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Books > Earth & environment > Geography > Human geography > Economic geography
This book offers a geographic dimension to the study of innovation and product commercialization. Building on the literature in economics and geography, this book demonstrates that product innovation clusters spatially in regions which provide concentrations of the knowledge needed for the commercialization process. The book develops a conceptual model which links the location of new product innovations to the sources of these knowledge inputs. The geographic concentration of this knowledge fonns a technological infrastructure which promotes infonnation transfers, and lowers the risks and the costs of engaging in innovative activity. Empirical estimation confinns that the location of product innovation is related to the underlying technological infrastructure, and that the location of the knowledge inputs are mutually reinforcing in defining a region's competitive advantage. The book concludes by considering the policy implications of these fmdings for both private finns and state governments. This work is intended for academics, policy practitioners and students in the fields of innovation and technological change, geography and regional science, and economic development. This work is part of a larger research effort to understand why the location of innovative activity varies spatially, specifically the externalities and increasing returns which accrue to location. xi Acknowledgements This work has benefitted greatly from discussions with friends and colleagues. I wish to specifically note the contribution of Mark Kamlet, Wes Cohen, Richard Florida, Zoltan Acs and David Audretsch. I would like to thank Gail Cohen Shaivitz for her dedication in editing the final manuscript."
Investment in Latin America is continuously developing in complex patterns due to the region's increasing role in the global economy. The Handbook of Research on Economic Growth and Technological Change in Latin America helps readers to better understand the importance of Latin America in today's global economy. The book discusses the developments of investments involving Latin American Multinational Corporations ("Multilatinas") within the region. This investment is having profound influences on the state of business, government, and technological development in Latin America, which are all explored in this reference publication for use by researchers, scholar-practitioners, business executives, students, and academicians.
The revival of the region of east-central Europe known as 'Mitteleuropa' began in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. For Germany, 'Mitteleuropa' became a renewed geopolitical concept. Since 1990 Mitteleuropa has increasingly become a region of German economic engagement. However, German elites failed however to develop a coherent political approach to that region while simultaneously conducting an eclectic Mitteleuropa policy outside a broader framework of foreign policy. This book traces Germany's Mitteleuropa politics and puts them into an historical context and into a framework for future foreign policy.
The Institutional Position of Seaports deals with the logic and functioning of international seaport administration. This volume not only contains interesting reading for public and private port administrators and managers but can offer by its international comparisons relevant insights for the deregulation, privatisation, liberalisation and deconcentration of former government duties. Every seaport hosts different port activities in which public and private actors interact in changing relations. There is a permanent question of how responsibilities among public port administrators and the private users of the port have been divided and institutionally anchored. The unique model of analysis as used in this research has been built up by the distinction in four different control relations between state and market. By means of this institutional model the division of responsibilities for nautical control, port planning and port services can be determined. The reader can also learn via this model about the specific conditions that are needed to activate the learning capabilities of the different port activities. The model of analysis can be applied to every seaport in the world. Audience: This book is essential for everyone who is in a public or private managing or policy-making position in a seaport. It can also be of great help to students in disciplines like maritime economics, strategic management, social geography and public administration; for example, to make them more aware of the specific role divisions and mechanisms between state and market in international seaports.
The book describes the context within which the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union has been established, the basic mechanisms of the policy for the main sectors of agricultural production, and their adaptation over time in line with changes in the broader world economy; the changes in Eastern Europe, the problems of developing countries and the GATT—WTO Agreement in particular. An introduction by Franz Fischler, European Commissioner with responsibility for Agriculture, sets the scene for Community policy beyond 2000.
Complex systems analysis has become a fascinating topic in modern research on non-linear dynamics, not only in the physical sciences but also in the life sciences and the social sciences. After the era of bifurcation theory, chaos theory, syn- getics, resilience analysis, network dynamics and evolutionary thinking, currently we observe an increasing interest in critical transitions of dynamic real-world systems in many disciplines, such as demography, biology, psychology, economics, earth sciences, geology, seismology, medical sciences, and so on. The relevance of this approach is clearly re?ected in such phenomena as traf?c congestion, ?nancial crisis, ethnic con?icts, eco-system breakdown, health failures, etc. This has prompted a world-wide interest in complex systems. Geographical space is one of the playgrounds for complex dynamics, as is witnessed by population movements, transport ?ows, retail developments, urban expansion, lowland ?ooding and so forth. All such dynamic phenomena have one feature in common: the low predictability of uncertain interrelated events occurring at different interconnected spatio-temporal scale levels and often originating from different disciplinary backgrounds. The study of the associated non-linear (fast and slow) dynamic transition paths calls for a joint research effort of scientists from different disciplines in order to understand the nature, the roots and the con- quences of unexpected or unpredictable changes in complex spatial systems.
