Impacts of water reallocation: A combined computable general equilibrium and recreation demand model approach

To date, the regional economics literature has neglected to combine a county-level dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with a recreation demand model to analyze the temporal effects of reallocating water from agriculture to recreational use. This study begins to address this weakness in the literature by considering water reallocation issues in rural Nevada. By combining a recreation demand model with a CGE model, this study analyzes the policy effects on both the agricultural sectors and the recreation-related sectors. Model results show that the increase in non-agricultural output does not offset the reduction in agricultural output due to water withdrawal. Received: October 1998/Accepted: June 1999     

On Austrian regional economics

The aim of this research note is two-fold, firstly, to clarify the growing interaction between regional science and Austrian economics and their awareness of each other. We elucidate the Austrian methodology, called praxeology, which is especially misunderstood in regional science. Secondly, we tentatively sketch a possible contribution of Austrian economics to regional science. The core of the new economic geography is the idea of external economies of scale. Agglomeration of firms often leads to lower costs of existing products, and is a stimulating environment for the invention of new products and the development of new ideas. Austrian economics, which places discovery at the centre of its analysis of the market process, should be able to explain why (public) regional investments may be unsuccessful and why they can be successful.Received: 2 February 2002, Accepted: 25 June 2003, JEL Classification: B41, B53, R12     

Regional science: Directions for the future

Academic disciplines evolve and regional science is no exception. Physics, French or economics changes over time but at the end of the day (or decade), they remain physics, French or economics. But regional science is different; it can take on the perspectives of geography, economics, planning, or other social sciences. At its best, perhaps regional science is a composite of these; many therefore think that the inevitable tension between these content areas and scientific and non-scientific orientations is not only healthy but is also essential. Balancing perspectives and managing tensions in a discipline where both basic and applied research is appropriate is challenging. Combine this with the fact of rapid change and increased competition for limited resources in academic institutions with regional science programmes. From this starting point it seems worthwhile to revisit how we manage regional science and position it within our universities and within our graduates job markets. We propose a model sensitive to both the supply side and the demand side, which indicates that we proactively cultivate markets within and outside educational institutions. We discuss the need for introductory regional science courses at the undergraduate level and for programmes at the masters and Ph.D. levels that transfer existing knowledge and prepare the next generation for intellectual and technical leadership in the field of regional science.JEL Classification: A12, A20, B30, R10We would like to thank the colleagues who offered comments on various drafts of this article. We are especially grateful to Professor William M. Bowen, Dr. Lorraine Craig, Gérard Widmer, and the anonymous reviewers and guest-editors for detailed and thoughtful suggestions.     

DECOMPOSITION OF CHANGE IN SPATIAL EMPLOYMENT CONCENTRATION: AN INFORMATION-THEORETIC EXTENSION OF SHIFT-SHARE ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT This paper develops a Kullback-based information-theoretic framework for the extended shift-share models of the Esteban-Marquillas/Areelus variety It also outlines an interpretative structure for managing the findings in model applications. In so doing, the method frees shift-share from some of the criticisms that have been leveled against it. and broadens and generalizes its applicability in economics, regional science, and geography.     

The role of universities in regional development Endogenous human capital and growth in a two-region model

This paper proposes a dynamic two-region model with human capital accumulation. This economic system is assumed to produce two commodities – one in each region. The only university in the economy which carries out higher education (=teaching) is located in region 1. The model describes the dynamic interdependence between human capital accumulation, regional division of labour, the spatial price structure under perfect economic competition, and the government intervention in higher education. Thus the analysis examines how differences in human capital improvements and environmental conditions between the two regions affect the economic geography. Received: October 1998/Accepted: April 2000     

The world city network: Evaluating top-down versus bottom-up approaches

The growth of the knowledge economy has led to new forms of business networks linking cities and towns across different spatial scales. Various attempts have been made to analyse these networks empirically using the interlocking network model of the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) research network. Two approaches can be distinguished from a spatial perspective: a global ‘top-down’ approach that studies the world city network from the perspective of the largest advanced producer service firms, and a macro-regional ‘bottom-up’ approach that starts with the most important knowledge-intensive firms located within specific territorial boundaries. This paper compares and critically assesses the methodological implications and empirical outcomes of both approaches with reference to case studies of the German space economy. Both approaches pursue similar objectives: to investigate external relations of cities, both transnationally and on the national scale. Differences exist in the theoretical argumentation: the top-down approach is grounded in world city research; the bottom-up approach is anchored in debates in regional science and economic geography. In this paper, we argue for the need of scale-sensitive interpretations of connectivity patterns resulting from different approaches to the interlocking network model and conclude with some tentative recommendations for the methodological direction of future research in world city network studies.     

