Accounting for the linkages of agriculture in Hawaii‘s economy with an input-output model: A final demand-based approach

. Agriculture is not a large contributor to Hawaii‘s economy but despite the recent decline in the sugar industry it is an important sector in terms of its contribution to food supply, income, and employment. Agriculture influences the economy as it procures production inputs from and provides inputs to other sectors in the economy. A theoretically sound input-output framework is suggested for investigating the interdependence between agricultural and other sectors of the economy. This paper also provides a review and identifies shortcomings of other approaches used in estimating the industry‘s contributions to the economy. The non-agricultural final demands accounted for about 20% of total agricultural output, value added, labor income, and employment. The indirect contribution of agricultural final demands and related distribution services to other sectors constituted about 20% of total output and labor income, 22% of value added, and 16% of total employment generated by agricultural final demands and related trade and distribution services. Received: October 1997/Accepted: Febuary 1998     

Determinants of state diesel fuel excise tax rates: the political economy of fuel taxation in the United States

Ever-escalating gasoline and diesel fuel prices in the United States (US) are prompting some states to temporarily suspend the collections of gasoline, and in fewer instances, diesel fuel, taxes. The focus of this paper is on the determinants of US state excise taxes levied specifically on diesel fuel. Among other things, we find the freight trucking industry’s contribution to total state employment is a highly significant determinant of a state’s diesel tax rate, consistently suggesting that the greater this contribution, the lower the tax rate, ceteris paribus. We find little evidence that the degree of freight transportation usage on state highways impacts diesel tax rates. These two findings taken together suggest that state legislators, when determining the diesel tax rate, exhibit behavior consistent with Stigler’s (Bell J Econ Manag Sci 2: 3–21, 1971) economic or positive theory of regulation. Moreover, state law makers appear less concerned over the impact that heavy freight transportation has on highway infrastructure, which appears to be at odds with the public interest or normative theory of regulation as articulated by Posner (Bell J Econ Manag Sci 4: 335–358, 1974).     

Estimating undisclosed earnings data

A problem with constructing regional economic models from secondary sources is that of undisclosed data. For example, the RIMS II technique for developing nonsurvey input-output models, requires disaggregated industry earnings data. County Business Patterns employment and earnings data are suppressed for industries with few firms or with a dominate firm, requiring that earnings be estimated for some industries. We examine eleven representative methods for estimating undisclosed earnings. A simple earnings ratio technique using more aggregated data from the same state is shown to provide reasonable estimates of industry earnings.The authors would like to thank Otis Gilley and Bill Workman for their helpful comments. We are greatful for financial support from the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development.     

Fantasies of development and housing provision for all? Revisiting urbanization issues in Swaziland

Conclusion Generally, Swaziland’s stagnant rural economy has contributed to increasing rates of urbanization in Swaziland. In the case of Swaziland, urbanization has been fuelled even more by economic growth, though fluctuating depending on the nature of South Africa’s economic climate. One interpretation of this relationship between rural degradation, growing rural-urban migration and economic development is that for many Swazi people, a life in the city becomes a necessity rather than an option. However, as an indicator of development, housing provision has not met the demands of a growing urban labour force. One of the greatest challenges that the government of Swaziland faces today is therefore to take cognizance of the fact that as long as the rural economy remains unsustainable, the land question remains unresolved, the exodus to the burgeoning center of Manzini and the surrounding areas of the Matsapha industrial site continues, the demand for adequate, affordable housing will continue to rise and the notion of development and housing provision for all will continue to be no more than a fantasy. Already the urgency to establish townships and provide more low-income housing and the need to stimulate the housing industry and provide better services has been acknowledged. A number of studies and recommendations are underway. However as Sihlongonyane (undated paper) aptly remarks, although the housing policy, urban government act, institutions for service provision all together form a broader framework of the national development strategy which aims to correct urban-related problems, as long as development challenges faces Swaziland’s cities remain inextricably linked to (inefficient) traditional central planning systems, the way forward will be difficult to traverse.     

