Trade and transport connectivity: a spatial approach

This article aims to analyse whether transport connectivity affects trade flows using a spatial approach. We consider first-order contiguity and incorporate logistics network structure dependence in a spatial autoregressive model. The results provide evidence regarding the role of the location of logistics platforms for satisfying existing demand for transport structure in Spain.     

Spatial patterns and economic contributions of mining and tourism in biodiversity hotspots: A case study in China

Mining activities and tourism are both growing fast in biodiversity intense areas globally. However, the dynamic and interactions between mining and tourism when they both occur in biodiversity hotspots, and how they together may impact the economy and environment in these biodiversity rich areas, remain unclear. This paper examined how the two industries interact in terms of their economic contributions and spatial patterns in a biodiversity hotspot, Yunnan, China. We used correlation analyses to measure the relationships between mining activities, tourism visits and local gross domestic productions. We also employed a distance-based technique to investigate the nature of any dependency between mining and tourism sites. Results showed that mining activities tend to be in relatively fluent areas while tourism tends to occur in less developed areas. Our results showed that the location of tourism and mining sites are likely to be close to one another but the two industries usually perform better economically when they are apart from each other. These findings can provide insights on how mining and tourism together may impact the economy and environment in biodiversity rich areas, and provide important information for managers and planners on balancing mining and tourism development in these areas.     

Spatial income and public capital: a case of a Spanish region

The objective of this paper is to analyse major determinants of disposable per capita income at a local municipality level for a territory of Spain: the Valencian region. A cross-sectional spatial study for an averaged period (2010–2013) will allow us to control for intraregional correlation, paying special attention to the role of real public investment and its possible effects on disposable personal income. A reference framework for economic and social policymakers will be provided by the specification of the model.     

Eudaimonic happiness as a leading health indicator: cross-country European evidence

ABSTRACT

Eudaimonic happiness (measured in terms of sense of life) is a relatively unexplored subjective wellbeing indicator. The empirical findings presented in this paper show that it has a significant and quantitatively remarkable correlation with the future insurgence of some chronic diseases and the reduction of most functionalities in the ageing population. These results document that eudaimonic happiness is a relevant leading indicator of future health outcomes and expenditure and that its correlation is independent from that of the traditional life satisfaction measure.     

高技术产业集聚与创新绩效的交互影响及空间溢出效应——创新价值链视角下的空间联立方程研究

依据创新价值链理论,将创新过程分为技术研发和成果转化两个阶段,利用2005-2018年中国内地30个省域面板数据,构建空间联立方程模型,考察高技术产业集聚与创新绩效的交互影响及空间溢出效应。结果表明,总体而言,高技术产业集聚与创新绩效在创新两阶段均存在双向促进作用和正向空间溢出效应,二者的地区交互影响具有阶段差异性,即邻近地区高技术产业集聚对本地创新绩效的影响在技术研发阶段为正、在成果转化阶段不显著,邻近地区创新绩效对本地高技术产业集聚的影响在两阶段均为负;分时段看,高技术产业集聚与创新绩效的双向促进作用和空间溢出效应随时间推移有所减弱,其地区交互作用则随时间推移有所增强,且在空间溢出效应中表现出创新阶段差异性。     

The macrodynamics of international migration as a sociocultural diffusion process. Part A: theory

"This study formulates a model of the macrodynamics of international migration using a differential equation to capture the push-pull forces that propel it. The model's architecture rests on the functioning of information feedback between settled friends and family at the destination and potential emigrants at the origin." The author tests the model using data on Greek emigration to the United States since 1820 and on total emigration from Cyprus since 1946.     

The macrodynamics of international migration as a socio-cultural diffusion process. Part B: applications

"This study formulates a model of the macrodynamics of international migration using a differential equation to capture the push-pull forces that propel it. The model's architecture rests on the functioning of information feedback between settled friends and family at the destination and potential emigrants at the origin....Two specific paradigms of diverse nature serve to demonstrate the model's tenets and pertinence, one being Greek emigration to the United States since 1820, and the other total out-migration from Cyprus since statehood (1946)."     

创新要素流动与城市绿色创新发展——数据要素流动环境的空间调节作用

基于2004-2019年中国内地280个地级市面板数据,运用引力模型测度创新要素流动与数据要素流动环境指数,采用SBM-Undesirable模型测算城市绿色创新发展效率,使用空间杜宾模型分析创新要素流动对城市绿色创新发展的空间影响,并探究数据要素流动环境的空间调节效应。研究发现：创新要素流动仅通过改善绿色技术效率促进本地绿色创新发展,而对邻近地区绿色创新发展起抑制作用。在数据要素流动环境的调节作用下,从本地效应看,人才要素流动通过影响绿色技术效率和绿色技术进步促进城市绿色创新发展,呈“双轨驱动”特征;资本要素流动仅通过改善绿色技术效率提升城市绿色创新发展水平,呈“单轨驱动”特征。从空间溢出效应看,数据要素流动环境能合理调节人才和资本要素的空间流动,缓解创新要素的空间错配,进而对邻近地区绿色创新发展存在正向空间溢出效应。     

