Socioeconomic Environmental Policies and Evaluations in Regional Science

Socioeconomic Environmental Policies and Evaluations in Regional Science

Author: Hiroyuki Shibusawa

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-09-07

Total Pages: 722

ISBN-13: 9811000999

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This book is a volume of essays celebrating the life and work of Yoshiro Higano, professor of Environmental Policy, Doctoral Program in Sustainable Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan. Prof. Higano’s research strongly focuses on the comprehensive evaluation of resources and research content for decision science and engineering, including simulation modeling for environmental quality control, the evaluation of environmental remediation technologies, integrated river (lake) basin management, and synthesized environmental policy. Yoshiro Higano is the past president of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) and the current president of the Japan Section of the RSAI (JSRSAI). He also served as executive secretary for the Pacific Regional Science Conference Organizations (PRSCO). This edited volume covers a wide range of regional science approaches, theory, policy, evaluation, modeling, simulation, and practice. It is a valuable reference work for researchers, scholars, policy makers, and students in the field of regional science. The volume celebrates Prof. Higano’s contributions to the JSRSAI, PRSCO, and RSAI. Essay contributors include his former students and a wide array of regional scientists, each with a personal connection to Prof. Higano.


Creative Class Revisited, The: New Analytical Advances

Creative Class Revisited, The: New Analytical Advances

Author: Amitrajeet A Batabyal

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2023-05-19

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 9811267669

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We are now at a point where 'analytical advances' permit researchers to theoretically and empirically formulate, model, and test many of the ideas pertaining to the working of Richard Florida's 'creative class' in interesting and new ways. The kind of advances we have in mind include, but are not limited to, recent developments in growth theory in economics, improvements in statistics and in regional science that permit researchers to analyze data in novel ways, and progress in computer science that allows researchers to take advantage of, for instance, natural language processing. The objective of this book is to demonstrate how new analytical advances permit one to have a richer and more nuanced understanding of the ways in which the creative class has functioned and the ways in which its abilities can be harnessed for the betterment of society at large.


Agriculture and Rural Development in Russia Since the 2000s

Agriculture and Rural Development in Russia Since the 2000s

Author: Andrey Baldanov

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-05-10

Total Pages: 63

ISBN-13: 9811546657

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This book clarifies the status quo and mechanisms of agricultural and rural development in today’s Russia, especially focusing on human capital and human development. It provides readers insights into agricultural and rural development from the perspectives of agricultural economics, developmental economics, and regional–spatial science. Further, it addresses key research questions such as whether agricultural development in Russia has made significant strides, whether it has improved the nation’s food security and rural development, and whether structural changes in the agricultural sector as well as human capital have had impacts on agricultural development since the 2000s. In terms of analytical methods, structural equation modeling and stochastic frontier analysis are employed to capture the relationship between agriculture and rural development in regional Russia. In closing, policy challenges are identified to promote social innovation for rural development by enhancing the human capital of rural youth, including entrepreneurship. Given its scope, the book is highly recommended for all readers seeking an in-depth and up-to-date overview of agricultural and rural development in contemporary Russia.


New Frontiers of Policy Evaluation in Regional Science

New Frontiers of Policy Evaluation in Regional Science

Author: Yoshiro Higano

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-06-02

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 9811645019

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This book is especially valuable for its policy evaluation studies using both a theoretical model for policies carried out at national and regional levels and for gathering policy evaluation studies in diverse disciplines by empirical study. Policy analysis shown here employs theoretical models such as an international trade model, an optimal tariff, and spatial reorganization. At the same time, factors in well-being are taken into consideration with land development, changes in migration and local economies by natural disasters, validation of efficiency for emission control methods, the relationship between cyberspace and physical space in urban networks, and NPOs’ investment activities. The empirical research reported in this volume analyzes Japan, China, and Asian-Pacific cities. In the case of Japan, studies focus on the finances of local governments, the real estate industry, the role of consumer cooperatives in a food system, and agriculture and its productivity in hilly and mountainous areas. As well, the effects of industrial clusters in megacities and investment in high-speed railways and prediction of human behavior during an earthquake are studied. In China’s case, studies focus on food policy and the effect of ecology and environment on migration policy. For Asia-Pacific cities, studies show performance rankings of “super cities” in the region. The book defines the frontier of policy evaluation following a middle path between theoretical study and empirical study with regard to evaluation. In addition, the book contributes to an understanding of the relationship between the goals and targets of sustainable development. This book is highly recommended for graduate students, policymakers, and researchers concerned with policy evaluation.


