Trade and spatial economic interdependence

Abstract. Regional scientists have had a long fascination with spatial economic interdependence, initially stimulated by the development of a suite of models in Isard (1960). In recent years there have been two major developments; first, a movement towards greater integration in model development not only with large-scale models, but also with careful attempts to make more components of the system endogenous. The second development has been the pursuit of greater integration than in earlier studies between theory and applied regional economic modelling, most notably in the area of trade and economic development. We explore some of the recent developments of this latter approach and provide an assessment of the current state-of-the art of some future opportunities.     

Trade and spatial economic interdependence

Regional scientists have had a long fascination with spatial economic interdependence, initially stimulated by the development of a suite of models in Isard (1960). In recent years there have been two major developments; first, a movement towards greater integration in model development not only with large-scale models, but also with careful attempts to make more components of the system endogenous. The second development has been the pursuit of greater integration than in earlier studies between theory and applied regional economic modelling, most notably in the area of trade and economic development. We explore some of the recent developments of this latter approach and provide an assessment of the current state-of-the art of some future opportunities.JEL Classification: F2, O1, R0, R1     

Linkages in the construction sector

An important issue regarding the use of construction investment as a public policy tool is the magnitude of its contribution to growth and the nature of its interactions with the other sectors in the economy. Development planners have long used the concepts of backward and forward linkages to examine these interactions. None of the previous analysts, however, has concentrated on the construction sector. In this paper, we discuss the general nature of backward and forward linkages and their role in inducing economic development, present the most commonly used measures for quantifying and understanding the strength and nature of these linkages, and review estimates of backward linkages. In all countries for which estimates exist, we found that gross construction linkages are strong and that the economic impact of construction activities is relatively evenly dispersed over the sectors from which they obtain their inputs.     

Eine neue Methode zur Bestimmung des Kokosfettes in der Butter

Ohne ZusammenfassungÜber die Bestimmung des Kokosfettes in der Butter hat der Verfasser vor kurzem eine ausführliche Abhandlung in den Arbeiten aus dem Kaiserlichen Gesundheitsamte (1904,20, 545–558) veröffentlicht, über deren Ergebnisse bei dem großen Interesse, welches diese Frage augenblicklich hat, der nachfolgende ausführliche Bericht des Verfassers den Lesern dieser Zeitschrift erwünscht sein dürfte.     

Cyclic auto-seeded polythermal preferential crystallization—Effect of impurity accumulation

Preferential crystallization is a crystallization process where two enantiomers are separated into the pure chiral species. Usually the process is operated in a cyclic mode crystallizing the two species in sequel batches with an intermediate addition of fresh racemate. In this cyclic scheme reproducibility is a key issue.     

中国焦炭生产业的清洁化:意想不到的研究发现

借助各种测量、实地调查和新的分析工具,以麻省理工学院为首的国际研究小组正在帮助中国决策者分析中国的焦炭生产行业,评估产业清洁化战略措施的潜在影响.     

中国焦炭生产业的清洁化：意想不到的研究发现

借助各种测量、实地调查和新的分析工具，以麻省理工学院为首的国际研究小组正在帮助中国决策者分析中国的焦炭生产行业，评估产业清洁化战略措施的潜在影响。     

Antagonistic bioenergies: Technological divergence of the ethanol industry in Brazil

We present evidence for the coexistence of two antagonistic sugarcane ethanol production technologies in Brazil, with the Southeast region of the country having relatively mechanized production processes, and the Northeast area using labor-intensive ones. We highlight the main differences between the hand-production and fully automated mechanical manufacturing in the Brazilian ethanol industry and examine the historical, political, and economic factors that induced this regional technology gap that is currently observed. We then construct an environmental model based on a 375-industry interregional input–output system for the Brazilian regions, in order to determine the extent to which the primitive ethanol production of Northern Brazil differs from the automated manufacture technologies of the South in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. We show that ethanol produced with modern technologies generates lower carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions than ethanol produced with traditional production processes. We also demonstrate that ethanol, regardless of the technology with which it was produced, is more carbon-efficient than petrochemical products.     

Comprehensive evaluation of effects of straw-based electricity generation: A Chinese case

Greater use of renewable energy is being aggressively promoted to combat climate change by the Chinese government and by other governments. Agricultural straw is the kind of renewable energy source that would become a pollution source if it is not well utilized. We select the Shiliquan straw-based electricity generation project in Shandong Province, China as a case and assess environmental externalities of straw utilization in power plants by using life-cycle analysis. Results show that straw-based electricity generation has far fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than that of coal-based electricity generation. Improvement in the energy efficiency of equipment used for straw’s pretreatment would lead to a decrease of GHG emissions and energy consumption in the life-cycle of straw-based electricity generation. In case 400 million tonnes of wasted straw in China could be used as a substitute for 200 million tonnes of coal, annually the straw 291 Terrawatt hours (TWh) of electricity could be generated, resulting in an annual total CO₂ emissions savings of 193 million tonnes. Straw-based electricity generation could be a high-potential alternative for electricity generation as well as an incentive for utilizing wheat straw instead of burning it in the field.