19个国家级城市群数字经济发展水平测度及空间格局研究

以“十四五”规划布局的19个国家级城市群为对象,结合模糊集合思想构建数字经济发展评价指标体系,利用遥感数据和地理信息系统技术建立格网化数据集,通过应用投影寻踪模型、Dagum基尼系数及其分解方法、探索性空间自相关方法和修正的引力模型,测度2013—2019年19个国家级城市群数字经济发展水平,对其整体发展态势、区域差异及空间格局进行考察。研究结果表明,19个国家级城市群数字经济发展态势良好,整体呈现以递次转移为主、跨级转移为辅的演化特征;协同性欠佳,城市群间异质化、城市群内同质化特征逐渐显现;数字经济发展呈现出由弱到强的空间集聚特征,以低—低集聚为主、高—高集聚次之的局域空间集聚特征始终存在;数字经济发展呈现为以京津冀—长三角—珠三角为三大集聚的“高地连绵区”和东北、西北两大“低谷连绵区”的空间发展态势,以“胡焕庸线”为分界的东密西疏空间关联格局已经形成。     

Human settlement＇s social network analysis based on spatial trend surface model：a case study of Chongqing Municipality

Integrated with GIS and remote sensing（RS） technology,a systematic analysis and its methodology for human-settlements social environment has been introduced.This methodology has been called spatial trend field model（STFM）.STFM＇s application history in the field of human-settlements social environment has been discussed at first.Then,some index data models have been created through STFM,which include population density trend field,human activity strength trend field,city-town spatial density trend field,urbanization ratio trend field,road density trend field,GDP spatial density trend field and PER-GDP spatial density trend field.With all above-mentioned indexes as input data,through Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Techniques Algorithm（ISODATA）,this paper makes a verification study of Chongqing municipality.The result of the case study confirms that STFM methodology is credible and has high efficiency for regional human-settlements study.     

The automobile road to technological change : Diffusion of the automobile as a process of technological substitution

Advancement of the motor vehicle and its production methods is analyzed as a process of technological change. In a broader context, motor vehicles evolved as an integral component of road transportation through a series of interlaced substitutions of old by new technologies. Building on a large number of studies that described technological substitution processes, first it is shown how new energy forms replaced their predecessors and how the old marine-transport technologies were substituted by new ones. These examples constitute some of the oldest, empirically documented technological changes and show that many events in the dynamics of energy substitution and marine transport are related to technological changes in road transportation. It is shown that these substitution processes can be described by simple rules and that the replacement of old by new technologies in the energy and transport systems lasted about 80 years. The technological changes within road transportation, however, were more rapid. Replacement of horses by automobiles and older by newer generations of motor vehicles and production methods lasted only a few decades in the United States. Thus, technological substitutions within the road-transportation system were considerably shorter than the expansion of railroads, surfaced roads, all road vehicles together, and the more recent expansion of air transportation.     

The Environmental Kuznets Curve Under a New Framework: The Role of Social Capital in Water Pollution

We advance a case for including social capital in an environmental Kuznets curve analysis using highly disaggregated data of water pollution in Louisiana. We create a social capital index and employ parametric and spatial panel regression models to explain water pollution dynamics.      

The participation decision versus the level of participation in an environmental treaty: a spatial probit analysis

This paper represents treaty participation as a two-stage game, for which nations first decide whether or not to participate and then they choose their level of participation. The resulting subgame perfect equilibrium is used to derive a reduced-form equation for estimating and separating the influences of the variables at the two decision stages. This spatial probit equation forms the basis for a full-information maximum likelihood estimator that accounts for the simultaneity bias associated with public good spillins at both stages. When the procedure is applied to the Helsinki Protocol, we find that the strategic influence of a variable may drastically differ depending upon which stage is scrutinized.     

Farming system modelling for agri-environmental policy design: The case of a spatially non-aggregated allocation of conservation measures

This paper addresses the issue of designing policies for habitat conservation on agricultural land. The case under study requires a non-aggregated spatial distribution of the fields to be enrolled in an agri-environmental programme. A spatially explicit mathematical programming farm-based model, which accounts for three spatial levels (field, farm and landscape), is coupled with a relevant spatial pattern index (the Ripley L-function) to analyse the design and implementation of an agri-environmental programme aimed to preserve the Tetrax tetrax in the Plaine de Niort, France. The model is run using a stylised map with heterogeneous soil types and both crop growing and mixed dairy farms. Results show that valuable insights into agri-environmental programme design are gained through a detailed representation of farming system management. The suitable, non-aggregated spatial pattern for T. tetrax conservation is more costly than less-suitable, more aggregated patterns, because it tends to require equal participation of all farms. The policy simulations reveal that the various spatial patterns can be obtained through relatively simple uniform contract structures. An effective contract structure entails a set of two degressive payments which encourages all farms to enrol at least a small share of their land in the program.     

