从耦合到演化：环境经济地理研究范式的转变

随着人类活动对自然环境影响与改造的日益加深,人文与经济地理学者把经济地理学研究范式与环境要素相结合,形成环境经济地理学研究方向,并随着经济地理学研究范式的转变其研究主题和研究视角也随之变化。通过对1970—2020年经济—环境相关文献的计量分析和总结归纳,发现环境经济地理相关研究不断融入新内容和新思路,研究主题逐步多元;在研究范式上,区别于传统耦合研究过度注重经济—环境交互作用的结果,环境经济地理研究逐渐出现关注经济—环境互动的社会、制度要素的制度转向,关注经济—环境互动中主体的关联和网络构建的关系转向,和关注经济—环境互动的动态过程和调和机制的演化转向。集成现有的理论基础,综合多元的研究范式,环境经济地理研究仍有较大的深化空间。     

Social and Political Dimensions of Environmental Protection in Central America

This study takes a critical look at mainstream efforts to protect and rehabilitate the environment in Central America. Despite some notable successes, many forest protection and tree planting schemes have not been effectively implemented and have even contributed to further environmental degradation, social inequality and impoverishment. It is argued that the trade-off between environmental protection and human welfare which characterizes many schemes to protect forests and promote tree planting undermines not only local livelihoods but also the possibility of achieving basic environmental objectives, given the nature of local responses and their effects on project implementation. There is a need for a more integrative and socially-aware approach to environmental planning which addresses two fundamental problems: the failure to locate environmental protection initiatives within a broader development framework and the failure to integrate concerns for environmental protection with the needs and rights of local people. Addressing these two problems of ‘macro-’ and ‘micro-coherency’ in environmental planning requires not only dealing with the many technical, administrative and financial constraints which typically characterize environmental programmes and projects, but also changes in the balance of social forces.     

环境约束下陕西城镇化效率的区域差异及空间格局

本文运用因子分析法构建了陕西省的综合环境因子指数,将其引入到DEA以及Malmquist指数模型中,动态测度了2003-2014年间陕西及其各地市在有无环境约束下的城镇化发展效率的差异,并对各地市的城镇化效率进行了排名。研究结果表明:陕西城镇化的技术效率在有无环境约束下均没有达到有效状态;在加入环境约束后,技术效率均值波动性更大,呈"W"形,且下行趋势更加明显;传统城镇化发展的"规模不经济"效应,正在凸显出来,部分地市呈现出"规模效率"与"技术效率"均下降的状态。论文最后给出了提高陕西城镇化效率的政策建议。     

Innovative Activity in SMEs and Rural Economic Development: Some Evidence from England

Recent writings on the factors influencing the competitiveness of regional and local economies have emphasized the importance of innovation in SMEs. This paper discusses the findings of a study of the innovation process in a sample of SMEs located in rural environments. Adopting a broad, evolutionary view of the innovation process, the study highlights important sectoral variations using a multidimensional index of innovation. The way in which innovation is achieved is found to be shaped by various aspects of the rural environment, but relatively few firms are constrained by their rural location. Nor does the lack of local networking opportunities appear to hold back innovation in the more active SMEs. In conclusion, the most innovative firms are shown to make an important contribution to rural economies in terms of external income generation and employment generation.     

Diversity and employment growth in Canada, 1971–2001: can diversification policies succeed?

In this paper, we explore the link between diversity in the local economy, the process of diversification and employment growth. To do so, we first examine diversification trends between 1971 and 2001 across 382 Canadian areas (urban and rural). We then examine whether or not the more diversified areas display faster employment growth. Over some periods and for some types of area they do, but over other periods they do not. Furthermore, there is no clear link between the process of diversification and growth. Also, proximity to a large diversified economic unit (metropolitan areas) tends to be associated with growth; thus, it is not only the local characteristics of regions that determine their growth levels. Our evidence suggests that economies associated with diversity can occur concurrently with economies associated with specialisation. In the light of these complex relationships, we conclude that diversification policies are difficult to justify on the grounds of employment growth and would in any case be difficult to implement successfully due to the overall inertia observed in diversity levels.     

