We examine the local effects of South Korea's large-scale place-based industrial policy of constructing industrial complexes in left-behind regions. We compile a novel dataset on industrial complex designations dating back to the 1960s and link it to administrative establishment surveys. Using a...

This study examines the crucial relationship between Madagascar's protected areas and tourism, estimating the economic impact on these sites and their surrounding communities. It highlights the lack of data on the economic implications of nature-based tourism, which hinders the ability of...

The Ethiopia Local Economic Development (LED) Pilot in Kebri Beyah Woreda, implemented from February 2023 to December 2024, aimed to move beyond traditional fragmented economic development to foster a collaborative and integrated ecosystem for economic growth at the woreda level in Ethiopia. The...

Startup clusters exert a significant influence on territorial dynamics and local urban development by attracting job opportunities, talent, and shaping market interest, supported by effective land use policies. This study examines the impact of Urban Development Policies (UDP) on technology...

Rural roads, serving as vital links between remote areas and economic centers, play an indispensable role in rural development. This paper investigates the relationship between rural road development and various economic outcomes in China from 2008 to 2021. Based on comprehensive novel road...

The objective of the paper is to measure the gender gap in microcredit programs, considering the dynamics of the local economy and the labor market. We used data from the CrediBahia program in the State of Bahia, Brazil, to carry out the research. The literature indicates that the default rate...

We study the effects of place-based policies on aggregate productivity using administrative data on projects co-financed by the EU in Italy linked to balance sheet data. We exploit quasi-experimental variation in funding for a large place-based policy stemming from measurement error in regional...

We study the effects of place-based policies on aggregate productivity using administrative data on projects co-financed by the EU in Italy linked to balance sheet data. We exploit quasi-experimental variation in funding for a large place-based policy stemming from measurement error in regional...

This paper establishes the linkage between place-based policies and growth from the perspective of regional innovation, using China as a case study. Leveraging extensive data on special economic zones (SEZs) and patent data, I examine the causal effects and underlying channels of SEZ...

This study addresses the critical connection between Uganda's protected areas and tourism and estimates the economic impact of tourism on these sites and their surrounding communities. The primary audience of this report is decision-makers such as the ministry of tourism, protected area...

This paper investigates the causal effects of central-to-local government transfers on local economic activity in Ecuador, utilizing exogenous variation from a reform in the intergovernmental transfer formula implemented in 2018. Addressing gaps in the fiscal decentralization literature, this...

This paper asks whether Denmark's large-scale intervention in disadvantaged public-housing neighbourhoods on the "Ghetto List" in 2010 altered the trajectories of the neighbourhoods and improved economic outcomes of pre-existing residents through infrastructural improvements and social...

Am 5. November 2025 wurde der Zwischenbericht 2025 zur begleitenden Evaluierung des Investitionsgesetzes Kohleregionen (InvKG) und des STARK‑Bundesprogramms von den Wirtschaftsforschungsinstituten IWH und RWI veröffentlicht. Die Evaluierung, die im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für...

Das Klimaschutzgesetz (KSG) sieht eine Reduktion der deutschen Treibhausgasemissionen bis zum Jahr 2030 um 65% gegenüber den Emissionen im Jahr 1990 vor. Der Ausstieg aus der thermischen Verwertung der Kohle (vor allem der Braunkohle) leistet einen substanziellen Beitrag zum Erreichen dieser...

The literature on regional agglomeration suggests that local economic revitalisation is likely to involve a rise in local wages. In the context of urban regeneration, community-oriented policy envisages to improve prosperity among the residential population of deprived neighbourhoods. Yet, due...

This paper evaluates the short- and medium-run effects of large hydroelectric power plant (HPP) construction on the economic development of Brazilian municipalities. Using the synthetic control method, we estimate the effects for 82 municipalities affected by HPP construction between 2002 and...

Policies targeting disadvantaged areas aim to improve their conditions, but the labels they impose carry consequences of their own. In this paper, we examine Denmark's Ghetto Plan, one of the first recent place-based policies explicitly targeting migrant populations. Under this policy, certain...

Support for right-wing populist parties is characterised by considerable regional heterogeneity and especially concentrated in regions that have experienced economic decline. It remains unclear, however, whether the spatial externalities of local decline, including homelessness and crime, boost...

Support for right-wing populist parties is characterised by considerable regional heterogeneity and especially concentrated in regions that have experienced economic decline. It remains unclear, however, whether the spatial externalities of local decline, including homelessness and crime, boost...

Bei der Finanzierung von Investitionen sind die Kommunen stark auf Fördermittel angewiesen. Diese werden über zahlreiche Programme verteilt, wobei die Länder eine maßgebliche Rolle spielen. Die empirische Forschung legt nahe, dass politische Verbindungen die Zuweisung dieser Mittel...

We study the causal impact of export growth on Chilean local economic development by exploiting spatial and time variations in local exposure arising from past differences in industry specialization across local labor markets and the evolution of tariffs and exports across industries. We find...

This report supports the diagnostic phase for the formulation of the STI for SDGs roadmap of Mauritius. It focuses on the mapping of the entrepreneurial innovation-driven economic ecosystem's structure and social dynamics of Mauritius, assessing place-specific conditions and capacities. The...

This paper provides empirical evidence on the impact of a prominent place-based policy - Special Economic Zones (SEZs) - on the economic well-being of African households. We compile a novel dataset on repeated cross-sections of households living in various distance bands around SEZs in 10...

This study investigates the economic impact of China's "stadium diplomacy" in Sub-Saharan Africa. Exploiting the staggered timing of the construction in a difference-in-differences framework, we analyze the effect of Chinese-built and financed stadiums on local economic development. Employing...

We investigate the heterogeneity of the impact of World Bank foreign aid projects on local economic development across countries, sectors and time. Using a grid-cell dataset of geo-referenced aid data, satellite night-time light imagery, and climatic and socio-economic controls, we employ a...

Does the labeling of neighborhoods affect their outcomes? Place-based policies targeting disadvantaged areas aim to improve their conditions, but the labels they impose carry consequences of their own. In this paper, we examine Denmark's Ghetto Plan which designated public housing areas with a...