How administrative degradation affects middle-sized cities: lessons from Poland's 1998 regional reform

City Institution and Firm Productivity: The Impact of the Administrative Ranks of Chinese Cities

“…Other studies have further illuminated the role of institutions in shaping regional economic outcomes, including firm-level innovation in India (Persaud and Zare 2023), migration decisions in China (Yu et al 2023), regional innovation efficiency in Italy (Barra and Ruggiero 2022), North-South economic disparity in China (Xie et al 2022), and the governance-infrastructure nexus in sub-Saharan Africa (Appiah et al 2024). Conversely, the study by Cieślak et al (2024) provides counterevidence from a different institutional context, showing that the loss of administrative status harms local economies-a finding that resonates with our focus on the economic consequences of administrative hierarchy.…”

“…In developing countries grappling with "political favoritism"-documented across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America-our firm-level evidence quantifies the micro-level consequences: firms in politically favored cities achieve higher productivity not merely because of agglomeration, but because political status unlocks fiscal and institutional advantages. In transition economies undergoing administrative restructuring-such as Poland following its 1998 regional reform, where cities that lost provincial status experienced persistent economic decline (Cieślak et al 2024)our analysis of rank dynamics provides a framework for understanding how institutional change creates winners and losers. Across all these contexts, a common logic emerges: political hierarchy, when institutionalized in space, generates economic premiums that operate alongside market forces.…”

City Institution and Firm Productivity: The Impact of the Administrative Ranks of Chinese Cities

“…Other studies have further illuminated the role of institutions in shaping regional economic outcomes, including firm-level innovation in India (Persaud and Zare 2023), migration decisions in China (Yu et al 2023), regional innovation efficiency in Italy (Barra and Ruggiero 2022), North-South economic disparity in China (Xie et al 2022), and the governance-infrastructure nexus in sub-Saharan Africa (Appiah et al 2024). Conversely, the study by Cieślak et al (2024) provides counterevidence from a different institutional context, showing that the loss of administrative status harms local economies-a finding that resonates with our focus on the economic consequences of administrative hierarchy.…”

“…In developing countries grappling with "political favoritism"-documented across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America-our firm-level evidence quantifies the micro-level consequences: firms in politically favored cities achieve higher productivity not merely because of agglomeration, but because political status unlocks fiscal and institutional advantages. In transition economies undergoing administrative restructuring-such as Poland following its 1998 regional reform, where cities that lost provincial status experienced persistent economic decline (Cieślak et al 2024)our analysis of rank dynamics provides a framework for understanding how institutional change creates winners and losers. Across all these contexts, a common logic emerges: political hierarchy, when institutionalized in space, generates economic premiums that operate alongside market forces.…”

City Institution and Firm Productivity: The Impact of the Administrative Ranks of Chinese Cities

“…Other studies have further illuminated the role of institutions in shaping regional economic outcomes, including firm-level innovation in India (Persaud and Zare 2023), migration decisions in China (Yu et al 2023), regional innovation efficiency in Italy (Barra and Ruggiero 2022), North-South economic disparity in China (Xie et al 2022), and the governance-infrastructure nexus in sub-Saharan Africa (Appiah et al 2024). Conversely, the study by Cieślak et al (2024) provides counterevidence from a different institutional context, showing that the loss of administrative status harms local economies-a finding that resonates with our focus on the economic consequences of administrative hierarchy.…”

“…In developing countries grappling with "political favoritism"-documented across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America-our firm-level evidence quantifies the micro-level consequences: firms in politically favored cities achieve higher productivity not merely because of agglomeration, but because political status unlocks fiscal and institutional advantages. In transition economies undergoing administrative restructuring-such as Poland following its 1998 regional reform, where cities that lost provincial status experienced persistent economic decline (Cieślak et al 2024)our analysis of rank dynamics provides a framework for understanding how institutional change creates winners and losers. Across all these contexts, a common logic emerges: political hierarchy, when institutionalized in space, generates economic premiums that operate alongside market forces.…”

City Institution and Firm Productivity: The Impact of the Administrative Ranks of Chinese Cities

“…Other studies have further illuminated the role of institutions in shaping regional economic outcomes, including firm-level innovation in India (Persaud and Zare 2023), migration decisions in China (Yu et al 2023), regional innovation efficiency in Italy (Barra and Ruggiero 2022), North-South economic disparity in China (Xie et al 2022), and the governance-infrastructure nexus in sub-Saharan Africa (Appiah et al 2024). Conversely, the study by Cieślak et al (2024) provides counterevidence from a different institutional context, showing that the loss of administrative status harms local economies-a finding that resonates with our focus on the economic consequences of administrative hierarchy.…”

“…In developing countries grappling with "political favoritism"-documented across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America-our firm-level evidence quantifies the micro-level consequences: firms in politically favored cities achieve higher productivity not merely because of agglomeration, but because political status unlocks fiscal and institutional advantages. In transition economies undergoing administrative restructuring-such as Poland following its 1998 regional reform, where cities that lost provincial status experienced persistent economic decline (Cieślak et al 2024)our analysis of rank dynamics provides a framework for understanding how institutional change creates winners and losers. Across all these contexts, a common logic emerges: political hierarchy, when institutionalized in space, generates economic premiums that operate alongside market forces.…”