Pareto-improving social optimal pricing schemes based on bottleneck permits for managing congestion at a merging section

Akamatsu, Sato, and Nguyen (2006 Akamatsu, T., Sato, S., &; Nguyen, X. L. (2006). Tradable time-of-day bottleneck permits for morning commuters (in Japanese). JSCE Journal of Infrastructure Planning 62(4), 605–620.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) proposed a first-best pricing scheme based on the concept of bottleneck permits. The scheme allows permit holders to pass a bottleneck at specified times and is shown to be able to minimize social cost. However, the scheme is not always Pareto-improving in that it may harm some drivers. The objective of this study is to design Pareto-improving pricing scheme with bottleneck permits for a V-shaped two-to-one merge bottleneck. First, the paper formulates the morning commute model in the network and describes the arrival time choice equilibrium in the network with merging bottleneck. Secondly, we show that the first-best pricing scheme with bottleneck permits for this V-shaped network does not always achieve a Pareto improvement, with the cost of one group of drivers is increased by the permit pricing, a phenomena akin to the bottleneck paradox of Arnott, de Palma, and Lindsey (1993 Arnott, R., de Palma, A., &; Lindsey, R. (1993). Properties of dynamic traffic equilibrium involving bottlenecks, including a paradox and metering. Transportation Science 27(2), 148–160.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We propose three implementations of bottleneck permits for Pareto-improving: (1) merging priority rule is included in the bottleneck permits scheme by creating different market for each origin; (2) the permit revenues are refunded as monetary compensation to drivers whose cost is increased; and (3) the permit revenues are used to expand bottleneck capacity. For each implementation, we derive their equilibrium solutions and demonstrate that the Pareto improvement is achieved and social cost is decreased by using the permit revenues for expanding the bottleneck capacity.     

Research agenda for low-carbon mobility: Issues for New World cities

ABSTRACT

Low-carbon mobility (LCM) features strongly in debates about the sustainability of cities and their resilience in the face of demographic, economic, and climate change. Transport is a major source of carbon emissions and there are indications that these continue to increase, despite the considerable recent advances in vehicle, engine, and fuel technologies. Reducing carbon emissions from transport may become more difficult, not easier. A particular issue relates to the New World cities, typified by those of North America and Australasia, which largely developed from the latter half of the nineteenth century onward and whose transportation systems were largely based around private vehicle ownership and usage. These cities are typically composed of low-density, dispersed suburbs, which are highly car dependent and resource and carbon emission intensive. This article develops a research agenda directed at determining and testing policy and planning measures relevant to the quest for low carbon mobility in New World cities. It suggests a rich agenda for essential research on LCM. Much of this agenda falls within the realm of the integration of transport and land use, with attention to urban design details to enhance the perceptions of and opportunities to use low carbon transport alternatives. Research topics identified for LCM research include (1) urban design and land use–transport integration (LUTI), (2) low carbon mobility policies directed at achieving widespread behavior change, (3) opportunities for new technology and its application, including requirements for systems and infrastructure, and (4) analysis and tools for informed decision making, including modeling, measurement, visualization, and especially assessment.     

Growth-focused or profit-focused firms: Transitions toward profitable growth

Profitable growth is the most desirable state tourism and hospitality firm managers can hope to achieve. In reality, however, it is not easy for a tourism and hospitality firm to consistently grow and accumulate profits. In order to achieve profitable growth, some firms focus on sales growth while victimizing profits, while others concentrate on profits and hold off on growth. To better understand these strategies, this study investigated the growth state, profit state and transitions of restaurant firms. The findings of this study supported that profit-focused firms are more likely to achieve profitable growth than growth-focused firms. In addition, growth-focused firms with low liquidity had a higher likelihood of transitioning to a state of low growth and low profit in the short-term, and this liquidity effect was more serious for small firms in terms of long-term performance. Further, when profit-focused firms had few growth opportunities, large free cash flows increased the likelihood of transitioning to a state of low growth and low profit in the short-term. More detailed results are provided in this paper.     

试论武则天时期的洛阳都市旅游

洛阳是中国的八大古都之一,在武则天时期有着特别浓郁的政治色彩。武则天一生中有49年是在洛阳度过的,在称帝后的15年间就有13年是在洛阳。由于武则天特别钟情于洛阳,在她的经营下,洛阳不但与长安并为唐王朝的东、西二京,而且发展为仅次于长安的国际性大都市。繁华的都市推动着城市旅游的发展,尤其是武则天时期的洛阳都市旅游,其丰富多彩的节庆旅游、不同阶层的旅游主体、多种类型的旅游服务业等,在唐人好游之风的助推下,充分彰显出盛唐气象下都市旅游的新亮点。     

Unobserved firm heterogeneity and the size-exports nexus: Evidence from German panel data

This paper starts from the stylized fact that firm size and exporting tends to be positively related. Using large sets of establishment panel data for three different industries from official statistics, evidence is presented that the familiar picture of an export/sales ratio that increases (at a decreasing rate) with firm size vanishes if unobserved firm heterogeneity is controlled for in a fixed-effects fractional logit regression model. This finding is well in line with the fact that many small firms are “hidden export champions.” JEL no. F10, D21, L60     

城乡统筹发展前提下人力资本与人均收入的关系

以2000年、2005年的统计资料为样本,对城乡人力资本与人均收入关系的研究表明,人力资本因素对居民收入的影响力不断增强。东部地区农村人力资本的存量和收入都高于西部地区.但地区间人力资本差距与城乡收入差距没有显著相关性,这与人力资本关于收入分配理论相悖,而这种背离是由于制度的不合理造成的。因此,要进行制度创新,从制度设计上确立人力资本的地位,强化对农村人力资本投资尤其是对西部农村地区的支持力度。     

城市土地利用系统复杂性研究

在简要介绍复杂性科学发展的基础上，针对城市土地利用系统的特点，文章分别论述了城市土地利用系统的特征和复杂性研究的方向，为更有效地进行城市土地资源的管理和开发，提供了一些新的思路。     

我国城市土地宏观级差效益浅析

城市土地宏观级差效益是指因城市在一国地域分布中的差异而在经济运行中产生的收益。一般分为城市区位级差效益、城市功能级差效益和城市规模级差效益等三部分。本文对我国城市土地宏观级差效益做出了定量分析。并根据分析结果,对我国目前阶段的一些城市经济发展问题,如土地的集约利用、产业结构调整、城市发展战略等做了进一步的探讨。     

长江三角洲城市旅游地竞争关系

旅游地之间的竞争关系客观存在,但区域旅游合作进程的加速一定程度上掩盖了旅游地之间的外显竞争。文章以长江三角洲地区的四个典型次区域为例,分析一定区域内部旅游地之间竞争关系的类型和实质,客观剖析旅游地之间的空间关系。研究表明,在长江三角洲区域内部城市旅游地之间存在四种不同类型的竞争形式:①核心辐射分流竞争,如外围旅游地与区域核心上海的竞争;②市场收益分配竞争,如杭州与苏州、杭州与黄山等旅游地之间的竞争;③资源品牌竞争,如环太湖区域内部旅游地之间的竞争;④区域功能等级竞争,以杭州与宁波、杭州与南京、杭州与黄山等旅游地之间的竞争为代表。旅游地之间的竞争也有显性和隐性两种不同的表现形式。     

中原城市群发展的优势与战略研究

首先分析了中原城市群范围,并指出了其发展的四大优势。此基础上,根据中原城市群的发展目标,提出了发展的战略选择和战略措施,以期对中原城市群的快速发展提供科学的发展思路。