Can Natural Experiments Measure Behavioral Responses to Environmental Risks?

Efforts to measure people’s responses to spatially delineated risks confront the potential for correlation between these risks and other, unobserved characteristics of these locations. The possibility of correlation arises in part because individuals observe other locational attributes that can be expected to influence the hedonic equilibrium. One response to this problem is to use events from nature to exploit both temporal and spatial variation in the behavioral responses of interest. This paper evaluates the use of hurricanes as a source of new risk information to households in coastal counties potentially subject to the effects of these storms. We study the extent to which housing prices before and after hurricane Andrew, a hurricane with unprecedented property loss, reveal how Floridians responded to the risk information provided by the storm. Two counties are selected – one without and another with damage from the hurricane. To evaluate the plausibility of using quasi-random experiments for locations not directly affected by natural events, we compare Lee County’s results to those of Dade County, where the majority of the damage occurred. Our findings suggest, after controlling for ex post storm damage and changes in insurance markets, there is a reasonably high level of consistency in a repeat sales model’s ability to estimate the effects of the risk information conveyed by the storm for both counties. Department of Economics, Williams College, Affiliated Economist, CEnREP, North Carolina State University and University Distinguished Professor, North Carolina State University, and Resources for the Future University Fellow, respectively. Senior authorship is not assigned. Thanks are due to Shelby Gerking and two anonymous reviewers for careful and constructive comments that substantially improved the paper. Michael Darden and Jaren Pope provided excellent research assistance and Alex Boutaud and Susan Hinton helped to make sense out of numerous drafts of this work. Smith’s contribution was partially supported by the United States Department of Homeland Security through the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE), grant number EMW-2004-GR-0112. However, any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect views of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.     

南京市城市建成区扩张的时空特征与驱动力分析

以南京市城市建成区为研究对象,分析了南京市城市建成区扩张动态,总结其时空扩张特征,并对南京市社会经济因素进行筛选,从而确定城市扩张的主要驱动因素。研究表明,在1985—2005年间,南京市城市建成区时空扩张呈现沿交通干线扩展和亲水性特征;经济发展、人口增加、产业结构调整和行政区划调整是南京市城市建成区扩张的主要驱动因素。     

Some empirical evidence on the ‘discouraged worker’ effect

This note produces empirical evidence on the existence of a significant ‘discouraged worker’ effect in US data–namely, on the tendency for groups of secondary workers to move in and out of the labor force with the business cycle, looking for jobs when these are available, while giving up job search during recessions — by focusing on the behavior of the ‘not in the labor force’ series, as well as of two of its segments (‘going to school’, and ‘keeping house’), at the business-cycle frequencies. Both in the aggregate, and for a number of age–sex groups, the series display a clear counter-cyclical pattern, thus lending support to the discouraged worker notion.     

一种内力图的简便画法

内力图能清楚显示构件各截面内力大小和方向，在对构件进行强度校核时，内力图是最为关键的一步。而传统截面法计算很复杂，步骤十分烦琐。基于此，采用一种内力图的简便画法，避免复杂的计算，通过观察直接画出。     

关于建筑工程中渗漏的原因及防治

建筑工程中渗漏现象较为突出,它已严重危害到工程质量,影响着人们的日常生活。究其原因,涉及因素多种多样,如施工方案考虑不周;材料把关不严;孔洞、套管的处理不当:施工管理不到位等,因此,治理渗漏这一质量通病难度较大,必须贯彻综合治理的原则,对涉及到的各种因素须通盘考虑,以达到消除渗漏这一质量通病。     

Electronic Commerce

Abstract

Electronic commerce is booming because of faster and newer technologies being introduced. On-line travel will be a $20 billion industry by the year 2001, compared to $2.5 billion in 1998 (Travel Weekly, May 12, 1999). Based on this research, it is obvious that the Internet and E-commerce is affecting travel agencies' bottom line. Almost half of our respondents had heard of business closures and three fourths of southeastern agencies have adopted some type of service charge. Findings indicate that over one fifth of all customers are calling in with Internet-based researched travel itineraries. Does this finding foreshadow the future?     

The Future of the Meeting,Incentive, Convention,and Exhibition (MICE) Industry Buyer-Seller Relationship

ABSTRACT

Business on the Internet and in the MICE industry are both experiencing rapid development. The construction of dedicated-convention centers, usually by the public sector, in large cities reflects this trend. In order to obtain a return on investment in the competitive MICE market, centers must competitively market themselves on the global stage, and the World Wide Web has provided the ideal vehicle. Findings from this study indicate that while the Internet and the Web are providing branding and information services, to date, clients still prefer printed promotional material and personal interface as a way of doing business. In the MICE market, marketing collateral appears to have a very short shelf life, with updates having resource implications for each center.     

The economics and implications of moratoria on tourism accommodation development as a rejuvenation tool in mature tourism destinations

This paper fills a literature gap on the economic rationale and implications of moratoria on accommodation development in mature tourism destinations. Moratoria are government-led capacity controls, which reduce market competition and seek to create economic rents. The paper provides a comprehensive set of economic foundations justifying the enactment of moratoria in situations characterised by over-capacity, low profitability, little innovation, environmental damage, strategic behaviour and sectoral imbalances. It notes that the implementation of these controls could be related to regulatory capture, rent seeking and clientelism. While capacity controls can restrain tourism over-expansion and can help fix some of its undesirable consequences, they may lead to multiple and varied unforeseen effects on the rejuvenation process and on the rest of the economy, issues also addressed in the paper. Moratoria relate to the concept of de-growth, which is a highly contested area of discussion. A moratorium does not ensure renovation of private and public capital or maintain the natural environment. It may give rise to detrimental strategies by firms, opening up room for corruption. To be effective, a moratorium must be accompanied by complementary policies, besides being coherently embodied in a broader tourism and regional rejuvenation strategy.     

Conglomeration: Growth and Techniques

A look at the merger movement in the United States from its beginnings in the early 'fifties to its peak in 1968.     

Über osculierende interpolation

In MARKOFF'S ?Differenzenrechnung? wird das allgemeine Problem der Interpolation auf folgende Weise formuliert: