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Spatial Policies and Heterogeneous Employment Responses

Author

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  • Fabian Bald
  • Marcel Henkel

Abstract

This paper proposes that spatial policies improve economic outcomes by reducing barriers to supplying labour, with heterogeneous effects across demographic groups. Using quasi-experimental variation in Germany’s fiscal transfer system, we estimate higher employment elasticities for female workers, with the strongest impact in places where public childcare supply is smaller. We propose a quantitative spatial model incorporating location decisions and group-specific frictions to labour force participation. We establish that optimal spatial policy would not unambiguously direct resources to low-wage areas but additionally target regions with high labour supply elasticities, yielding substantial welfare and labour force gains in the aggregate. This paper argues that accounting for differential employment responses significantly alters optimal place-based policy design, highlighting a novel channel for addressing efficiency and equity concerns in ageing economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabian Bald & Marcel Henkel, 2025. "Spatial Policies and Heterogeneous Employment Responses," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0063, Berlin School of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:bdp:dpaper:0063
    DOI: 10.48462/opus4-5764
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Place-Based Policies; Local Public Goods; Labour Force Participation; Fiscal Transfers; Spatial Sorting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • H73 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Interjurisdictional Differentials and Their Effects
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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