Impacts of EU funded R&D networks on the generation of key enabling technologies: Empirical evidence from a regional perspective

Cross-regional R&D networks are essential for regional innovativeness. Yet, we lack insights into technology field-specific effects of a region's network connectivity. This study investigates key enabling technologies (KETs) to compare knowledge creation effects of EU funded R&D networks for different technological fields. By applying spatially filtered regression models together with marginal effect interpretations for non-linear models we quantify and compare network effects across KET fields. Results show that the generally positive network effects differ depending on region-internal endowments and the nature of the underlying technologies. Policy implications arise for the interrelations between EU research, industrial and regional policy.     

影响生产率的要素--室内环境品质

指出了影响室内人员生产率的各个因素,着重从室内空气品质、通风率、相对湿度、温度的角度分析了其中环境因素的作用,解决了室内环境因素的概念。认为改善室内环境品质可以提高生产率和健康水平,但亦可能有消极的作用。     

Convergence and regional productivity differences: Evidence from Greek prefectures

We study the effect of technology gaps and capital deepening on the productivity growth of Greek prefectures over the period 1971-1995. The empirical results show that Greek prefectures tended to converge over time, contrary to conventional wisdom. It is found that capital deepening plays a significant role in explaining productivity differences at the regional level. The empirical results are discussed in detail.We would like to thank the anonymous referees for helpful comments and suggestions. Thanks also go to Professor Clive Richardson and M. Terrasi for his constructive comments which improved the quality of the paper substantially. All errors remain the responsibility of the authors.Received: April 2001 / Accepted: May 2003     

Evaluating regional cuts in the payroll tax from a firm perspective

With few exceptions, reduced payroll taxes are analysed with regard to employment and wage effects. Our study extends the impacts to cover several possible firm outcomes using a multilevel modelling approach. Between 20 and 55 % in the variation, the outcomes can be explained by municipality differences. On firm level, the result follows a clear business logic. In the short run, profits and turnover increased which later on transforms into increased wages. After 7 years, we find the indication of impacts on investments. Thus, the support has some short-term impacts that are reduced with time and the long-term effects are questionable.     

Commercial rented housing: two sectors in the Netherlands

This contribution analyses the different developments and roles of two commercial rented sectors in the Netherlands: rented dwellings owned by individuals (private landlords) and rented dwellings owned by institutional investors. Characteristics of properties and households are specified in relation to tenure. An analysis follows of household characteristics of non-movers and movers to, from and within the commercial rented sector. Some policy issues are dealt with, which are relevant for the commercial rented sector. The commercial rented dwellings owned by persons are predominantly pre-war, small, cheap dwellings with a modest quality. They form part of the urban renewal problem. The owners are small-scale landlords, mostly not professional, who do not invest in ambitious renovation or new dwellings. For this sector the future is not very bright. For starters on the housing market and elderly people, this urban sector may have a limited function. The commercial rented dwellings owned by institutions are predominantly post-war (built after 1960), spacious, expensive dwellings with a high quality. The owners are pension funds and insurance companies which sell their properties often after 15 to 20 years when conditions are favourable. This sector has a strategic function at the upper side of the rental market where rents are decontrolled. Well-to-do households in a flexible urban labour market and elderly people are the most important target groups for this sector. This sector demonstrates how a free rental market functions and enriches the whole housing sector with relevant market signals. Hugo Priemus holds the chair in housing at Delft University of Technology, where he is also managing director of OTB Research Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies.     

The impact of uncertainty on production relocation: Implications from a regional perspective

Analysis of the Spanish automobile industry during the global economic crisis of 2008 shows that the number of relocations was comparatively lower than in the period before the crisis. Uncertainty weighs more in relocation decisions than the advantages that multinationals can gain from their operational flexibility. The main drivers of relocation in the sector are conditioned by relocation costs and the risks inherent in such processes. The main implication of the research is that it helps identify vulnerability in relocation under conditions of uncertainty. This is key for defining public policies aiming to avoid the impact of relocation on regions that have traditionally been affected by such processes.     