侵入与接替:上海市闵行区古美街道居住空间的演变

多重背景下,我国大城市社会空间正在重构。居住分异是研究社会空间分化的重要维度。以上海市闵行区古美街道为例,说明城市向郊区的侵入与接替过程中,社会经济环境、就业等复杂因素综合作用使郊区居住分异由一元同质性社会空间向非均衡多元异质性社会空间转变。演变中凸显了就业市场需求与流动人口居住空间萎缩、空间隔离和农民的社会垂直流动少等问题,建立贫困群体的城市规划、将流动人口纳入廉租房受益范畴,多渠道加强就业信息建设、增强就业培训等是解决问题的关键。     

Understanding Technology Development

There are wide variations between the developing countries in the capabilities of their enterprises to import, utilize and improve upon industrial technologies. It is important for the purposes of industrial policy to understand why these differences exist and how industrial capabilities may be improved. This article presents the findings of recent research into the nature of capability development and the role of government policies in promoting such development. The process of becoming efficient in industry is very different from the usual textbook portrayal, in which firms costlessly access and absorb new technologies. In reality, there is a long and uncertain learning process involved, differing with the nature of the technology, the efficiency of factor and product markets, and the provision of various technological information and services from the infrastructure institutions. There is a widespread risk in developing countries that all these markets suffer from failures: the scope for technology development policies rests on the need to remedy these failures. The experience of the most successful newly industrializing economies (NIEs) suggests that well-designed interventions, both selective and functional, are needed to promote technology development. Experience clearly shows the dangers of government failure, but it is necessary to retain a large role for the government if industry is to succeed. The pattern and implementation of interventions have to be very different. This article points out the outlines of economically desirable interventions.     

FULL EMPLOYMENT AS A POLICY ISSUE

Passage of the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978 is the most recent step in the development of a national full employment policy. This article traces the origin of the legislative debate over full employment back to the 1940s, the only previous time that Congress gave serious consideration to full employment legislation. It analyzes the conflicting economic and political interests and philosophies that led to the defeat of the Full Employment Bill of 1945 and to passage of weaker legislation, the Employment Act of 1946, which dropped the commitment to full employment. The article then traces the contours of unemployment since World War II: recurrent recessions; significant unemployment between recessions; the unequal distribution of joblessness, hitting hardest at groups such as minorities, women, and youths; and growing urban and regional unemployment. Some of the hidden social, human and economic costs of unemployment are explored. So is the relationship between unemployment and crime, poverty, welfare, the urban crisis and inequality. Full employment reemerged as a major issue in the 1970s because of the impetus from groups whose unemployment problems persist between recessions. Coalitions of these groups pressed for a national policy to secure full employment for all groups. This led to passage of the Humphrey-Hawkins Act. But the controversy over full employment has not ended. Attempts to implement the Act, the article concludes, may heighten underlying controversies over issues such as inflation, wage, price and profit controls, the environment, and job creation and may make full employment one of the leading domestic issues of the 1980s.     

ECONOMETRIC MODELING OF INTERREGIONAL LABOR MARKET LINKAGES*

ABSTRACT. This paper presents a statistical procedure for empirically establishing linkages between regional economies. Using Granger's definition of causality and the final prediction error technique for lag-length specification suggested by Hsiao, a linked, multiregional employment model is developed. The forecast performance of the linked model is compared to models which do not include interregional linkages. It is shown that forecast error is reduced by taking into account employment interrelationships between regions.     

Challenges for global environmental diplomacy in Australia and the European Union

One of the predominant issues on the agenda of diplomats and politicians is how to address the consequences of shifts in perception about threats to the environment and the actual short and long‐term characteristics and effects of environmental degradation. Another challenge is that such issues as climate change impact on many areas including trade, economic and fiscal policies, employment, transport, agriculture and regional development. Furthermore, decisions taken at a national level cannot be isolated from international concerns, as in the case of the Kyoto Protocol.

