THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MINERAL INDUSTRIES

A research design for the study of environmental pollution by mineral industries is proposed, with particular reference to oil and gas extraction in the Volga region. In evaluating the environmental impact, three basic stages need to be distinguished: the impact proper, the environmental reaction and the longer-term consequences for the environment and for human activity. Pollution by mineral industries involves aspects common to most such industries and specific aspects associated with a particular mineral industry. Impacts may be examined from a quantitative and qualitative point of view and in the space-time perspective. Various productive facilities of a mineral industry (production wells, strip mines, deep mines, spoil banks, pipelines, railroads, highways) may have specific impacts on particular environmental components (land, air, water, biological communities). The specific impacts of the oil industry and the coal industry are compared.     

ALMA-ATA CONFERENCE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF A DROP IN THE LEVEL OF THE ARAL SEA

A large body of empirical data on the dynamics of local travel in the USSR is surveyed to illustrate the influence of commuter movement on the formation and spatial interaction of settlement systems. Correlations are established between commuting patterns and the population levels of cities of different size cateogries. (Translated by Marcia Levenson, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.)     

THE INCIDENCE MULTIPLIER IMPACT OF A REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

T he main objectives of the study were to measure and evaluate the impact of the Lesser Slave Lake Special Area Programme (Figure 1) on income and employment in north-central Alberta. The programme was administered jointly by the federal Department of Regional Economic Expansion ( dree ) and the Government of Alberta. Two aspects of the impact were considered: (1) the aggregate income and employment multiplier effects of the programme, and (2) the incidence of direct and indirect income and employment benefits spatially and to different groups of people within the Special Area.     

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.)     

IMPACT OF RIGIONAL FACTORS ON PRODUCTIVITY IN CHINA*

ABSTRACT. The regional production environment in China is decomposed into five regional factors: education endowment, foreign direct investment, agglomeration, producer's market accessibility, and consumer's market accessibility. The impacts of these regional factors on the Chinese machinery building industry and food manufacture industry are estimated across 30 regions. The estimates are highly significant and show that these regional factors substantially affect regional productivity. Across regions and over time, the capital return rate is positively related to the ratio of the total regional factor impact to the wage rate.     

THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, AMENITIES AND FISCAL FACTORS ON AGE-SPECIFIC MIGRATION RATES

ABSTRACT. Migration models have considered several different categories of determinants, including economic opportunities, amenities, and state and local fiscal factors. Migration has also been shown to depend on the individual's position in the life cycle. This paper represents a first attempt to integrate all three categories of determinants of migration into a life-cycle framework. Empirical findings generated from a countrywide model of white male migration, over the period 1970 to 1980, reveal that all three types of determinants are important. Specifically, economic opportunities are most influential for males during their working years. Amenities are also found to follow a life-cycle pattern with older migrants more attracted to amenable locations than their younger cohorts. Finally, state income and death taxes display life-cycle effects; working males in their peak earning years are detracted by high income taxes while all migrants aged 55 to 69 avoid counties in states with high inheritance and estate taxes.     

RISK FACTORS IN THE RAPIDLY RISING INCIDENCE OF DIVORCE IN KOREA

For just over a decade between 1990 and 2003, the crude divorce rate tripled from 1.1 to 3.5 in Korea. Using the combined data from two nationally representative surveys of women conducted in 1997 and 2002, this study examines the risk factors of divorce and attempts to provide insights into the rising divorce rate in Korea. The findings show that the period effects on the probability of divorce remain unexplained after taking into account several risk factors. This may suggest societal-level transformations in normative regimes regarding divorce, which seem to have accelerated after the economic recession in the late 1990s. Independent of period effects, women's employment in white-collar occupations and declining fertility increase the risk of divorce, whereas women's unpaid work in the family business and college education lower the risk of divorce. Divorce rates are highest in the middle stage of marital duration in Korea.     

