Organizational Diseconomies of scale

Private information creates a cost of operating a hierarchy, which becomes larger as the hierarchical distance between the information source and the decision maker increases. When information about a firm's capabilities is dispersed among the individuals in the firm, production is inefficient even though everyone behaves rationally. Because hierarchies need rents in order to function, a firm with a long hierarchy may not be viable in a competitive industry.     

Ownership Structure of Cooperatives as an Environmental Buffer*

ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose that the ownership structure in the cooperative form acts as an environmental buffer. It is a mechanism to obtain stronger linkages with suppliers by internalizing them, and in this way, obtaining fundamental resources. Using this strategy, the cooperative form can isolate itself from adverse environments and from competition from other organizational forms. Although cooperatives have higher survival probability in any economic context, in rival ideological environments they have less support than other organizational forms. To test these ideas, we have chosen data from the Spanish olive oil milling industry for 1944–98. During this period, Spain changed from a dictatorial to a democratic regime and from a self‐subsistence economy in the post civil‐war period to a broad liberal international economy. The results show that, whereas other organizational forms are affected by economic and ideological influences, the cooperative form isolates itself by changing the competition level.     

Exploring the relation between the r* approximation and the Edgeworth expansion

In this paper we study the relation between the r* saddlepoint approximation and the Edgeworth expansion when quite general assumptions for the statistic under consideration are fulfilled. We will show that the two term Edgeworth expansion approximates the r* formula up to an O(n ^?3/2) remainder; this provides a new way of looking at the order of the error of the r* approximation. This finding will be used to inspect the close connection between the r* formula and the Edgeworth B adjustment introduced in Phillips (Biometrika 65:91–98, 1978). We will show that, whenever an Edgeworth expansion exists, this adjustment approximates both the distribution function of the statistic and the r* formula to the same order degree as the Edgeworth expansion. Some numerical examples for the sample mean and U-statistics are given in order to shed light on the theoretical discussion.     

Environmental Compliance and Firm Performance: Evidence from China*

This article evaluates the impact of environmental compliance on firms’ innovation and financial performance using a panel dataset of Chinese firms for the period of 2000–5. Our results show certification of the ISO14000 has a significantly positive impact on firms’ profitability. This finding is robust when we take into account possible endogeneity of certification, effects of export and types of customers, and possible precertification time trends. In addition, we find that certified firms have larger per‐worker sales volumes and market shares in the country, which suggests an alternative mechanism for the Porter hypothesis in the context of a developing economy.     

城郊型农业物流发展的思考——福州城郊农业物流为视角

随着城市化进程的加快和国民经济的发展,城乡经济联系也越来越紧密,城乡一体化趋势日益明显。为满足城市发展需要和适应城郊型农业发展的要求,城市郊区农产品物流发生着新的变化。城市与郊区通过物流,密切了两者之间的经济联系,以城带乡城乡结合,成为城郊型农业物流发展的必然选择。文中以福州城郊型农业物流为视角,论述了福州郊区为代表的城郊农业物流模式的发展概况。     

Suburban Practices of Energy Descent

This article proceeds on the basis that the cost of energy will rise in coming years and decades as the age of fossil energy abundance comes to an end. Given the close connection between energy and economic activity, we also assume that declining energy availability and affordability will lead to economic contraction and reduced material affluence. In overconsuming and overdeveloped nations, such resource and energy “degrowth” is desirable and necessary from a sustainability perspective, provided it is planned for and managed in ways consistent with basic principles of distributive equity. Working within that degrowth paradigm, we examine how scarcer and more expensive energy may impact the suburban way of life and how households might prepare for this very plausible, but challenging, energy descent future. The article examines energy demand management in suburbia and how the limited energy needed to provide for essential household services can best be secured in an era of expensive energy and climate instability. After reviewing various energy practices, we also highlight a need for an ethos of sufficiency, moderation, and radical frugality, which we argue is essential for building resilience in the face of forthcoming energy challenges and a harsher climate.     

城市近郊地区互通设计分析

城市近郊地区的高速公路互通立交,由于受城市规划制约较多,用地规模上控制严格,因此在互通选型上,应结合城市路网对交通流向进行分析,做到有针对性。     

城郊型农村的可持续发展初探——以辽宁省北票市T镇D村为例

本文选取辽宁省北票市T镇D村为研究对象,利用SWOT分析方法进行详细分析得出影响发展的主要因素,并列出矩阵,通过列举总结分析得出城郊农村的发展利弊、D村新农村建设中存在的问题以及解决方案,同时本文还论述了城市对城郊农村的辐射效应,指出城郊农村可持续发展的重要性,为D村的新农村建设提供可行性方案.     

