Transboundary pollution externalities: Think globally,act locally?

We analyze the implications of transboundary pollution externalities on environmental policymaking in a spatial setting, in which pollution diffuses across the global spatial economy independently of the specific location in which it is originally generated. This framework gives rise to a simple regional optimal pollution control problem allowing us to compare the global and local solutions in which, respectively, the transboundary externality is and is not taken into account in the determination of the optimal policy by individual local policymakers. We show that it is not obvious that transboundary externalities are a source of inefficiency per se since this is strictly related to the spatial features of the initial distribution of pollution. If the initial pollution distribution is spatially homogeneous then the local and global solutions will coincide and thus no efficiency loss will arise from transboundary externalities, but if it is spatially heterogeneous the local solution will be suboptimal and thus a global approach to environmental problems will be needed to achieve efficiency. From a normative perspective, in this latter (and most realistic) case we also quantify the amount of policy intervention needed at local level in order to achieve the globally desirable goal of pollution eradication in the long run. Our conclusions hold true in a number of different settings, including situations in which the spatial domain is either bounded or unbounded, and situations in which macroeconomic–environmental feedback effects are taken into account.     

贵州有色金属产业集聚度与竞争力的实证研究

促进有色金属产业集聚是提升贵州省有色金属产业竞争力的主要途径之一，因而准确测度和把握有色金属产业集聚与贵州有色金属产业竞争力的关系是非常必要的。文章把贵州省放在西部九省中进行对比分析，选取区位熵反映有色金属产业集聚度，选择企业数量区位熵反映矿产资源产业区域集聚度，选取产业产值区位熵反映有色金属产业经济集聚度，而有色金属产业竞争力则选取产值利润率借以反映。具体实证数据均来源于西部9个省份的2013统计年鉴与2013年的中国有色金属工业年鉴。通过实证研究认为贵州省有色金属产业存在诸如区域集聚、经济集聚不足，产值利润率低下，产业集聚效应难以充分发挥等问题。最后提出提升贵州省有色金属产业竞争力的相关政策建议。     

政策不确定性、财政扩张与区域商业银行风险——基于中国地方官员变更和银行业的证据

文章利用2007-2017年我国93家区域商业银行的面板数据，并结合省级宏观经济数据和地方官员变更数据，实证考察了中国地方官员变更引起的经济政策不确定性对区域商业银行风险的重要影响。研究结果表明：（1）地方官员变更引起的政策不确定性增大了区域商业银行风险；（2）地方官员变更引起的政策不确定性，通过提高银行的资产收益率降低了商业银行风险；而不确定性时期的财政扩张，通过降低银行资产收益率增大了商业银行风险；并且财政扩张的负面影响大于政策不确定性的正面影响；（3）各省的市委书记发生职位更替引起的政策不确定性对区域商业银行风险的影响更大。文章研究为新时代背景下的金融供给侧结构性改革、政府宏观经济政策的制定以及财政体制与金融体制之间的联系提供参考。     

Travel deterrents to regional destinations

Travel motivation is prevalent in the tourism literature. Very few studies however have examined travel deterrents to visiting popular destinations. This study approaches from travel motivation understand why tourists do not visit regional destinations and from tourists’ background to identify who do not visit these destinations with a focus on well-known regional destinations in Australia. The results show that convenience to the destinations, timing, motivation and tourist attractions are the major deterrents, and the level of these deterrents is dependent upon some of the demographic background of tourists. The findings and implications conclude this paper.     

预期寿命、生育率变动与基本养老保险统筹账户调整

在构建三期世代交叠模型的基础上，通过选取相关制度指标来模拟分析在未来预期寿命和生育率变动下，基本养老保险统筹账户如何基于参数调整来维持收支平衡。研究结果表明：（1）我国居民预期寿命增长过快，统筹账户收支平衡受预期寿命变化影响较大；（2）在现阶段的预期寿命和生育率条件下，统筹账户能实现自身收支平衡，而且可在短期内通过阶段性降低缴费率来促进制度长远发展；（3）在长期内需通过提高缴费率或降低养老金替代率来保证统筹账户收支平衡，预期寿命为87.828岁且总和生育率为1.79作为参数调整临界点；（4）以现有制度设计为基准，参数调整临界点之前保证35%的基础养老金平均替代率不降，临界点之后保证20%的缴费率不升可以最大程度促进经济和社会发展。     