Transport Efficiency and Safety in China

Transport Efficiency and Safety in China

Author: Pengjun Zhao

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-06-08

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 9819910552

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This book is the first comprehensive analysis of transport efficiency in China. It presents a series of rigorous empirical analysis for the operation and environmental efficiencies of major transport sectors, including highway, railway, civil aviation, and waterway. It also evaluates transport safety of China. The book innovatively employs a DEA model based on Epsilon measures (EBM) to evaluate transport efficiency and an EBM DEA model with undesirable outputs to calculate transport environmental efficiency. The factors of transport efficiency are quantitatively studied, including economic growth, social transition, and technology changes. Also, China's policies aimed at improving transportation efficiency are evaluated. The theoretical analyses and discussions would enhance our existing knowledge of the changes and determinants of transport system’s efficiency in a context of rapid urbanization, industrialization, and marketization in China. The findings of the existing policy evaluation would bring fresh evidences for transport policy performances to both scholars and politicians. In particular, it shows policymakers the experiences or lessons of how to create an efficient transport system in order to save energy use, reduce GHGs emissions, and improve social security. This book is of great interest to scholars interested in sustainable transport, regional planning and development, environmental policy and is relevant to China and other developing countries.


Social Entrepreneurship, Social Business and the Multi-functionality of Urban Agriculture

Social Entrepreneurship, Social Business and the Multi-functionality of Urban Agriculture

Author: Lily Kiminami

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-04-16

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 9811917620

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This is the first book to clarify the relationships between multi-functions of urban agriculture, creative classes, and social business in China and Japan. Specifically, it constructs a new framework showing how these factors contribute to the sustainability of cities by introducing the mixed methods research of structural equation modeling and the trajectory equifinality model. Policy implications drawn from the research suggests that governments should provide opportunities to create a virtuous cycle to improve the accumulation of social capital in order to attract those who think creatively. It is widely agreed that a sustainable city should meet the needs of the present generation without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, there has been no completely agreed-upon definition for what a sustainable city should be nor upon the paradigm for what components should be included. On the other hand, there is a possibility that the multi-functions of urban agriculture may attract especially those who are thinking creatively. These creative thinkers have a high level of social capital, pay attention to social issues, and are greatly motivated to find solutions through social enterprises such as agriculture-related business.


Cultural Heritage, Creativity and Economic Development

Cultural Heritage, Creativity and Economic Development

Author: Silvia Cerisola

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1788975294

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The book explores the relationship between cultural heritage and local economic development by introducing the original idea that one possible mediator between the two can be identified as creativity. The book econometrically verifies this idea and demonstrates that cultural heritage, through its inspirational role on different creative talents, generates an indirect positive effect on local economic development. These results justify important new policy recommendations in the field of cultural heritage.


Rural Development

Rural Development

Author: Paola de Salvo

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2022-02-02

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13: 1839686170

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The book brings together a series of contributions with a common goal of reflecting the links between economic development and rural development. The scenario is dotted not only with old and new wounds but also with innovative strategies in an attempt to overcome existing delays. The chapters of the book are composed of scenarios full of case studies. The plans to be adopted to help the countries that have lagged behind fueled an intense debate since the obstacles to development, as evidenced by the extensive scientific literature available, now appeared to be the realities present in the socio-economic structures of a large number of villages. Although the data available are still few, it is assumed that the Covid-19 pandemic will make a landscape already full of criticalities even more fragile.


The Co-evolution of Commodity Flows, Economic Geography, and Emissions

The Co-evolution of Commodity Flows, Economic Geography, and Emissions

Author: Kieran Donaghy

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-09-05

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 3030785556

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This book presents extensions to current commodity-flow models to analyze the economic and environmental impacts of recent structural changes, such as fragmentation of production and lengthening supply chains. The extensions enable augmented commodity-flow models to analyze the vulnerability of supply chains and regions to climate change and extreme weather events. The models allow the explicit treatment of trade in intermediate goods; the so-called “new economic geography” behavioral foundations for production and inter-industry and interregional trade; endogenous determination of capital investment and employment; and changes in emissions associated with production, consumption and freight movement. Presenting a modeling framework and simulations that are based on a thirty-year, spatial time-series of inter-industry and interstate trade in the US, this unique book is a valuable resource for regional scientists, economic geographers and transportation modelers, as well as environmental and atmospheric scientists.