The relevance of commuting zones for regional spending efficiency

We use data envelopment analysis (DEA) efficiency scores to show that clustering municipalities into encompassing regional clusters improves spending efficiency of single stand-alone municipalities. We propose a new geographic aggregation based on municipalities-to-municipalities commuting flows, defined using hierarchical cluster analysis. Our example for Portugal shows that from an output-oriented perspective between 83% and 98% of municipalities would increase their efficiency scores, while from an input-oriented perspective between 86% and 98% of municipalities would also be better off in terms of efficiency. Then using a linear regression model, we find that population increases positively affects the efficient scores (via scale economies). Also, increases in the share of high-educated and poorer residents leads to higher efficiency scores.     

Location choices of firms and workers in an urban model with heterogeneities in skills and preferences

This paper investigates the location choices of firms and workers, and the implied commuting behavior, in a city comprising several jurisdictions. Jurisdictions are geographically represented by segments that are connected to each other at the center. Each jurisdiction has its own amenities. Workers are classified into types on the basis of their skills and amenity preferences. Firms employ all types of worker. A business area may be formed in the center or in the suburban segments. A monocentric configuration arises when the commuting cost is small and heterogeneity of workers is large.     

Evaluating the impact of land fragmentation on the cost of agricultural operation in the southwest mountainous areas of China

Given the background of the increasing opportunity cost of farming and the popularization of labour-saving technology, increased fragmentation has gradually become a key factor in the devaluation and abandonment of land assets. To systematically identify the costs of fragmentation, we use a series of indicators such as the number of plots, the Simpson index, the plot-homestead distance and the total minimum commuting time from the homestead to all plots to measure the extent of fragmentation. A translogcost function is developed and estimated using survey data from three periods, 2011, 2014 and 2017; the data include an effective sample of 1064 household-year observations involving 6599 plot-year observations in Chongqing, China. The extent of fragmentation in the mountains of southwest China is quite serious compared with that in other countries and regions. The Simpson index is 0.63, and on average, 6.06 mu (1 mu = 666.67 m² or 1 mu = 1/15 ha) of cultivated land is distributed in 6.16 plots, while the total minimum commuting time from the homestead to all plots is approximately 45 min. An increase of one standard deviation in the number of plots, the Simpson index or total minimum commuting time would lead to cost increases of 7.1 %, 15.1 % and 12.2 %, respectively, if other conditions remain unchanged. The channel for the above result involves the changes in the cost share of inputs caused by fragmentation, which increase the labour cost share and reduce the machinery cost share. There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between farm scale and production cost with an inflection point at 47 mu; that is, costs begin to decrease when the scale exceeds 47 mu. However, the average farm scale is currently only 6.06 mu. In addition, production costs can be significantly reduced by renting-in land and implementing land consolidation. To reduce land system-induced costs in mountainous areas, the government should rationally consolidate land to achieve moderate-scale management, reduce the transaction costs of land transfers and popularize machinery suitable for complex terrain.     

Cross-border commuting and consuming: an empirical investigation

This article contributes to our understanding of cross-border activity in general and the determinants of cross-border trade in particular by focusing on the part of cross-border sales that arise due to work-related cross-border crossings of households. We analyse empirically how cross-border consumption expenditures vary across product and services categories as well as household characteristics using representative household survey data of cross-border commuters to Luxembourg. In total, these households spend an estimated 17% of their gross annual income across the border, contributing about 10% to the total household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) in Luxembourg. Cross-border expenditure is linked to individual- and household-related characteristics and to distance between home and work. Cross-border commuters systematically exploit arbitrage opportunities that arise because of existing price level (index) differences between the country of work and the country of residence.     

消费者绿色出行的心理因素分析

文章借鉴计划行为理论构建了绿色出行心理因素的概念模型,通过大样本的数据调查,开发了绿色出行行为及心理因素的测量工具,并应用结构方程模型进行实证分析。研究发现:意愿、感知行为控制两个因素都对绿色出行有直接的影响作用,而意愿对绿色出行的预测作用更大;态度、主观规范两个因素均对意愿有直接的影响作用,而态度对意愿的影响更强;在影响绿色出行的因果链条中,最重要的链条是感知效力→态度→意愿→绿色出行。最后,探讨了研究发现对于促进绿色出行的启示。     

Identifying cycling-inducing neighborhoods: A latent class approach

Understanding how spatial attributes of cities and neighborhoods induce cycling is relevant for urban planning and policy making. In this work, ordered logit and latent class models are specified and estimated to analyze how the built environment affects bicycle-commuting frequency. Data come from a survey to 1,487 people in the city of Santiago, Chile, including sociodemographic information, travel behavior patterns and place of residence and work. Using geographic information systems tools, the built environment was characterized with variables calculated for a 500-m-radius buffer around the residential and work locations of each individual. Two models are estimated, first an ordered logit model confirms that built environment variables effect on cycling is similar to what has been reported in the literature, with some new findings such as an increase in cycling when public transport accessibility is low and the role of built environment attributes at the destination. Second, a latent class ordered logit is used to identify two classes of neighborhood in term of their cycling patterns, as a function of their density, presence of cycling infrastructure and distance to the main activity center of the city. This result allows to map the class membership probabilities, potentially helping to identify neighborhoods that encourage cycling and providing relevant information for policy making and infrastructure decisions.     

Office location decisions, modal split and the environment: the ineffectiveness of Norwegian land use policy

An examination of five Norwegian companies’ decisions to locate/relocate reveals that the new locations are in accordance with policy objectives of reduced car commuting and related environmental improvements. Still, most companies ended up with new locations that increase car commuting significantly, compared both to the situation before relocation and to the alternative location that was eliminated only at the last stage in the selection process. This paradox may be explained by a double policy failure: First, current policy instruments are not oriented towards the parameters that companies themselves consider as key selection criteria for office location. Second, policy instruments do not adequately address factors that determine the share of car commuting for a given location.     

Employment Growth, Worker Mobility, and Rural Economic Development

A county-level labor market model is estimated for North Carolina. The model accounts for inter-county commuting, migration, and within-county adjustments to labor demand shocks. Econometric results indicate that most employment growth (70–80%) during the 1980s was accommodated by changes in commuting flows. Evidence is also presented indicating that labor force growth—and, by extension, population growth and associated fiscal impacts—in rural counties is sensitive to employment growth in nearby urban counties. These results highlight two opposing forces related to spatial spillovers that are usually neglected in analyses of the economic and fiscal impacts of employment growth.     

清晰中央地方两税分配界限 推动区域经济发展

市场经济是城市经济,市场经济的运行必然造就一批城市带、群,形成带动全局的区域经济区。要使区域经济有序、健康发展,中央地方两税划分十分重要。当前我国经济增势劲强,而影响区域健康发展的因素是行政区域,要打破行政区域壁垒,必须调整中央、地方两税的划分,消除各自为政的现象。     

Beyond Intermediates: The Role of Consumption and Commuting in the Construction of Local Input–Output Tables

Estimating intermediate trade using conventional non-survey methods produces biased results. This problem has led to a methodological recommendation that emphasizes the accurate estimation of intermediate trade flows. This paper argues for a qualification of the consensus view: when simulating input–output (IO) tables, analysts need also to consider spillover effects driven by wage and consumption flows. In particular, for metropolitan economies, capturing wage and consumption flows is essential to obtain accurate Type II multipliers. This is demonstrated by constructing an interregional IO table that captures the interdependence between a city and its commuter belt, nested within the wider regional economy.