Growth and disparities in Europe: Insights from a spatial growth model*

This paper provides a spatial neoclassical growth model for a system of N regional economies. Regional output growth is determined by interregional fixed capital relocations which depend on initial factor endowments as well as a region's relative location in space. The dynamics of the model are captured by a Taylor approximation, which provides a testable spatial econometric model specification that is applied for European regions on the NUTS 2 level. Both theoretical and empirical results show how relatively high human capital endowments are beneficial to growth if found within one region, but disadvantageous if found in neighbouring regions. Este artículo proporciona un modelo de crecimiento neo‐clásico espacial para un sistema de N economías regionales. El crecimiento del producto regional viene determinado por deslocalizaciones interregionales de capital fijo que dependen de la dotación de factores inicial, así como de la relativa localización espacial de una región. Las dinámicas del modelo son capturadas mediante una aproximación de Taylor, que proporciona una especificación comprobable de modelo econométrico espacial que se aplica a regiones europeas a nivel NUTS 2. Tanto los resultados teoréticos como los empíricos muestran como las dotaciones relativamente elevadas de capital humano son ventajosas para el crecimiento cuando se concentran en una región, pero una desventaja si se encuentran en regiones vecinas.      

Environmental inspection proclivity and state manufacturing growth: the US Experience from the 1990s

In this paper, we construct a ranking of states based on their proclivity to inspect facilities for environmental compliance. Our measure utilizes state-level inspections data supplied by the US Environmental Protection Agency. After developing our ranking, we use it to predict state-level growth in manufacturing establishments. In doing so, we find support for the notion that enforcement intensity adversely impacts such growth. Our results offer insight into why existing studies that examine the impact of environmental regulation on location and growth produce inconsistent results.     

Perchlorate exposure in lactating women in an urban community in New Jersey

Perchlorate is most widely known as a solid oxidant for missile and rocket propulsion systems although it is also present as a trace contaminant in some fertilizers. It has been detected in drinking water, fruits, and vegetables throughout New Jersey and most of the United States. At sufficiently high doses, perchlorate interferes with the uptake of iodine into the thyroid and may interfere with the development of the skeletal system and the central nervous system of infants. Therefore, it is important to quantify perchlorate in breast milk to understand potential perchlorate exposure in infants. In this study we measured perchlorate in breast milk, urine, and drinking water collected from 106 lactating mothers from Central New Jersey. Each subject was asked to provide three sets of samples over a 3-month period. The average ± SD perchlorate level in drinking water, breast milk, and urine was 0.168 ± 0.132 ng/mL (n = 253), 6.80 ± 8.76 ng/mL (n = 276), and 3.19 ± 3.64 ng/mL (3.51 ± 6.79 μg/g creatinine) (n = 273), respectively. Urinary perchlorate levels were lower than reference range values for women of reproductive age (5.16 ± 11.33 μg/g creatinine, p = 0.03), likely because of perchlorate secretion in breast milk. Drinking water perchlorate levels were ≤ 1.05 ng/mL and were not positively correlated with either breast milk or urine perchlorate levels. These findings together suggest that drinking water was not the most important perchlorate exposure source for these women. Creatinine-adjusted urine perchlorate levels were strongly correlated with breast milk perchlorate levels (r = 0.626, p = < 0.0005). Breast milk perchlorate levels in this study are consistent with widespread perchlorate exposure in lactating women and thus infants. This suggests that breast milk may be a source of exposure to perchlorate in infants.     

Regional disparities in the spatial correlation of state income growth, 1977–2002

This paper presents new evidence of spatial correlation in USA state income growth. We extend the basic spatial econometric model used in the growth literature by allowing spatial correlation in state income growth to vary across geographic regions. We find positive spatial correlation in income growth rates across neighboring states, but that the strength of this spatial correlation varies considerably by region. Spatial correlation in income growth is highest for states located in the Northeast and the South. Our findings have policy implications both at the state and national level, and also suggest that growth models may benefit from incorporating more complex forms of spatial correlation. The views expressed here are those of the authors and not those of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis or the Federal Reserve System     

Population redistribution within the rural-urban fringe: a typology of small towns and rural municipalities in the state of New Jersey

Population redistribution within the rural-urban fringe of the United States is examined using the state of New Jersey over the period 1970-1980 as an example. "This article provides additional evidence for the redistribution of population to the rural-urban fringe and identifies those types of municipalities that experienced the greatest growth during the 1970s. Furthermore, it finds that the factors that account for population growth at the rural-urban fringe are not only those associated with suburbanization, but also those associated with nonmetropolitan growth. It also demonstrates that population growth at the rural-urban fringe varies not only by municipal type but also by race."     

