Economic Effects of Roadside Stations on Regional Economies:
Using Input-Output Analysis for Three Economic Zones andMunicipalities in Hyogo Prefecture
Ryusaku Matsuo
November, 2020
Discussion Paper No.2020

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
KOBE UNIVERSITYROKKO, KOBE, JAPANEconomic Effects of Roadside Stations on Regional
Economies: Using Input-Output Analysis for Three
Economic Zones and Municipalities in Hyogo Prefecture*
Ryusaku Matsuo†
1. Introduction
Roadside Station (It is called Michi-no-Eki in Japanese) is a registration system forfacilities with three basic functions: rest, information transmission, and regional
cooperation. The station started as a rest stop on the road, but in recent years, its functions
have diversified, including disaster prevention, welfare, medical care, and resident
services (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism website). Furthermore,in 2014, The station was positioned as a base facility for regional revitalization policy andbecame a central base facility for regional revitalization. The basic policy of Roadside
Stations is "regional supply," the provision of local products within the region1). The
concept of regional supply through Roadside Station is based on "theory of endogenousdevelopment" in which the region takes the initiative and local residents themselves
participate in the development process to promote regional development. In particular,
agricultural forest and fishery products sold at Farm Stands, direct sales depots, arebasically supplied by local producers. In terms of employment, roadside stations employ
local residents 2).
Because the Roadside Station system, which is based on regional supply, is attractive
as a core for forming an economic cycle within the region, municipalities, which are themain bodies for locating Roadside Stations have begun to consider Roadside Stations asa trump card for the regional development. In particular, municipalities in hilly andmountainous areas have high expectations for the economic effects of Roadside Stations.
For example, Roadside Station "Tobetsu" (Hokkaido Prefecture) and "Hitachi - Ohta"(Ibaraki Prefecture) are making efforts to revitalize their regions, using Roadside Station
as their base, and have been effective in promoting industries within their area3). As shownin these good examples, estimating the economic effects of Roadside Station on the region
is very important not only for the local governments that set up Roadside Station but also
for economic zone in the policy planning of regional revitalization. Promoting theconstruction of regional economic circulation in which Roadside Station plays a central
role is also shown in the "To build a small base" policy by the Headquarters for the
Revitalization of Local Communities, People and Work4).
Therefore, in this study, in order to empirically analyze the economic effects ofRoadside Station on the region, we analyze the economic ripple effects of Roadside
Station in two ranges, that is, the regional economic zone unit, which is smaller than theprefecture unit and has strong economic ties, and the municipality unit, by using the input*

This paper is an extension of the previous work, originally published in Japanese (Matsuo, R. and M.
Yamaguchi (2018), (2019) and I have obtained permission from Nihon Toshi Gakkai Kenkyu-Nenpo(Annual Report of the Japan Society of Urban Studies) and The Journal of Contemporary Social Sciences
respectively to publish the extended paper in English.
†
Research Fellow, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University E-mail: yousakum@gmail.com

