Transport Infrastructure,Agglomeration Economies,and Firm Birth: Empirical Evidence from Portugal*

Abstract. This paper uses municipality‐level data to study firm birth in Portugal from 1986 to 1997. This is a period of significant improvements to the Portuguese motorway network raising important questions as to its impact on the spatial pattern of firm birth. The paper focuses on the effect of such large‐scale road investment together with the role played by agglomeration economies for firm birth in 13 industry sectors and 9 service sectors. Motorways increase the attractiveness of locations close to the new infrastructure for most sectors. However, marked differences among sectors exist in the way transport improvements affect geographical firm‐birth concentration. The results also indicate that a more diversified local economic environment encourages firm birth, but little evidence is found for agglomeration benefits stemming from sectoral specialization at the local level.     

The OECD and the Reconfiguration of the State in Emerging Economies: Manufacturing ‘Regulatory Capacity’

This article explores attempts to construct ‘regulatory capacity’ in developing countries, focusing on the work of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) and its role as an international standard‐setting institution in regulatory governance. The article explores how the construction of specific forms of regulatory capacity, and attempts to orchestrate the adoption of regulatory reform agendas in emerging economies, reflect broader processes of political‐policy transfer that impact state capacity and the ability of developing states to manage economic development. By analysing the OECD's engagement practices with third party organizations such as APEC (Asia‐Pacific Economic Cooperation organization) and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its specific engagement with emerging economies through country ‘reviews’ and ‘audits’, the author explores the implications for state capacity in terms of the adoption of regulatory systems of governance.     

Political Economies of Predynastic Egypt and the Formation of the Early State

Considered one of the world’s earliest examples of a pristine state, the ancient Egyptian state arose by ca. 3000 BC. State formation in Egypt became a focus of much research in the 1970s and 1980s, as investigations of the Predynastic period in Egypt, when complex society arose there, began to uncover new evidence of the indigenous roots of this phenomenon. More recently, archaeological investigations in the Delta as well as continued work in southern Egypt have provided new evidence for the changes that took place in the fourth millennium BC. But the specific events and processes involved in this major sociopolitical and economic transformation and the resultant state still remain incompletely understood. To better understand the problem in Egypt, this study looks at the contrasting polities in fourth millennium BC Egypt and Nubia from the perspective of the political economy and the strategies to power proposed by the dual-processual theory, which also helps elucidate processes of state formation and the type of early state that developed there. The territorial expansionist model helps explain where and when this state first emerged.     

The Regional Economic Impact of an Earthquake: Direct and Indirect Effects of Electricity Lifeline Disruptions

This paper develops a methodology to estimate the regional economic impacts of electricity lifeline disruptions caused by a catastrophic earthquake. The methodology is based on specially designed input-output and linear programming models. A simulation of a major earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone near Memphis, Tennessee, indicates the potential production loss over the recovery period could amount to as much as 7 percent of gross regional product. Reallocation of scarce electricity across sectors could reduce the impacts substantially. Additionally, an improved restoration pattern of electricity transmission substations across subareas could reduce losses even more.     

60年代美国对华政策研究现状述评

国内外对于 50年代的中美关系和美国对华政策的研究已经取得了丰富的成果 ,而对 60年代美国对华政策的探讨还远远不够深入。美国学者对这一段外交史的研究带有较大的缺陷 ,其主流观点也经历了三次偏摆 ;相比之下中国学者的研究则相当滞后 ,零星的成果也是相当粗糙的。造成这种局面的原因有两个方面 :首先是大部分学者只关注这一时期的主要事态———越南战争 ,认为这一时期美国对华政策基本上承继了 50年代美国对华政策的遗产 ;其次很重要的一点是 ,决定 60年代美国对华政策的最重要的一部分外交档案———约翰逊政府时期的“美国外交文件集”于年前刚刚解密。本文试图依据已获得的这部分档案材料对 60年代的美国对华政策及中美关系的研究现状做一次综述性探索 ,以期抛砖引玉 ,引起同仁对这一主题的重视 ,并展开争鸣。     

The Limited Effects of Federal Environmental Justice Policy on State Enforcement

The federal government adopted several measures during the mid-1990s to address concerns about race-based and class-based disparities in environmental protection. This article examines whether these measures affected the pattern of state enforcement of three federal pollution control laws. Using differences-in-differences models to estimate the effects of the federal policy adoption, I find evidence of increases in state enforcement of the Clean Air Act in large African-American communities, but declines in enforcement in communities with large poor and Hispanic populations. Similarly, there is evidence that state enforcement of the Clean Water Act decreased in poor and African-American communities, but there were no real changes in enforcement of facilities regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Collectively, the analysis suggests that the federal policy had minimal positive effects on state regulatory enforcement.     