Regional science: economy and geography in France and French-speaking countries

The objective of this paper is to assess the French-speaking countries contributions to regional science since its creation in the 1950s. France, and other French-speaking countries, very quickly adhered to the approach of the founding fathers of regional science. French-language research developed for several years without maintaining major relations with the main streams that flow through regional science. However, the years 2000 and 2010 saw the emergence of streams of thought that strongly irrigate at the international level. The authors of this paper are part of this movement. Here we trace the origins and development of the French-speaking contribution to regional sciences, while highlighting the originality of the French-language approach. First, the question of academic and institutional contexts is discussed, with the role of the founders and the peculiar place of Journals and public institutions. Further sections analyse the main contributions coming from economics (local systems of production and innovation, innovative milieus and proximity analysis) and geography (regional development at a global scale, and urban systems and complexity). We conclude with cross-disciplinary contributions including intra-urban organization and mobility, territorial governance and territorial development, as well as other approaches to the social sciences, in the contemporary issues of city and territorial governance.     

Evolutionary economics and regional policy

Our principal objective is to formulate some possible links between evolutionary economics and regional policy, a topic that has not (yet) been covered by the literature. To begin with, we outline what we take to be the essential arguments and components of evolutionary economics. More in particular, we focus attention on the economic foundation of technology policy from an evolutionary perspective, and how this deviates from the so-called `equilibrium' rationale. Then, we examine in what way evolutionary insights may be helpful for regional policy matters. Our emphasis is to investigate the degrees of freedom policy makers may have to determine the future development of regions. This is done by distinguishing between two ideal-types of regional development based on evolutionary principles.  When evolutionary mechanisms like `chance' and `increasing returns' are involved in the spatial formation of new economic activities, there are several, quite contradictory, options for policy makers. On the one hand, the importance of `chance events' implies that multiple potential outcomes of location are quite thinkable. This is a principal problem for regional policy because new development paths can not be planned or even foreseen. On the other hand, policy makers may have a considerable role to play. Since space exercises only a minor influence on the location of new economic activities, there is room for policy makers to act and to build-up a favourable local environment. In this respect, `urbanisation economies' may offer advantages of flexibility secured by a diversity of activities that may prevent a process of `negative lock-in'.  When evolutionary mechanisms like `selection' and `path dependency' largely determine the geography of innovation, the options for policy makers to change fundamentally the course of regional development are expected to be rather limited. Regional policy is likely to fail when local strategies deviate considerably from the local context. In such circumstances, policy makers have to account for the fact that adaptation to change is largely constrained by the boundaries of the spatial system laid down in the past. However, this also implies that the potential impact of regional policy may be quite large when the policy objectives are strongly embedded in the surrounding environment. Received: September 1998/Accepted: January 2000     

Regulation Theory,Global Competition Among Cities And Capital Embeddedness

This paper reviews the contribution of regulation theory to our understanding of urban development and its regulation by the state. The theory provides a useful instrument for convergence of politics, economics and geography in which the crucial questions of territoriality of local states and the embeddedness of capital can be considered. But there remains much to be explored both in the mode of development of the global economy over time, and in the relationship between global economic structures and local political institutions. The further development of regulation theory demands a reconceptualisation of power and the absorption of ecological/environmental and feminist discourses into the debates.     

Advances in Research on Urban Green Spaces from the Perspective of Urban Geography

The construction of urban green space has attracted extensive attention of researchers under the background of urban sustainable development and ecological civilization construction.The research of urban green space involves ecology,geography,economics,sociology and other disciplines,among which geography has played an important role in promoting the study and practice of green space in terms of research perspectives,methods and techniques,planning and management.In this paper,the important role of urban geography in green space research is analyzed from definition,classification to multidisciplinary background,and the research and practice progress of green space in urban geography are summarized in four aspects:characteristics and division of green space,relationship between green space and urban regional structure,service function of urban green space,and the relationship between green space and urban development.Finally,the practical achievements of green space research are illustrated from the perspective of urban geography.     