This book investigates the socio-economic impacts of Climate Change in the Asia-Pacific region. The authors put forward a strategy and action plans that can enhance the capacity of government agencies and non-governmental organizations to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. The needs and interests of critical and neglected groups are highlighted throughout the book, alongside the need for improving knowledge management on climate change. The case studies presented offer regional analyses for countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, China, Fiji, India, Mongolia, Nepal and the Philippines and cover issues such as livelihood vulnerability and displacement, climate migration, macroeconomic impacts, urban environmental governance and disaster management.
The book provides conceptual and empirical insights into the complex relationship between knowledge flows and regional growth in the EU. The author critically scrutinizes and enhances the RIS (Regional Innovation System) approach, discussing innovation as a technological, institutional and evolutionary process. Moreover, she advances the ongoing discourse on the role of space and technological proximity in the process of innovation and technological externalities. The book closes with an investigation of the role of technological change and knowledge spillovers in the dynamic growth and catching-up of EU regions. "
Corruption, collusion and clientelism are pervasive legacies of Soviet rule in most successor states of the Soviet Union. This legacy has been a major obstacle to the development of viable democratic and market institutions. Analyzing the political and economic developments of Armenia and Georgia, this book demonstrates how systemic corruption undermines the rule of law which is crucial for democracy and a market economy. It argues that the tumultuous political transition of Georgia has created an anarchic system of corruption that is disastrous for economic development and people's welfare. In contrast, the Armenian government has maintained some control over the corrupt system, ameliorating the consequences of systemic corruption.
This book presents the outcome of the Towards Sustainable Land Use in Asia (SLUAS) project, which was the pilot undertaking for development in a series of projects on land use. Monsoon Asia, with its huge and still increasing population and rapid socioeconomic changes, is regarded as a major hot spot of global change in general and of land use change in particular. The major issues include urbanization, rural development, land-related problems such as food problems, and disasters in the context of global change and sustainability. Future Earth, the new international research framework established by International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), and other international academic or funding organizations for a sustainable world, has chosen the Global Land Project (GLP) as one of the first such international projects it has endorsed that originated from International Geosphere/Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and/or International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP). This endorsement is a clear indication of the importance of the issues related to land use and its changes. Land use change is an essential driving force of environmental change, a result of socioeconomic and environmental changes, and is a major environmental change itself. Because of this complex and multifaceted nature and the difficulties in obtaining relevant data with historical depth, this phenomenon has not been studied fully in the context of global change or sustainability. It is hoped that this book is of use to those who are concerned about the present and future land use in the world.
This book examines the impetuses for, and the features and outcomes of, economic reforms in Africa, using the case studies of seven countries to address three main issues: (a) Why do countries embark on economic reforms? (b) What are the features of the reforms undertaken in the various African countries? (c) How well did the reforms perform?
