Essays in Spatial Economics
Date of Award
Spring 1-1-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Economics
First Advisor
Arkolakis, Costas
Abstract
Firms' activities across geographic regions play a crucial role in shaping local economic outcomes. This dissertation examines how firms make key spatial decisions and evaluates the implications of these choices for local growth and welfare.Chapter 1 studies how firm investment in knowledge creation can facilitate firm growth in space, and finds that knowledge investment can amplify and propagate local shocks. Chapter 2 demonstrates that measuring market power at the point where goods are sold, rather than where they are produced, breaks the otherwise tight link between firm-level labor and product market power. Chapter 3 studies a group of "superstar" ZIP Codes in the United States that have broken away from the remainder of the economy, and finds that industry composition is a driving force behind the success of these ZIP Codes.
Recommended Citation
Liang, Jack Andrew, "Essays in Spatial Economics" (2025). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 1749.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/1749