This paper examines cost allocation rules for minimum cost spanning tree (MCST) problems, focusing on the properties of merge-proofness and coalitional stability. Merge-proofness ensures that no coalition of agents has the incentive to merge before participating in the cost allocation process....

Research conducted worldwide has established that industrial agglomeration can improve firm productivity, regardless of policy and institutional factors. In this study, we utilize firm-level data from the Chinese Industrial Enterprises Database (CIED) for the period of 1998-2014 to analyze the...