Justice as a principle for the distribution of open space maintenance: the conceptions of housing staff and tenants

This paper is about what people conceive as just principles for the distribution of open space maintenance. Housing staff and residents’ conceptions of just distribution of open space maintenance were studied in rental housing areas with large green open spaces in Sweden. Qualitative interviews with nine housing staff members and 27 tenants in three multi-family housing areas owned and managed by different municipal housing companies revealed widely varying conceptions. These could be partly classified into three basic principles: equal outcome, same inputs and less inputs (when decline is high). The conceptions varied among interviewees with different roles in providing upkeep, suggesting that they partly depended on the individual’s insight into the services. These personal conceptions of justice influence how people experience service distribution in a neighbourhood and pose a challenge for actors dealing with strategic decisions on open space maintenance.     

The spillover effects of R&D on manufacturing industry in Taiwan’s metropolitan areas

The literature of new growth theory regards Research and Development (R&D) as a crucial factor in economic growth. This is because R&D not only improves production technology, but also because of its significant externality (spillover) effects on other firms. This paper employs the model developed by Berliant et al. (J Econ Theory 104:275–303, 2002) to examine the externality of R&D within industries closely associated with the spatial distribution pattern of firms in Taiwan’s Metropolitan Areas. Both the mean travel time (to represent the distances) and an overall dispersion are incorporated in this examination of the externality effect. The paper also employs quantile regression techniques to estimate the effects of agglomeration at various quantiles of production value. Based on the data collected by the Taiwan Area Industrial Census for 2001, this research considers all manufacturing industry and two-digit standard industry classification data of manufacturing industries to analyze the R&D spillover effect for various metropolitan areas. The paper analyzes the manufacturing industry as a whole. The electrical and electronic machinery industries, a representative of high-intensity R&D industry, and the apparel and accessories and leather industries, as representatives of low-intensity R&D industry, are also considered. This research concludes that there is an externality (spillover) effect of R&D in each metropolitan area for all three categories. Moreover, the research suggests that the medium and large a firm’s scale the higher the spillover effect it receives will be.     

Testing the credit view with pooled data: dynamic links among state bank health, investment-oriented bank loans, and economic performance

This paper focuses on the “credit view” theory at the state level, which suggests that state-level banking sector health influences state-level real economic performance. Specifically, we extend typical analysis of the credit view theory, applying relevant state-level economic variables to consider whether the health of a state’s banking system affects capital investment loans and, in turn, whether growth of these loans affects a state’s economic performance. We develop a two-equation state-level model, use more refined measures of capital investment loans, and apply advanced dynamic pooled estimators to our panel of state data for the 1984–1993 period. Regression results support dynamic links among state bank health, state investment-oriented bank loans, and state economic performance, thus supporting existence of a state-level credit channel effect.

Regional implications of the 2001 recession

This paper investigates the 2001 recession on a state by state basis. The approach used for this investigation measured the state by state severity of the 2001 recession and identifies the contribution that each state made to the overall U.S. GDP Okun gap. State by state long-term growth rates for both output and employment were calculated and an “Okun gap contribution” for the 2001–2005 period was estimated for each state. Each state’s Okun gap contribution for output and employment was expressed in relative terms allowing for comparisons of volatility between states with respect to the 2001 recession. Finally, for both output and employment regressions were estimated using the relative Okun gap contribution as the dependent variable and selected demographic and economic measures as explanatory variables to explain the state and regional differences in cyclical performance. The results of the regression analysis provide insight into the factors that tend to increase state and regional cyclical volatility and the factors that tend to smooth volatility.     

