CASINO GAMBLING AS A “GROWTH POLE” STRATEGY AND ITS EFFECT ON CRIME*

ABSTRACT Casinos are often considered as a “growth pole” strategy to revitalize dilapidated regions. However, voters often reject casinos due to their perceived adverse impact on crime. Using a quasi-experimental design we analyze the impact of the casinos on crime spillover from Atlantic City to other localities in the region. We found that the level of crime in localities adjacent to Atlantic City and along the major nontoll routes to Philadelphia and New York City up to approximately 30 miles from Atlantic City rose significantly following the introduction of casinos. Crime levels are higher than they would have been in the absence of casinos.     

HETEROGENEOUS TASTES AND RESIDENTIAL LOCATION*

ABSTRACT. In a simple urban model, where the only spatial distinction made is between center and suburb, we introduce a uniform distribution of preferences for land. Under a logarithmic utility function, we examine how the location and consumption decisions of individuals differ in consequence of their different preferences for land. Comparative statics indicate that the qualitative response of the city at equilibrium to changes in per capita income and transportation cost is not affected by the introduction of such heterogeneity. Possible extensions are also briefly discussed.     

A STRUCTURAL EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF METROPOLITAN LABOR DEMAND*

ABSTRACT. This paper uses a large data base to study metropolitan labor demand functions. The data are disaggregated by two-digit SICs in manufacturing for SMS As, and are corrected for changing SMSA boundaries. Labor demand elasticities are estimated for factor and commodity prices, transportation costs, state and local taxes and expenditures, and production-function shifters. Estimates from different years allow one to test Le Chatelier's principle in the context of interregional change.     

EMPIRICAL TESTS OF SOME SEMI-SURVEY UPDATE PROCEDURES APPLIED TO RECTANGULAR INPUT-OUTPUT TABLES*

ABSTRACT. This paper examines the RAS, Mc Menamin and Haring, and Lagrange-multiplier update methods in the context of the dual accounting system of the rectangular input-output model. The motivation was to determine if the additional information contained in the dual system is exploitable, while maintaining the integrity of the rectangular structure with all its advantages. Tests were conducted on the performance of the various algorithms for a derivative Leontief model relative to their performance on the rectangular structure. The results obtained for rectangular tables were generally better than those obtained for the more conventional Leontief ones.     

Reviews

Babi and Baha'i Religions: From Messianic Shi'ism to a World Religion, by Peter Smith, Cambridge University Press, London, New York, New Rochelle, Melbourne, Sydney 1987, pp.xiv, 243.

Panj Vaqf‐namah, by Mahmud Afshar Yazdi, (Five Endowment Deeds), Tehran Foundation for Mahmud Afshar Yazdi's Endowments, 1363/1984. Iraj Afshar and Karim Isfahaniyan, eds., Namvarah‐yi Doktor Mahmūd Afshar Yazdi (Mahmud Afshar Yazdi's Festschrift), 4 vols., Tehran: Foundation for Mahmud Afshar Yazdi's Endowments, 1364/1985–1367/1988.

Bulles et Sceaux sassanides de diverses collections, by Philippe Gignoux and Rika Gysclen, Paris: Sludia Iranica, Cahier 4, Association Pour l'avancemeni des études iraniennes, 1987, 306 pp, 23 plates.

Iran and Iraq at War , by Shahram Chubin and Charles Tripp, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1988.

The Tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam, from the Persian National Epic, the Shahnameh of Abol‐Qascm Ferdowsi, translated by Jerome W. Clinton, Seattle: The University of Washington Press, 1988, xxv + 190 pages, $25.00 cloth $12.50 paper.

Persian Carpets , by Michael Craig Hillmann, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1984, 98 pp. index to p. 112.

Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran, 1844–1850, Abbas Amanat, Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 1989, pp. xv.+ 461, no price indicated.

Iran min al‐Dakhil, (Iran From Within), by Fahmi Huwaydi, Cairo: Markaz al‐Ahram li al‐tarjuma wa al‐nashr, 1987, 405 pp.

Woven From the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran, 16lh‐19lh Centuries , edited by Carol Bier, Washington, DC: The Textile Museum, 1987.

Summon Up Remembrance, by Marzich Gail, Oxford: George Ronald Books, 1987, 295 pp., appendix, bibliography, $14.95.

Iran and The United States, A Cold War Case Study, by Richard W. Cottam, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1988. $12.95 pb.     

On the Fractal Measurement of Geographical Boundaries

This paper has two main objectives. First, we review and evaluate four different computational methods for measuring the “fractality” of cartographic lines: these are known as the structured walk, the equipaced polygon, the hybrid walk, and the cell count methods. Second, because previous research has restricted the focus of fractal measurement exercises to isolated physical entities, the subject of our empirical study concerns the urban area of Swindon, United Kingdom, that comprises a mosaic of contiguous land-use parcels. In technical terms, the results pinpoint some of the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the four methods, whilst our substantive conclusion is that fractal dimension appears to be a function of both scale and land-use type in our geographical study.