Uneven Pattern in Natural-Amenity Driven Growth

This paper examines the uneven regional pattern in the amenity-driven growth in the USA. It proposes that the uneven pattern could be driven by the dual nature of natural amenities, considering both their quality-of-life effects on households and their productivity effects on firms. A quantitative spatial equilibrium model (QSE) is modified to generate a spatially varying effect of natural amenities on local population growth. The modified QSE model also justifies the introduction of a partially linear spatially varying coefficient model and the adoption of a statistical learning method: the Bivariate Penalized Spline Estimation over Triangulation (BPST). By highlighting the importance of the spatially varying productivity effects, the research shows that natural-amenity-driven growth is not a panacea for rural community development.