting talented migrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinxiang Chen & Guanghua Chi & Guangqing Chi, 2018. "Do Airports Boost Economic Development by Attracting Talent? An Empirical Investigation at the Subcounty Level," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 99(1), pages 313-329, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:99:y:2018:i:1:p:313-329
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12393
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12393
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ssqu.12393?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berry, Christopher R. & Glaeser, Edward L., 2005. "Divergence of Human Capital Levels across Cities," Working Paper Series rwp05-057, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Kevin Stolarick, 2008. "Inside the black box of regional development: human capital, the creative class and tolerance," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(5), pages 615-649, September.
    3. Leckie, George & Charlton, Chris, 2013. "runmlwin: A Program to Run the MLwiN Multilevel Modeling Software from within Stata," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 52(i11).
    4. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Thomas Holgersson, 2015. "Up in the air: the role of airports for regional economic development," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 54(1), pages 197-214, January.
    5. Charlotta Mellander & Richard Florida, 2011. "Creativity, talent, and regional wages in Sweden," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 46(3), pages 637-660, June.
    6. Rauch James E., 1993. "Productivity Gains from Geographic Concentration of Human Capital: Evidence from the Cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 380-400, November.
    7. Jan K. Brueckner, 2003. "Airline Traffic and Urban Economic Development," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 40(8), pages 1455-1469, July.
    8. Stephen W. Raudenbush, 2009. "Adaptive Centering with Random Effects: An Alternative to the Fixed Effects Model for Studying Time-Varying Treatments in School Settings," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 4(4), pages 468-491, October.
    9. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Kevin Stolarick, 2011. "Beautiful Places: The Role of Perceived Aesthetic Beauty in Community Satisfaction," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 33-48.
    10. Ernest Miguélez & Rosina Moreno, 2014. "What Attracts Knowledge Workers? The Role Of Space And Social Networks," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 33-60, January.
    11. Mellander, Charlotta & Florida, Richard, 2007. "The Creative Class or Human Capital? - explaining regional development in Sweden," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 79, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    12. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The divergence of human capital levels across cities," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 84(3), pages 407-444, August.
    13. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Divergence of Human Capital Levels across Cities," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2091, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    14. David A. McGranahan & Timothy R. Wojan & Dayton M. Lambert, 2011. "The rural growth trifecta: outdoor amenities, creative class and entrepreneurial context -super-§," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 529-557, May.
    15. John Bowen, 2002. "Network Change, Deregulation, and Access in the Global Airline Industry," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(4), pages 425-439, October.
    16. Simon, Curtis J., 1998. "Human Capital and Metropolitan Employment Growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 223-243, March.
    17. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Divergence of Human Capital Levels Across Cities," NBER Working Papers 11617, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Winters, John V., 2014. "STEM graduates, human capital externalities, and wages in the U.S," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 190-198.
    2. Florida, Richard & Mellander, Charlotta & Qian, Haifeng, 2008. "Creative China? The University, Tolerance and Talent in Chinese Regional Development," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 145, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    3. Winters, John V, 2010. "Human Capital and Population Growth in Non-Metropolitan U.S. Counties: The Importance of College Student Migration," MPRA Paper 25592, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Jos� Lobo & Charlotta Mellander & Kevin Stolarick & Deborah Strumsky, 2014. "The Inventive, the Educated and the Creative: How Do They Affect Metropolitan Productivity?," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 155-177, February.
    5. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Kevin Stolarick, 2016. "Human capital in cities and suburbs," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 57(1), pages 91-123, July.
    6. Winters, John V., 2011. "Human capital, higher education institutions, and quality of life," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 446-454, September.
    7. John V. Winters, 2013. "Human capital externalities and employment differences across metropolitan areas of the USA," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(5), pages 799-822, September.
    8. Winters, John V., 2014. "The Production and Stock of College Graduates for U.S. States," IZA Discussion Papers 8730, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Thomas Holgersson, 2015. "Up in the air: the role of airports for regional economic development," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 54(1), pages 197-214, January.
    10. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander & Haifeng Qian, 2012. "China's Development Disconnect," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(3), pages 628-648, March.
    11. Haifeng Qian, 2010. "Talent, creativity and regional economic performance: the case of China," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 45(1), pages 133-156, August.
    12. John V. Winters, 2011. "Human Capital and Population Growth in Nonmetropolitan U.S. Counties," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 25(4), pages 353-365, November.
    13. John Winters, 2012. "Differences in employment outcomes for college town stayers and leavers," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-17, December.
    14. Jaison Abel & Todd Gabe, 2011. "Human Capital and Economic Activity in Urban America," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(8), pages 1079-1090.
    15. Krenz, Astrid, 2016. "Agglomeration of knowledge in the German regional economy," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 277, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    16. Paula Prenzel & Simona Iammarino, 2018. "Ageing labour: How does demographic change affect regional human capital?," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1832, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Aug 2018.
    17. Haifeng Qian, 2013. "Diversity Versus Tolerance: The Social Drivers of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in US Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(13), pages 2718-2735, October.
    18. Arntz, Melanie & Brüll, Eduard & Lipowski, Cäcilia, 2021. "Do preferences for urban amenities really differ by skill?," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-045, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    19. Südekum, Jens, 2008. "Convergence of the skill composition across German regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 148-159, March.
    20. Jose Maria Millan & Emilio Congregado & Concepcion Roman & Mirjam van Praag & Andre van Stel, 2011. "The Value of an Educated Population for an Individual's Entrepreneurship Success," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 11-066/3, Tinbergen Institute, revised 06 May 2014.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:99:y:2018:i:1:p:313-329. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0038-4941 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.