1

output tables of each area. Specifically, the ripple effects of each Roadside Station on thetwo ranges are analyzed using the input-output tables provided for each of the sevenregional economic zones in Hyogo Prefecture and the input-output tables for each cityand town 5). Furthermore, the economic effects of these two ranges are compared, and theeffects of regional supply derived from differences in area size are examined. In thiscomparative analysis, the effect of the regional supply of Roadside Station can be clarified
in more detail from the range of the regional supply effect and regional characteristics. In
addition, the employment effect of Roadside Station for each city and town is also
analyzed, and the characteristics of each result are compared and analyzed.
2. Analytical methods and previous studies
So far, Kawamura (2011), Shindo (2016) and the like have conducted research on theeconomic effects of Roadside Stations using input-output analysis. Among them,
Kawamura (2011) analyzed case studies of major Roadside Stations in Gifu Prefecture
and the economic ripple effects of all Roadside Stations in the prefecture using data ofeach stations. However, there were the following major problems. (1) Only the economic
ripple effect of the whole prefecture is estimated. (2) Roadside Station has a characteristicof regional supply where the agricultural products are basically supplied to Farm Stands
within the region, but he did not incorporate this characteristic into his analysis method.
(3) He did not estimate the employment effect of Roadside Station. (4) He did notinvestigate basic, key, and essential variables such as sales but estimated them from thenumber of visitors in publications.
Therefore, in this study, a method for improving these problems is used. First, withregard to the above-mentioned problem (1), in this study, we analyzed the economic
ripple effects of Roadside Stations in units of "regional economic zones" with strong
economic unity and in smaller units of municipalities6). This is because in the analysis of
the economic ripple effect of Roadside Stations, the analysis in the area where economic
unity is strong leads to accurately grasping the economic effect. In this study, we analyze
the economic effect of Hyogo Prefecture by using regional input-output tables where theprefecture is divided into seven areas, and city and town input-output tables provided foreach city and town.
With regard to the problem (2) in which Roadside Station's characteristics of regional
supply was not taken into consideration", in this study, the self-sufficiency rate in
conducting input-output analysis was estimated to be 100% for the provision of local
products within the region. It is clearly stated that one of the basic concepts of Roadside
Stations is to promote the sustainable development of the regional economy by forming
the regional economic circulation through close inter-regional industrial relations to be
voluntarily established. In particular, Roadside Stations, which mainly sells agricultural
products, is making efforts to return profits to the local economy by selling local
agricultural products and producing processed products (See National Liaison Meeting"Roadside Stations" (2017), pp. 156 -158). The 100% self-sufficiency rate used in theanalysis was set based on this basic policy of Roadside Stations. The sales of agricultural
products sold at Farm Stands and private services such as restaurants, hot springs, andexperience-based services were analyzed based on the provision of local products within
the region.
Regarding the problem (3), this study examined the effect of employment on cities andtowns by estimating the number of inducers of employment and the number of inducers
2

of employment. Concerning Problem (4), Kawamura (2011) estimated sales data on
Roadside Stations using the number of visitors’ data from "Survey on tourism andrecreation activities" in Gifu Prefecture. Furthermore, the data used for the survey did notcover all the Roadside Stations in Gifu Prefecture. In this study, we conducted aquestionnaire survey on the sales of products and services including agricultural products,
specialty products, restaurant, and the like and on the number of restaurant users (numberof visitors) at all Roadside Stations in the region, and analyzed the results based on theactual survey data.
Next, an actual method of input-output analysis will be described. In this paper, theeconomic ripple effect refers to the effect in which the final demand generated in anindustry induces the production of each industry in the region, and each induced industry
induces the production of each industry one after another. In this paper, the economic
ripple effect of each industry induced by the increase of final demand of the Roadside
Station is shown by dividing the effect into direct effect, first indirect effect, and second
indirect effect. In addition, the employment effect of Roadside Stations was estimated.
The calculation method is shown in Table 1.
3. Areas and data used for analysis
3.1 Areas of Analysis
Hyogo Prefecture is divided into seven regional economic zones with strong economic
ties. The purpose of this study is to compare the economic ripple effect of Roadside
Stations on different three areas in the prefecture. First, as "rural area" all 11 Roadside
Stations in "Tajima Region", as "suburban area" all 1 (one) Roadside Station in "Hanshinarea", and as "urban area" all 1 (one) Roadside Station in "Kobe City Area" were taken
up, and the economic ripple effects were analyzed using the regional and city and town
input-output tables. The analysis used data from all the Roadside Stations in the regions.
The three regions covered in this study consist of the following municipalities.
・Kobe City Region: Kobe City・ Hanshin Region: Amagasaki City, Nishinomiya City, Ashiya City, Itami City,
Takarazuka City, Kawanishi City, Sanda City and Inagawa Town
・Tajima Region: Toyooka City, Yabu City, Asago City, Kami Town, and Shinonsen Town
Hyogo Prefecture was selected as the target of the analysis because it has an inputoutput table for each region necessary to analyze the economic ripple effects of theregional economic zones as it is normally difficult to obtain such tables necessary for the
analysis. The three regions of Kobe, Hanshin and Tajima in Hyogo Prefecture wereanalyzed for the following reasons. First of all, depending on the population, there are
two types of areas: "urban area" which consists of Tokyo's 23 wards and cities designatedby municipal ordinances with a population of more than 500,000 according to the Local
Autonomy Act, and "rural area" which consists of municipalities prescribed by the
Mountain Villages Development Act. Therefore, in order to cover the characteristics ofthe regions to be analyzed, the Kobe City Region was selected as the representative of
the urban area, the Tajima Region was selected as the representative of the rural area, andthe Hanshin Region was selected as the "suburban area" in the middle thereof. Using theregional input-output tables and the city and town input-output tables of each region, the3Table 1 Calculation Method for Each Index
No.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]

