Publications
NEW! Gentrification and pioneer businesses, Review of Economics and Statistics with Kristian Behrens, Julien Martin and Florian Mayneris, 2022.
Article and supplementary data | PDF (revised and final version!) | VoxEU column | World Economic Forum
Abstract: Little is known about where hotspots of gentrification emerge within a city, and the role that some types of businesses play in the process. We develop a method to detect the sectors whose presence heralds the process of gentrification in a neighborhood. We show that these sectors, mostly found in cultural and creative industries, help to anticipate neighborhood change and that their predictive power complements that of traditional gentrification determinants. We also examine mechanisms related to amenities, worker characteristics, and signaling, which are consistent with these results. The analysis illustrates the importance of businesses in the socio-demographic dynamics of neighborhoods.
Formation "Outils de prévision économique des transformations du tissu urbain"
Formation donnée pour l'Observatoire et centre de valorisation des innovations en immobilier (OCVI2) - 16 octobre 2020.
PDF
Are clusters resilient? Evidence from Canadian textile industries, Journal of Economic Geography, with Kristian Behrens and Julien Martin, 2020.
Article | VoxEU column | Report for the Canadian government
Abstract: We investigate whether plants inside and outside geographic clusters differ in their resilience to adverse economic shocks. To this end, we develop a bottom-up procedure to delimit clusters using Canadian geo-coded plant-level data. Focusing on the textile and clothing (T&C) sector and exploiting the series of dramatic changes faced by that sector between 2001 and 2013, we find little evidence that plants in T&C clusters are more resilient than plants outside clusters. Over the whole period, plants inside clusters are neither less likely to die nor more likely to adapt by switching their main line of business. However, in the industries the most exposed to the surge of Chinese imports after 2005, plants inside clusters die and exit less than others in the following two years.
Access to the city center and housing vacancies in the suburbs, Annals of Economics and Statistics, 2018.
Article
Abstract: How does access to the center of a city affect the housing vacancy rate in the suburbs? Using data on housing for French municipalities, I first document the disparities and evolution of housing vacancy rates in France. A particular attention is paid on the Paris metropolitan area, where housing vacancies are surprisingly large. Next, I develop a theoretical model which emphasizes the link between proximity to the city center and housing vacancies in suburban locations. Finally, I empirically test the predictions of the model using information on transport and housing in the Paris urban area. The findings show that proximity to the city is associated with lower vacancy rates. This result is consistent with a positive association between distance and frictions in the real estate market.
Des industries aux nouvelles technologies : dynamiques de quartiers à Montréal et au Canada, Présentation, avec Kristian Behrens et Julien Martin, 2017.
PDF
Does culture affect local productivity and urban amenities?, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2014.
Article | Online discussion paper | Newspaper (en français)
Abstract: Does a better cultural milieu make a city more livable for residents and improve its business environment for firms? I compute a measure of cultural specialization for 346 U.S. metropolitan areas and ask if differences in cultural environment across cities capitalize into housing price and wage differentials. Simple correlations replicate standard results from the literature: cities that are more specialized in cultural occupations enjoy higher factor prices. Estimations using time-series data, controlling for city characteristics and correcting for endogeneity weaken the magnitude of this effect. Even though the arts and culture might be appealing to some people and firms, such determinants are not strong enough to affect factor prices at the city level.
Getting a first job: quality of the labor matching in French cities, Working paper series, 2014.
PDF
Best paper in international economics at the 2014 Doctoral meeting in International Trade and International Finance (Zurich).
Abstract: This paper evaluates the influence of urban density on the quality of the match between workers' field of education and their first occupation. Using survey data on young individuals that entered the French labor market in 2004, I propose an original measure of skill matching and find that the quality of the match increases with urban density. I also show that a better skill match is associated with higher wages and that this matching premium comes in addition to the urban wage premium.
Geographical distance and the organization of firms: an empirical analysis on firm-level data, 2010.
Abstract: This work investigates the impact of geographical distance on the organizational strategies faced by multinational corporations. Focusing on the internalization decision (the traditional make-or-buy arbitrage), I show how distance related costs can affect the trade-off between self-made production by an affiliate and the delegation of activities to independent suppliers. Using firm level data describing the sourcing mode of multinational corporations, I emphasize the influence of a firm-specific measure of distance in explaining this trade-off. Controlling for standard country and firm specific variables, empirical results reveal a positive relationship between geographical distance and the degree of internalization.