Multiple trend shifts and unit roots in US state income levels: implications for long-run growth

This paper examines the presence of a unit root in real per capita personal income for 49 US states over the period 1929–2004. Employing a panel stationarity test which incorporates multiple level and slope shifts, we find clear-cut evidence of regime-wise trend stationarity after controlling for cross-correlation. Estimates of steady-state growth paths indicate that growth rates have slowed down for about one half of the states while increasing for the other half. On average, growth paths have become steeper by nearly one-and-a-half-fold in the final regime comparing with the baseline regime before the early forties. Overall, this evidence appears to contradict the key prediction of neoclassical growth theory in addition to Kaldor’s (The theory of capital. McMillan, London, 1961) stylized fact supportive of the constancy of output growth rates over time.     

Assessing equity and urban/rural road safety disparities in the US

Road fatalities erase more healthy years of life than cancer and heart disease combined. Considering safety as a health impact begs the question: Who is most impacted? Are there urban/rural differences? How equitable are impacts along racial/ethnic lines or with income differences? Via spatial analysis of over 970,000 geocoded US road fatalities over a 24-year period, our results show that Americans are not bearing these impacts equitably. We find road fatality disparities across racial/ethnic lines, particularly for pedestrians/bicyclists in predominantly black or Hispanic neighborhoods. Lower income neighborhoods suffer from vehicle occupant fatality rates 3.5X higher than wealthier neighborhoods. Also, residents of our most rural areas endure fatality rates approximately 6X higher than our most urban areas. This suggests that transportation and land use planning intended to facilitate more access with less mobility can reduce unnecessary exposure and lead to outcomes on par with the safest developed countries in the world.     

Regional disparities and determinants of growth in Mexico

Developing countries such as Mexico, in which profound processes of economic liberalization have taken place over the last few decades, offer fertile terrain for studies of regional disparities. Mexico has experienced a history of polarization between regions, the industrialized north and the underdeveloped south, which have seen their differences widen, exacerbated through recurrent crises and liberalization processes. This paper looks at the convergence process among regions, examining which factors might affect regional growth, tracking the evolution of single units and identifying winners and losers. The evidence shows that northern states, bordering the USA, moved from a condition that might be described as `falling-behind' prior to liberalization to that of a `winner' after that process, while southern states went from the position of `catching-up' to that of `loser'. Regional disparities in human capital would appear to be playing a decisive role in the existence of differences. The author acknowledges comments from Gilles Duranton, Henry Overman, Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, two anonymous referees, and participants in seminars in The London School of Economics and the European University Institute.     

New Insights into Timber-Framing in Shropshire: Findings from the Tilley Timber Project

The Tilley Timber Project accurately dated 21 buildings with a total of 33 phases of development by tree-ring analysis in and around Tilley, a small village in north Shropshire. A spike of timber construction in Tilley when decorative wall-framing was at its height is identified. Using this data together with 261 previously published tree-ring dates, the datable changes in the style of timber-framing across the county are summarised and some of the possible causes discussed.     

Environmental affordances and children’s needs: Insights from child-friendly community streets in China

With rapid urbanization in China, an increasing building density has squeezed the urban public space. Community streets are occupied by motor vehicles or other functions, and can no longer sufficiently support children to carry out safe and independent activities. As an important space for children’s daily natural contact and social activities, the lack of the spatial function of streets results in a decline in children’s subjective initiative and social abilities. The United Nations has stressed the importance of community as the basic unit of space for children’s daily activities in building child friendly cities. It is urgent to reshape child-friendly community streets and support children’s healthy growth. Integrating previous research results on affordance theory and design, children’s growth and environment, and street-game spaces, this study focuses on investigating 23 community streets in four residential communities in Nanjing through questionnaires, interviews, observations, and other methods. Then, from the perspective of cognitive affordance, functional affordance, and social affordance, it analyzes the behavioral possibilities provided by the environment and the needs of the children-user group. Finally, from the perspectives of openness and security, preference and diversity, positive and negative, and reality and potential, it proposes a method to assess the existing environment. This study aims to extract the significant characteristics of the built environment that effectively support and promote children’s outdoors activities, and explore the design strategy of improving street space sharing through optimizing space elements and structure at the medium and micro levels, so as to respond to multiple goals including livable city development from the perspective of child friendliness. This study also tries to change the logical way of design thinking and provide an eco-psychological perspective on how to build a child-friendly community.     