This article maps out some of the differences between Australia and the European Union in relation to the role of developing countries in tackling climate change, the use of market mechanisms to tackle environmental problems and the implementation of punitive compliance systems. We explore the challenges facing Australia and the EU in sustainable development, why the EU has a reputation as a leader in this field, how Australia has engaged the challenge and why the similarities in the approach of Australia and the EU are more striking than the differences.     

IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MEASURES ON THE U.S. ECONOMY

A rapid deterioration in the quality of the environment in the United States has compelled the Government to take a series of actions, including the enactment of remedial legislation. However, the environmental protection measures taken have begun to markedly influence the country's economy, resulting in redistribution of some industries, e.g., the coal mining industry, and in a reduction in the output of some products, for example, a decline in lead production due to the use of nonleaded gasoline. The problems of environmental protection are not purely natural-scientific or technological, but also socio-economic and, hence, class problems. In a capitalist society, environmental protection measures have to be implemented under conditions of sharp conflict between a public value, such as the environment, and private ownership of the means of production, which pollute that environment. (The paper is based largely on materials gathered by the author during a stay of nearly six months in 1974–75 at the University of Illinois. The translation is by R. Bruce Wood, University of Illinois, Urbana.)     

The Nordic 'Cultural Industries': A Cross-National Assessment of the Place of the Cultural Industries in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden

ABSTRACT In this paper an attempt is made to measure the cultural industries in a cross‐national context. The paper starts with a discussion of the definition and delineation of the term the ‘cultural industries’. It is argued that a large range of goods and services may be considered to be cultural industry products and that it is important to place the production and exchange of such products in the context of an industrial systems approach. Following this the concept is operationalised using data on employment and firm activity from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Results are presented which suggest that overall growth in both employment and firm numbers has been especially strong in the cultural industries. However, interesting differences between the countries emerged from the data. Thus regional dimensions are then examined resulting in the finding that in all four countries cultural industries have a strong attraction to urban areas but an even stronger propensity to agglomerate. It is suggested that the spatial dynamics observed may be key to the development of the industries' competencies and success. In summary the paper presents results of extensive data analysis that show the cultural industries' important contribution to Scandinavian economies and labour markets.     

Environmental attitudes,environmental problems and party choice. A large-N comparative study

This study investigates the relationship between environmental attitudes and the ‘greenness’ of party choice, moderated by exposure to environmental problems such as the incidence of natural disasters and poor air quality. The ‘greenness’ of party choice is operationalised as the share of environmental policy in the parties' election manifestos. Voting for greener parties is especially important for environmental protection because greener votes are the keys to national, and eventually, global action mitigating the effects of environmental degradation. The analysis relies on the European Social Survey, the World Values Survey, the Manifesto Project Dataset, the EM-DAT dataset, as well as World Bank data, and covers 139 surveys in 38 countries between 1995 and 2016. Multilevel linear models reveal that voters with greener attitudes chose greener parties, as expected. At the same time, exposure to country-level environmental problems decreases the effect of these attitudes by significantly increasing the green vote cast by citizens not particularly concerned with the environment. It seems that non-environmental attitudes are substituted by environmental problems in increasing the ‘greenness’ of the vote. When people meet bad environmental conditions, they are more willing to take environmental action irrespective of their prior attitudes towards environment protection. This foreshadows an increasing overall emphasis on environmental issues in national party politics as more and more countries are facing the dire consequences of a degrading environment.     

