Spatial Patterns of Development: a Meso Approach
Spatial Patterns of Development: A Meso Approach Stelios Michalopoulos Brown University, CEPR, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and NBER Elias Papaioannou London Business School and CEPR Institute Working Paper 4 November 2017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21034/iwp.4 Keywords: Development; Language; Ethnicity; History; Borders; Luminosity; Regression discontinuity; Regions JEL Codes: N00, N9, O10, O43, O55 The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis or the Federal Reserve System. __________________________________________________________________________________ Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis • Research Division 90 Hennepin Avenue • Minneapolis, MN 55480-0291 https://www.minneapolisfed.org/institute Spatial Patterns of Development: A Meso Approach∗ Stelios Michalopoulos Brown University, CEPR, FRB of Minneapolis, and NBER Elias Papaioannou London Business School and CEPR November 28, 2017 Abstract Over the last two decades, the literature on comparative development has moved from country-level to within-country analyses. The questions asked have expanded, as econo- mists have used satellite images of light density at night and other big spatial data to proxy for development at the desired level. The focus has also shifted from uncovering cor- relations to identifying causal relations, using elaborate econometric techniques including spatial regression discontinuity designs. In this survey we show how the combination of ge- ographic information systems with insights from disciplines ranging from the earth sciences to linguistics and history has transformed the research landscape on the roots of the spatial patterns of development. We discuss the limitations of the luminosity data and associated econometric techniques and conclude by offering some thoughts on future research.
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