Patrizio Lecca

• PhD
• Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICADE

We analyse the general equilibrium effects of an asymmetric decrease in transport costs, combining a large scale spatial dynamic general equilibrium model for 267 European NUTS‐2 regions with a detailed transport model at the level of individual road segments. As a case study, we consider the impact of the road infrastructure investments in Central...

We quantify the general equilibrium effects on economic growth of improving the quality of institutions at the regional level in the context of the implementation of the European Cohesion Policy for the European Union and the UK. The direct impact of changes in the quality of government is integrated in a general equilibrium model to analyse the sy...

Abstract: This paper uses a general equilibrium framework to evaluate the macroeconomic impacts of the legislative measures contained in the third strand of the Investment Plan for Europe. Differently from most of the existing European policies evaluated with economic impact assessments, these measures do not involve any funds or money injections i...

Using a spatial general equilibrium model, this paper investigates the resilience of European Union regions under three alternative recessionary shocks, each activating different economic adjustments and mechanisms. We measure the vulnerability, resistance and recoverability of regions and identify key regional features affecting the ability of reg...

Technological change is necessary for economies to grow and develop. This paper investigates how this technological change could be directed in order to simultaneously reduce carbon-intensive energy use and deliver a range of economic benefits. Using both partial and general equilibrium modelling, we consider improvements in the efficiency in the d...

In this study we evaluate the impact of demographic change on energy use. The results are obtained from a calibrated overlapping generations general equilibrium model for Italy. Contrary to studies based on partial equilibrium regression models, or fixed price models that are unable to account for supply side effects, we found that a pronounced age...

The paper illustrates the effect of a permanent demand‐side shock in the perturbed regions and the associated spillover effects in the non‐perturbed regions using a spatial‐numerical general equilibrium model of the EU economy. We test to what extent gradual upward pressure on wages generated by a domestic increase in demand alters the magnitude of...

The fiscal powers of the Scottish government have increased significantly, resulting in the first (modest) regional differences in income tax rates within the UK. In fact, the current degree of fiscal autonomy would permit a radical shift towards a high-tax, high-spend ‘Scandinavian model’. It is found that the impact of such a change on the Scotti...

This paper analyses the system-wide impact of increased household energy efficiency in a regional context, using Scotland as an example. It shows that household energy efficiency improvements typically deliver a ‘double dividend’ of a regional economic stimulus and reduction in energy use. However, the trade-off between the two is sensitive to the...

The issues of the forced migration on the one side and the integration of refugees in the EU society and labour markets on the other side are high on the policy agenda. Apart from humanitarian aspects, a sustainable integration of accepted asylum seekers is important also for social, economic, budgetary and other reasons. Although the potential soc...

Offshore wind power (OSW) plays a key role within the UK strategy for a transition towards a low-carbon economy, offering vast potential for establishing a high-tech manufacturing industry. Previous experiences in the onshore sector (OWP) suggest the UK might fail in fully capturing these macroeconomic benefits. In this work, we investigate the his...

In this paper we investigate the role played by capital mobility, labor migration and input–output linkages in shaping the spatial distribution of economic activity in a spatial computable general equilibrium framework. We identify European Union core and periphery regions based on an accessibility index and simulate the impact of a homogeneous tra...

How much does a single graduation cohort from further education colleges contribute to an open regional economy? Spatial Economic Analysis. This paper combines elements of growth accounting and numerical general equilibrium analysis to produce an alternative the micro-to-macro modelling approach. This is used to evaluate the macroeconomic impact on...

Using a purpose-built, multi-sectoral energy-economy-environmental model we evaluate the economic and environmental impact of a reduction in the levelized costs of offshore wind energy generation in the UK. Our modelling approach suggests that in order to significantly increase the offshore wind capacity in the UK the required fall in the generatio...

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling has a long and distinguished history in regional science. In the past decade or so, improvements in computation have led to more elaborate and detailed CGE models being developed and used in a range of different policy areas. Against a backdrop of these advances, this chapter seeks to identify and revi...

An extensive literature attempts to identify the economic impact of tourism expenditure. While Input-Output methods have been widely applied these may not always be appropriate for such applications and there is a growing use of more flexible Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) approaches. This paper uses a multi-period Scottish CGE model to estim...

Scotland will soon have one of the most powerful devolved governments in Europe, measured in terms of the percentage of public spending and tax revenues under its control. This chapter sets out the new fiscal powers of the Scottish Government, and explores the likely impact of using current, and potential future, fiscal levers to stimulate the econ...

The external benefits of higher education. Regional Studies. The private-market benefits of education are widely studied at the micro-level, although the magnitude of their macroeconomic impact is disputed. However, there are additional benefits of education that are less well understood. In this paper the macroeconomic effects of external benefits...

Microeconometric evidence reveals high private returns to education, most prominently in low-income countries. However, it is disputed to what extent this translates into a macroeconomic impact. This paper projects the increase in human capital from higher education in Malawi and uses a dynamic applied general equilibrium model to estimate the resu...

This paper investigates the economy-wide impacts of a 5% improvement in Scottish household energy efficiency, focussing specifically on general equilibrium energy rebound effects, both in household energy use and in total energy use across the Scottish economy. The impacts are measured through simulations using an inter-temporal single region compu...

