Do local energy prices and regulation affect the geographic concentration of employment?

Matthew Kahn and Erin Mansur

Journal of Public Economics, 2013, vol. 101, issue C, 105-114

Abstract: Manufacturing industries differ with respect to their energy intensity, labor-to-capital ratio and their pollution intensity. Across the United States, there is significant variation in electricity prices and labor and environmental regulation. This paper examines whether the basic logic of comparative advantage can explain the geographical clustering of U.S. manufacturing. We document that energy-intensive industries concentrate in low electricity price counties and labor-intensive industries avoid pro-union counties. We find mixed evidence that pollution-intensive industries locate in counties featuring relatively lax Clean Air Act regulation.

Keywords: Manufacturing employment; Electricity prices; Regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (195)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272713000509
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:101:y:2013:i:c:p:105-114

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2013.03.002

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Public Economics is currently edited by R. Boadway and J. Poterba

More articles in Journal of Public Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().