Index
Final Demand Increase Amount
Regional Self-sufficiency Matrix
Direct Effect (Amount of increase in Final Demand within the Region
Input Coefficient Matrix
Amount of Input of Raw Materials (Demand Increase Amount)
Increase in Demand in the Region
1st Indirect Effect
1st Ripple Effect (Direct Effect + 1st Indirect Effect)
Gross Value Added Coefficient Matrix
Employee Income Coefficient Matrix
Gross Value Added Induction Amount
Employee Income Induced Amount
Total Employee Income Induction
Consumption Conversion Coefficient
Total Increase in Demand from Private Consumption
Private Consumption Expenditure Composition Ratio
Amount of Increase in Demand in Each Sector due to Private Consumption
Increase in Demand in Each Sector in the Region due to Private Consumption
2nd Indirect EffectTotal Effect (Direct Effect + 1st Indirect Effect + 2nd Indirect Effect)
Employment Coefficient Matrix
Number of employment induced
Employment Coefficient Matrix
Number of Employee Induced

Calculation Method[2]×[1][4]×[3][2]×[5](Leontief Inverse Matrix)×[6][3]＋[7][9]×[8][10]×[8]Σ([12])[13]×[14][15]×[16][2]×[17](Leontief Inverse Matrix)×[18][3]＋[7]＋[19][20]×[21][20]×[23]economic ripple effect of Roadside Stations on each region was estimated7).
3.2 Analysis Data
(1) Questionnaire Survey
The analysis data was prepared using the answers obtained from the following
questionnaire survey and interview results for a total of 13 Roadside Stations in the target
region. The survey was conducted on station masters in the Tajima Region (11 stations in
total), the Hanshin Region (All one station), and the Kobe City Region (All one station).
Survey item:
a. Total sales of each Roadside Station and the ratio of sales of agricultural products,
specialty products, restaurants, and hot springs to total sales (2014) (Table 2).
b. Number of visitors (Number of customers passing through the register at Farm Stand).
(2014).
c. The current state of management of Roadside Station (Interviews conducted in May
2017).
(2) Composition of Input-Output Sectors in the Input-Output Table
The corresponding input-output sectors for use in input-output analysis of the data fromthe questionnaire are described here. For input-output analysis, we processed the regional
input-output tables of Hyogo Prefecture (36 sectors) and the input-output tables ofmunicipalities (36 divisions) into 35 sectors, respectively. In other words, in the Farm
Stations of the Roadside Stations, agricultural and marine products are handled in thesame store, and these amounts cannot be divided. Therefore, the input-output table was
newly created by combining the two sectors of agriculture- forestry and fisheries. The
4

Table 2 Proportion of Sales of products and services to total sales (Units: %)RegionMunicipality(Location)

No.

