Regional determinants of firm entry in a developing country

We analyse the determinants of firm entry in developing countries using Argentina as an illustrative case. Our main finding is that although most of the regional determinants used in previous studies analysing developed countries are also relevant here, there is a need for additional explanatory variables that proxy for the specificities of developing economies (e.g., poverty, informal economy and idle capacity). We also find evidence of a core‐periphery pattern in the spatial structure of entry that seems to be mostly driven by differences in agglomeration economies. Since regional policies aiming to attract new firms are largely based on evidence from developed countries, our results raise doubts about the usefulness of such policies when applied to developing economies.     

Fuzzy logic energy management for a microgrid with storage battery

ABSTRACT

This article presents the development of an energy management system using fuzzy logic applied to a microgrid that combines photovoltaic solar energy, wind energy and a storage system with batteries. The model was developed using LabVIEW software and allows to obtain performance results of the photovoltaic generator, the wind turbine and the battery bank. The energy management system can be controlled in real time to take advantage of existing weather conditions. The results indicate that the fuzzy logic system guarantees the continuous operation of the load through the energy resources of the microgrid. The designed microgrid allows to generate 63,288?kWh/year of photovoltaic solar energy and 40,175?kWh/year of wind energy.     

The role of sustainable energy utility,natural resource utilization and waste management in reducing energy poverty: Evidence from South Asian countries

Energy poverty is still viewed as a central global challenge which is risking billions of lives belonging to all economies, particularly, developing and under developing economies. It is subjected that more than 1 billion people are still struggling to have access to electricity and around 2.7 billion burns non-renewable resources to make their daily meals ready. The encourages academia to explore the plausible solutions to alleviate energy poverty. In this regard, the present study attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainable energy and utility, natural resource utilization and waste management on energy poverty reduction. The study chose South Asian economies as a sample study and assessed the data from 2011 to 2020. By utilizing MMQR, the obtained results expose that RE output and consumption, natural resource utilization, waste management, inflation, and industrialization are helpful in reducing energy poverty due to their positive linkage. Under the evidence, the study is able to offer empirical baseline for future researchers to address the similar problem in other set of countries.     

Efficiency wages,agglomeration, and a developing dual economy

In analyzing the implications of rural-urban migration in the presence of efficiency wages and external economies of scale in the urban sector, this paper focuses on structural transformation of a developing dual economy. It compares the agglomeration effects in the urban sector under exogenous wage distortion with that under exogenous wage distortion and external economies of scale and also with the agglomeration under efficiency wages and external economies of scale. It shows that because of the employment enhancing effect of rural-urban migration with efficiency wages, the agglomeration economies are bigger with efficiency wages than with minimum wage distortion in the Harris-Todaro model. In exploiting the existing external economies of scale, this agglomeration reduces the sectoral wage differential, and changes the effects of factor accumulation and commodity price changes in a way that is different from the effects under migration with exogenous wage distortion.Received: February 2003/Accepted: October 2003     

Construction linkages in a developing economy: the case of Sri Lanka

The importance of the construction industry stems from its strong linkages with other sectors of the economy. Despite the extensive research on input–output analysis and sectoral linkages of construction, a gap is found in the literature dealing with developing economies. The objective is to study the construction linkages in a developing economy using input–output tables compiled since the 1970s in Sri Lanka. Results show that the share of construction in gross national product and national income is lower in Sri Lanka than in developed countries. In Sri Lanka, the share of manufacturing in GNP declined while the share of services has increased with economic development. The backward linkage indicator ranges between 0.364 and 0.457 during the period of 1970–2000 while output multiplier ranges between 1.496 and 1.641 indicating the ‘pull effect’. The ‘push effect’ is found to be very insignificant. An aggregated sectoral analysis reveals high dependence of construction on manufacturing followed by services. The trend analysis shows an increasing dependence of construction on the services sector. The direct and total inputs from manufacturing and services have increased over time.     

