The geographical distribution of Labour

The small volcanic and limestone islands of the Lesser Antilles, in the eastern Caribbean, have a continuous history of commercial agricultural production which goes back 370 years. During this period, conditions of the environment, both natural (volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts) and human‐induced (deforestation, erosion, land degradation and reduction in the water‐table), have interfered with development in a variety of ways. The paper reviews past and present situations, and considers how growing sectoral imbalances may accentuate the resulting problems.     

Spatial distribution of US employment in an urban efficiency wage setting

We analyze whether efficiency wages operate in urban labor markets, within the framework proposed by Ross and Zenou, in which shirking at work and leisure are assumed to be substitutes. We use unique data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) that allow us to analyze the relationships between leisure, shirking, commuting, employment, and earnings. We confirm that shirking and leisure are substitutes, and present an estimate of this relationship, representing the only empirical test of the relationship between a worker's time endowment and shirking at work. Our findings point to the existence of efficiency wages in labor markets.     

Changes in the geographical distribution of the recruitment of apprentices to the London companies 1486–1750

By the late fifteenth century the migration field of apprentices to the London companies was very widespread, but from then until the eighteenth century there was a marked contraction. First, the proportion of apprentices coming from London itself increased considerably. Secondly, there were significant changes in the geographical origins of provincial recruits. An attempt has been made to measure this contraction, and it is shown that the average distance travelled by each provincial recruit fell during the period 1486–1750 from 212 km to 111 km. This contraction was due in part to changes in gild and corporation control, but was also affected by major demographic and economic trends. It is suggested that these produced a contraction of London's general migration field which continued until at least 1775.     

The changing geographical distribution of wealth in England: 1086–1334–1525

Attempts hitherto made to assess changes in the geographical distribution of wealth in medieval England have inevitably been based upon county totals. A more detailed coverage is now possible with the completion of the mapping of information from the Domesday Inquest of 1086 and the lay subsidies of 1334 and 1524–1525. The outstanding feature that emerges is that there were considerable changes, but that the areas of change in 1086–1334 were very different from those of 1334–1525. Before 1334, the main increases in wealth took place in three areas: (1) in the silt belt of the Fenland; (2) in the north where William the Conqueror had devastated the countryside in 1069–1070; and (3) in scattered areas of marsh, wood and afforested land over the rest of the countryside. After 1334, the main areas of increment were five: (1) the south-west peninsula, extending eastwards to include the cloth-making districts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire; (2) the cloth-making areas of Essex and Suffolk; (3) part of the West Riding; (4) London and much of the countryside around; and (5) the peat area of the southern Fenland.     

行走苏格兰

爱丁堡 从英国南部乘火车北上苏格兰,第一站自然是苏格兰的首府爱丁堡.世界上奇特的城市很多,但爱丁堡绝对是一个与众不同的城市,一个会让你过目不忘的城市.在苏格兰的历史上,爱丁堡就像一面旗帜,这面旗帜上留有无数的历史印迹,上面写满了光荣与梦想,也留下了悲伤与惆怅.在苏格兰和英格兰几百年的历史纷争中,爱丁堡就像一个勇敢的古代骑士,坚守着传统的苏格兰精神. 爱丁堡的城市分为旧城区和新城区.旧城区大部分的建筑都是建在山坡上,从著名的王子大街走向爱丁堡城堡恍如置身于中世纪.而要俯视整个老城则要到新城的卡尔顿山山顶.