地域特征视角下的大学校园景观营造

对地域特征进行了解读,论述了地域特征与大学校园景观之间的关系,提出了大学校园景观中地域特征的营造原则与策略,强调了依据地域特征设计大学校园景观的重要性。     

区域视角下城镇人口规模预测例析——以甘肃省临夏市为例

合理预测城市人口规模,是控制城市建设用地规模,保证城市规划对城市发展发挥有效调控作用的关键性前提。在城市规划的编制过程中,对城市人口规模和城市化水平的预测,直接影响着相应时段内城市建设用地规模的规划与决策。当人口规模预测发生偏失时,会直接导致城市规划建设用地规模不准确,造成城市建设用地的紧张或者浪费,也会给城市基础设施...     

Technological innovation and regional economic growth in Mexico: a spatial perspective

The aim of this investigation is to analyze the effect of technological innovation on Mexico’s regional economic growth during 1995–2007. It is argued that the inclusion of the spatial dimension in empirical analysis is still a rare practice in Mexico and even in international studies. Such inclusion allows studying the pattern of spatial interaction, the possible effects of spatial diffusion and the estimation of robust parameters. We apply the spatial data analysis methodology that has three components: (a) exploratory analysis, (b) visualization and (c) spatial econometric modeling. The main result suggests that technological innovation has a positive effect on Mexico’s regional economic growth. The empirical evidence also suggests that there is a positive effect coming from cross-border diffusion effects of technological knowledge. It also implies that states with stronger innovation activity benefited from spatial technological externalities and hence faster economic growth.     

Entrepreneurial quality and regional development: Characterizing SME sectors in low income areas*

This paper analyses the characteristics of SMEs in less‐developed areas in comparison with more advanced economies. The conceptual framework includes different factors making up the so‐called ‘entrepreneurial quality’ of the SME sector: the personal characteristics of the entrepreneurs (motivations and previous experience), different dimensions of the SMEs’ entrepreneurial orientation, and the patterns of the SMEs’ insertion in national and global value chains. The empirical analysis uses data of SMEs in four different Spanish provinces representing examples of low income economies and comparatively high income ones, respectively. Results show the SMEs in the low income economies to be characterized by a lower entrepreneurial quality.     

Factor productivity differences and missing trade problems in a regional HOV model

Recent empirical papers testing the performance of the Heckscher‐Ohlin‐Vanek (HOV) model suggest the need to relax its restrictive assumptions in order to reconcile the theory with the data. This paper examines whether introducing factor productivity differences could help to improve the performance of the HOV model in a regional setting. Using a new dataset of 17 Spanish regions and three different HOV specifications, this paper seeks the existence of Hicks‐neutral (HN) or factor‐augmenting industry‐neutral (FAIN) technological differences. The data support the existence of HN technological differences, which contributes to a remarkable improvement of the regional HOV performance since the so‐called missing trade problem largely disappears. Algunos artículos empíricos recientes evaluando el desempeño del modelo Heckscher‐Ohlin‐Vanek (HOV) sugieren la necesidad de relajar sus suposiciones restrictivas para poder conciliar la teoría con los datos. Este artículo examina si el introducir diferencias en la productividad de los factores podría ayudar a mejorar el desempeño del modelo HOV en un marco regional. Mediante la utilización de un nuevo conjunto de datos de 17 regiones españolas y tres especificaciones diferentes de HOV, este artículo busca la existencia de diferencias tecnológicas neutrales en el sentido de Hicks (HN) o de un aumento de factores neutral en cuanto a la industria (FAIN). Los datos apoyan la existencia de diferencias tecnológicas HN, que contribuyen a una mejora notable del desempeño HOV regional ya que en gran medida desaparece el problema del así llamado comercio desaparecido.      

Crime and regional economic growth in Mexico: A spatial perspective

The aim of this paper is to examine the effects of crime on regional economic growth in Mexico. We estimate a growth model using a spatial panel data model and test for the presence and type of spatial interaction, as proposed by Elhorst. Our results suggest that a two‐way spatial Durbin model best fits the data, crime exerts a negative total effect on economic growth across Mexican states, particularly homicides and robbery, and significant spillover effects seem to reinforce the negative impact on regional growth.     

