Do Local Landscape Patterns Affect the Demand for Landscape Amenities Protection?

Agricultural support is increasingly flowing into the maintenance and improvement of landscape quality. While variations in the demand for landscape protection have been successfully attributed to variations in socio‐economic characteristics, the effect of the local landscape setting as a potential determinant of environmental preferences has received less attention. A framework is formulated that describes public support for regional landscape protection as a function of socio‐economic variables and land use patterns. Models are then estimated using detailed local land use statistics and voting records from a referendum on increasing public funding for local landscape amenities protection in the Swiss canton of Zurich. The land use variables represent proportions of open landscape and landscape features that are viewed as particularly valuable for aesthetic and other reasons. Cross‐sectional estimation results suggest that attitudes towards public landscape protection are indeed strongly associated with the local landscape. Approval for protection programmes increased with local scarcity of open space and with the presence of high‐amenity landscape features. Comparison with referendum outcomes on a national‐level environmental issue suggests that the positive association with high‐amenity landscape features may be partly attributable to individuals' self‐selection of residency.     

The role of landscape amenities in regional development: Evidence from Swiss municipality data

Several recent regional and migration studies have identified landscape amenities as potentially important drivers of migration and local economic change in the United States. To date, these empirical approaches have rarely been applied to European data in spite of an impressive European cultural landscape heritage. Here, we apply a regional adjustment model to data from 2467 municipalities in Switzerland to examine how landscape amenities and related policies affected regional development along with fiscal, demographic and infrastructure variables in the period from 1995 to 2005. In the population equation, the coefficients of the standard variables show a consistent pattern that parallels the findings of earlier work. Moreover, we find that population was positively affected by closeness to major lakes and by abundance of open space. However evidence on positive effects of traditional landscape elements such as extensive orchards and vineyards is limited. Furthermore, municipalities with national heritage townscapes grew less than those without, while the density of hiking trails had no significant effect. In the employment equation, employment was consistently affected by demographic factors and accessibility but not by the landscape amenity variables, except that employment grew less in municipalities that are part of an inventory of nationally significant landscapes. The lack of measurable local benefits from nationally significant landscapes and townscapes suggests that policies to preserve these amenities should be implemented and financed by the national government.     

An Analysis of Regional Economic Growth in the U.S. Midwest

In this paper, we examine more closely some of the forces that underlie economic growth at the county level. In an effort to describe a much more comprehensive regional economic growth model, we address a variety of different hypotheses by introducing a large number of growth-related variables. When formulating our hypotheses and specifying our growth model, we make liberal use of geographic mapping software to describe the data so as to "paint" a picture of where growth spots exist. Our empirical estimation indicates amenities, state and local tax burdens, population density, amount of primary agriculture activity, and demographics have important impacts on economic growth.     

What Have We Learned from Over 20 Years of Farmland Amenity Valuation Research in North America?

At least thirty studies have been conducted in North America over the last twenty-plus years that measure amenity values generated by farmland. A review of these studies provides evidence that estimated farmland amenity values are sensitive to increasing acreage, regional scarcity, alternative land use(s), public accessibility, productivity quality, human food plants, active farming, and intensive agriculture. Farmland amenity values are also sensitive to socio-demographic characteristics of beneficiaries. Inconclusive evidence is provided with respect to the effects of distance, agricultural land use, unique landscape features, property rights, and nonfarmland amenity substitutes. Implications of these results for future farmland amenity valuation research are discussed.     

Hope for new communities as an alternative to sprawl?: Insights from developer perceptions of amenities in future new communities in the U.S. and U.K

New Communities are again being promoted as an alternative to sprawling urban growth. This paper uses the results of a unique survey of the real estate development communities in the U.S. and U.K. to examine the likelihood that future New Communities will provide the array of amenities necessary to create developments that provide a true alternative to sprawl. Based on an analysis of this data we conclude that while developers do envision New Communities as more amenity rich than much of the suburban master-planned communities of the last few decades, they are nonetheless still likely to produce developments that have an insufficient array of amenities to make future New Communities a strong alternative to sprawl.     