The worth of a songbird: ecological economics as a post-normal science

One of the very valuable features of Ecological Economics is its provision for publications under the rubric ‘Commentary’. In that way, essays which are not research in the strictest sense can still find proper refereed publication, and can be submitted to the further test of open colleague criticism. This paper is intended to be read in that spirit; and where criticisms are made of the work of particular scholars, that is done because of the significance of their contribution.     

The Delphi method as a ritual: Inquiring the Delphic Oracle

Is Delphi just a namesake? Or does it make sense to connect the Delphi method to the ancient Delphic Oracle? To bring some elements of response to these questions, this article will present the Delphic Oracle in the first part and its actions with its prophecy seekers and the Oracle's staff, including the Pythia. This first part will show the importance of conforming to the procedure in the revelation of the Oracle and the latter's role in policy-making. The second part of the article will compare and contrast the oracular practice in Delphi with the Delphi method, and more generally with expert-based futures methods, from the characteristics of the knowledge revealed, on the one hand, and the role of the actors in this inquiring process on the other.     

Using choice question formats to determine compensable values: The case of a landfill-siting process

Siting noxious facilities, such as community landfills, is a challenging problem for local planners who recognize the importance of economic efficiency and equity, political acceptance, and meeting federal regulatory standards. Meeting these criteria requires technical and socio-economic analyses in conjunction with public input. Planners may also recognize that political acceptance requires compensation for the host community, either in the form of monetary or in-kind transfers. Following Breffle and Rowe [Breffle, W.S., Rowe. R.D., 2002. Comparing choice question formats for evaluating natural resource tradeoffs. Land Econ. 78 (2), 298–314], we use a “resource-to-resource” paired-comparison survey method to estimate compensatory values associated with an in-county landfill for both the host and non-host communities. Our results indicate that while a host-community household's minimum willingness to accept payment for hosting a landfill may exceed a non-host-community household's maximum willingness to pay, a large difference in population sizes between the two communities enables the landfill to pass a Kaldor potential compensation test.     

The process of competence leveraging in related diversification: a case of technology management at a composite-material company

This paper explores the process of competence leveraging in a technology-related diversification as part of a firm's approach to maintaining a competitive edge. While competence leveraging seems to be an important issue, little attention has been given in recent studies to discussing the process with the focus being on the outcome only. A research framework consisting of decision-making, coordination and adaptation processes is proposed and examined in this study to conceptualise the dynamic process of competence leveraging during a related diversification. In particular, we argue that some of the difficulties involved in this process can explain why some firms struggle or fail while pursuing a related diversification, a task which we often mistakenly believe to be straightforward. This study suggests that the competence gap resulting from the strategic intent in the decision-making phase; the inertia derived from the resistance by the staff to internal resource reallocation in the coordination phase; and the decision to carry on with commitments while facing a negative outcome in the adaptation phase could jeopardise the outcome of the attempted related diversification. An in-depth case study of a composite-material based contract manufacturer is used to illustrate the process of how a firm may face and handle these difficulties while leveraging its existing competence.     

Gains from configuration: The transboundary protected area as a conservation tool

Nearly two hundred transboundary protected areas comprise a portion of the global conservation landscape the size of India, with further expansion anticipated. Proponents claim that transboundary protected areas outperform isolated protected areas in achieving conservation objectives, while regional case studies have led critics to challenge this claim. Empirical investigation into the relative performance of transboundary protected areas is fundamentally limited since these areas cannot be directly compared to the isolated protected areas that might otherwise have emerged in the same location. This paper develops a game theory model of park formation to compare counterfactual transboundary and isolated protected areas. The model suggests that under certain conditions, transboundary protected areas can achieve greater conservation and production objectives, even in the absence of international cooperative park management. The paper establishes five sufficient conditions for transboundary protected areas to provide greater national welfare, domestic conservation value, or global conservation value than counterfactual isolated protected areas. These conditions are tested for three common conservation objectives. The results suggest that when the objective of conservation is species persistence or interior habitat, conservation groups should encourage transboundary protected areas. However, when the objective of conservation is to extend reserve coverage to the maximum number of species, conservation groups should encourage protected areas where species richness is greatest, whether or not these areas span international borders.     

Price as a quality signal in a strategic competition context: The role of a disclosure law

This paper analyses a firm's incentive to use price as a signal of quality in a duopoly competition, even though she can credibly and costlessly disclose her true quality. When a firm sets a higher price to signal higher quality, it has strategic effects on the price chosen by her rival. This could result in higher equilibrium prices and profits. Hence, a mandatory disclosure law is useful to prevent the practice of using of higher price as a device to signal higher quality, and in turn equilibrium prices would be lower. From a welfarist point of view, this argument justifies the establishment of such disclosure law.JEL Classification: D43, D82, K29I would like to thank Dolors Berga, Nicolas Boccard, Ramon Caminal, Carmen Matutes, José Luis Moraga and Ricard Torres for their useful comments. This paper has benefited from the comments of two anonymous referees. All the surviving mistakes are mine. Financial support from SEC2001-2793-C03-03 is gratefully acknowledged.