The new intra-urban dynamics: Suburbanisation and functional specialisation in French cities

This article examines the relationships between the employment suburbanisation from central cities towards their suburbs, and the process of intra-urban specialisation that occurred simultaneously in the fifty largest French metropolitan areas. A methodology is proposed to identify urban subcentres and to analyse the effects of the intra-urban specialisations on suburbanisation patterns. We conclude that the specialisation of both subcentres and central cities has a significant effect on suburbanisation rates. Lastly, an intra-metropolitan shift/share analysis provides additional insights into the employment dynamics of central cities and suburbs during the last twenty years. Received: 25 July 2000 / Accepted: 29 May 2001     

Finite sample properties of estimators of spatial autoregressive models with autoregressive disturbances

The article investigates the finite sample properties of estimators for spatial autoregressive models where the disturbance terms may follow a spatial autoregressive process. In particular we investigate the finite sample behavior of the feasible generalized spatial two-stage least squares (FGS2SLS) estimator introduced by Kelejian and Prucha (1998), the maximum likelihood (ML) estimator, as well as that of several other estimators. We find that the FGS2SLS estimator is virtually as efficient as the ML estimator. This is important because the ML estimator is computationally burdensome, and may even be forbidding in large samples, while the FGS2SLS estimator remains computationally feasible in large samples. Received: 20 January 2001 / Accepted: 31 August 2001     

National and regional corporate spatial structure

Much is known about the macro-impacts of business activities on national and regional economies; however, comparatively little is known at the micro level about the impact spatial agglomeration of corporate wealth and performance has on urban systems. This paper reports on a collaborative research project between the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and Dun and Bradstreet, an international financial credit agency, to analyse the spatial implications of corporate structure in metropolitan regions. This paper analyses spatial patterns of medium to large businesses in three Australian State capital cities at the postcode level in order to assess the agglomeration of corporate capital, sales, and performance. The research indicates that ratio analysis can provide a useful insight into the competitiveness of metropolitan regions and the control corporate headquarters have over decision making and investment processes. The findings of this research are of special interest to capital markets, business and urban researchers in the Asia Pacific Region. Received: September 1997/Accepted: September 2001     

Congestion pricing of multi-modal transportation systems

This paper deals with the pricing and investment decision problem of multi-modal transportation systems in which the congestion is a significant factor in the assessment of system costs. This study approaches this congestion pricing problem with a number of social welfare maximization problems, all of which have the identical structure except financial constraints. One welfare maximization problem examined in this study yields the pricing and investment decision, which can attain the first-best social optimality for multi-modal transportation systems. Other welfare maximization problems show he second-best optimal solutions that can address two policy questions in transportation economics, namely, the cross-subsidy between competing modes and peak-period congestion charges on a single highway link. Received: February 2001/Accepted: December 2001 This work was supported in part by funds from BK21 Research Division of Seoul National University for Social Infrastructure and Construction Technology.     

Implementing Residual‐Based KPSS Tests for Cointegration with Data Subject to Temporal Aggregation and Mixed Sampling Frequencies

We show how different data types (stocks and flows) and temporal aggregation affect the size and power of the dynamic ordinary least squares residual‐based Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) test of the null of cointegration. Size may be more effectively controlled by setting the minimum number of leads equal to one – as opposed to zero – when selecting the lag/lead order of the dynamic ordinary least squares regression using aggregated data, but at a cost to power. If high‐frequency data for one or more series are available – that is, the model has mixed sampling frequencies – we show how to effectively utilize the high‐frequency data to increase power while controlling size.     

Inference on a Structural Break in Trend with Fractionally Integrated Errors

Perron and Zhu (2005) established the consistency, convergence rate and limiting distributions of parameter estimates in time trends with a change in slope with or without a concurrent level change for the cases with I(1) or I(0) errors. We extend their analysis to the general case of fractionally integrated errors with memory parameter d^?. Our results uncover interesting features; e.g., with a level shift allowed, the convergence rate for the break date estimate is the same for all d^?∈(?0.5,0.5). In other cases, it is decreasing as d^? increases. We also provide results about the so‐called spurious break issue.     

Testing for Cointegration with Temporally Aggregated and Mixed‐Frequency Time Series

We examine the effects of mixed sampling frequencies and temporal aggregation on the size of commonly used tests for cointegration, and we find that these effects may be severe. Matching sampling schemes of all series generally reduces size distortion, and the nominal size is obtained asymptotically only when all series are skip sampled in the same way – for example, end‐of‐period sampling. We propose and analyse mixed‐frequency versions of the cointegration tests in order to control the size when some high‐frequency data are available. Otherwise, when no high‐frequency data are available, we discuss controlling size using bootstrapped critical values. We test stock prices and dividends for cointegration as an empirical demonstration.     

Reply to the alternative optimal growth controls

Sasaki (2002) argues that: (1) “the agglomeration effect in the (Lai and Yang 2002, (L-Y)) paper is different from the introduction of urban production in Sasaki (1998)”; and (2) the “treatment of public good in the (L-Y) paper is strange,” because the public good provided by owner-residents is only consumed by renter-residents. This reply shows that (1) the agglomeration effect in the L-Y model catches the key results of urban production presented in Sasaki's model; and (2) both renter and owner-residents consuming the public good have been developed in this reply. However, the major conclusions of the L-Y model are still hold. Received: February 2001/Accepted: September 2001     

Coal lumps vs. electrons: How do Chinese bulk energy transport decisions affect the global steam coal market?

This paper demonstrates the ways in which different Chinese bulk energy transport strategies affect the future steam coal market in China and in the rest of the world. An increase in Chinese demand for steam coal will lead to a growing need for additional domestic infrastructure as production hubs and demand centers are spatially separated, and domestic transport costs could influence the future Chinese steam coal supply mix. If domestic transport capacity is available only at elevated costs, Chinese power generators could turn to the global trade markets and further increase steam coal imports. Increased Chinese imports could then yield significant changes in steam coal market economics on a global scale. This effect is analyzed in China, where coal is mainly transported by railway, and in another setting where coal energy is transported as electricity. For this purpose, a spatial equilibrium model for the global steam coal market has been developed. One major finding is that if coal is converted into electricity early in the supply chain, worldwide marginal costs of supply are lower than if coal is transported via railway. Furthermore, China's dependence on international imports is significantly reduced in this context. Allocation of welfare changes particularly in favor of Chinese consumers while rents of international producers decrease.     

Effects of club size in the provision of public goods. Network and congestion effects in the case of the French municipalities

The article formalizes and measures the impact of club size on the quality of the public good provided to its members. Under a general framework we describe various functional forms that allow either network or crowding effects. Mechanisms of provision are that of a political process in which both the demand and the supply sides are considered. Estimations use the whole set of French municipalities. The supply model performs better than the demand model in the case of small municipalities, while for large cities the demand model has higher explanatory power. In so far as impact of city size on the quality of club goods is concerned, crowding does appear, but it does so in different patterns. For small towns marginal congestion first decreases then increases with population. Marginal congestion is decreasing for cities of intermediate size. For larger cities no significant effects are observed. Received: 27 June 2000 / Accepted: 20 August 2001 RID="*" ID="*" We have received particularly helpful comments from the editor-in-chief and two anonymous referees. We also thank Danièle Moret-Bailly for her friendly computational assistance.