Regional business cycle integration along the US–Mexico border

Because of the growing internationalization of the US economy, a literature has developed on the impacts of globalization on US industries and regions. In this paper we look at four MSAs that have a long history of integration with Mexico and test how their overall business cycles are connected to those of the broader economies that surround them. As globalization increases in the US, the lessons learned from these MSAs can be useful for cities trying to understand how globalization may impact them in the future. Results suggest that the border MSAs are significantly integrated with the broader economies that surround them but that the integration varies based on the structure of the local economy. Border MSAs that have large retail sectors that sell to Mexican nationals are more integrated with the Mexican economy, while El Paso, which has a close relationship with the maquiladora sector in Juarez, is more integrated with the US and Texas economies.     

试论建筑节能的科学发展观

目前在对我国建筑节能现状的分析中有一些模糊概念,本文论述了区分“能耗”与“负荷”的不同概念。指出在我国目前的经济水平下,建筑能耗低于发达国家,不能高估我国的建筑能耗。而建筑节能的目的,是在一个很低的起点上,控制建筑能耗的增长速度,为居住者提供更高效率的工作环境和更舒适更健康的居住环境。此外,本文还指出在建筑节能中一些值得注意的现象。     

Towards a new paradigm in environmental policy development in high-income developing countries: The case of Abu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates

This paper evaluates the applicability of international environmental policy guidelines and prevalent strategic, project and action-based models and typologies in the context of high-income developing countries, particularly in their impact on the private business community. Utilizing the case of Abu Dhabi, the paper argues the need for adoption of a new approach to environmental planning in developing countries, recognizing their developmental and income levels, that may allow greater flexibility in adoption and application of policies driven by internal needs and dynamics, rather than imposed as part of financial donor packages by international agencies. The paper adapts existing theories on ecological modernization and institutional analysis to develop a bespoke conceptual tool to examine the relationship between economic development and environmental protection in Abu Dhabi, with more general application to both developing and developed economies.     

Rural roads versus African famines

This paper formalizes and demonstrates how transport infrastructure between rural areas helps Third World countries deal with crop failures. In developed economies where transport costs are negligible, a crop failure in one area enhances market opportunities for producers in other growing regions. In developing countries where transport costs can be prohibitive, a crop failure in one area can have the reverse effects on other growing regions??undermining market opportunities??especially where crops must be transported through a central market to which food aid is delivered. We analyze the impacts of crop failures and food aid in a Walrasian general equilibrium model of a small, open, three-region economy, stylized to mimic African countries with prohibitively high costs of transport between rural regions.     

A comparative input-output analysis of the construction sector in three developing economies of South Asia

Construction is commonly regarded as one of the major industries of an economy that is receiving a significant attention in the developing countries. This paper uses the Asian Development Bank (ADB) input-output database at constant prices for the selected Asian countries, i.e. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal to analyze and compare the performance of the construction sector in these economies. The novelty of this research is the application of multiple linkages methods. First, the standard measures of the backward and forward linkages are used to examine the induced output created by the demand push and supply pull effects of the construction industry. Second, the concept of Hypothetical Extraction Method (HEM) is applied to extract a sector hypothetically from an economic system and then to examine the influence of that extraction on the rest of the economy. The results indicate that the construction sector has a strong backward and weak forward linkages for all the three economies. Furthermore, results reveal that the ‘pull effect’ is very significant in these countries while the ‘push effect is very insignificant. With respect to the identification of the key sectors, the findings of the traditional methods are very different from those of the hypothetical extraction methods.     