城镇劳动就业与中国改革的发轫

劳动就业不仅是现代社会必须解决的基本问题之一,也是社会改革的推动力。20世纪70年代末的中国城镇劳动就业就是如此。中国政府通过改革的方式顺利解决了当时严峻的就业问题,为社会的发展和进一步改革创造了稳定的环境。这一实践增进了人们对社会经济发展规律的认识,加深了人们对生产关系与生产力相互关系的理解,为中国经济体制的改革奠定了一方面的基础。     

SPATIAL IMPACTS OF AGGLOMERATION EXTERNALITIES*

ABSTRACT This article examines the extent to which agglomeration economies in one location affect employment growth and establishment births, using data from the Dutch province of South‐Holland. The data are of particular interest because they represent a census, rather than a sample, of all establishments and the location of establishments can be pinpointed to within 416 (postal) zip code areas averaging less than 6 km² in size. Results suggest that agglomeration economies positively affect employment growth and the location of new establishments, but with the possible exception of manufacturing, this effect dies out quickly with distance. Thus, the main finding is that for many industries, agglomerative forces may well operate at a geographic scale that is smaller than a city.     

NGOs and Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe: No Magic Bullets

A number of case studies of NGO projects have suggested that NGOs may have an important role to play in addressing environmental problems in developing countries. Drawing on research conducted in Zimbabwe, this analysis seeks to broaden and contextualize the discussion of NGO involvement in sustainable development initiatives. It reviews the theoretical basis for the current emphasis on NGOs, assesses the environmental problems in Zimbabwe within their historical and social contexts, and summarizes the findings of recent research on the characteristics of the NGO sector in the country. The purpose is not to evaluate specific NGO environment projects, but rather to assess the mechanisms through which the NGO sector as a whole might make a significant contribution to sustainable development, and the problems in doing so. It is argued that one major obstacle faced by NGOs is the demand made upon them to find simple, neat and comprehensive solutions to complex development problems. The tendency on the part of donors and NGO supporters to expect success stories is called here the ‘magic bullet syndrome’, and it is argued that this emphasis on simplicity and on success is unrealistic and counterproductive.     

近十年来生态环境变迁史研究综述

近十余年来,环境变迁史研究取得丰硕成果。人们从不同学科、不同视角展开广泛探讨,涉及到区域经济发展与环境变迁之关系、古代都城与生态环境之关系、动植物变迁与区域沙漠化、灾害与疾疫问题、气候变迁等方面,有力地推动了与环境变迁密切相关的中国生态环境史学研究在中国的形成和发展。     

Employment growth and regional development: industrial change and contextual differences between Denmark and Sweden

This paper explores the potential drivers behind uneven regional development in the context of employment growth in Denmark and Sweden. In particular, we are interested in the roles of urbanization, industrial change and the rise of the new economy as manifested in the growth of the two economies in 2002–2007. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to analyse the impact of a number of key industrial sectors on regional employment growth in the two countries. The empirical analysis is based on longitudinal matched employer–employee data retrieved from official registers in each economy from 2002 to 2007, a period of strong national growth following the crisis of early 2000. Our findings indicate that the two economies follow a similar pattern in addressing total employment growth; but looking at changes in employment levels across the national borders of these two relatively similar open economies, we find that, although in general these economies react relatively similarly to changes, embarking on a narrower analysis of the individual sectors reveals marked national differences. This indicates that context matters in the analysis of regional economic dynamics in terms of structure, system and policy.     

西安国家级开发区持续发展的投资环境改善研究

以世界银行关于投资环境的定义为基本框架,分析西安高新技术产业开发区和经济技术开发区在市场的进入与退出、创新环境、金融服务、专门人才、社会环境等投资的软硬环境方面存在的问题,并针对这些问题提出了相应的政策建议。     

Strengthening Innovation Through Closer Bilateral Integration

While the Canadian economy has outperformed the US economy over the past decade by several macroeconomic indicators, both economies have been characterized by relatively slow real economic growth and relatively high unemployment rates. One focus of bilateral cooperation that could promote improved economic, social, and environmental conditions in both countries over time is scientific and technological (S&T) innovation. It is widely acknowledged that technological change associated with innovation has been the single most important contributor to productivity growth, and it is also the likely source of success in meeting major public policy challenges facing both countries in areas such as renewable energy and health care.