HEALTH AND ITS IMPACT ON WORK AND DEPENDENCY AMONG THE ELDERLY IN JAPAN

The present study seeks to provide new evidence on the determinants of retirement for older Japanese men and women, using a unique longitudinal survey of households, the Nihon University Japan Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NUJLSOA). One of the major findings of the present study is that the primary determinant of the probability of remaining in work between 1999 and 2003 was changes in health status as measured by the change in the number of NAGI limitations. Using the same data set, this study also investigates how the status of health affects the degree to which the Japanese elderly expect to rely on their children for old-age security. The computed results were somewhat surprising. The respondent's health status was not statistically significant, but the health status of the respondent's spouse affected the probabilities of the respondent's expectation to rely on children in both 2001 and 2003.     

晋中平原地区农村聚落扩展分析

在实地考察的基础上，章从规模、速度、形态和类型等方面分析了晋中平原地区农村聚落扩展的特点，并深入探讨了影响农村聚落扩展的因素，认为聚落扩展主要是人口增长和家庭规模变化、社会经济发展与收入增加、交通条件改善、农村地区工业化及其他因素共同作用的结果。最后指出了由于聚落扩展而带来的许多难以解决的问题。     

THE IMPACT OF THE SYSTEM OF MINOR CIVIL DIVISIONS ON AGRICULTURE

Mathematical techniques are used to test the hypothesis that Soviet farm efficiency, as reflected in farm profit rates, is higher in areas where the boundaries of collective and state farms coincide with the boundaries of rural soviets, the lowest local government areas. Conversely, farm performance suffers when farm territories are broken up among two or more rural soviets. The use of Karl Pearson's coefficient of contingency, which may be used to measure the strength of a relationship between qualitative variables, shows a positive relationship between farm profit rates and boundary coincidence. The authors therefore urge frequent review of local government areas to insure that they correspond to the boundaries of agricultural operating units.     

THE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ON THE MANITOBA ESCARPMENT

The Manitoba Escarpment is an area of severe environmental problems caused by a combination of adverse physical characteristics and inappropriate land use. Government programmes to solve these problems have emphasized, in succession, water control, land acquisition and use, and a combination of the two. Evaluation of these activities is difficult because of a lack of basic data on precipitation, runoff, and rates of erosion. Work is currently being done to provide the required information and to use it as a basis for land and water management programmes in conservation districts.
L'escarpement du Manitoba est une région de grands problèmes du milieu, du fait des traits physiques et contraires combinés avec le mésusage de la terre. A fin dé resoudre ces problèmes, des programmes gouvernementaux ont souligné d'abord la réglementation de l'eau, ensuite l'obtention et l'usage de la terre, et enfin une combinaison des deux. Aucune évaluation de ces projets est difficile à cause d'une manque de données véritables du milieu, y compris dés détails de précipitation, de l'écoulement de l'eau, et du dégre d'érosion. On essaie actuellement de fournir les détails nécessaires pour s'en servir comme base des programmes de l'entretien de l'eau et de la terre dans les régions de conservation.     

ON THE INEQUALITY OF RURAL SERVICES PROVISION IN THE USSR

Results of studies of inter- and intra-regional variation of rural services provision (including retail trade, cultural-educational services, and health care) are compared. Highest levels of per capita services provision were found in the Baltic republics and RSFSR, with lower levels in the southern European USSR, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia. The differences are attributed to rural depopulation (northwestern USSR), rural development priorities in areas of severe natural conditions (Siberia), and high rates of natural population increase (Central Asia). A differential approach in services planning is recommended between areas located near oblast urban centers and those which are more remote (translated by Jay K. Mitchell; PlanEcon, Inc.; Washington, DC 20005).     

THE IMPACT OF STATE LAND-USECONTROLS ON RESIDENTIAL LAND VALUES

In this paper, we examine the effects of state land-use controls on the aggregate demand and supply of residential land. Previous studies have examined the effect of land-use regulation on housing prices using single-equation estimation. We estimate a three-equation intejurisdidional supply-demand model of land-use controls. Our results suggest that land-use regulations have a significant impact on both the demand and supply of residentid land as expected.