AGGLOMERATION AND REGIONAL COSTS OF LIVING*

ABSTRACT Standard models of the new economic geography predict that costs of living are lower in the core than in the periphery. But in reality they tend to be higher in agglomeration areas, mainly because of regional differences in housing costs. In this paper, we add a home goods sector to the seminal NEG model of Krugman (1991) . We show that a core–periphery structure can endogenously emerge in which the core is the more expensive area. This result has an important normative implication. Since higher costs of living imply falling real wages if there is no nominal wage premium, it is not desirable for everybody to live in the core region.     

Freie GIS-Software

Angewandte Geographie hat oft mit Datenverarbeitung und speziell mit Geoinformationsverarbeitung zu tun. Geographische Informationssysteme werden seit über 30 Jahren im professionellen Umfeld eingesetzt –üblicherweise in der Form von herstellerabh?ngigen, an Nutzungsvereinbarungen gebundenen und mit (hohen) Lizenzkosten verbundenen Programmen (aktuelle übersicht: Buhmann/Wiesel 2001). In der Regel sind diese als propriet?r zu bezeichnenden Software-Pakete fachlich ausgereift. Es entstehen aber für den Nutzer auch einige Nachteile, z.B.: Die Programme k?nnen üblicherweise nicht beliebig für bestimmte Zwecke angepa?t werden; ein (teilweise aufwendiges) Lizenzmanagement behindert beliebige Verfügbarkeit auf allen Rechnern. Lizenzkosten fallen oft nicht einmalig, sondern periodisch an. Die Free Software Foundation ( FSF 2002 a) hat mit der F?rderung der Entwicklung Freier Software eine Alternative er?ffnet.     

Book reviews

Environmental Management: New Directions for the Twenty‐First Century. Geoff A. Wilson and Raymond L. Bryant. UCL Press (Taylor & Francis), London; 1997, 224 pp., £14.95, ISBN 1–857284–631 (pb)

Sustainable Development in Western Europe: Coming to Terms with Agenda 21. Tim O'Riordan and Heather Voisey (Eds). Cass, Ilford, Essex, 1997, 190 pp., £25.00 (hb) ISBN 0–7146–4830–2, £13.50 (pb) ISBN 0–7146–4376–9

Industrial Policies and Economic Integration. Patrizio Bianchi. Routledge, London; 1998, 228 pp., £45.00 (hb), ISBN 0–415–14910‐X

Economia, Espacio e Globalizacio. Georges Benko. Hucitec, São Paulo, 1996, 266 pp., ISBN 85–271 0348–6     

Smart specialization policies: innovative performance models from European regions

ABSTRACT

This research seeks to identify the factors that best explain the performance of regional innovation in Europe, in the era of smart specialization. Data were collected from the Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2016 and a quantitative methodology was followed using linear regressions as statistical methods. The results allowed us to reach four explanatory models of performance innovation for Innovative Regions Leader, Strong, Moderate and Modest. Some policies have also been suggested as possible regional innovation measures that can help policy makers to clarify and improve the innovation performance of these regions.     

It’s the Ideology,Stupid! In Macri’s Argentina: A Reportage

A first snapshot from the frontlines of ‘change’ in Latin America: cumbia music from the Casa Rosada, police repression against villeros and indigenous activists, and soul-searching amidst supporters of the ‘Victory Front’ in the face of defeat. Have we now moved from the ‘pink’ to the ‘yellow tide’?     

The Glaze Technology of Hispano‐Moresque Ceramic Tiles: A Comparison Between Portuguese and Spanish Collections

For the first time, Hispano‐Moresque glazed tiles from Portuguese and Spanish collections were studied together and compared. This work is included in a wider study tackling the technology of Hispano‐Moresque tile production from several collections in the Iberian Peninsula. While showing many similarities, differences were identified between collections, regarding both chemical and morphological characteristics. The collection from the Mosteiro de Santa Clara‐a‐Velha (Coimbra) stands out from the other collections, with higher SnO₂ content (up to 14 wt%), the highest Fe₂O₃ contents in amber glazes and a Ca‐rich interface layer (mostly comprised of wollastonite, CaSiO₃). Samples from Palácio Nacional de Sintra (near Lisbon) and Seville‐attributed samples (from the Instituto Valencia de Don Juan) are chemically similar, except that most Sintra's samples display a K‐rich glaze/ceramic interface, whereas the ones from Seville exhibit both K‐rich and Ca‐rich inclusions. The samples attributed to Toledo show glazes with many inclusions, contrasting with the homogeneous glazes in most Hispano‐Moresque tiles. From these results, we identify differences that can be used as markers in future studies on Hispano‐Moresque tiles.     

Stating the Difference: State,Discourse and Class Reproduction in Uttar Pradesh,India

Much development literature concerned with state–society relations operates with a simplistic state–people dichotomy. In contrast, this article focuses on the intersection between state and society and argues that this plays an important part in class reproduction in ‘civil society’. This issue is explored with reference to the role of the local state in class reproduction in the Indian countryside. The focus is on the means by which rural social groups negotiate access to the local state and discourses surrounding the state. The balance of colonization, co‐option and opposition that characterizes the relationship between dominant rural classes and local state officials/institutions is examined against the impact of the rise of a populist low class party. It is argued that the intersection between ‘class’ and ‘state’ is closer than even critical studies of state–society relations have posited. Moreover, the state can, within certain limits, be brought to serve interests other than those of the dominant classes.