Surfactant Systems: A Survey of the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline from Houston to New Jersey

The Transcontinental Pipeline, Transco, is a 10,560-mile line that traverses the US, transporting natural gas from its source in the Gulf of Mexico to the East Coast. Petia Morozov describes the postwar engineering feat that made the pipeline a reality, and also reveals the web of myriad agreements, with often diametrically opposed parties or interests, that support its rights of way and management. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geochemical stability of chromium in sediments from the lower Hackensack River, New Jersey

Elevated levels of chromium, partly attributable to historical disposal of chromite ore processing residue, are present in sediment along the eastern shore of the lower Hackensack River near the confluence with Newark Bay. Due to anaerobic conditions in the sediment, the chromium is in the form of Cr(III), which poses no unacceptable risks to human health or to the river ecology. However, as water quality conditions have improved since the 1970s, aerobic conditions have become increasingly prevalent in the overlying water column. If these conditions result in oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI), either under quiescent conditions or during severe weather or anthropogenic scouring events, the potential for adverse ecological effects due to biological exposures to Cr(VI) is possible, though the reaction kinetics associated with oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI) are unfavorable. To investigate the stability of Cr(III) in Hackensack River sediments exposed to oxic conditions, sediment suspension and oxidation experiments and intertidal sediment exposure experiments that exposed the sediments to oxic conditions were conducted. Results revealed no detectable concentrations of Cr(VI), and thus no measurable potential for total chromium oxidation to Cr(VI). Furthermore, total chromium released from sediment to elutriate water in the oxidation and suspension experiments ranged from below detection (<0.01 mg/L) to 0.18 mg/L, below the freshwater National Recommended Water Quality Criteria (NRWQC) of 0.57 mg/L for Cr(III). These results support conclusions of a stable, in situ geochemical environment in sediments in the lower Hackensack River with respect to chromium. Results showed that chemicals other than Cr(VI), including copper, lead, mercury, zinc, and PCBs, were released at levels that may pose a potential for adverse ecological effects.     

Planning and the communal state: interpreting community participation in Caracas

The paper adopts an interpretive institutionalist framework [Hay (2011 Hay, Colin. 2011. “Interpreting Interpretivism Interpreting Interpretations: The New Hermeneutics of Public Administration.” Public Administration 89 (1): 167–82. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9299.2011.01907.x.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]), “Interpreting Interpretivism Interpreting Interpretations: The New Hermeneutics of Public Administration.” Martin (2015 Martin, Graham. 2015. “‘Ahora tienen que escucharnos’ [now they have to listen to us]: Actors’ Understandings and Meanings of Planning Practices in Venezuela’s ‘Participatory Democracy’.” PhD thesis, Cardiff University. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/77661/. [Google Scholar]), “‘Ahora tienen que escucharnos’ [now they have to listen to us]: Actors’ Understandings and Meanings of Planning Practices in Venezuela’s ‘Participatory Democracy.” PhD Thesis, Cardiff University, to unpack participants’ involvement in communal councils (CCs) and a commune, two Venezuelan reforms seeking to incorporate citizens into planning processes. The paper focuses on how participants in La Silsa, an informal neighbourhood in Caracas, understood and enacted upon community planning opportunities provided by these new councils. Municipal and national government staff and finance heavily supported La Silsa’s emerging commune and CCs. Despite the national government’s rhetoric of ‘constructing a new socialist, communal state’, the article identifies several challenges need to be overcome to successfully shift from existing representative institutional/governmental arrangements towards more participatory repertoires. The article’s findings mirror those of other empirical studies of Latin America’s democratic innovations: citizen participation strengthens representative governmental arrangements, rather than replace them with normative alternatives.     

都市区化:中国城市化的新阶段

本文全面分析了都市区以及相关的都市密集区、城市群、都市带等概念的异同 ,从发展的角度对这些概念建立了一定的逻辑关系 ,认为都市区已经成为当代区域发展的基本细胞和城市化的主流组织模式。分析了中国传统城市化战略的不足 ,指出中国以都市区的城市化组织模式取代传统的城镇体系组织模式的重要意义与可能。     

大城市地区的新城发展战略及其空间形态

在经济较为发达的大城市地区 ,区域经济的发展和众多小城镇的崛起已经成为一个普遍的现象。但在经历了早期的快速发展之后 ,如何在新经济背景下获得第二次的自我超越已经成为共同的难题。笔者借鉴国外新城发展的经验 ,提出在我国大城市地区培育大城市地区中等规模新城的发展战略。     

New Regional and Metropolitan Realities of America

Three major socioeconomic phenomena will increasingly structure and constrain the basic environment of planning activity for the next decade—the accelerating regional shift, the emerging metropolitan-nonmetropolitan dynamic, and expanding intrametropolitan differentials. These events are documented, causal processes are suggested, and their basic implications explored. A new reference framework for evaluating a host of economic and social issues has synthesized, super-ceding the conventions of the past decade.