Drawing on more than 30 case studies from around the world, this book offers a multitude of examples for improving the governance of small-scale fisheries. Contributors from some 36 countries argue that reform, transformation and innovation are vital to achieving sustainable small-scale fisheries - especially for mitigating the threats and vulnerabilities of global change. For this to happen, governing systems must be context-specific and the governability of small-scale fisheries properly assessed. The volume corresponds well with the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries adopted in 2014, spearheaded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These affirm the importance of small-scale fisheries for food security, nutrition, livelihoods, rural development and poverty reduction. The book arises from the project Too Big To Ignore: Global Partnership for Small-Scale Fisheries Research (TBTI). "A nuanced, diverse, vibrant and local-specific collection of essays - just as the small-scale fisheries around the world - dealt with by this versatile array of authors. Following on the heels of the recently adopted FAO Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines, here is an erudite compendium which I heartily recommend to policy makers, academics and activists who wish to come to terms with the complex issue of governance of this important field of human activity." John Kurien - Founding Member of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), and Former Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, India "Likely to become a classic in its field, this book is about small-scale fisheries and interactive governance - governance which is negotiated, deliberated upon, and communicated among stakeholders who often share governing responsibilities. The authors show that interactive governance is not just a normative theory but a phenomenon that can be studied empirically, here with 34 case studies from as many countries around the world, north and south, east and west. Such "force of example" enables the editors to put together well-developed arguments and sometimes surprising conclusions about the way ahead. A must-read for managers, practitioners, stakeholders, and students!" Fikret Berkes - University of Manitoba, Canada, and author of Coasts for People
This groundbreaking book analyses the geography of the commercial
Internet industry. It presents the first accurate map of Internet
domains in the world, by country, by region, by city, and for the
United States, by neighborhood.
During the last few years, many journal articles have shown the usefulness of the Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) model for analyzing regional yield trials. AMMI helps agronomists and breeders in several ways: to understand or model complex data sets, especially the interactions; to estimate yields more accurately, even with less data; to make better selections; and to design more efficient yield-trial experiments. This book is the first systematic treatment of these topics, collecting concepts from the scattered literature and also presenting many new results. Although agricultural applications are emphasized here, AMMI is applicable to two-way data tables containing one kind of data, either replicated or not, so AMMI appears in many areas of science and technology. The volume's first seven chapters review the agricultural and statistical principles and the final chapter indicates the difference that AMMI can make for agricultural research and world food supplies. This book will be of great value to agricultural scientists throughout the world, enabling them to learn more from their data and thereby make greater progress.
The three volumes comprising the "Handbook of Natural Resource and
Energy Economics" examine the current theory, and sample current
application methods for natural resource and energy economics.
Volumes 1 & 2 deal with the economics of environmental and
renewable resources, and are divided into six parts. The first
deals with basic concepts, and subsequent sections are concerned
with ethics and environmental topics. Volume 3 deals primarily with
non-renewable resources. It analyzes the economics of energy and
minerals and includes chapters on the economics of environmental
policy. For more information on the Handbooks in Economics series,
please see our home page on http:
//www.elsevier.nl/locate/hes
The chapters in this book are revised versions of papers initially presented at a confer ence on Universities and their cities held in Amsterdam on March 27-29 1996. There were about one hundred participants and 45 written contributions from Europe, the US, Canada and Australia. People with different disciplinary backgrounds, geographers, historians, sociologists, economists and planners among them, attended, as did a few university administrators and local government officials. The intricate relationships between universities and their cities were intensively debated from the perspective of possible contributions by the university to city life as well as from the angle of the city as a milieu that affects the university's functioning. There were theoretical and historical papers, and a series of case studies, some of them comparative, as well as proposals and descriptions of efforts to improve city-university relations. It was a fruitful occasion for many on account of the diversity of experience brought together for the purpose of a debate on a matter of common interest. The vari ous university settings within Amsterdam were visited during a guided tour that pro vided food for thought on the matters under discussion by means of a living example."
Changing desert areas for land use implies a lot of ecological problems. These and related ones are dealt with in this book covering various interdisciplinary and international aspects. Large areas in arid and semi-arid regions are already polluted in various ways. One of the biggest problems is the anthropogenic salinization by inadequate means of agriculture and irrigation. Additionally, most arid areas in the world are dramatically overgrazed. Methods and practices of a sustainable land use in deserts are urgently needed in many arid regions. This book gives a broad survey on some of the affected regions of the world as well as some case studies from elsewhere (Aral Sea, Negev desert, Namib desert etc.). Thus, basic and applied sciences are brought together. Water management in deserts, grazing systems or reclamation of desertified areas are among the topics of this book, as well as social and economic aspects.
Hardbound. The theory and practice of measuring consumer demand for environmental quality is comprehensively and practically reviewed in this book. It was perceived that there was a significant need for a book that was both theoretically rigorous yet could address the question of how to actually measure this demand. The volume is divided into two sections. The first section develops theoretical tools and covers the principal methods for measuring demand for environmental goods. The second part of the book is concerned with implementing theory for specific classes of environmental effects.
