Spatial Macroeconomics

In macroeconomics, the spatial dimension has usually been overlooked. This abstraction implicitly treats regions within countries and other spatial units as homogeneous and ignores spatial mechanisms between and within regions. In this special issue, we seek contributions that show how regional economics, economic geography and spatial econometrics can talk to macroeconomics.

As such, we gather empirical and methodological contributions that analyse how location choices by firms and households affect the spatial distribution of macroeconomic activity (GDP, employment, consumption, inflation, etc). We also seek papers that model and estimate spatial macroeconomic environments with a potentially large number of heterogeneous locations, that analyse the spatial diffusion of macroeconomic shocks and that analyse empirically the macroeconomic effects of networks in production, consumption, and alike. This agenda is likely to become a leading research area that is of interest both to scholars and policy-makers.

Topics might include but are not limited to the following:

• Spatial diffusion of macroeconomic shocks: the most recent pandemic crisis has shown that macroeconomic shocks, especially large and rare shocks, have large heterogeneous effects on the macroeconomy. We seek contributions on the spatial diffusion of such shocks within national boundaries, within regions, even at very fine spatial units such as neighbourhoods.
• Spatial micro-foundations for the macroeconomy: This includes location decisions by firms and households with a focus on the associated macroeconomic implications. Examples of studies include analysis of residential location choices and spatial developments of Krugman’s core-periphery models.
• Quantitative Spatial Economics (QSE) application to macroeconomics: this special issue seeks to draw attention to the modeling and estimation of spatial models with a large number of heterogeneous locations. These class of models can be used to study policies that are spatial in nature such as transportation, infrastructure and informational networks and how they affect macroeconomic outcomes, migration, or climate change.
• Spatial General Equilibrium (SGE) Models and Spatial Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Models (SDSGE): these contributions can be either methodological, empirical or theoretical studies.
• Models of input-output networks and their application to spatial macroeconomics: for example how networks in production, consumption, and alike affect the spatial distribution of macroeconomic activity.
• Macroeconomic effects or perspectives of regional policies: How do regional initiatives translate to national economic output? This could also include understanding any national and intra-regional policy requirements to support regional policies.
• Regional/spatial impacts of macroeconomic policies: For example, examining the spatial dispersion of the benefits of macroeconomic policies.
• The role of spatial equilibrium (or spatial disequilibrium) in the macroeconomy: Economic geographers and economists often have conflicting views of spatial equilibrium. This topic would explore how the basis for these differing views translates to the macroeconomic effects on the economy.

For more information, click here.