Impacts of land use and amenities on public transport use,urban planning and design

Various land-use configurations are known to have wide-ranging effects on the dynamics of and within other city components including the transportation system. In this work, we particularly focus on the complex relationship between land-use and transport offering an innovative approach to the problem by using land-use features at two differing levels of granularity (the more general land-use sector types and the more granular amenity structures) to evaluate their impact on public transit ridership in both time and space. To quantify the interdependencies, we explored three machine learning models and demonstrate that the decision tree model performs best in terms of overall performance—good predictive accuracy, generality, computational efficiency, and “interpretability”. Results also reveal that amenity-related features are better predictors than the more general ones, which suggests that high-resolution geo-information can provide more insights into the dependence of transit ridership on land-use. We then demonstrate how the developed framework can be applied to urban planning for transit-oriented development by exploring practicable scenarios based on Singapore's urban plan toward 2030, which includes the development of “regional centers” (RCs) across the city-state. Results show an initial increase in transit ridership as the amount of amenities is increased. This trend, on the other hand, eventually reverses (particularly during peak hours) with continued strategic increase in amenities; a tipping point at 55% increase is identified where ridership begins to decline and at 110%, the predicted ridership begins to fall below current levels. Our in-silico experiments support one of the medium-term land-use transport goals of stakeholders—to alleviate future strains in the transportation system of Singapore through the development of RCs. The model put forward can serve as a good foundation in building decision-support tools that can assist planners in better strategizing and planning land-use configurations, in particular the amenity resource distribution, to influence and shape public transportation demand.     

The impact of flood dynamics on property values

There is evidence that environmental amenities and dis-amenities may be nonlinearly related to property valuation. This would bring inconsistency in estimating environmental variables of the hedonic price model. To explore the linearity of the relationship this study analyses spatial and temporal variation impacts of the 2011 Brisbane flood on property markets using semi-parametric estimation. The results show that most environmental variables impacts on property values nonlinearly, and in particularly distance to the river, indicating that the amenity value of being close to a river outweighs the flood risks. The estimation of the combined impact of elapsed time and neighbourhood income indicates that the flood risk impact on property markets disappears over time.     

Foreign Direct Investment,Absorptive Capacity and Regional Innovation Capabilities: Evidence from China

Innovation has widely been regarded as one of the main drivers of economic growth in the knowledge economy. This paper investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the development of regional innovation capabilities using a panel data set from China. It finds that FDI has a significant positive impact on the overall regional innovation capacity. FDI intensity is also positively associated with innovation efficiency in the host region. The strength of this positive effect depends, however, on the availability of the absorptive capacity and the presence of innovation-complementary assets in the host region. The increased regional innovation and technological capabilities have contributed further to regional economic growth in China's coastal regions but not in the inland regions. It concludes that the type and quality of FDI inflows and the strength of local absorptive capacity and complementary assets in the host regions are crucial for FDI to serve as a driver of knowledge-based development. Policy implications are discussed.     

内蒙古林业产业结构发展状况分析

利用动态偏离-份额分析法分析了内蒙古在1998~2012年间的林业经济增长状况及产业结构的演化趋势。研究结果表明:内蒙古林业整体发展速度较慢,而且林业第一产业在结构素质、区域竞争优势方面问题突出,影响着第一产业的发展。其中二、三产业结构素质好,但竞争力较弱。林业产业结构不合理是阻碍林业经济增长的重要因素,因此提出发展高质量的林业第一产业、推进第二产业向精深加工方向发展//整合当地资源发展旅游业等调整产业结构和提升竞争力方面的建议。     

金融资本深化对区域经济高质量发展的影响

选取2001—2016年全国30个省份的动态面板数据,从资金供给规模和资金供给结构衡量金融资本深化水平,从经济增长的有效性、稳定性、协调性、持续性和共享性5个维度衡量经济发展质量,运用系统GMM模型估计方法,探讨金融资本深化对经济增长质量的影响。结果显示,当前资金供给规模对经济增长质量的提高具有抑制作用,银行资本深化和保险资本深化对经济增长质量具有正向影响作用,证券资本深化对经济增长质量没有显著影响,同时金融资本深化对经济增长质量的影响存在区域差异。     

