@article{BorckUebelmesserWimbersky2015,
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and {\"U}belmesser, Silke and Wimbersky, Martin},
  title     = {The Political Economics of Higher-Education Finance for Mobile Individuals},
  series = {FinanzArchiv},
  volume    = {71},
  journal   = {FinanzArchiv},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Mohr Siebeck},
  address   = {T{\"u}bingen},
  issn      = {0015-2218},
  doi       = {10.1628/001522115X14206439673215},
  pages     = {82 -- 105},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {We study voting over higher-education finance in an economy with two regions and two separated labor markets. Households differ in their financial endowment and their children's ability. Nonstudents are immobile. Students decide where to study; they return home after graduation with exogenous probability. The voters of the two regions decide on whether to subsidize higher-education costs or to rely on tuition fees only. We find that in equilibrium, in both regions a majority votes for subsidies when the return probability is sufficiently small. When that probability is large, both regions opt for full tuition finance.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BorckWrede2018,
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and Wrede, Matthias},
  title     = {Spatial and social mobility},
  series = {Journal of Regional Science},
  volume    = {58},
  journal   = {Journal of Regional Science},
  number    = {4},
  publisher = {Wiley},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {0022-4146},
  doi       = {10.1111/jors.12382},
  pages     = {688 -- 704},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {This paper analyzes the relationship between spatial mobility and social mobility. It develops a two-skill-type spatial equilibrium model of two regions with location preferences where each region consists of an urban area that is home to workplaces and residences and an exclusively residential suburban area. The paper demonstrates that relative regional social mobility is negatively correlated with segregation and inequality. In the model, segregation, income inequality, and social mobility are driven by differences between urban and residential areas in commuting cost differences between high-skilled and low-skilled workers, and also by the magnitude of taste heterogeneity.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BorckWimbersky2014,
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and Wimbersky, Martin},
  title     = {Political economics of higher education finance},
  series = {Oxford economic papers},
  volume    = {66},
  journal   = {Oxford economic papers},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {0030-7653},
  doi       = {10.1093/oep/gps042},
  pages     = {115 -- 139},
  year      = {2014},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BorckTabuchi2019,
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and Tabuchi, Takatoshi},
  title     = {Pollution and city size: can cities be too small?},
  series = {Journal of Economic Geography},
  volume    = {19},
  journal   = {Journal of Economic Geography},
  number    = {5},
  publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {1468-2702},
  doi       = {10.1093/jeg/lby017},
  pages     = {995 -- 1020},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {We study optimal and equilibrium sizes of cities in a city system model with pollution. Pollution is a function of population size. If pollution is local or per-capita pollution increases with population, equilibrium cities are too large under symmetry; with asymmetric cities, the largest cities are too large and the smallest too small. When pollution is global and per-capita pollution declines with city size, cities may be too small under symmetry; with asymmetric cities, the largest cities are too small and the smallest too large if the marginal damage of pollution is large enough. We calibrate the model to US cities and find that the largest cities may be undersized by 3-4\%.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BorckSchrauth2020,
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and Schrauth, Philipp},
  title     = {Population density and urban air quality},
  series = {Regional science and urban economics},
  volume    = {86},
  journal   = {Regional science and urban economics},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Amsterdam},
  issn      = {0166-0462},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2020.103596},
  pages     = {24},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {We use panel data from Germany to analyze the effect of population density on urban air pollution (nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, ozone, and an aggregate index for bad air quality [AQI]). To address unobserved heterogeneity and omitted variables, we present long difference/fixed effects estimates and instrumental variables estimates, using historical population and soil quality as instruments. Using our preferred estimates, we find that the concentration increases with density for NO2 with an elasticity of 0.25 and particulate matter with elasticity of 0.08. The O-3 concentration decreases with density with an elasticity of -0.14. The AQI increases with density, with an elasticity of 0.11-0.13. We also present a variety of robustness tests. Overall, the paper shows that higher population density worsens local air quality.},
  language  = {en}
}
@techreport{BorckSchrauth2019,
  type      = {Working Paper},
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and Schrauth, Philipp},
  title     = {Population density and urban air quality},
  series = {CEPA Discussion Papers},
  journal   = {CEPA Discussion Papers},
  number    = {8},
  issn      = {2628-653X},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-42771},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-427719},
