Examining homelessness in Germany: The impact of regional housing market conditions on homelessness in North Rhine‐Westphalia,Germany

This paper proposes a simple model of the housing market and homelessness by taking into consideration both flat size and quality. A critical income ensuring positive housing consumption can be determined. The empirical analysis of districts in North Rhine‐Westphalia suggests that conditions on the housing market, income levels and several variables depicting a district's social environment are important drivers of homelessness: high rents and relatively few vacant small flats lead to an increase in homelessness. The condition of vacant flats significantly affects homelessness levels too. Homelessness also increases when the share of those with a very low income is higher, since this makes it more difficult to reach the critical income.     

The impacts of ‘run‐of‐river’ hydropower on the physical and ecological condition of rivers

This paper synthesises published literature on run‐of‐river hydropower, highlighting its potential to affect both the physical and ecological conditions of river systems. The paper considers the limited number of direct studies and reviews a wider literature on the two principal impacts of such schemes on river systems: the introduction or maintenance of in‐channel barriers and water abstraction/flow regime alteration. We outline how river systems are likely to be impacted by such schemes and identify the key issues arising from their continued development. Potential mitigation approaches are highlighted and the areas of future research required to adequately address current knowledge gaps are identified.     

The tuition fee ‘shock’: Analysing the response of first‐year students to a spatially discontinuous policy change in Germany

Using the introduction of tuition fees at German public universities as an exogenous shock, this paper investigates its causal impact on the enrolment and migration decision of high‐school graduates. Specifically, we conduct a quasi‐experimental analysis by exploiting the spatial and temporal variation in tuition fee regimes as a result of a Federal Constitutional Court decision. Our empirical results show that the introduction of tuition fees had a particular impact on student migration. We observe three effects: first, male students show a stronger migration response compared to female students. Second, changes in migration behaviour are sensitive to geographical distance. Finally, comparing different types of higher education institutions, we find that the migration effect is larger for universities compared to technical colleges and colleges of arts or music.     

The great asymmetric divide: An empirical investigation of the link between indigenous and non‐indigenous economic systems in Northern Australia

This empirical study explores financial links between indigenous and non‐indigenous economic systems in a remote river catchment in Northern Australia (the Mitchell). It finds evidence of a profound and asymmetric ‘disconnect’ between these economies: an exogenous increase in indigenous incomes raises the incomes of non‐indigenous people, but the reverse is not true. Evidently, those seeking to improve the incomes of indigenous people in Northern Australia cannot simply seek to (i) increase payments to indigenous people, or (ii) expand the non‐indigenous sector hoping that some benefits will ‘trickle down’. Instead, structural change is required.     

Climate change impacts on streamflow and non‐point source pollutant loads in the 3S Rivers of the Mekong Basin

Changes in non‐point source (NPS) pollutants are of particular concern in developing countries. This study investigated the responses of streamflow and NPS pollutant loads to climate change in the 3S River Basin, a trans‐boundary basin of the Mekong River, using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Firstly, the SWAT model in simulations of streamflow and NPS pollutant loads was calibrated and validated against observed data to prove the reliability of the simulation results. Then, the calibrated SWAT model was used to simulate changes in streamflow and NPS pollutants under the impact of climate change. The simulation results indicated that the streamflow and NPS pollutant loads are predicted to increase in the future. Moreover, water shortage in the dry season and soil degradation in the wet season are emphasized to occur in the future.