1

Asago City
(Central Partof the Prefecture)

2

3

4

5
Kami-cho(Northern Partof the Prefecture)
TajimaRegion6

7

8

Yabu City（North Central
Partof the Prefecture)

Roadside Station(Registration Date
/Location)

9

10

Toyooka City
(Northern Partof the Prefecture)

11

HanshinRegionInagawa-cho(Eastern Partof the Prefecture)

12

Kobe City
RegionKobe City(Southern Partof the Prefecture)

13

Asago
(1993.4/ Middle of the Central
Patrt of the City)
Fresh Asago(1999.8/ South of the Central
Part of the City)
Tajima no Mahoroba(2005.8/ Nouth of the central
Part of the City)
Amarube(2012.3/ Northern Partof the Town)
Muraoka Farm Garden(1993.4/ South of the Central
Part of the Town)
Ayu no Sato Yatagawa(1999.8/ North of the Centarl
Part of the Town)
Hachi-Kita(1997.10/ Southern Partof the Town)
Yoka Tajima no Kura
(2006.8/ North of the Central
Part of the Town)
Yabu(1994.3/ East of the EasternPart of the Town)
Tajima Rakuza(1996.4/ Center Of theEastern Part of the Town)

Input-output sector

Kannabe Kogen(1994.4/ SouthwesternPart of the City)
Inagawa(2000.8/ Central Partof the Town)
Ogo(2002.8/ Northern Partof the City)

Specialties and Souvenirs(100%) (70%)
(10%)
(10%)
(5%)
Agricultural
and Marine
Dood
Paper
TextileProducts （Total) andand
Pottery
Goods
Drink Woodworking(5%)
Restaurant
Other

Hot Spring
Facility

10.00

40.00

28.00

4.00

4.00

2.00

2.00

50.00

－

10.00

70.00

49.00

7.00

7.00

3.50

3.50

20.00

－

34.10

49.70

34.79

4.97

4.97

2.49

2.49

16.20

－

10.00

85.00

59.50

8.50

8.50

4.25

4.25

5.00

－

8.00

62.00

43.40

6.20

6.20

3.10

3.10

30.00

－

20.00

50.00

35.00

5.00

5.00

2.50

2.50

30.00

－

10.00

85.00

59.50

8.50

8.50

4.25

4.25

5.00

－

25.00

45.00

31.50

4.50

4.50

2.25

2.25

30.00

－

10.00

72.00

50.40

7.20

7.20

3.60

3.60

18.00

－

10.94

14.06

9.84

1.41

1.41

0.70

0.70

31.25

43.75

13.00

53.00

37.10

5.30

5.30

2.65

2.65

17.00

17.00

72.50

7.50

5.25

0.75

0.75

0.38

0.38

20.00

－

70.00

30.00

21.00

3.00

3.00

1.50

1.50

NA*1

－

Dood
and
drink

Pulp, Paperand Wood

Agriculture,
Forestry and
Fisheries

Ceramics
TextileOther
Personal
Earth Industry Manufacturin
Serviceandg Industries
Rocks