Building information modeling based on intelligent parametric technology

In order to push the information organization process of the building industry, promote sustainable architectural design and enhance the competitiveness of China’s building industry, the author studies building information modeling (BIM) based on intelligent parametric modeling technology. Building information modeling is a new technology in the field of computer aided architectural design, which contains not only geometric data, but also the great amount of engineering data throughout the lifecycle of a building. The author also compares BIM technology with two-dimensional CAD technology, and demonstrates the advantages and characteristics of intelligent parametric modeling technology. Building information modeling, which is based on intelligent parametric modeling technology, will certainly replace traditional computer aided architectural design and become the new driving force to push forward China’s building industry in this information age. __________ Translated from Journal of Chongqing University (Natural Science), 2006, 29(6): 107–110 [译自: 重庆大学学报 (自然科学版)]     

The effects of fiscal equalisation in a model with endogenous regional governments: an analysis in a two-region numerical model

This paper is concerned primarily with the economic and welfare consequences of federal redistributive grants. We use a model which has two regions, each with households, firms and regional governments as well as a federal government. Private agents are (utility and profit) maximisers and we assume that regional governments are empire-builders in that they choose their expenditure and tax levels so as to maximise total expenditure—the size of their empire. Labour is free to move between regions in response to utility differences and does so until such differences have been eliminated. Inter-regional migration, inter-regional trade flows and federal government redistribution are the main sources of interconnectedness between the two regions. The model is linearised in log-differences and simulated using a calibration based on Australian state-level data. We find that the welfare effect of intergovernmental transfers is trivial but that all other variables of interest change substantially—consumption, employment, prices, taxes, wages, output and government expenditure. Finally, the signs of the effects of a federal transfer are not affected by the empire-building behaviour of regional governments although the magnitude of the effects is generally dampened.     

The propensity for employee participation by electrical and mechanical trades in the construction industry

Using the four input-output tables compiled in Turkey to date, the aim of this paper is to examine the construction sector's role in the Turkish economy and analyse its relationships with the other sectors of the national economy. Analysis results show that the share of construction in Gross National Product (GNP) and National Income (NI) tend to increase whereas the GNP share of manufacturing is relatively stable and that of services tend to increase after an abrupt decrease in 1985; backward linkage indicators and output multipliers, as well as forward linkage indicators and input multipliers of construction industry are stable; and finally, direct and total construction inputs from manufacturing show relative stability and those from services tend to increase in recent years. These findings point out the similarities between the Turkish construction industry and some advanced industrial countries (AICs) like Japan and Italy showing signs of growing ‘maturity’ of the Turkish economy.     

Sustainable Urban Event Practice: the Role of Corporate Sponsors within Gauteng

Globally, academics, industry professionals, governments and societies are directing their attention to the issue of global warming and are engaged in efforts to conserve the Earth’s natural resources. This has led to the introduction of the concept of sustainability. Lately, the event sector as part of the tourism industry, is being viewed as playing an increasing role in climate change. However, sustainability does not only entail conservation of the natural environment, it also involves the socio-cultural and the economic environment. Events have been found to positively contribute to the economy and the social-cultural environment as well. As little has been published regarding sustainable urban event practice in South Africa, this research aims to establish a greater comprehension of sustainable event practice and the significance thereof. In-depth interviews with corporate events sponsors within the Gauteng region found that these sponsors play an important role in promoting sustainable urban event practice, in terms of enlightening the public and the event companies on sustainability. Due to consumer association with the sponsor and the increased market reach they offer to the event, sponsors can increase awareness and interest in the event, and in doing so influence customers’ perceptions on sustainable event practice. Sustainability is a significant issue and is growing in importance. It is essential that the sponsors and managers of event companies work together to develop sustainable urban event guidelines and policies and a formal accreditation programme within the industry.     

Reply to Oosterhaven’s: the net multiplier is a new key sector indicator

This paper is a reply to Oosterhaven’s reply of the paper “A critical comment on Oosterhaven–Stelder net multipliers” written by de Mesnard in this issue of The Annals of Regional Science. It is argued that, unlike Oosterhaven’s statement, (1) any coefficient must be stable but Oosterhaven–Stelder final demand ratio is not; (2) the output must be exogenous in Oosterhaven–Stelder net multipliers (NM); (3) the Leontief input–output model can be validly seen as an iterative model, time consistent; (4) there is a valid link with the Keynesian multiplier; (5) the output preservation requirement is satisfied by de Mesnard’s ‘iterative net multiplier’. The paper concludes by agreeing to Oosterhaven’s suggestion that NM is not suitable to examine causalities between endogenous and exogenous variables and that the wording ‘multiplier’ is very bad and confusing for NM. Oosterhaven’s new suggestion of terming it as ‘net contribution’ or ‘net backward linkage’ is very good.     