A short history of the field of regional science

Abstract. The Regional Science Association was founded 50 years ago in December 1954; however, the institutional origins of the field were much earlier, perhaps when Walter Isard began his graduate studies in economics at Harvard University. This article briefly traces the history of the field of regional science and its association from those beginnings to the present. The focus of the article is the evolution of the association as an institution, and some of its major contributors, and to a much lesser extent, on the scope and scholarly content of the field.     

What We Argue About When We Argue About Regionalism

A new debate emerged in the 1990s about regional solutions to urban problems. The debate has been carried out overwhelmingly within a welfare economics framework that stresses the economic costs and benefits of regional governance structures. Unlike earlier debates about regional reforms, the new regionalists emphasize not just that more collaborative regional governance structures will improve local services but that they will enhance the competitiveness of regions in the global economy as well. The article surveys the evidence on two propositions put forth by the new regionalists: 1) whether fragmented regional governance harms economic growth; and 2) whether suburbs are dependent on cities for their economic well‐being. Neither proposition is well supported by research and even if they were, the author concludes, this would not necessarily persuade citizens to support regional reforms. Research on the economic effects of regional governance needs to be supplemented with research on its political effects. The article concludes by examining the effects of regional governance structures on three core American political values.     

Institutionalizing regional science

Regional Science is alive and well. If we wish to maintain our position we need to explore ways to expand our numbers and the constituencies that we serve. Expanding undergraduate and graduate teaching programs, fostering more discussion of client-driven work at our meetings and in our journals, and actively encouraging participation by non-university based researchers and even regional development practitioners are all ways to promote multiple-constituency regional science. If one of these options is to be emphasized in the short term, I would suggest encouraging participation by non-university based researchers and more discussion of client-driven research. These strategies are often at least partially in place now, they benefit from the rigorous scientific work that is our core business, and they will help assure the institutionalization of „full service” regional science. Received: February 1998/Accepted: March 1998     

城市区域定位的基本方法

应用地理学与经济学的一些方法 ,从城市与区域的关系出发 ,探讨城市发展的区域定位 ,并根据城市发展区域定位的层次性确定不同区域层次的发展战略 ,最后以嘉兴中心城市的区域定位为例 ,探讨嘉兴中心城市发展的区域定位与相应的区域发展策略     

Japanese contributions to regional science

Given the field's interdisciplinary nature, regional scientists come with a wide spectrum of backgrounds. In this paper, we study the contributions to regional science made by scholars from Japan. First, we briefly examine how Japanese regional scientists came to develop a keen sense towards urban problems. Second, we identify the most influential authors and papers via a citation analysis. The results indicate that scholarly outputs in regional science are reaching a wider audience beyond scientists, while maintaining the order of impact among them. Lastly, we focus on the new economic geography where Japanese scholars have made a significant contribution.     

大型基础设施建设对区域形态的影响研究述评

总结了区域经济学、人文地理学、城市与区域规划学等学科中有关大型基础设施建设对区域形态的影响研究 ,在此基础上提出 :大型基础设施影响区域形态变化有着多重路径 ,进一步研究要注重区域空间形态变化的过程 ,要运用新技术、新观念以加强定量的与整合的研究     

1980年代以来我国小城镇研究的新进展

198 0年代以来 ,我国的小城镇一直是多门学科竞相参与的研究领域 ,尤其以社会学、地理学、城市规划学和经济学等学科的研究为最。以往的研究多集中在 :小城镇发展研究 ;小城镇规划与建设研究 ;小城镇—乡村区域研究 ;小城镇经济研究 ;和小城镇其他各不同专题方面。研究中存在的问题是 :一般性研究居多、具体性研究偏少 ;总论性质的研究居多 ,专题研究偏少 ;散论性研究较多 ,系统研究偏少 ;有一定的技术性研究 ,但理论提炼缺乏。文章最后对新世纪我国小城镇领域的研究趋向作出展望。     

Potentialised partial differential equations in spatial economics: Some further results on the potentialising function

This study is a follow-up to some recent publications on potentialised partial differential equations in the context of theoretical spatial economics. In this paper potentialised wave and diffusion equations are considered with emphasis on the relation between the resulting process and the potentialising parameter. Empirical relevance in spatial (regional and urban) economics is discussed. Received: September 1998/Accepted: August 2000