Personal
Servicedata and corresponding input-output sectors are as follows.
・Farm Stand Sales: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Products
・Specialty products (souvenir) Sales: 70% in food and beverage, 10% in pulp, paper andwood products, 10% in ceramics, clay and stone, 5% in textiles, and 5% in othersectors8).
・Restaurant and Hot Spring Sales: Consumer Services
Based on the results of the questionnaire and the above assumptions, Table 2 shows the
proportion of the input-output sector to total sales of each Roadside Station. Therefore,
5the amount of the final demand used in the analysis was calculated by distributing thetotal sales of each Roadside Station obtained in the questionnaire survey to each inputoutput sector using the proportion in Table 2. Next, the estimation of the data of thetransportation expenses which the visitors of the Roadside Station consume in the region
will be described.
(3) Traffic cost data for visitors to Roadside Station
Most Roadside Stations are located along national roads because they originated as rest
facilities on roads. All Roadside Stations are equipped with parking lots for standardsized cars and large-sized cars. Therefore, in this study, the transportation cost of the usersof Roadside Stations is assumed to be the gasoline cost of passenger cars, assuming that
all the users visit by car. The method for estimating gasoline cost is basically based on
Kawamura (2011) and adds the conditions in the regional input-output table 9). First, thenumber of passenger cars was estimated as follows based on the number of passengers at
each Roadside Stations obtained from the questionnaire survey.
a. Number of passenger cars to Roadside Stations
Data on the number of passenger cars entering the Roadside Stations were estimatedusing ratio of passenger cars in Kobe, Hanshin and Tajima regions calculated using"Number of entries by transportation in the last 10 years"(Kobe City, Northern Hanshin
Region, Southern Hanshin Region, Tajima Region) data in "2014 Hyogo Prefecture
Tourism Survey Report”. The actual number of passenger cars in each region was
calculated as follows; It was calculated by multiplying the ratio of passengers using
private cars among tourists in each area by the number of visitors at each Roadside Station,and then dividing this figure by the average number of passengers per 1 passenger car foreach type of domestic car (1.3 persons 2010 years).
b. Total cost of gasoline
It is assumed that 1/3 of the number of passenger cars will purchase 50 liters of gasoline
in the region. The ratio of each type of gasoline was 70% for regular gasoline and 30%
for high-octane gasoline, and the average retail price in Hyogo Prefecture (2014)
announced by the Oil Information Center was used for the price. The average retail pricein Hyogo Prefecture in 2014 is as follows.
High-octane gasoline: 144.7 yen/1 liter
Regular gasoline: 133.8 yen/1 liter
The sum of these amounts is the amount of gasoline consumed by the users of eachRoadside Station (Table 3). The input-output sector, which corresponds to the cost ofgasoline, is oil and coal products. In this study, we estimate the economic ripple effect ofRoadside Stations by the input-output analysis using the following method.
4. Analysis Result
4.1 Economic Ripple Effects on Regional Economic Zones
Table 4 shows the estimation results of the economic ripple effect of Roadside Stations
on each regional economic zone by the input-output analysis. The estimated results foreach region were as follows: the direct effect, which is the amount of final demand within
the region brought about by all 11 Roadside Stations in the Tajima region, was estimated6

Table 3 Estimates of the total amount of gasoline consumed by visitors to each.
Roadside Station
NumberNumber ofof Visitors
Passenger Cars
(1,000 persons)(1,000)
98
50.36
500
256.92
2000
1027.69
150
77.08
150
77.08
25
12.85
60
30.83
360
184.9850
25.69
220
113.05183
94.03

Gasoline
Cost(1,000 yen)
115040.39
586940.77
2347763.08
176082.23
176082.23
29347.04
70432.89422597.35
58694.08258253.94
214820.32

No.

Roadside Station

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Asago
Fresh Asago
Tajima no Mahoroba
AmarubeMuraoka Farm Garden
Ayu no Sato Yatagawa
Hachi Kita
Yoka Tajima no Kura
Yabu
Tajima Rakuza
Kannabe Kogen

