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Quantitative economic geography meets history: Questions, answers and challenges

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  • Nagy, Dávid Krisztián

Abstract

A rapidly growing literature uses quantitative general equilibrium models of economic geography to study the economic impact of historical events such as the railroad revolution, industrial take-off, structural transformation and wars. I identify three key challenges facing this literature: the tractability of model structure, the availability of historical data, and issues related to identification. I review the literature by discussing how it has been addressing each of these challenges. While doing so, I point out the rich set of questions that this literature can address, as well as the methodological innovations it has conducted to answer these questions.

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  • Nagy, Dávid Krisztián, 2022. "Quantitative economic geography meets history: Questions, answers and challenges," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:94:y:2022:i:c:s0166046221000351
    DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2021.103675
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