Center-down development in perspective: Labor absorption and interdependence in Brazilian regional industries

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the effect of a center-down pattern of regional development on industrial labor absorption. Sectoral labor reallocation is analyzed in two less developed regions of Brazil with contrasting levels of development and linkage to the most developed region. Labor absorption performances are related to factor use characteristics and the mix of capital and labor intensive industries in each region. An empirical model is tested to determine the degree of interdependence between labor intensive industries in each region and its relation to labor absorption.     

Spatial model selection strategies in a SUR framework. The case of regional productivity in EU

The purpose of the paper was to compare two well-known model selection strategies, the so-called Specific-to-General, Stge, and General-to-Specific, Gets, in a context of spatial SUR models. The two strategies use a battery of misspecification tests obtained in a maximum likelihood framework. The robust tests to local misspecification errors in the alternative hypothesis and the common factor test have been developed with this purpose. The paper includes a Monte Carlo experiment to compare their performance in a situation of small sample sizes. The results are mixed: Both alternatives work well under ideal conditions, but their efficiency deteriorates for different departures such as non-normality or endogeneity. All in all, Stge appears to be slightly preferable although our impression is that the two are complementary and can be used in common. The paper finishes with an application to the case of productivity for a large set of European regions.     

Efficiency and productivity of renewable energy technologies: Evidence from U.S. investor-owned utilities across regional markets

This study employs a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) modeling technique to investigate the efficiency and productivity of renewable energy (RE) adoption across technologically diverse electricity-generating utilities. By employing metrics capturing policy effects, the study evaluates the RE adoption efficiency and productivity using a dynamic DEA model and the Malmquist DEA technique. First, the findings reveal that RE adoption is not significantly different across regional electricity markets. Second, the study revealed that RE adoption increased over the last three years. The total mean productivity change over the entire study period showed a mean improvement of 4.8%.     

The scale effect in China's power grid sector from the perspective of malmquist total factor productivity analysis

China's power grid sector, which combines transmission and distribution, has grown rapidly after the restructuring reform in 2002. We evaluate the scale effect in the sector by employing a parametric Malmquist index based on a heteroscedastic true fixed-effects stochastic frontier model to estimate technical efficiency and total factor productivity for China's 30 grid companies from 2002 to 2017. The results show that there exists a scale effect. Most companies exhibit increasing returns to scale, total factor productivity experiences a significant growth driven by scale expansion. Companies with different scales should take differentiated actions to meet the challenges of market-oriented reform.     

Organizational learning: conceptual challenges from a project perspective

Do-it-yourself (DIY) is a staple element of the spare time activities of many households, but little is known about the extent to which basic repair work is carried out through DIY and about the quality of this work. Through secondary analyses of UK government data (English House Condition Survey and Family Expenditure Survey), this paper examines the scale of DIY work by owner-occupiers, how work is organized, the interrelationship of DIY work, the use of unpaid help, and the use of contractors. It considers the types of work carried out, the characteristics of those who tackle DIY or use unpaid help, the dwelling types most likely to experience DIY work, and the motivations of and constraints on those home-owners who do it. The paper concludes with a discussion on the policy implications of these findings for government and the building industry. Although most DIY work is cosmetic and does not deal with basic repair and maintenance, the sheer scale of DIY ensures that it makes a contribution to improving housing conditions. The provision of more advice, information and education by government, local authorities and the private sector could ensure that more DIY work is of better quality and that home owners give priority to essential repairs whether or not they tackle these themselves.     

Sustaining Sydney: The 'Green Olympics' from a global perspective

This paper grapples with the question of whether globalisation and sustainable development are at odds or can be mutually supportive, through a case study of Sydney and its successful bid for the 2000 Olympics. The systemic context for urbanisation in the global economy and recent policy developments and physical change in Sydney are discussed in light of the competing cities phenomenon. The potential of the 'Green Games' to enhance urban sustainability is then considered. Positive aspects identified included the development of new environmental benchmarks, the potential for changed business attitudes and increased consumer awareness, as well as NGO participation (particularly the IOC) in a decentralised global environmental governance regime. However, evaluated in light of the pressures imposed by a globalised economic system, their effective adoption appears to be constrained. While it remains to be seen whether Sydney's Green Games will lead to more than tokenistic changes, this paper contends that, although market based environmentalism is a good first step forward, public sector commitment will be required if strong sustainable development is to be achieved.