FDI与OFDI溢出对高技术产业区域创新的门槛效应研究

选取2003-2016年省域高技术产业面板数据，以R&D人员投入为门槛变量，实证分析FDI与OFDI溢出对高技术产业区域创新的非线性影响。得出以下稳健性结论：FDI和OFDI溢出对高技术产业区域创新具有双门槛效应，FDI溢出呈现先升后降的特征，而OFDI溢出则呈现先降后升特征；R&D人员投入、R&D资本积累、城镇化水平有利于高技术产业区域创新，而金融成熟度未产生明显推动作用；政府支持可能对R&D人力投入较高省份产生抑制作用；2003-2016年跨越R&D人员投入中、高门槛的省份在不断增加。     

Seasonality and regional productivity in the Spanish accommodation sector

This study quantifies the impact of peak demand and seasonality on regional productivity in the Spanish accommodation sector. We then identify factors affecting seasonal fluctuations and their relative contributions to regional variations in seasonality. The results show that demand for accommodation in the peak season mainly determines productivity. Thus, improving a region's attractiveness as a tourist destination is most effective for tourism-based regional development. In addition, reducing seasonal variations has a non-negligible impact on productivity. A decomposition analysis reveals that providing climate-independent tourist attractions and attracting business travelers are effective in reducing seasonality.     

中国省际区域经济差距演进及协调发展

实现区域协调发展是新时代中国区域高质量发展的必然要求。改革开放以来,中国省际区域经济差距经历了差距拉大—逐渐缩小—缓慢增大—逐渐缩小—维持不变的过程,逐步趋于收敛,其深层原因在于经济发展基础、资本投入、区域要素配置、区域要素使用和制度因素的地区异质性。推进区域经济协调发展,要不断加强对中西部地区的资本投入,优化资源配置,提高全要素生产率,提升开放水平,推进贸易高质量发展,完善与区域协调发展总体战略要求相适应的宏观区域政策和区域管理体制。     

How to reduce energy intensity to achieve sustainable development of China's transport sector? A cross-regional comparison analysis

China's transport sector has been attracting great attention for its excessive energy consumption and ever-increasing pollution emissions. Thus, reducing energy intensity is one of the top priorities of China's ongoing transport upgrade. In this paper, by establishing a panel data regression model derived from the Cobb–Douglas cost function, we focus on investigating the impacts of energy price and transport productivity on transport energy intensity at the national and regional levels. The study uses the provincial panel data for 2005–2016 to perform regression analysis. The results show that: (1) energy price has a significantly negative effect on transport energy intensity in the whole China and the eastern region, whereas it has no significant impacts in the central and western China. (2) Improvements in transport productivity can effectively decrease transport energy intensity in the whole China and the three major regions. (3) Applying an extended data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, we decompose transport productivity into four components (i.e., technical change, technology gap change, scale efficiency change, and pure efficiency change) and further differentiate their impacts in different regions. The results indicate that these four components have substantially different impacts in each region. These results provide some valuable insights for policymakers and enterprise entities aiming to adopt measures to reduce energy intensity and achieve sustainable development in China's transport sector.     

The effect of urbanization on subjective well-being: Explaining cross-regional differences

Today, more than ever, it is becoming evident that cities and regions are crucial for the achievement of human well-being. In this perspective, the analysis of the effect of urbanization on subjective well-being at sub-national level is an issue of great relevance. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of urbanization on SWB at the regional level and, in particular, the moderator effect of the regional context in influencing this effect in Italy and Spain. From a methodological point of view, we apply a two-step approach as a graphical method, which allows us to consider individual and regional information in our analysis. Our findings indicate that urbanization significantly affects subjective well-being, especially in various regions of Italy. This cross-regional heterogeneity can be explained by different regional factors, which supports the idea that regional contexts can exert effects on achieving future people's well-being in cities.