12

Inagawa

688

250.33571870.10

13

Ogo

250

77.88

177927.40

to be 1240.22 million yen; the 1st indirect effect induced by the direct effect was estimatedto be 391.75 million yen; the 1st ripple effect, which is the sum of the direct effect andthe 1st indirect effect was estimated to be 1631.97 million yen; and the 2nd ripple effect,
which is an increase in production induced by employee income, was estimated tobe217.75 million yen. The total effect, which is the sum of the 1st and 2nd ripple effects,
was 1849.72 million yen, and the ripple-effect magnification, which is the value obtainedby dividing the amount of the total effect by the amount of the direct effect, was 1.49
times.
The total effect of cities and towns was as follows in order of size: Asago City (3stations) was 1013.97 million yen, Yabu City (3 stations) was 462.02-million-yen, Kami
Town (4 stations) was 231.98 million yen, and Toyooka City (1 station) was 141.74
million yen (Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of Roadside Stations in themunicipalities). Among them, the total effect of Asago City is remarkable. Asago City isa rural area located in the southern mountainous area of the Tajima Region. Of the 3Roadside Stations in the city, "Tajima no Mahoroba" is Priority Roadside Stations
selected by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. The section
where fresh vegetables shipped from nearby farms are abundant is popular. The average
daily sales of agricultural products are 2 million yen. Among the specialties of Asago City,
agricultural products such as Iwatsu green onions, black soybeans, and strawberries arefamous, and they are shipped to the Roadside Stations in Asago City. The management
policy focusing on agricultural product sales seems to be a factor in the large total effectof Asago City. (In Table 2, the "Tajima no Mahoroba" and Asago City's 2 other Roadside
Stations appear to be different in character, but a survey and our interview conducted onthese 3 Roadside Stations in Asago City shows that the 2 other stations also, like the7"Tajima no Mahoroba", use locally produced agricultural products in their processed
goods and restaurant menus, which are generating large sales, and focus on selling
agricultural products.).
As for the ripple effect magnification in the region, Asago City, which has a large total
effect, is 1.53 times, indicating that the ripple effect magnification is also high. The
analysis by Matsuo and Yamaguchi (2015) also revealed that the "Fresh Asago" locatedin the same city had high efficiency, which is also thought to be a factor of the high ripple
effect magnification of the total of 3 stations in the city.However, the municipality withthe highest ripple effect magnification in the Tajima Region was Yabu City. There arethree Roadside Stations in the city, but the high ripple effect magnification means that
increased final demand due to direct effects leads to significant economic effects throughefficient regional economic cycles. Of the 3 stations in particular, "Yoka Tjimano-kura"
is a Roadside Station established by the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). It is managed bya consortium of local companies, incorporating the know-how of the private sector in its
management and operation, and is operated closely to the local community. It ischaracterized by its management policy in which the cooperative association for shippersof agricultural products is specified in the neighborhood, and communication between
the shipper and the station is always maintained (Refer to Matsuo and Yamaguchi (2016)).
Furthermore, the ripple effect magnification for only agricultural products with a selfsufficiency rate of 100% in the whole Tajima region was 1.62 times, and the ripple effectmagnification under the condition of a closed economy for agricultural products in which
all intermediate products such as fertilizer and seeds were produced with a selfsufficiency rate of 100% was 2.21 times. These values were extremely large whencompared with the ripple effect magnification of 1.49 times for the total product of theRoadside Station. As a result, agricultural products have a large impact on the local
economy in the region, and it can be said that agricultural products produced at a selfsufficiency rate of 100% in particular are boosting the local economy10).On the other hand,
the ripple effect magnification of Kami-cho and Toyooka City was 1.33 times and 1.38
times, which is lower than that of Asago City and Yabu City, respectively.。Both arelocated in the northern part of the prefecture and in the area where ski resorts are located
due to heavy snowfall in winter. These stations are often visited by visitors for sightseeing,
so even in rural areas, the ratio of sales of special products such as souvenirs is higher,
and therefore the ripple effect magnification is lower.
Next, we examine the economic ripple effect in the Hanshin Region. The Hanshin
Region is so-called Bed Town near big cities and is located in the suburban area. There is
only one Roadside Station, "Inagawa" (Inagawa -cho), in the region. The direct effect ofRoadside Station on the Hanshin area was 442.12 million yen, the 1st indirect effect was
231.17 million yen, the 1st ripple effect was 673.29 million yen, the 2nd ripple effect was
12.53 million yen, the total effect was 685.82 million yen, and the ripple effectmagnification was 1.55 times. Furthermore, the ripple-effect magnification of only
agricultural products with the condition of 100% in the self-sufficiency rate was 1.61
times, and the analysis assuming a closed economy for agricultural products showed 2.19
times. As shown in Table 2, the ratio of agricultural product sales to total sales in the"Inagawa" in the Hanshin Region is extremely high at 72.5%. According to our interviews,
the station's management policy is centered on selling agricultural products (Refer to
Matsuo and Yamaguchi (2016).). It can be said that the management based on this policy
has enhanced the ripple effect of the Roadside Stations in the Hanshin Region.
8

