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How do weather anomalies affect the economy at the local level? This paper presents a new data set that links weather data to annual average night-light emission data for 24.000 0.5°× 0.5° grid-cells around the globe for the period 1992–2013. Interpreting night-light emission as a proxy for economic activity, these data allow one to investigate how weather anomalies affect economic activity. Global coverage avoids selection bias, while high spatial resolution avoids averaging out heterogeneity in local impacts at higher aggregation levels. Our data show significant effects on the local growth of night-light for storms, excessive precipitation, droughts, and cold spells. Moreover, we find evidence for significant spatial spillovers to neighboring areas. Our results suggest that these offsetting spillovers are typically local. As positive and negative effects average out in larger areas, our results call for the analysis of economic effects of weather anomalies at a high geographical resolution. Finally, our results are driven by events in lower income regions. As climate change is expected to make weather patterns more erratic, our new data can inform emerging debates on how this will affect the economy in both science and politics.

This dissertation studies the relationship between local governments and their local economy. The study is motivated by the trend of increasing decentralization of public activities found all over the world. There is a strong debate on the economic effects of this decentralization trend, in which it remains unclear which activities should be decentralized, and how local governments may use their increased power to stimulate their local economy and the well-being of its citizens. The dissertation shows that the quality of a local government determines whether local government has a positive or negative economic effect, whereas the degree of decentralization determines the size of the effect. The dissertation continues by showing how local governments may create positive economic and well-being effects through their revenue and expenditure patterns. The results show that especially investments into infrastructure enhance the performance of the local economy, as well as the well-being of the citizens. Furthermore, expenditures on public welfare also positively contribute to the local economy. Finally, the local public financial effects of a shock to the economic system are analyzed, through a fracking-boom case study in Texas. The results show that the fracking-boom had positive economic effects, resulting in increased budgets for local governments. However, most of the additional budget had to be used to cope with the negative externalities caused by the fracking-boom.

Includes appendices. ; Issued Dec. 1976. ; Cover title. ; Mode of access: Internet. ; 2 17

This paper reviews the existing scientific literature analysing theoretical and practical results of infrastructure impact on social and economic development. There is no unique concept in scientific literature for determining the notion of infrastructure, for distinguishing and measuring its components and various models which provide different results are used for measuring the impact of infrastructure. Lack of unique methodology in academic literature hinders evaluation of the infrastructure investments impact on social and economic development. The authors emphasize different insights on this relationship which provides wide methodological background but there is lack of conceptual methods which could be adjusted for certain countries and life-spans. Characteristic of each country determines the set of infrastructure components and the aspect of impact on social and economic development: economic growth, income inequality, output, regional competitiveness, labour productivity and welfare. The analysis of infrastructure development impact is based on three main factors: definition of infrastructure, determination and measurement of its components, formation of a model for evaluation of the impact. They are crucial for accurate testing of the impact of infrastructure investments. The authors of the paper present scientific approaches on these factors and provide hypothetical test of the impact of infrastructure on the development in the Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The issue of infrastructure investments is very important as infrastructure development in these countries is supported by Structural Funds of European Union and other financial mechanisms. The authors of the paper faced the problem of data availability and the results of causal relationship estimations between growth and infrastructure variables in different countries are presented for the period 1995-2007.