Landscape properties as drivers for farm diversification: A Dutch case study

Farm diversification is stimulated by the societal demand to transform production countryside into consumption countryside. In most empirical studies on farmers’ decision making for diversification, geographical information is either omitted or reduced to a variable that links the farm to an administrative unit. Therefore, the influence of the exact farm location on farmers’ decision making is often lacking. The paper addresses the role of location, in terms of site specific natural conditions as well as neighboring dynamics, in influencing farmers’ decision making to diversify. Moreover, it investigates to what extend low returns from primary production stimulate farmers to find new survival strategies, and therefore explains diversification. The Gelderse Vallei area, a region in the center of the Netherlands, is used as a case study. For this area an extensive farm survey data could be combined with topographic data and soil maps (GIS). Both the number of activities as well as the kind of activities that are taken up are analyzed. Landscape attractiveness turns out to be a driver of diversification. Daily recreation most frequently occurs close to national parks, green services are more likely to occur on relatively wet soils. Activities resulting from diversification might produce positive externalities: new activities have the tendency to emerge next to already existing ones, therewith explaining the formation of “hotspots” in the landscape. Finally, diversification was found to be sensitive to returns from primary agriculture production.     

A two-echelon inventory allocation and distribution center location analysis

The optimization of locations for distribution centers is influenced by the demand for individual products. Lower demand products are often more effectively held in more centralized locations than higher demand products. This paper presents a model for optimizing the location of inventory for individual products in a multi-product two-echelon inventory system and the integration of those decisions into the location analysis for distribution centers. A realistic application of the analysis process is discussed.     

我国服务业外国直接投资的区位因子分析

本文运用多元线性回归计量分析方法，从实证角度对近10年来影响我国服务业外国直接投资的区位因子进行了分析。结果表明，市场开放度、服务业外国直接投资集聚效应对我国服务业外国直接投资影响最大，彼此间存在着显著的线性关系。而影响外国直接投资的传统区位因素，如市场规模、市场增长潜力、劳动力成本等，虽然与服务业外国直接投资也存在着一定的相关关系，但其线性关系并不显著。     

Risk aversion in RDEU

Various notions of risk aversion can be distinguished for the class of rank-dependent expected utility (RDEU) preferences. We discuss the relationships amongst five of these, and describe simple (testable) characterizations in terms of elementary probability transformations for all but the weakest notion. The paper also provides the first complete characterization of the RDEU orderings that are risk-averse in the sense of Jewitt [Jewitt, I., 1989. Choosing between risky prospects: the characterization of comparative static results and location independent risk. Management Science 35, 60–70]. We also extend Chew et al.’s [Chew, S.H., Karni, E., Safra, Z., 1987. Risk aversion in the theory of utility with rank-dependent probabilities. Journal of Economic Theory 42, 370–381] important characterization of strong risk aversion [Rothschild, M., Stiglitz, J.E., 1970. Increasing risk: I. A definition. Journal of Economic Theory 2, 225–243] by relaxing strict monotonicity and differentiability assumptions, and allowing for discontinuities in the probability transformation function. The important special case of maximin choice falls within this relaxed RDEU class. It is shown that any strongly risk-averse RDEU order is a convex combination of maximin and another RDEU order with concave utility and continuous, concave probability transformation. Our proof of the result on strong risk aversion is also simpler (as well as more general) than that of Chew et al. [Chew, S.H., Karni, E., Safra, Z., 1987. Risk aversion in the theory of utility with rank-dependent probabilities. Journal of Economic Theory 42, 370–381].     

The new urban landscape: Developers and edge cities

In this paper we model the decisions of an edge city developer who chooses business district capacity and location strategically to maximize profits. The developer competes against a core city with historically given downtown capacity for employment and, implicitly, residential population. Moving nearer the core city enhances production efficiency by increasing the efficiency of the exchange of information between businesses in the core and edge city. On the other hand, it increases typical residential rents and commuting costs (and hence wages demanded by employees) and weakens the developer's local monopsony power. The developer's choice of location and capacity play out in a complex but fascinating fashion, depending on the historical capacity of the downtown.     

一种新的物流中心选址方法

目前物流业蓬勃发展，物流中心的建立则是物流系统中的关键问题。本文在传统数学模型的基础上，突破其单向物流的局限，建立了一种全面考虑企业整个上、下游物流活动的物流中心选址模型。在此基础上，引入模糊评价方法，全面考虑选址过程中的各项因素，选址评价更客观、合理。     

我国城市国际旅游竞争优势特征及其影响因素分析

文章重点分析我国城市国际竞争优势的时空间特征以及重要的50个城市的国际旅游竞争优势，分析了许多城市提出发展国际旅游城市的目标是否实际，最后利用皮尔逊（Pearson）相关法探讨我国城市国际旅游竞争优势的影响因素。2002年具有国际旅游竞争优势的城市有三亚、珠海等14个城市，它们的特征是在我国国际旅游收入中占据重要份额，或者拥有较高价值的旅游资源，或者明显区位优势的城市。1997—2002年在这50个城市中，46％的城市国际旅游区位商取得增长，54％的城市国际旅游区位商下降。我国城市国际旅游面临着在城市第三产业地位下降的趋势，应重新审视和检讨原有国际旅游开发模式。三亚、桂林、北京等有实力发展国际旅游城市，而洛阳、成都和济南不适宜发展国际旅游城市。从影响因素分析来看，城市国际旅游竞争优势与国际旅游收入具有显著的相关性，与城市GDP、城市第三产业发展没有明显的相关性。城市国际旅游竞争优势还与旅游特色资源、城市区位优势、城市经济的活跃度有关。     

日本在亚洲对外直接投资的地域分布研究

当前日本对外直接投资研究文献多侧重于跨过公司的经济动机,往往忽略了投资所在地的社会、经济以及地理等因素的综合影响。根据古典引力理论和地缘经济学中的经济潜力观点,社会、经济及地理等多种因素影响了对外直接投资决策。实证分析结果表明,若干社会及地缘经济变量能够较好地解释日本在亚洲的对外直接投资的地域分布。     

How do consumers process digital display ads in-store? The effect of location,content, and goal relevance

This study examines under which circumstances customers are more likely to process in-store digital display ads. An exploratory field study is conducted (n = 296), with a between-subjects, 2 (value-expressive versus utilitarian messages) by 2 (entrance versus register location) by 2 (low versus high goal relevance) quasi-experimental design, in a retail store of horticulture-, baking- and pet supplies. The findings show that DS can appeal to both segments of customers when positioned in proximity to the register, rather than the entrance. In terms of the content displayed, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach as both types of content have different effects, depending on the shopping goal of the customer.     

Factors influencing cargo airlines’ choice of airport: An international survey

This paper identifies and evaluates the myriad of factors that influence the choice of airport by freighter-operating airlines. The findings are presented from an international postal survey of airlines operating freighter aircraft on a scheduled non-integrated basis. A number of factors such as night curfews, freight forwarders and airport charges are found to be influential and these are examined against a number of dependent variables such as the airline's home region and operational patterns in order to identify key variations.