Modular energy cost optimization for buildings with integrated microgrid

Buildings are becoming suitable for application of sophisticated energy management approaches to increase their energy efficiency and possibly turn them into active energy market participants.The paper proposes a modular coordination mechanism between building zones comfort control and building microgrid energy flows control based on model predictive control. The approach opens possibilities to modularly coordinate technologically heterogeneous building subsystems for economically-optimal operation under user comfort constraints. The imposed modularity is based on a simple interface for exchanging building consumption and microgrid energyprice profiles. This is a key element for technology separation,replication and up-scaling towards the levels of smart grids and smart cities where buildings play active roles in energy management. The proposed coordination mechanism is presented in a comprehensive realistic case study of maintaining comfort in an office building with integrated microgrid. The approach stands out with significant performance improvements compared to various non-coordinated predictive control schemes and baseline controllers. Results give detailed information about yearly cost-effectiveness of the considered configurations,which are suitable for deployment as short-and long-term zero-energy building investments.     

Economies of scope and economies of agglomeration: The Goldstein-Gronberg contribution revisited

Following on from the work of Goldstein and Gronberg, it is argued that under certain conditions, internal economies of scope form the bases for two types of agglomeration economy. These differ from two better known types, which are based on internal and external economies of scale. A further two types of agglomeration economy are shown to derive from particular forms of external economy. Attention is then given to the conditions under which economies of scope may be accompanied by either agglomeration economies or agglomeration diseconomies, both internal to the firm. The discussion is extended to the setting of a simple urban system, where agglomeration economies and diseconomies internal to the firm may each exist alongside agglomeration economies or diseconomies deriving from externalities. A scheme is then outlined, in which the various types of agglomeration economy are drawn together within a common framework.The author is grateful to G. Pryce and M. Slivka for their comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

Offshore development of electronic products

The existence of a local electronics industry is widely considered in both the developed and developing nations to be an essential contributor to prosperity and growth. This is not only on account of the scale of the world market for electronics products, but also because of the radical effect that the application of electronics goods and services has on the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy. This article considers how electronics product development activities are being established in the offshore sites of major multinationals. It begins with a synopsis of how countries attract foreign direct investment and the associated benefits such investments can bring to the indigenous electronics industry of the host country, and then considers how some of the successful electronics-based economies in the Far East have used strategic initiatives to further develop their industry into higher value-added activities     

历史街区保护的外部经济性及其内部化探讨

外部经济性的发挥是历史街区保护的主要目的之一,而外部经济性的发挥又是以历史街区得到较好的保护为前提的。对历史街区外部经济性内部化的忽略降低了街区保护活动的经济效率,影响了保护的积极性,制约了保护水平的提高,阻碍了外部经济性的发挥。文章以外部性理论为基础,提出历史街区外部经济性内部化的方法,以期提高历史街区的保护水平,促进街区外部经济性的发挥。     

DELINKING URBAN ECONOMIES: The European Experience

ABSTRACT: Although it is often orgued that the success or failure of an urban economy is best explained by the success or failure of the national economy which encompasses it, increasingly cities are seeking to “delink” themselves from their respective national economies. This reflects increasing globalization, a reduction of the power of national governments, and greater urban and regional autonomy within a “Europe of the regions.” Cities are able to influence their economic growth by urban place-marketing, the attraction of mobile investment, fiscal policy, the attraction of major events and institutions, and other incentives. This article uses Eurostat data to examine the extent to which 32 major European cities have been able to delink their economies from their national systems. The most successful in 1984–1991 were Rotterdam, Cardiff, Athens, and Munich. Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam performed significantly worse than their host national economies. Sectoral analysis shows that the manufacturing and energy sector has been most important in delinking and that market services have been less important than nonmarket services. Further data are used to test whether these are short- or long-term phenomena and to relate these changes to the debate on convergence and divergence.     

Economic contribution of hunting expenditure to the southern United States of America

Millions of people in United States of America (U.S.) participate in hunting activities which benefit the U.S. economy and help promote conservation and environmental goals. The 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated RecreationSurvey reported that 13.7 million people aged 16 and above participated in recreational hunting activities, spending $33.7 billion on trips and equipment. This paper reports quantified economic contributions of hunting and its sub-activity expenditure for the thirteen states in the U.S. South by calculating total gross output, employment, total income, personal income and value-added. Input–output models were developed for each State, to determine the direct, indirect, and induced impacts of expenditure derived from hunting. Comparison at broad activity (hunting) and sub-activity (type of game etc.) levels revealed that there were differences in the individual states’ economies, and that levels of expenditure affected the total economic contribution of hunting activities. Generally, states with larger economies benefited from greater multiplier effects while the total economic contribution, when expressed as a percentage of the economy, was greater for states with smaller economies.     