美国农地保护方法及其借鉴

研究目的：探讨美国农地保护方法及其对中国的借鉴。研究方法：逻辑分析,对比分析。研究结果：中国现行农地保护政策存在不足。美国农地保护的启示：（1）农地保护目标应包括保证粮食安全、农业产业发展、环境、城乡土地的合理利用,实现数量、质量、生态的综合保护;（2）发挥中央政府、地方政府、农地保护组织和农民的主体作用,促进农地的保护和保持;（3）完善法规调控体系,改革政府参与方式,减少土地套利,完善市场配套设施、引入市场激励机制,根据地区资源和经济发展情况实行差异化方法。研究结论：美国农地保护目标、管理体系及具体方法等对中国有借鉴作用。     

Local interests or centralized targets? How China’s local government implements the farmland policy of Requisition–Compensation Balance

The Requisition–Compensation Balance of Farmland (RCBF) is a strict policy in China aimed at controlling farmland conversion and replenishing farmland loss caused by urban expansion through a set of top-down quotas. These conflict with local interests, since land conversion from agriculture to construction is a key tool by which local governments attract investment and raise fiscal revenue. How should local authorities respond to this centralized policy? This paper presents a framework “quantity–quality–productivity–environment” to investigate local governments’ coping strategy and the holistic performance of the RCBF. The empirical study indicated that local jurisdictions placed economic and financial growth first and continued expropriating farmland on a large-scale, including land of high quality, for development. However, impelled by compulsory quotas and supervision from governments at higher levels, local authorities would partly replenish the quantity loss through farmland exploitation, regardless of the quality of the new cropland and the possible environmental impact. Consequently, fast requisition and unqualified compensation undermined the capacity of regional agricultural output. We suggest that the RCBF is not capable of guaranteeing food security, whilst farmland supplementation threatens the local environment.     

Bridging between the regional degree and the community approaches to rurality—A suggestion for a definition of rurality for everyday use

The territorial approach to rural development highlights the role of local actors, networks, culture, nature and landscape amenities. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition of rurality is, however, not capable of dealing with local and community definitions of rurality, which vary from study to study. In everyday life, physical planners, rural policymakers and local rural actors need a consistent definition of rurality. The reason is that structural reforms have led to larger administrative units that have less experience-based knowledge about the individual rural communities within a municipality than do local authorities. In this article, we propose a consistent definition of rurality that is easy for physical planners, rural policy makers and local rural actors to understand and apply in everyday use. In addition, our definition will be able to deal with both the regional and the community approach to rurality. This definition is based on an interdisciplinary literature review that starts with land cover and geographical mapping. The definition is then applied to the case of Denmark.     

Landscapes and territory-specific economic bases

The objective of this paper is to assess the potential of the landscape as a factor for regional development. Using the economic base theoretical framework, economic sectors are differentiated according to their alleged sensitivity to amenities. The empirical analysis clusters French counties on the basis of landscape physical attributes and economic sectors, then estimates the amenity-related basic employment multiplier in three study areas located in the Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes regions. Results tend to show that spending behavior is related to landscape type.     

乡村旅游业发展对广西区域经济的影响研究

鉴于乡村旅游业发展对区域经济增长有明显拉动作用的客观事实,广西壮族自治区近年来大力发展乡村旅游业,以此作为经济转型背景下新的经济增长点。广西有发展乡村旅游业得天独厚的自然资源条件,拥有喀斯特地貌、农业梯田、湖泊瀑布等乡村旅游业发展资源,近年来在政府的支持下开发出不少闻名省内外的乡村旅游景区。文章从理论(定性)、实证(定量)等2个角度切入分析,结合乘数理论和生命周期效应理论,建立广西乡村旅游业与区域GDP的计量经济学模型,通过严密的数理逻辑推导,分析乡村旅游业发展对区域经济影响的表现和贡献程度,并以此为基础,为进一步提升乡村旅游业对广西区域经济发展的影响,促进区域经济发展和经济结构转型,提出科学可行的对策和建议,以促进旅游产业成为广西跨越式发展的新支柱,并快速实现区域经济跨越式发展的战略目标。     