The Impact of U.S. Airline Deregulation on Airport Traffic Patterns

This paper surveys changes in the U.S. National Airway System since the 1960s. The most appropriate measures for summarizing air traffic distributions at airports are investigated, with the Gini Index of Concentration being used extensively to analyze U.S. airport traffic patterns over a twenty-four-year period. The properties of the Gini index and other measures are compared and discussed in detail in the context of analyzing air traffic distributions. It is shown how concentration in the traffic patterns at the larger airports was at a high level prior to deregulation, but since 1978, the patterns have gradually become even more concentrated.     

The Net Effects of Large Plant Locations and Expansions on County Employment*

This paper argues that the net economic impact of new firm locations or expansions is determined by a multitude of opposing forces. Using a unique database, I set out to evaluate the net effects of these opposing forces by looking at the net change in local employment and population arising from large (greater than 300 new jobs) firm locations or expansions in the State of Georgia. The analysis suggests that the employment multipliers associated with new firm locations are much less than one; that is, the net employment effect of a large firm opening is smaller than the gross employment impact. This result is consistent with other empirical economic impact studies, which find multipliers much smaller than those of typical input–output models, often less than unity, and a previous study showing little net effect of large plant openings. Expansions of existing establishments are shown to have substantial multiplicative effects, however, with an average employment multiplier of 2.0. I discuss possible reasons for differential impacts across new and expanding firms, focusing on the nature of the firms. Differences in net impact across industries and high‐tech versus low‐tech firms also is evaluated. I find that the impact of large firm locations or expansions on population in the resident county generally is negative, but positive for the broader region encompassing the county of location and its contiguous neighbors.     

The Impact of Agglomeration Economies on Estimated Demand Thresholds: An Extension of Wensley and Stabler

Central place theory predicts that geographic markets located in rural areas have lower demand thresholds, and, therefore, a higher frequency of business establishments relative to areas that are more proximate to urban centers, other things equal. Wensley and Stabler (1998) confirm this prediction using data on the location and frequency of business activities in rural Saskatchewan. We demonstrate that this relationship may not always hold true depending on the existence and magnitude of agglomeration economies. If average cost differences associated with being located in an urbanized area are sufficiently large, then the relationship between urban proximity and number of establishments may be reversed. We provide evidence of this reversal using 1996 cross-sectional data on hospital services in Texas.     

The Effects of Critical Habitat Designation on Housing Supply: An Analysis of California Housing Construction Activity*

Abstract. Under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is required to designate critical habitat (CH) for listed species. Designation could result in modification to or delay of residential development projects within habitat boundaries, generating concern over potential housing market impacts. This paper draws upon a large data set of municipal‐level (FIPS) building permit issuances and critical habitat designations (CHDs) in California over a 13‐year period to identify changes in the spatial and temporal pattern of development activity associated with CHD. We find that the proposal of the median‐sized CH results in a 23.5 percent decrease in the supply of housing permits in the short run and a 37.0 percent decrease in the long run. The results indicate the proposal of CH acts as a signal that all development in that FIPS will be more costly. We also find that the impact varies across the two periods in which CH is designated and by the number of years relative to when CH was first proposed.     

Use of E-procurement in Local Authorities' Purchasing and Its Effects on Local Economies: Evidence from Cumbria,UK

In the past decade, there has been an increasing interest shown by the Government and Local Authorities in issues concerning the implementation of new technologies and means of communication in the public administration. Several operations have been moved online, including some significant purchasing functions and procedures. Electronic procurement, or e-procurement, indicates the use of electronic tools or practices during each stage of the purchasing process. E-procurement is seen as a powerful instrument to achieve efficiency and cash savings. While e-procurement helps public sector bodies to achieve their budget targets, it also increases the level of competition among public sector suppliers. This may influence the level of economic activity generated at local levels and potentially reduce the level of business provided to local firms. In the worst case, this situation could produce a knock-on effect especially in peripheral and remote areas, where the public sector is often the major purchaser. This paper focuses on the significance of e-procuring and e-tendering practices among Local Authorities in Cumbria, North-West England. The paper explores how the tendency to use e-procurement may vary among public sector suppliers with regard to business characteristics such as size, headquarter location and sector of activities. In addition, the author investigates the suppliers' ability to deal with e-procurement practices and procedure, and examines how e-buying and e-tendering in the public sector affects Local Authorities' patterns of spend.     

文化遗产保护学科建设现状与思考

以文化遗产保护为研究对象和学科体系的文化遗产保护学,具备学科建设的各种要素,但现有学科现状不能满足文化遗产保护事业发展需要,而明确学科地位,处理好其他相关学科与文化遗产保护学的关系,加强建设学科队伍和科研建设是文化遗产保护学科建设的基本途径。