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.     

The Decentralization Process of Rural Development Policy in Greece

This study aims at critically assessing the decentralization process of rural policy-making and delivery in Greece. Drawing upon a case study of the farm modernization scheme, research findings indicate that despite remarkable decentralization efforts, rural development in Greece seems to maintain its primarily state-emanated design and implementation. Long-standing top-down and sectoral orientation in the formulation of this policy still holds. Apart from the redistribution of responsibilities and the multiplication of competent authorities, a genuine delegation of competencies and resources is needed, coupled with a renewed awareness of integrated policies from the actors involved at all administrative levels.     

Segmented Publics and the Regulation of Critical Speech in China

Abstract

In contemporary China strict censorship coexists with significant freedom of expression and restrictions are enforced inconsistently. Yet certain principles underlie determinations of what is acceptable public speech, depending on the institutional location of the utterance, the identity of the speaker and the time of the event. What is allowed depends on the specific circumstances, but it results from patterns in the institutional practices of Chinese politics that involve constraining debate within “segmented publics”. This article analyses how formal and informal rules limit discussions of particular issues to specific segmented publics, and how varying degrees of debate are permitted within these institutional fields, based on the expertise of their members or, in the case of associations, their engagement in specific areas of policy implementation. Another dimension of variation relates to the personalised character of authority in the Chinese system of governance, which means that leaders set the tone for debate within institutional spheres they control. State control, however, is only part of the story: segmented publics are dynamic spaces where boundaries are permeable, often contested, and constantly in formation. The operation of segmented publics is explored here through case studies of activism in the legal field; on women’s rights in the associational field; at the grassroots in resident and villager committees; and in oppositional publics.     

Red Foxes in the Filing Cabinet: Günter Tembrock's Image Collection and Media Use in Mid-Century Ethology**

This paper considers the epistemic career of visual media in ethology in the mid-20th century. Above all, ethologists claimed close contact with research animals and drew scientific evidence from these human-animal communities, particularly in public relations. However, if we look into the toolboxes of comparative behavioral biologists, it becomes evident that scientifically valid research results were primarily obtained by experimenting with model images. These visual specimens tell a technical story of the methodological requirements in behavioral science necessary to bridge everyday observations between the laboratory and the field. By neutralizing individual traces of animal bodies as well as their observers, they prompted the abstraction of ethological hypotheses. The case study of East-German biologist Günter Tembrock (1918–2011), who maintained his own collection of newspaper clippings, drawings, photographs, and films, offers a new perspective on the methodological development of this field. Furthermore, this article contributes to a scholarly discussion geared toward expanding the spaces of ethological research. My analysis of the image collections of the Forschungsstätte für Tierpsychologie presents the archive as a relevant site of study in the history of ethology.     

HOMO ECONOMICUS IN PERSPECTIVE

We are concerned about the growing body of critical literature against the use of neoclassical economics (nce) in geography. Examples in this literature share important characteristics, namely, a concern about the philosophy of science, a scepticism about the utility of mathematical modelling, and an aversion to homo economicus. Since these subjects are often misunderstood, we first provide brief reviews. We then use this background to examine in detail a representative example of the critical literature (Barnes 1987). We believe that our conclusions extend to a significant part of that literature.
Nous nous inquiétons du nombre de plus en plus grand d'articles de nature critique qui réfutent I'application de I'économie néo-classique (enc) à la géographic Certains traits importants se retrouvent dans beaucoup d'articles, c'est-à-dire, des intérêts pour la philosophie des sciences, un scepticisme quant à I'utilité des modèles mathéma-tiques, et une aversion pour homo economicus. Comme ces sujets sont fréquemment mal compris, nous fournis-sons tout d'abord de brèves revues de la littérature. Ensuite, nous nous servons de ce point de départ pour examiner en détail une partie représentative de la litlé-rature (Barnes 1987). Nous croyons que nos conclusions s'appliquent à un grand nombre d'articles.     

Political Aspects of Social Justice and Physical Planning in an Abstract City

This essay examines the issue of consistency between certain short-run effects of urban policy and the corresponding incidence of policy. Short-run effects are politically important in democracies because they determine popular support. Incidence, on the other hand, is socially important because it defines the level of welfare and its distribution among citizens. It is seen that the two are not necessarily consistent. Inconsistencies arise within both the social and the spatial realms of urban policy. Such inconsistencies depend upon individual preferences, urban morphology, urban technology, and upon the structure of society itself.