Spatial competition and market interdependence

This paper investigates the optimality properties of interdependent spatial markets in a situation of price-location competition. A framework is developed where interdependences on the demand side of the economy are fully accounted for. It is assumed that goods supplied in the economy are not independent in terms of consumption. In addition, consumers can capture economies of scope in travel by shopping for several goods on one trip. Two goods are available in addition to a composite product. The problem involves two non-cooperative firms that exhibit a Nash behavior in selling their single product to a population uniformly distributed around a circumference. The level of interdependence between markets is expressed by the transportation rate, and by two other parameters indicating the relations of complementarity/substitutability among goods. A numerical analysis of comparative statics is conducted to examine the role of these parameters on firms' optimal location and price configurations.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 37th North American Meetings, Boston, November 1990.     

Community input-output models for rural area analysis with an example from central Idaho

In this paper we outline an I-O modeling approach tailored to the needs of rural area analysis. We cover four essential features. First, the rural area I-O model must convey an individual community focus. Second, the household sector must be defined in a manner that specifically captures the great openness of rural community economies. Third, the model should offer a degree of closure that provides an assessment of the community economic base. And finally, the rural community I-O model must be defined to include estimates of intercommunity trade, and intercommunity multiplier effects. Having laid the theoretical foundations, we identify subcounty data sources, and describe a collection of nonsurvey and hybrid approaches for estimating model components. The community I-O approach is illustrated next, with an empirical example from central Idaho. The paper closes with a discussion that considers the implications of community I-O in other contexts, including I-O analysis in less developed countries, and in addressing modeling issues in larger nonrural regions. Received: 7 March 1996 / Accepted in revised form: 26 February 1997     

Are eco-labels good for the local economy?

We evaluate whether the adoption of a well-known transition management instrument in the tourism industry can support simultaneously economic growth as well as sustainability. We create a detailed dataset at the municipality level and use a recently developed policy evaluation technique to investigate the causal impact of the Blue Flag programme on the local economies. Estimates show that this eco-label is not effective at enhancing the local economy; findings are homogeneous across destinations. This empirical result is in line with the recent theoretical literature arguing that a single policy does not suffice for transiting towards a sustainable economy.     

Underground pedestrian systems development in cities: Influencing factors and implications

Underground Pedestrian System (UPS) has been developed around the world especially within the central areas of mega cities during the past century. UPS development has occurred for various reasons. Factors from both natural and built environments have contributed to UPS developments in major cities around the world. In cities with severe weather conditions such as Toronto (Canada), a cold Winter City and Oklahoma City (United States), a windy city, UPS have provided a climate-controlled environment for social, entertainment, retail and commercial activities. In dense urban settings such as Tokyo, Japan and Shanghai, China, UPS provide opportunities for much more comprehensive and intensive usage of urban spaces, by accommodating multiple urban functions that is comparable to that which occurs at street level. This research selected 19 UPS cities as cases studies to explore the prevalence of the four influencing factors namely climate, subway construction, land usage and the economic environment. The research revealed the degree of prevalence of these four aspects for UPS cities and determined the differentiating factors of the natural and built environments that resulted in the establishment of UPS. Further analysis based on SPSS statistical tests examined the differences between developing and advanced economies in relation to the prevalence of these factors. The research findings indicated that there are statistically significant differences that help to explain the existence of UPS in developing and advanced economies according to economics, the presence of subway systems and city scale. These differences highlight the different stages of urban development of the studied cities, typified by differences in urban spatial structure that are apparent when comparing cities in developing and advanced economies.