NEW! Gentrification and pioneer businesses, Review of Economics and Statistics with Kristian Behrens, Julien Martin and Florian Mayneris, 2022.
Article and supplementary data | PDF (revised and final version!) | VoxEU column | World Economic Forum
Abstract: Little is known about where hotspots of gentrification emerge within a city, and the role that some types of businesses play in the process. We develop a method to detect the sectors whose presence heralds the process of gentrification in a neighborhood. We show that these sectors, mostly found in cultural and creative industries, help to anticipate neighborhood change and that their predictive power complements that of traditional gentrification determinants. We also examine mechanisms related to amenities, worker characteristics, and signaling, which are consistent with these results. The analysis illustrates the importance of businesses in the socio-demographic dynamics of neighborhoods.
Formation "Outils de prévision économique des transformations du tissu urbain"
Formation donnée pour l'Observatoire et centre de valorisation des innovations en immobilier (OCVI2) - 16 octobre 2020.
Are clusters resilient? Evidence from Canadian textile industries, Journal of Economic Geography, with Kristian Behrens and Julien Martin, 2020.
Article | VoxEU column | Report for the Canadian government
Abstract: We investigate whether plants inside and outside geographic clusters differ in their resilience to adverse economic shocks. To this end, we develop a bottom-up procedure to delimit clusters using Canadian geo-coded plant-level data. Focusing on the textile and clothing (T&C) sector and exploiting the series of dramatic changes faced by that sector between 2001 and 2013, we find little evidence that plants in T&C clusters are more resilient than plants outside clusters. Over the whole period, plants inside clusters are neither less likely to die nor more likely to adapt by switching their main line of business. However, in the industries the most exposed to the surge of Chinese imports after 2005, plants inside clusters die and exit less than others in the following two years.
Access to the city center and housing vacancies in the suburbs, Annals of Economics and Statistics, 2018.
Article
Abstract: How does access to the center of a city affect the housing vacancy rate in the suburbs? Using data on housing for French municipalities, I first document the disparities and evolution of housing vacancy rates in France. A particular attention is paid on the Paris metropolitan area, where housing vacancies are surprisingly large. Next, I develop a theoretical model which emphasizes the link between proximity to the city center and housing vacancies in suburban locations. Finally, I empirically test the predictions of the model using information on transport and housing in the Paris urban area. The findings show that proximity to the city is associated with lower vacancy rates. This result is consistent with a positive association between distance and frictions in the real estate market.
Des industries aux nouvelles technologies : dynamiques de quartiers à Montréal et au Canada, Présentation, avec Kristian Behrens et Julien Martin, 2017.
Does culture affect local productivity and urban amenities?, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2014.
Article | Online discussion paper | Newspaper (en français)
Abstract: Does a better cultural milieu make a city more livable for residents and improve its business environment for firms? I compute a measure of cultural specialization for 346 U.S. metropolitan areas and ask if differences in cultural environment across cities capitalize into housing price and wage differentials. Simple correlations replicate standard results from the literature: cities that are more specialized in cultural occupations enjoy higher factor prices. Estimations using time-series data, controlling for city characteristics and correcting for endogeneity weaken the magnitude of this effect. Even though the arts and culture might be appealing to some people and firms, such determinants are not strong enough to affect factor prices at the city level.
Getting a first job: quality of the labor matching in French cities, Working paper series, 2014.
Best paper in international economics at the 2014 Doctoral meeting in International Trade and International Finance (Zurich).
Abstract: This paper evaluates the influence of urban density on the quality of the match between workers' field of education and their first occupation. Using survey data on young individuals that entered the French labor market in 2004, I propose an original measure of skill matching and find that the quality of the match increases with urban density. I also show that a better skill match is associated with higher wages and that this matching premium comes in addition to the urban wage premium.
Geographical distance and the organization of firms: an empirical analysis on firm-level data, 2010.
Abstract: This work investigates the impact of geographical distance on the organizational strategies faced by multinational corporations. Focusing on the internalization decision (the traditional make-or-buy arbitrage), I show how distance related costs can affect the trade-off between self-made production by an affiliate and the delegation of activities to independent suppliers. Using firm level data describing the sourcing mode of multinational corporations, I emphasize the influence of a firm-specific measure of distance in explaining this trade-off. Controlling for standard country and firm specific variables, empirical results reveal a positive relationship between geographical distance and the degree of internalization.