Using a disaggregated energy–economy–environmental model, we investigate the economic and environmental impact of a Scottish specific carbon tax under three alternative assumptions about the use of the revenue raised by the tax: revenues raised are not recycled within Scotland; revenues are used to increase general government expenditure or to redu...

This paper investigates the economic impact of a 5% improvement in the UK household energy efficiency, focussing specifically on total energy rebound effects. The impact is measured through simulations using models that have increasing degrees of endogeneity but are calibrated on a common data set, moving from a basic partial equilibrium approach t...

This paper explores the system-wide impact of graduates on the regional economy. Graduates enjoy a significant wage premium, often interpreted as reflecting their greater productivity relative to nongraduates. If this is so there is a clear and direct supply-side impact of higher education institution (HEI) activities on regional economies. We use...

This paper explores the impact on aggregate economic activity in a small, open region of an income tax funded expansion in public consumption that has no direct supply-side effects. The conventional balanced budget multiplier produces an unambiguously positive macroeconomic stimulus, but the incorporation of negative competitiveness elements, throu...

In this study we evaluate the impact of demographic change on energy use. The results are obtained from calibrated overlapping generations general equilibrium model for Italy. Contrary to studies based on partial equilibrium regression models, or fixed price models that are unable to account for supply side effects, we found that a pronounced agein...

In this study we evaluate the impact of demographic change on energy use. The results are obtained from calibrated overlapping generations general equilibrium model for Italy. Contrary to studies based on partial equilibrium regression models, or fixed price models that are unable to account for supply side effects, we found that a pronounced agein...

This article presents a computable general equilibrium model for the region of Sardinia (Italy) with the purpose of investigating the macroeconomic impact of research and development (R&D) policies. The model incorporates induced technical change obtained through knowledge accumulation and external knowledge spillovers. It turns out that the cost o...

We present a stylized intertemporal forward-looking model able that accommodates key regional economic features, an area where the literature is not well developed. The main difference, from the standard applications, is the role of saving and its implication for the balance of payments. Though maintaining dynamic forward-looking behaviour for agen...

Quantitative models, such as computable general equilibrium (CGE), that are increasingly used to inform policy processes rely on a number of assumptions concerning how good and services are produced. Previous research has shown that the elasticity of substitution between inputs and the structure in which these inputs interact can have large impacts...

The private market benefits of education, i.e. the wage premia of graduates, are widely studied at the micro level, although the magnitude of their macroeconomic impact is disputed. However, there are additional benefits of education, which are less well understood but could potentially drive significant macroeconomic impacts. Following the taxonom...

This paper examines the impact of imposing different separability assumptions in the specifications of the standard hierarchical KLEM production function in a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The appropriate means of introducing energy to sectoral production functions in CGE models has been a source of debate for a number of years. Howev...

In this paper, we use CGE modelling techniques to identify the impact on energy use of an improvement in energy efficiency in the household sector. The main findings are that 1) when the price of energy is measured in natural units, the increase in efficiency yields only to a modification of tastes, changing as a result, the composition of househol...

In this paper, we disagree on the opportunity to use the double deflation method to produce an equilibrating system of account at a constant price. In fact, by relaxing such a condition, by means of the single deflation method, we obtain a measure of purchasing power transfer that can be decomposed in productivity and market distortion. Results are...

The Scottish Parliament has the authority to make a balanced-budget expansion or contraction in public expenditure, funded by corresponding local changes in the basic rate of income tax of up to 3p in the pound. This fiscal adjustment is known as the Scottish Variable Rate of income tax, though it has never, as yet, been used. In this paper we atte...

There have been numerous attempts to assess the overall impact of Higher Education Institutions on regional economies in the UK and elsewhere. There are two disparate approaches focussing on: demand-side effects of HEIs, exerted through universities’ expenditures within the local economy; HEIs’ contribution to the “knowledge eco...

This paper investigates the impact of a balanced budget fiscal policy expansion in a regional context within a numerical dynamic general equilibrium model. We take Scotland as an example where, recently, there has been extensive debate on greater fiscal autonomy. In response to a balanced budget fiscal expansion the model suggests that: an increase...

In this paper we present a computable general equilibrium model for the region of Sardinia for the purpose of evaluating the capacity of R&D policies to affect the long run rate of growth. The model incorporates induced technical change and allow for external knowledge spillovers. We find that the cost of R&D policies may change according to the wa...

In this paper, we argue against the use the double deflation method to produce an equilibrating system of account at a constant price. In fact, by relaxing such a condition, by means of the single deflation method, we obtain a measure of purchasing power transfer that can be decomposed in productivity and market distortion. Results are presented fo...

Recently, the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) has been resurrected as a policy analysis tool and, in the last decade, attention has been paid to SAM multipliers, as well as to the use of the SAM as a benchmark for computable general equilibrium models. This paper constructs a SAM for the regional economy of Sardinia that can be used for policy evalu...

Essay 1: Constructing a Social Accounting Matrix for Sardinia. Recently, the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) has been resurrected as a policy analysis tool and, in the last decade, attention has been paid to SAM multipliers, as well as to the use of the SAM as a benchmark for computable general equilibrium models. This paper construct a SAM for the...