THE ROLE OF FEDERAL MILITARY SPENDING IN THE TIMING OF THE NEW ENGLAND EMPLOYMENT TURNAROUND

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of military spending in the recent economic revival of New England, particularly the region's turnaround in employment growth. The long-term re structuring of New England's economy after World War II in terms of industry mix and labor costs positioned the region for a turnaround. We argue that the precipitating factor in the liming of the was the significant increase starling in the late 1970s in federal military purchases of durable goods from [lie region's high-technology manufacturing industry. New England benefited disproportionately from the military buildup because of the region's concentration in high-technology manufacturing industries producing defense-related goods. The labor-intensive nature of high-technology industry has resulted in a large portion of the money received from defense purchases going to labor and producing important regional multiplier effects in sectors other than manufacturing.     

Climate change and China''s mega urban regions

China’s mega urban regions are focal points of economic development and environmental concerns. This paper positions four mega urban regions (i.e., the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the Bohai Bay Area, and the South-eastern Fujian Province) along China’s coast into the national economy and elaborates their development challenges and planning innovations. Mega urban regions in China are spatial consequences of rapid economic transition. They deserve close scrutiny and demands for innovative planning responses in order to maintain their key role in driving economic growth but limiting their greenhouse gas emission.     

Responses of selected economic indicators to construction output shocks: the case of Singapore

The volume of construction output fluctuates in response to changes in demand and supply conditions. Due to the multiple linkages that the construction industry has with other economic sectors and the entire economy, the output shock is propagated through the economic system and reflected in several economic indicators, such as the outputs of other sectors, balance of payments and general prices. A study is reported on the short-term responses of some economic indicators in Singapore following a shock in the construction output, using the Granger causality approach, the impulse response function and variance decomposition analysis. Construction output shock had significant impact on the outputs of the commerce sector and ‘other services’. The heavy reliance of the Singapore construction industry on imported inputs has a direct impact on the balance of payments.     

Do localization economies derive from human capital externalities?

One of the most robust findings emerging from studies of industrial agglomeration is the rise in productivity that tends to accompany it. What most studies have not addressed, however, is the potential role played by human capital externalities in driving this relationship. This paper seeks to do so using data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 US Census covering a collection of 77 (primarily) three-digit manufacturing industries across a sample of more than 200 metropolitan areas. The analysis generates two primary results. First, a variety of education- and experience-based measures of average human capital rise significantly as an industry’s employment in a metropolitan area increases. Hence, clusters of industry do tend to be characterized by larger stocks of human capital. However, second, even after accounting for the level of human capital in a worker’s own industry, the overall size of the industry remains strongly associated with wages. Such results cast some doubt on the notion that localization economies emanate from education- or experience-based knowledge spillovers. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not represent the official positions of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis or the Federal Reserve System.     

The urban knowledge economy and employment growth: a spatial structural equation modeling approach

Many European governments have been stimulating their urban economies by focusing on knowledge economy potentials of metropolitan regions, especially R&D-based indicators. We analyze employment growth in terms of conventional determinants—investments, wages, income, and specialization indices of industrial, distribution and business services activities—and three latent knowledge economy components (density of knowledge workers, R&D and innovativeness) for the Netherlands based on a sample of 496 municipalities. We apply a structural equation model (SEM) made up of a measurement model that relates the latent knowledge economy components to their observable indicators and a structural model that estimates the impacts of the determinants on employment growth. In addition to the conventional determinants and the knowledge economy components, the SEM accounts for spatial spillover effects, degree of urbanization and core-periphery dichotomy. The latent variables ‘density of knowledge workers’ and ‘innovativeness’ have significant and strong impacts. Since they are more common in larger than smaller urban agglomerations, we conclude that the impacts of these variables on employment growth are stronger in the former than the latter. The latent variable ‘R&D-intensity’ is not significantly, positively related to urban employment growth. This suggests that policy should emphasize innovation output and knowledge workers density rather than R&D to capture urban growth potentials in the knowledge economy.     