This book examines and clarifies key aspects of regional branding with the special focus of inter-regional brands. Today regions are in strong competition for companies, tourists and most of all talent. In order to differentiate one region from another, regional developers, politicians and planners increasingly focus on establishing the region as a brand. This is by no means easy, since places are complex systems of geographical abstractions in which each place is understood in relation and contrast to other geographical entities. In doing so, regions not only differentiate, but also cooperate (within one country or between countries), building so-called Inter-Regional Brands with an even higher degree of complexity. Accordingly this volume, provides a theoretically well informed but practically oriented overview of this phenomenon - including numerous cases and best practices. As such, it will strongly appeal to both academics and practitioners in the field.
The books in this set, originally published between 1968 and 1992 introduce the reader to the many lines of thought in the literature on economic geography and tie these various aspects together within the concept of the economy. As well as providing a comprehensive overview of the Western European economy since the Second World War, and including specific studies and assessments of the Dutch and Italian economies, these volumes examine the economic factors that have shaped cities and patterns of urbanization.
This book reviews the main energy sources, production problems and energy perspectives in Germany and Mexico. It surveys the status of traditional and alternative energy sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear, hydraulic, eolic, solar, and hydrogen cells. The book emphasizes the search for answers to such questions as What are the main problems of industries based on fossil fuels, and What is the present status of hydraulic and nuclear energy?
How have Africa's large cities provided economic livelihood and
shelter to growing populations amidst the continent's protracted
economic crisis of the last three decades? African urban areas have
not received as much attention as rural studies, yet the continent
is steadily urbanizing with profound implications for national
economic development and welfare. This book provides fresh insight
into the dynamics of African urban economic growth and associated
social and political change. Based on recent city case studies and
longitudinal data collection, this book outlines economic trends
and key urban theories in an accessible style.
In the new global economy, more countries have opened up to international competition and rapid capital flows. However, in the triad the process of globalization is rather asymmetric. With a rising role of multinational companies there are favorable prospects for higher global growth and economic catching-up, respectively. Theoretical analysis suggests key ingredients of sustained growth, but there is also a new concept of a long-term equilibrium income gap in which convergence is rather unlikely. The analysis also picks up European and US labor market issues in the context of economic globalization and raises the question of which EU policies in the field of labor market reform and of innovation policies are adequate.
Retailing is changing extremely rapidly in the emerging economies, both as a driver of social and economic change, and a consequence of economic development and the rise of consumer societies. Changes that took many decades in Europe or North America are happening at a much greater speed in emerging markets, while regulations continue to be hotly contested in these markets, raising questions about appropriate business strategies for both globalising firms and local contenders. While much has been written about retail in emerging markets, the focus has been primarily on the nature of entry strategies for Western retail companies. This book seeks to capture the impact of both internal and external regulations on retail development and strategy in emerging markets. It provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the development of retailing in a wide range of emerging economies, and seeks to capture the interplay between both retail policy and retail strategy and the theoretical implications of this on retail development as a whole. This book will be of interest to academics, researchers and advanced students with an interest in retail development in emerging markets, international business/strategy and international marketing.
This is a book about the simultaneous location, production and distri bution decisions of a firm entering a competitive market whose spatial nature is describable by a network in which the market either achieves an equilibrium or is equilibrium tending. As such, the problem is of clear theoretical and practical importance, for it is a rather general version of the problem faced by real firms every day in deciding where to locate. Further, the timeliness of this subject manifests itself in the growing excitement and interest found both in the research/academic communities and in the practitioner/private industry communities for more comprehensive approaches to competitive facility location analy sis and equilibrium modeling of networks. The desire both for new conceptual approaches yielding enhanced insights and for practical methodologies to capture these insights drives this interest. While nor mative, deterministic facility location modeling techniques currently provide valuable input into the location decision-making process, re searchers and practitioners alike have realized the vast and relatively untapped potential of more advanced location decision making tech niques. In this book, we develop what we believe represents a major new line of research in the field of competitive facility location analysis; namely, equilibrium facility location modeling. In particular, this book offers a number of innovations in the mathe matical analysis and computation of solutions to location models which we have pioneered and which are collected under a single cover for the first time." |
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