This paper uses micro-data to analyze wage formation in the Nordic countries at the regional level. Our results deviate systematically from the main conclusions drawn by Blanchflower and Oswald (1994). We do find a significant negative long-run relationship between unemployment and real wages at the regional level. However, we find no stable negative relation between wages and unemployment across regions in the Nordic labor markets once regional fixed effects are accounted for. Wage formation at the regional level is characterized by considerable persistence, but unemployment exerts no immediate influence on wages at the regional level. There is no evidence of a transitory wage curve, nor of a Phillips curve, at the regional level in the Nordic countries. The results are consistent with a theoretical model where central bargaining agents determine a national wage increment, and local bargaining agents determine wage drift.

This article examines the relationship between migration and transportation improvements. More precisely, will transportation improvements between central business districts (CBDs) and rural areas make migration trends more favorable in rural areas? Due to household utility geographical differentials, there are interregional migration. Thus, it is resaonable to believe that transportation improvements that increase the access of rural population to the labor and the service market of CBDs will influence interregional migration in rural areas positively. I will examine whether this is true for Iceland, a thinly populated area with two CBDs. A macro panel data set from Iceland will be used. It represents several essential varaibles of the house market for seventy-nine municipalities in Iceland during the period from 1986 to 2006. Furthermore, I will investigate whether there are any gender aspects regarding the matter.

In this paper, I examine the relationship between housing prices and transport improvements. The relationship between distance and housing prices is known to be negative for a densely populated area. I will examine whether this relationship holds for a sparsely populated area, and will test whether this relationship is convex with respect to distance. A macro panel dataset from Iceland will be used. The existence of the expected relationship is among the main findings. Thus, transportation improvements between the CBD and other localities have greater marginal impact on the local real price of houses in closer localities compared to those which are farther away. Rapports marginaux entre prix de l'immobilier et améliorations dans les transports: emplacement et impact marginal Résumé Dans la présente communication, j'examine le rapport entre le prix de l'immobilier et l'amélioration des transports. On sait que le rapport entre la distance et le prix de l'immobilier est négatif pour les zones à forte densité de population. Je vais examiner si ce rapport reste vrai pour des zones à faible densité, et effectuer des essais afin d’établir si ce rapport est convexe en fonction de la distance. Un ensemble de données de macro panel provenant d'Islande sera utilisé. Une des principales conclusions est l'existence de rapports prévus. Ainsi, les améliorations des transports entre CBD et d'autres lieux ont un impact marginal supérieur sur le prix réel local de l'immobilier dans des localités plus proches, par rapport à des localités plus éloignées. La relación marginal de los precios de la vivienda y las mejoras del transporte: ubicación e impacto marginal Extracto En este trabajo examino la relación entre los precios de la vivienda y las mejoras en el transporte. Se sabe que la relación entre la distancia y los precios de la vivienda es negativa en las áreas densamente pobladas. Examinaré si esta relación se mantiene en un área escasamente poblada, y ensayaré si es convexa con respecto a la distancia. Se utilizará un conjunto de datos de macro-panel procedente de Islandia. La existencia de la relación esperada es uno de los principales descubrimientos. Así, las mejoras del transporte entre el CBD (distrito central de negocios) y otras localidades tienen un mayor impacto marginal sobre el precio local real de la vivienda en localidades más próximas, en comparación con las que están más alejadas.House prices, transportation improvements, distance gradient, local, R40, R21, R41, C23,

The objectives of reforming sub-levels of the public sector have historically been driven by the will and need to amalgamate municipalities. The reasons given for amal­gamating have primarily been size-efficiency and capacity, as well as quality and quantity in services. This is shown, for example, in a recent study of selected European countries where these objectives are of high importance with regard to amalgamations in 11 European countries (Steiner et al., 2016). Baldersheim and Rose (2010) have described these objectives as “the consolidationist argument”. The basic argument is that, due to scale economies, increased size of political-administrative units will lower average costs (i.e., cost per capita) of providing municipal services and therefore increase the capacity to redistribute economic and organizational resources more effectively. What this means is that increased size yields lower average cost, which gives opportunities to provide services of more quality and quantity and distribute them more equally within all neighbourhoods and between neighbourhoods. Whether these objectives are realized after amalgamation in a new municipality is, however another question which has often been hard to answer in empirical studies. In the study of 11 European countries by Steiner et al. (2016) the most important outcomes of amalgamations tend to be improved service quality and to some extent cost savings. Case studies evaluating the impact of municipal amalgamations seem to be rare. However, Eythórsson and Jóhannesson (2002)[1] evaluated the impact of 7 different amalgamations out of a total of 37 municipalities in Iceland from the 1990’s. The evaluation covered various aspects such as democracy, administration, services, economic development and cost-efficiency. Among other things, their results indicated that services tended to improve and cost-efficiency tended to be realised, at least to some extent. Important aspects in this context were found to be equality between different parts of the municipality, as well as time from amalgamation. Even though, in general, quality and quantity in services increased after amalgamation, this did not seem to be the case for all parts or neighbourhoods of the municipality. People and local leaders in the more peripheral and less central parts were more discontent with the development of services in the new municipality. The time perspective seemed to matter, at least in some service fields. In the case of Iceland, there was some evidence that improvements in economic development and in infrastructure took time and that no positive signs could be detected until at least five years after the amalgamation. These almost 20 year old results indicate that the impact of municipal amalgamations often turns out to be more complex than general approaches may show. Therefore, we find it relevant to analyse newer material to try to determine whether this is the case with amalgamations a decade or decades later – in times when lessons could have been learned from previous cases in order to try to prevent inequality in service provision. This article attempts to answer the question what impact municipal amalgamations have had on municipal services, especially looking at service quality, service capacity, service efficiency and equality in services between the centre and the periphery in the municipality. The analysis is based on material from two separate research projects: firstly, from 2015, survey among elected local politicians in Iceland and, secondly, data from a survey conducted in 2013, where the respondents were citizens in eight amalgamated municipalities, which had been amalgamated in and around the middle of the first decade of the 21st century.

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