四川省农业区域经济差异对农业经济增长的影响研究

[目的]通过分析四川省农业区域经济差异,将四川省划分为西北高原区、西南山地区、四川盆地区等3个农业经济差异区域,并从土地资源、水资源、经济资源、社会资源等4个方面确定11个指标研究其对四川农业经济增长的影响。[方法]运用灰色关联分析法,选取2010~2014年3个不同区域内11个指标,分别分析其对农业经济发展的核心评价指标农业GDP的影响。[结果]3个区域内耕地面积、受灾面积、农业用水总量与农业GDP均中度相关,并且从关联度的结果看,耕地面积、受灾面积、农业用水总量的差异对农业GDP的影响差距不大;3个区域内农林牧副渔总产值、农业总产值、农业增加值均与农业GDP高度相关,且对各区农业GDP的影响的差异较小;3个区域内有效灌溉面积、农业机械总动力、农用化肥使用量、农业从业人员、农业固定资产投资对农业GDP的影响显著。[结论]四川农业区域经济差异对农业经济增长的影响显著。     

耕地非农化与中国经济增长质量的库兹涅茨曲线假说及验证——基于空间计量经济模型的实证分析

研究目的：分析中国耕地非农化与经济增长质量之间是否存在库兹涅茨曲线并进行验证。研究方法：空间计量经济模型。研究结果：常规面板模型和空间面板模型的结果均显示,中国耕地非农化与经济增长质量之间存在明显的倒“U”型关系,验证了“耕地库兹涅茨曲线”假说,且当经济增长质量（全要素生产率指数)达到1.4087时,耕地非农化与经济增长之间的矛盾将逐渐减小;区域间的耕地非农化确实具有较强的正向空间相关关系,即相邻地区耕地非农化数量变动1%,会导致本地区耕地非农化数量平均变动0.1627%。研究结论：系统地识别、评估区域间耕地非农化与经济增长质量的空间联动性,对于促进区域间耕地总量动态平衡具有十分重要的理论和现实意义。     

The EU societal awareness of landscape indicator: A review of its meaning,utility and performance across different scales

There is increasing recognition that agricultural landscapes meet multiple societal needs and demands beyond provision of economic and environmental goods and services. Accordingly, there have been significant calls for the inclusion of societal, amenity and cultural values in agri-environmental landscape indicators to assist policy makers in monitoring the wider impacts of land-based policies. However, capturing the amenity and cultural values that rural agrarian areas provide, by use of such indicators, presents significant challenges. The EU social awareness of landscape indicator represents a new class of generalized social indicator using a top–down methodology to capture the social dimensions of landscape without reference to the specific structural and cultural characteristics of individual landscapes. This paper reviews this indicator in the context of existing agri-environmental indicators and their differing design concepts. Using a stakeholder consultation approach in five case study regions, the potential and limitations of the indicator are evaluated, with a particular focus on its perceived meaning, utility and performance in the context of different user groups and at different geographical scales. This analysis supplements previous EU-wide assessments, through regional scale assessment of the limitations and potentialities of the indicator and the need for further data collection. The evaluation finds that the perceived meaning of the indicator does not vary with scale, but in common with all mapped indicators, the usefulness of the indicator, to different user groups, does change with scale of presentation. This indicator is viewed as most useful when presented at the scale of governance at which end users operate. The relevance of the different sub-components of the indicator are also found to vary across regions.     

安徽省产业集聚的空间溢出效应分析

文章基于2014-2018年安徽省16个市的面板数据,通过空间杜宾模型分析产业集聚对安徽各市经济增长的空间溢出效应。结果表明,安徽区域经济发展具有显著的空间自相关特征,产业集聚具有鲜明的区域差异特征,同时产业集聚能够显著带动省内周边城市经济增长。为了促进安徽各地经济快速发展,缩小地区差异,应强化高水平人才队伍建设,为产业集聚和地区发展提供智力支持,做强主导产业,提高产业集聚程度,带动区域经济发展,优化产业布局,建立区域协调机制,促进区域共同发展。     

西部开发与区域经济发展的若干理论问题

西部开发过程中需要进一步加强理论研究 ,充分发挥理论的指导作用。本文首先指出 ,西部开发是地区平衡发展的要求。其次西部地区要培养新的增长极 ,发展具有创新能力的行业和主导产业部门 ;要积极创建自己的高技术产业 ,实现超越发展。