The long breadth of cities: revisiting worldwide urbanization patterns, 1950–2030

ABSTRACT

A comparative analysis of population dynamics worldwide contributes to profile distinctive demographic and economic trajectories of urban growth, discriminating processes of settlement concentration or dispersion under sequential cycles of urbanization. However, a wide-ranging characterization of urban cycles based on demographic dynamics worldwide is still missing. The present work is aimed at filling such a gap analysing long-term changes (1950–2030) in annual population growth rate of 1691 urban agglomerations with more than 300,000 inhabitants in 74 world countries. Results of this study indicate that metropolitan growth worldwide was associated with largely variable rates of population growth, highly positive before 2000 and progressively reducing over recent decades. Despite important differences at continental (and country) scale, demographic expansion of urban agglomerations showed two contrasting phases with a break point in the 1980s denoting a progressive reduction in spatial heterogeneity of population growth rates and a moderate slowdown in demographic dynamics. Intensity of urban expansion and spatial heterogeneity in population growth rates across metropolitan agglomerations evidences a trade-off between fast and slow demographic dynamics. These findings can be better understood to support theories of sequential city growth, making a suitable contribution to policy making, especially in countries where urban population is expanding more rapidly.     

The dynamics of business service exchanges: Insights from logistics outsourcing

This paper offers insights about the dynamics of business service exchanges. We draw on the interaction approach, contracting theory and the notion of qualification from economic sociology to develop an analysis frame for such dynamics. We then apply this frame to a single, longitudinal case study. Contrary to the extant service supply literature assuming that service definitions remain (or should remain) fixed throughout the purchasing process, our findings suggest that, under high uncertainty conditions, the service exchange object is (re)shaped through iterative cycles of stabilisation and destabilisation. This study also reveals a connection between service definition and relationship governance dynamics—uncertainty and opportunism risks related to service destabilisation can be managed through dynamic deployment of relational, contractual and economic mechanisms. This paper also contributes to our understanding of the contract as basis for interaction and openness and offers an extension of qualification theory to complex business-to-business (B2B) service settings.     

Is productive inefficiency a fatal disease? The effects of technical and scale efficiency in firm exit: the case of the Greek rubber and plastic industry

This article presents an integrated framework for testing the effects of productive efficiency, i.e. technical efficiency (TE) and scale efficiency (SE), on firm exit, facilitating the identification of the effects, causing a firm's operation at increasing or decreasing returns to scale. A panel data set of firms in the plastics and rubber industry of the Greek manufacturing sector is used to study the effect that TE and SE may have on a firm's probability to exit. Results reveal that technical efficiency is the most critical factor influencing firm exit, while SE exerts a quadratic effect on the probability to exit.     

Class diversification,economic growth and urban sprawl: evidences from a pre-crisis European city

Economic expansion indirectly promotes class diversification at the neighbourhood scale with a consequent reduction of social divides at the regional scale. To verify this working hypothesis, the present study investigates class diversification at both spatial scales in a Mediterranean city (Athens, Greece) using the European Socioeconomic Classification based on population census data referring to 1991–2001, a phase of economic expansion and intense urban sprawl preceding the 2004 Olympic games. Results of multivariate analysis and diversity indexes outline a local-scale social mix associated to suburban expansion, and regional-scale class segregation, reflecting an increasing polarization in affluent and economically deprived urban districts. The contrasting pattern at the two spatial scales results in a complex social geography with class diversification and moderate changes over time in the economic spatial divide between urban and neighbouring rural areas. These findings contribute to design scale-dependent policies reducing social inequalities and improving quality of life in urban areas. Future paths for socio-spatial processes were delineated for sprawling metropolitan regions under economic expansion and discussed in the light of future demographic trends in both developed and emerging countries.     

The role of productive efficiency on entry and post‐entry performance under different strategic orientation: the case of the Greek plastics and rubber industry

The present study formulates and empirically tests the hypothesis that the post‐entry performance and growth of new firms is affected by the way in which crucial resources are combined during the decision‐making process to enter the industry or not. Further, the study empirically tests the hypothesis that multifaceted productive efficiency influences both the entry decision and the entrants' post‐entry performance. The proposed analytical framework allows for testing these hypotheses under different strategic orientations assumed to be followed by entrants. Results of the estimated partial observability model provide support to these hypotheses in almost all of the examined cases. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The evolution of cognitive radio technology in Europe: Regulatory and standardization aspects

Cognitive radio (CR) is considered a promising technology that could provide important benefits in the telecommunication domain. In Europe, the number of research projects, standardization activities and public consultations by the European Commission and regulatory authorities testify to the growing interest in CR. The introduction of CR in the telecommunication market may require new regulations or changes to the way spectrum is licensed and the conditions under which it can be used. The concepts of CR can be applied to various operational scenarios, which are described in this paper.This paper identifies the main challenges for the deployment of CR technology in Europe, provides an overview of the activities by European regulatory and standardization bodies to address the identified challenges and describes a roadmap with potential actions to support the adoption of CR technology.     

Temporary Separations and Firm Size in the German Labour Market

We estimate the duration of out-of-work periods in the German labour market from 1980–90 and their relationship with employment protection legislation. We distinguish between Employment Interruptions that are legally protected and ordinary Layoffs. We investigate the question of whether the size of employer has an impact on the choice of the type of temporary separation. We find that firm size does matter, in both the type and the duration of temporary separations, and we examine the complex re-hiring process.     

Leisure constraints and the psychological continuum model: a study among recreational mountain skiers

Studying the factors that contribute to the development of skiing loyalty holds particular interest for ski resort managers and marketers, since it has been reported that recreational skiers’ dropout rates are considerably high. This study examines how intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural constraints, influence the development of skiers’ stage-based attitudinal loyalty (Attraction, Attachment and Allegiance stages), as conceptualised by the psychological continuum model, and further tests if constraints can be used for classifying skiers into the three stages of the model (Attraction, Attachment and Allegiance). Two hundred and thirty (N = 230) recreational skiers from one ski resort in North Greece participated in the study. The results indicated that the intensity of perceived constraints decreased from the lowest (attraction) to the highest (Allegiance) stage of the model. However, the hierarchical influence of constraints was not entirely confirmed, since all three types of constraints contributed to the stage classification of recreational skiers. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed.     

Exact computation of max weighted score estimators

We show that exact computation of a family of ‘max weighted score’ estimators, including Manski’s max score estimator, can be achieved efficiently by reformulating them as mixed integer programs (MIP) with disjunctive constraints. The advantage of our MIP formulation is that estimates are exact and can be computed using widely available solvers in reasonable time. In a classic work-trip mode choice application, our method delivers exact estimates that lead to a different economic interpretation of the data than previous heuristic estimates. In a small Monte Carlo study we find that our approach is computationally efficient for usual estimation problem sizes.