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.     

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’?     

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.     

The Wreck of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pettu</Emphasis> as an Example for Nineteenth Century Rural Shipbuilding in South-Western Finland

Although the design and construction of wooden merchant vessels in the nineteenth century is generally considered to be well understood, the excavation and subsequent analysis of the wreck of the wooden Finnish topsail schooner Pettu (1865) revealed a number of unexpected features, which prompted the authors to take a closer look at the ship. In the following study, it will be attempted to gain an insight into the society that produced and used the merchant vessel through a detailed analysis of its construction and an investigation into the concept behind its design. The wreck of the Pettu, which, considering its loss in 1893, is barely covered by the 100 year rule in Danish heritage legislation, is a good example for the archaeological potential of even relatively ‘modern’ wreck sites, adding to their significance.     

Book reviews

D. J. Shepherd: Funerary Ritual and Symbolism. An Interdisciplinary Interpretation of Burial Practices in Late Iron Age Finland. BAR International Series 808. Oxford. 1999. ISBN 1 84171 113 6. 133 pages, 19 maps.

Vladimir N. Bulatov, Russkij Sever, Vols. 1–3. Archangel 1997–99. Izdatel'stvo Pomorskogo Universiteta. 352+352+336 pages.     

Tetraethylene glycol thermooxidation and the influence of certain compounds relevant to conserved archaeological wood

The degradation of tetraethylene glycol (TEG) was studied at 70 °C under dry air and nitrogen. Degradation products were detected using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). They were mono-, di- and tri-ethylene glycol, mono- and di-formates of mono-, di-, tri- and tetra-ethylene glycol and formic acid. The rate of TEG degradation was significantly decreased by approximately 10 mmol/l KI, FeCl₃, Cu(CH₃COO)₂, MnO₂ and CuSO₄, small amounts of fresh oak wood sawdust and gypsum-containing scrapings from the wood surface of the Vasa ship in Stockholm. Thus certain salts and natural components of archaeological wood are able to inhibit oxidative degradation of TEG. NaFe₃(SO₄)₂(OH)₆ (Natrojarosite), FeS₂ (pyrite), FeSO₄, Fe₂(SO₄)₃, NiCl₂, NiSO₄, Fe, Cu, Fe₂O₃, CuO, NaHSO₄ and natrojarosite-containing scrapings from the Vasa had no major effect on the rate of oxidation.     

Environmental policy instruments and their effects on innovation

The influence of environmental policy on innovative behaviour of companies has so far received little attention in scientific discourse. Based on recent literature, the paper analyzes the impact of requirements, levies, permits, liability laws, and the EC‐eco‐audit regulation with respect to the generation of environmentally benign innovations. Most theoretical studies come to the conclusion that direct requirements provide little incentives for dynamic effects and that emission taxes and permits are better instruments to promote innovations. However, the empirical studies show that the dynamic effects of environmental policy instruments in practice partly differ from the ideal instruments analyzed in theoretical studies.