Local Governance

Passenger Travel Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity

How does the cost of moving people shape the spatial organization of economic activity? While a large literature studies transportation infrastructure through the lens of goods transport costs, modern infrastructure investments—such as high-speed …

Pollution in the Administrative Calculus: Evidence from Land Allocation in China

Understanding when and how environmental objectives enter government decision-making is central to the design of effective regulation in decentralized systems. This paper studies how pollution becomes decision-relevant for local governments by …