Locating Public Facilities: Theory and Micro Evidence from Paris

Arbeitspapier

This paper proposes a novel approach to evaluate location decisions for public facilities. The approach addresses, not only the standard distance-minimizing problem, but also the endogenous location decisions of individuals. To do so, I develop a quantifiable general equilibrium model with endogenous (residential and commercial) densities, housing prices, commutes to work and public facilities, as well as public facility characteristics. The latter includes a facility’s location, quality, district and capacity. I apply the framework to secondary schools in Paris’ greater region at a 1km2 geographical scale. The analysis reveals that the observed location decisions made between 2001 and 2015 underestimate the endogenous reaction of individuals. A more decentralized strategy is predicted to increase welfare growth by 10 percentage points on average, mostly via shorter commutes and lower housing prices.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 8908

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Public Facility Location Analysis; Public Investment and Capital Stock ; Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government ; Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity
• Subject: location ; facility ; general equilibrium ; commuting ; interrupted search

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Loumeau, Gabriel
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2021

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/235278
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET