This paper presents evidence that high speed rail systems, by bringing economic agents closer together, sustainably promote economic activity within regions that enjoy an increase in accessibility. Our results on the one hand confirm expectations that have led to huge public investments into...

This study analyses the sports infrastructure of Hamburg, Germany, from the residents’ perspective. Empirical evidence is provided for the Sports Place Theory developed by BALE (2003) using a micro-level dataset of 1,319 sports facilities, which is merged with highly disaggregated data on...

Recent empirical tests for a spatial wage structure have confirmed regional accessibility to be a significant determinant for income, although estimates vary considerably with respect to the geographic scope of estimated demand linkages. Our study is the first to estimate spatial demand linkages...

This article investigates the 2008 referendum held in opposition against the "Mediaspree", a major urban development project in Berlin that has been perceived as a threat of displacement of local residents and culture. Using precinct level data we find a high degree of localized resistance...

To assess the likely effects of population ageing on the outcomes of direct democracy, we analyze the effect of age on voting decisions in public referenda. To this end, we provide the first quantitative review of the literature and a case study of the Stuttgart 21 referendum on one of the...