住房开发中应导入功能经济思想

住房开发中同样要强调功能经济思想,这对我国住宅产业健康发展有着重要的意义。目前我国住房开发存在着功能过剩、功能与成本严重不匹配和不计全寿命期成本等背离功能经济的现象。文章中指出住房开发中必须导入功能经济思想。导入的途径包括住房产品设计、企业转变经营哲学及政府政策引导与监管等。     

Lahars as major geological hazards

Summary Major loss of life caused by lahars (volcanic mudflows) in historical times has been largely restricted to the Circum-Pacific region and more particularly to Japan (>11,650 killed), Indonesia (>9,300 killed) and Central America (>1,300 killed). In addition to such losses of life, widespread damage may occur to buildings, bridges, communication networks and arable land. A review of the causal mechanisms of lahars, flow behaviour and protective measures, with selected case histories, is therefore appropriate to an understanding of this major geological hazard. The potentially most destructive lahars are those involving sudden release of very large quantities of water from crater lakes or from subglacial lakes. The Icelandic j?kulhlaups, although not strictly lahars, give some idea of the huge discharges of water that can be released — ephemeral maximum discharge rates have been estimated up to 100,000 m³/sec, or temporarily equivalent to the flow of the River Amazon. Other potentially destructive lahars are those resulting from pyroclastic flows becoming admixed with running or ponded waters. Of more common but less devastating occurrence are lahars generated by heavy rainfall on the slopes of volcanoes, more particularly on recently ejected pyroclastics. Historical lahar disasters of this type occur most frequently in tropical regions. Other initiating mechanisms include melting of snow and ice directly accompanying eruptions, earthquake triggered collapse, phreatic explosions and directed blasts. Historical lahars generated by these mechanisms have not been responsible for any considerable loss of life, with the exception of the Shimbara Catastrophe in Japan where a lahar entered the sea producing tsunamis. Upon initiation of a lahar, mud, sand and gravel combine with available water to form a high bulk density (>1,400 kg/m³) flow. In some lahars the flow behaviour may approximate to a Newtonian liquid, whilst in others a high concentration Non-Newtonian liquid is formed with the capability of transporting very large clasts which may each weigh over 200 tonnes. The formation of a laminar boundary layer at the base of the flow is responsible for a low friction factor that enables some lahars to travel very large distances (>100 km). It also explains how lahar deposits often overlie completely undisturbed yet easliy erodible materials. This boundary layer can often be identified in many lahar deposits by a fine-grained layer at the base. The continuous phase of such lahars exhibits strength which retards the sinking of boulders and is responsible for the unsupported framework and poor sorting of lahar deposits. Protective measures against loss of life and damage to property are discussed with particular reference to case histories in Indonesia and New Zealand. Indonesian measures have included siphoning water from the crater lake of Mt. Kelut, effective warning systems, and preparation of maps showing regions that may be destroyed by lahars. In New Zealand, two principal centres of Post-glacial lahar activity are Mt. Ruapehu and Mt. Egmont. Since 1861 A.D. eight lahar episodes have been generated from the crater-lake on Mt. Ruapehu, the 1953 lahar being responsible for the ”Tangiwai Disaster”, when 151 persons were killed. Existing and future protective measures against Mt. Ruapehu lahars are discussed. Mt. Egmont has a long record of Post-glacial lahar activity. The causal mechanism of some Egmont lahars has been heavy rains, but the existence of a former crater lake in the summit area cannot be discounted. Based on detailed geological, pedological and botanical investigations a geological hazards map of the Mt. Egmont region has been prepared.

