Long-run effects of regional policy in an economic union

Regional policy in economic unions (e.g. in the European Union) is usually conducted with the objective of overcoming regional disparities. By developing a two-regional growth model with endogenous technological change, we address the long-term implications of regional policy measures. We show that regional policies aiming to support the less-developed region do not only change the location of production between the regions but also affect the overall growth performance of the union. By altering the incentive to accumulate knowledge capital, regional policies influence the steady-state growth rate. Our analysis shows that a potential trade-off between regional equity and dynamic efficiency exists.     

Social accounting and regional economic planning: an integrated model for policy analysis and optimisation

This paper combines a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) with a Linear Programming (LP) model for impact analysis and the allocation of resources among alternative sectors. The model is applied to the Golestan Province of Iran. A SAM is used to analyse the impact of economic policy on Gross Regional Product (GRP), job creation for different educational groups among the labour force, mean personal income and income inequality. The mean GRP of the region is formulated as an objective function, with job creation, income inequality, and supply and demand limitations of sectors formulated as constraints of the model. By combining an LP model with a SAM it is possible to determine the activity level of sectors to meet the maximum level of GRP for a region with respect to related goals and constraints. The linking of a SAM with an LP model allows the positive points of each model to be combined in a new model with greater capabilities. The results of implementation of the model can be used for resource allocation and policy-making purposes.     

Making a difference? Regional government,economic development and European regional policy

This article assesses the contribution regional government makes to economic development. The role of regional government is evaluated through a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of two different regions, Tuscany in Italy and the East Midlands in the UK, which possess different types of regional governance structures, managing a common framework—European Regional Policy. I conclude that democratically elected regional government may provide a number of crucial advantages for promoting economic development.     

Environmental impact assessment as an instrument of public policy for controlling economic growth

This paper includes a discussion of the nature of environmental impact assessment. Then the role of environmental assessment as an instrument for controlling economic growth is presented. The advantages and disadvantages of the instrument are discussed in detail, including the problem of bias from the incentive structure built into the bureaucracy. An appendix shows some of the problems in the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act which instituted the environmental assessment requirement.     

Methodological aspects of the induction of biofilms for remediation of the visual impact generated by quartz mining

The opening up of mine faces causes severe alteration to the environment that must be remedied. In the case of quartz mines, the bright white colour of the mineral gives rise to a significant impact that is visible for long distances. New techniques to correct this visual impact, based on the induction of biofilms on the faces, have recently been developed in an attempt to imitate natural effects that mask the impact. Although techniques have been applied successfully in the laboratory, they must be optimized to ensure their success in the field. In the present study, the results of a randomized factorial experiment indicated that although the biofilms adhere to the faces naturally, without the use of adhesives, continued development of the film depends to a large extent on the input of nutrients. Water must also be provided with nutritional supplement to maintain the required level of moisture.     

The employment impact of demographic change: A regional analysis

The central concern of this article is with measurement of the economic impact of demographic change at a regional level. To facilitate this, a method is developed which involves the linking together of two hitherto separate analytical techniques: labour market accounts and extended input-output models. The application of the method is demonstrated by reference to three UK regions – West Midlands, Merseyside, and East Anglia – with contrasting demographic and economic histories over the time intervals 1971–1981 and 1981–1991. The employment impact of consumption derived from demographic change is measured in relation to individual elements of the labour market account and comparisons are made with the effects of economic change over the same time periods. Received: 27 February 1997 / Accepted: 5 March 1998     

Trade policy and regional inequalities

This article aims to analyze the effects of trade policies on the pattern of regional inequalities within a country. It is inspired, firstly, by the debate concerning the role of protectionist policies in the development of a pattern of striking regional inequalities during the Spanish industrialization process and, secondly, by current evidence of an increase in these inequalities following Spain's entry in the EU, in 1986. We employ an economic geography model comprising three regions: two domestic and one external. Labor mobility is permitted between the domestic regions but not with the external region. The model shows that trade liberalization increases regional inequalities. Received: 4 March 1999 / Accepted: 17 February 2000     

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     

我国房地产宏观调控政策效果的实证分析

利用向量自回归(VAR)模型研究宏观调控政策对我国房地产市场供需和房价的实际影响.宏观调控政策选取利率、货币供应量和土地供给量,房地产市场供求选取房地产投资和商品房销售面积指标,建立房地产供给、需求和房价3个VAR模型系统.利用脉冲响应函数(IRF)和方差分解(Variance Decomposition)方法分析3种政策分别对房地产市场供需和房价的影响时滞、持续时间和作用强度.研究结果表明:①对房地产供给的影响,土地供给量影响最大且同向,利率影响其次且同向,货币供给量影响很小;②对房地产需求的影响,3种政策都很小;③对房价的影响,土地供给量最大且同向,其余2个政策影响都很小.结合我国当前房地产宏观调控的实践,土地供给为关键要素,建议政府适当放松土地供给量.     

The efficiency of Swedish regional policy

In this paper, I evaluate the efficiency of Swedish regional policy. I analyze the government’s regional policy goals and means as presented in Government Bills 1997/1998:62 and 2001/2002:4. In the light of the literature on where growth occurs as well as the results of the regional policy so far, the realism of the government’s goal of “sustainable economic growth in the whole country” could be questioned. Subsidies to companies in problematic regions have uncertain or even negative effects. The government could therefore eliminate these subsidies and replace them with venture capital loans. It could also stop its subsidies to municipal housing companies for shutting down apartments. The positive effects of the government’s tax and subsidy system for the municipalities, motivated by its distribution goal, come at the price of negative effects on incentives for a high national rate of growth. The government could replace this system with extended general subsidies. Investments in transportation projects that do not show a net benefit, such as the large Bothnia Railway in northern Sweden should be reconsidered. However, I find significant and systematic evidence that the government’s investments in regional colleges, particularly in research, have been successful.     

Methodological issues in the evaluation of regional resource development projects

Benefit-cost analyses have, in the 1980s, become a standard component of impact studies required, usually by legislative directive, in the assessment of major resource development proposals throughout North America. The objective is to provide decision makers with the best possible estimate of net benefits to be realized from the proposed development.The spread of computers during the past decade, coupled with an increased availability of provincial, state or regional input-output tables, has facilitated development of an increasingly comprehensive approach now regularly used in regional benefit-cost assessment studies. Applied analyses, which once focussed almost exclusively on direct benefits and costs, now routinely attempt to measure a variety of indirect benefits as well. More complete, and therefore better, assessments should result from the successful extension of applied techniques of analysis.In reality, however, the expanded methodology now commonly used is flawed in two major respects. Further, the erroneous results produced with this methodology have led, in practice, to an upward bias in regional project evaluation. A review of a dozen recently completed Canadian and American benefit-cost assessment studies, or summaries of them, revealed that all contained at least one major methodological error. Most contained several.The first discrepancy concerns the accounting stance adopted for the calculation of regional benefits and costs. In most studies, this was either poorly defined or not defined at all. Since the accounting stance influences both the methodology utilized and the results obtained, confusion on this important matter was a source of error in many studies.The authors wish to thank Kevin O'Grady for helpful comments and suggestions.