  pages     = {53},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {We use panel data from Germany to analyze the effect of population density on urban air pollution (nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and ozone). To address unobserved heterogeneity and omitted variables, we present long difference/fixed effects estimates and instrumental variables estimates, using historical population and soil quality as instruments. Our preferred estimates imply that a one-standard deviation increase in population density increases air pollution by 3-12\%.},
  language  = {en}
}
@techreport{BorckSchrauth2022,
  type      = {Working Paper},
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and Schrauth, Philipp},
  title     = {Urban pollution},
  series = {CEPA Discussion Papers},
  journal   = {CEPA Discussion Papers},
  number    = {60},
  issn      = {2628-653X},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-57204},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-572049},
  pages     = {48},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {We use worldwide satellite data to analyse how population size and density affect urban pollution. We find that density significantly increases pollution exposure. Looking only at urban areas, we find that population size affects exposure more than density. Moreover, the effect is driven mostly by population commuting to core cities rather than the core city population itself. We analyse heterogeneity by geography and income levels. By and large, the influence of population on pollution is greatest in Asia and middle-income countries. A counterfactual simulation shows that PM2.5 exposure would fall by up to 36\% and NO2 exposure up to 53\% if within countries population size were equalized across all cities.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BorckPflueger2019,
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and Pfl{\"u}ger, Michael},
  title     = {Green cities? Urbanization, trade, and the environment},
  series = {Journal of regional science},
  volume    = {59},
  journal   = {Journal of regional science},
  number    = {4},
  publisher = {Wiley},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {0022-4146},
  doi       = {10.1111/jors.12423},
  pages     = {743 -- 766},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Is urbanization good for the environment? This paper establishes a simple core-periphery model with monocentric cities, which comprises key forces that shape the structure and interrelation of cities to study the impact of the urban evolution on the environment. We focus on global warming and the potential of unfettered market forces to economize on emissions. The model parameters are chosen to match the dichotomy between average "large" and "small" cities in the urban geography of the United States, and the sectoral greenhouse gas emissions recorded for the United States. Based on numerical analyzes we find that a forced switch to a system with equally sized cities reduces total emissions. Second, any city driver which pronounces the asymmetry between the core and the periphery drives up emissions in the total city system, too, and the endogenous adjustment of the urban system accounts for the bulk of the change in emissions. Third, none of the city drivers gives rise to an urban environmental Kuznets curve according to our numerical simulations. Finally, the welfare-maximizing allocation tends to involve dispersion of cities and the more so the higher is the marginal damage from pollution.},
  language  = {en}
}
@techreport{BorckOshiroSatō2022,
  type      = {Working Paper},
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and Oshiro, Jun and Satō, Yasuhiro},
  title     = {Property tax competition},
  series = {CEPA Discussion Papers},
  journal   = {CEPA Discussion Papers},
  issn      = {2628-653X},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-56222},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-562228},
  pages     = {71},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {We develop a model of property taxation and characterize equilibria under three alternative taxa-tion regimes often used in the public finance literature: decentralized taxation, centralized taxation, and "rent seeking" regimes. We show that decentralized taxation results in inefficiently high tax rates, whereas centralized taxation yields a common optimal tax rate, and tax rates in the rent-seeking regime can be either inefficiently high or low. We quantify the effects of switching from the observed tax system to the three regimes for Japan and Germany. The decentralized or rent-seeking regime best describes the Japanese tax system, whereas the centralized regime does so for Germany. We also quantify the welfare effects of regime changes.},
  language  = {en}
}
@techreport{BorckMulder2024,
  type      = {Working Paper},
  author    = {Borck, Rainald and Mulder, Peter},
  title     = {Energy policies and pollution in two developing country cities},
  series = {CEPA Discussion Papers},
  journal   = {CEPA Discussion Papers},
  number    = {78},
  issn      = {2628-653X},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-63847},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-638472},
  pages     = {37},
  year      = {2024},
  abstract  = {We study the effect of energy and transport policies on pollution in two developing country cities. We use a quantitative equilibrium model with choice of housing, energy use, residential location, transport mode, and energy technology. Pollution comes from commuting and residential energy use. The model parameters are calibrated to replicate key variables for two developing country cities, Maputo, Mozambique, and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In the counterfactual simulations, we study how various transport and energy policies affect equilibrium pollution. Policies may be induce rebound effects from increasing residential energy use or switching to high emission modes or locations. In general, these rebound effects tend to be largest for subsidies to public transport or modern residential energy technology.},
  language  = {en}
}