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Les Lahars; Importants Risques Géologiques

Résumé C’est essentiellement autour de l’Océan Pacifique que les lahars (coulées de boue d’origine volcanique) ont causé de nombreuses pertes de vies humaines au cours des temps historiques: plus de 11 650 morts au Japon, plus de 9 300 en Indonésie et plus de 1 300 en Amérique centrale. Outre ces pertes de vies humaines, de graves dégats peuvent affecter les constructions, les ponts, les voies de communication et la terre arable. Pour mieux conna?tre ce risque géologique important, il para?t judicieux de passer en revue les processus générateurs de lahars, le comportement des écoulements et les mesures de protection appropriées, en choisissant des exemples typiques. Les lahars qui peuvent être les plus destructeurs sont ceux qui libèrent de très grandes quantités d’eau venant de lacs de cratère ou de lacs sous-glaciaires. Les j?kulhlaups d’Islande (qui ne sont pas strictement des lahars) donnent une idée des énormes quantités d’eau qui peuvent être libérées: pendant un temps assez bref, le débit maximal a été évalué à plus de 100 000 m³ ce qui équivant au débit instantané de l’Amazone. Les lahars résultat du mélange de coulées pyroclastiques avec des eaux courantes ou stagnantes peuvent être aussi très destructeurs. Plus communs mais moins dévastateurs sont les lahars dus à d’importantes pluies sur les pentes des volcans, plus particulièrement sur des dépots pyroclastiques récents. Pendant l’époque historique, les catastrophes de ce type affectèrent surtout les régions tropicales. Parmi les autres processus générateurs, on peut citer la fusion de neige ou de glace due à des éruptions volcaniques, les effondrements déclenchés par des séismes, les explosions phréatiques, et les muées ardentes. Historiquements les lahars engendrés par ces processus n’ont pas été responsables de grosses pertes de vies humaines, sauf en ce qui concerne la catastrophe de Shimbara au Japon où un lahar en pénétrant dans la mer produisit des tsunamis. Au début d’un lahar, boue, sable et graviers se mélangent à l’eau disponible pour former une coulée de grande densité moyenne (plus de 1,4). Dans certains lahars, l’écoulement est approximativement celui d’un liquide newtonien, alors que dans d’autres lahars, la formation d’une grande concentration de liquide non-newtonien peut permettre le déplacement de très gros blocs pouvant dépasser les 200 t. La formation d’une couche limite à écoulement laminaire à la base de la coulée diminue le facteur de frottement ce qui permet à certains lahars de parcourir de très grandes distances (plus de 100 km). Ceci explique aussi comment des dép?ts de lahars peuvent recouvrir des formations presque intactes alors qu’elles auraient pu être facilement érodées. Cette couche limite peut souvent être identifiée dans de nombreux dép?ts de lahars: elle est représentée par un horizon de base à grain fin. La phase continue de ce genre de lahars met en jeu une force qui retarde le dép?t des gros blocs; aussi les sédiments de lahars sont-ils peu structurés et peu granoclassés. Les mesures à prendre pour préserver les vies humaines et les biens sont discutées à la lumière des exemples d’Indonésie et de Nouvelle-Zélande. En Indonésie on a siphoné l’eau du lac de cratre du M.^t Kelut, installé des systèmes d’avertissement efficaces et préparé des cartes montrant les régions susceptibles d’être détruites par les lahars. En Nouvelle-Zélande, deux des principaux centres d’activité de lahars post-glaciaires sont le M.^t Ruapehu et le M.^t Egmont. Depuis 1861, huit manifestations lahariennes furent engendrées par le lac de cratère du M.^t Ruapehu; le lahar de 1953 est cause de la ?catastrophe de Tangiwai? où 151 personnes trouvèrent la mort. On discute les mesures de protection existantes ou à crèer au M.^t Ruapehu. L’activité laharienne post-glaciaire du M.^t Egmont est connue depuis longtemps. Certains de ses lahars sont dus à des pluies importantes mais on ne peut pas écarter l’hypothèse de l’existence d’un ancien lac de cratère. En utilisant les observations géologiques, pédologiques et botaniques, on a pu préparer une carte des risques géologiques de la région du M.^t Egmont.