郊区新城的社会空间融合:进展综述与研究框架

郊区新城开发是我国城镇化的重要路径和模式,新城居民的社会融合状况,是增强新城吸引力和综合实力、实现可持续发展的关键之一。首先从社会空间视角,梳理国内外文献对郊区的新认识;然后辨析郊区新城的社会空间融合概念,并结合我国郊区新城的社会空间特征,构建基于邻里、城市两个空间尺度,兼顾物理空间与社会关系两个维度的研究框架;最后总结公共政策启示。     

昆明近郊农家乐室内外空间形态

农家乐是从上世纪90年代逐渐形成的在城市周边的农村生态农业和文化旅游结合的方式。本文在对昆明市郊区的农家乐进行深入调研分析的基础上,对于农家乐的发展趋势及其遇到的问题作了一些探索。     

Suburban Inertia: The Entrenchment of Dispersed Suburbanism

During the years following the second world war, an urban development model—dispersed suburbanism (DS)—came to predominate in North America. The low‐density functional specialization and all‐out automobile orientation of this new urban form were ideally suited to the circumstances of the time, thus accounting for its rapid adoption. DS also proved to be adaptable to changing societal circumstances, which explains its predominance as an urban development model under both Fordism and neoliberalism. The adaptability of this urban form also contributed to its spread across much of the world, including Europe. This essay contends that powerful path dependencies maintain DS in place, despite planning efforts to achieve more compact, public‐transit oriented urban development. It also argues that the persistence of DS is a source of hardship for low‐income households forced to live in suburban environments, and entrenches conservative political values.     

轻型钢架结构在城郊铁路站场应用研究

本文以郑州南站城郊铁路二期郑州南停车场施工为实例,详细阐述了采用轻型钢架结构在城郊铁路大型工程车库建设过程中的施工方法及施工关键技术.     

Enforcement Mechanisms Discouraging Black–American Presence in Suburban Detroit

In metropolitan Detroit, scholars have long observed that geographic space is racialized in the sense that black Americans are not welcome in many suburban communities. This extends beyond housing segregation: black drivers are not wanted on many suburban streets. While the existence of racial animosity has been documented, the enforcement mechanisms utilized to ‘protect’ certain geographic areas from black presence have rarely been quantified and dissected. This study examines police behavior toward black motorists who were arrested during routine traffic stops in the Detroit suburb of Eastpointe. Comparison of search, arrest, and handcuff patterns of white and black motorists indicates that police bias harms blacks. Rather than simply being anti‐black, patterns of police behavior in Eastpointe enforce racialized space, signaling where black presence is tolerated and where it is discouraged. Depuis longtemps, les intellectuels observent la racialisation de l’espace géographique, au sens que les Américains noirs ne sont pas les bienvenus dans de nombreuses communautés de banlieue de la métropole de Détroit. La tendance dépasse la ségrégation des logements: les automobilistes noirs sont indésirables dans bien des rues de banlieue. Si l’existence d’une animosité raciale a été documentée, les mécanismes coercitifs utilisés pour ‘protéger’ certaines zones géographiques d’une présence noire ont rarement été quantifiés ou disséqués. Cette étude examine l’attitude policière vis‐à‐vis des conducteurs noirs arrêtés au cours de contrôles de routine dans la banlieue de Eastpointe, à Détroit. Une comparaison des types de fouilles, arrestations et menottages d’automobilistes blancs et noirs révèle un préjugé de la police au détriment des noirs. Au lieu d’être simplement anti‐noirs, les types de comportement policier à Eastpointe impose un espace racialisé, indiquant là où la présence noire est tolérée et là où elle est dissuadée.     

大型超市购物出行与TOD规划策略——以上海近郊轨道交通站点地区为例

轨道交通建设推动了上海郊区的快速发展,人口在外围大量集聚,也促进了郊区商业的发展,大型超市已经成为居民购买日常用品的主要场所。与此同时居民私家车保有量不断提高,规划需要抑制人们日常生活对小汽车的依赖性,避免社会分异和城市蔓延式发展。首先研究商业网点分布与轨道交通站点的藕合关系,可以看出在郊区两者之间缺乏配合。通过对上海近郊两个轨道交通站点地区居民大型超市购物出行的调查分析,研究站点地区空间规划设计及公共交通服务对人们购物出行的距离分布的影响。在此基础上对在城市近郊地区TOD建设在轨道交通站点和大型超市选址、居住区设计与地面公共交通的整合及换乘的规划策略方面进行了探讨,也有助于我们的规划评估工作。     

Boundary Work: Becoming Middle Class in Suburban Dar es Salaam

Suburban space provides a useful window onto contemporary class practices in Africa, where it is difficult to identify social classes on the basis of income or occupation. In this article I argue that the middle classes and the suburbs are mutually constitutive in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam. Using interviews with residents and local government officials in the city's northern suburbs, I discuss the material and representational practices of middle-class boundary work in relation to land and landscape. If the middle classes do not presently constitute a coherent political-economic force, they are nevertheless transforming the city's former northern peri-urban zones into desirable suburban residential neighbourhoods.     

促进城市郊区住宅健康发展的理论思考

城市郊区住宅是城市化的必然产物.借鉴国外城市新区开发和卫星镇建设的经验,我国城市郊区住宅的健康发展迫切需要落实"统一规则、综合开发、配套建设"的基本方针,以提高城市郊区住宅在社会、经济、生态等方面的综合效益.