Table 4 Economic ripple effect of the Roadside Station on each regional economic zone
(1,000 yen)
RegionInput-Output
Sectors

GeneralDivision
TajimaRegionRegionandMunicipality
Whole Region
Asago City
Kami-cho
Yabu City
Toyooka City

Agricultural
Products
Division

HanshinRegionGeneralDivision
Agricultural
Products
Division
GeneralDivision

Kobe City
RegionRegionTajimaRegionHanshinRegionKobe City
RegionWhole Region

Whole Region

Agricultural
Products
Division

Analysis
Condition

DirectEffectOpen
EconomySelf-sufficiency
rate 100％
ClosedEconomyOpen
EconomySelf-sufficiency
rate 100％
Closed Economy
Open
EconomySelf-sufficiency
rate 100％
ClosedEconomy2nd Ripple
Effect

Total
EffectRipple-effectMagnification

217747.87
125764.19
10065.74
72357.21
9560.73

1849721.57
1013971.80
231986.91
462025.05
141737.81

1.49
1.53
1.33
1.54
1.38

30995.39

759782.22

1.6260807.17

1036301.05

2.2112526.46685819.51

1.55

5484.13596913.71

1.61

26826.01

813926.72

2.1911315.89

297102.57

1.596483.16244908.59

1.6720501.99

325381.96

2.21

9

1st Indirect
Effect

1st Ripple
Effect1240222.53
661974.20
174971.11
300325.22
102951.99

391751.17
226233.41
46950.06
89342.6229225.08

1631973.69
888207.61
221921.17
389667.84
132177.08

468666.40

260120.43

728786.83

468666.40

506827.48

975493.88

442118.48

231174.57

673293.05

371146.35

220283.23

591429.58

371146.35

415954.36

787100.71

186495.15

99291.54285786.68

147000.00

91425.42

238425.42147000.00

157879.98

304879.98

Regional NominalGDP(2014FY)
551,300,000

Total Effect/Regional Nominal
GDP (%)
0.3355%5,175,100,000

0.0133%6,370,100,000

0.0047%

We then consider the economic ripple effect on the Kobe City Region. It is a Regional
Economic Zone in an urban area. There is only 1 Roadside Station in the region, "Ogo”.
The direct effect of the Roadside Station on the Kobe City region was 186.5 million yen,the 1st indirect effect was 99.29 million yen, the 1st ripple effect was 285.79 million yen,the 2nd ripple effect was 11.32 million yen, the total effect was 297.1 million yen, andthe ripple effect magnification was 1.59 times. Furthermore, the ripple-effectmagnification for only agricultural products was 1.67 times, and the analysis assuming aclosed economy for agricultural products showed 2.21 times. In the "Ogo," located inurban area, the sales of agricultural products from direct sales account for about 70% of
the total sales (See Table 2). From this example, it can be said that the management policyemphasizing agricultural product sales has brought about a high ripple effectmagnification to the region.
The total effects of Roadside Stations for the above 3 regions are compared with thenominal gross product (FY 2014) in each region, and the following results are obtained.
As the regional nominal gross product was 551.3 billion yen in the Tajima Region,
5,175.1 billion yen in the Hanshin Region, and 6,370.1 billion yen in the Kobe Region,
the total effect of Roadside Stations accounted for 0.335%, 0.013%, and 0.005% of theregional nominal gross products in each area11). These results indicate that the economic
ripple effect of the Roadside Station in the Tajima region is significantly greater than thatin the other two regions. Therefore, the Roadside Station plays an important role inrevitalizing the local economy in the Tajima region. This indicates that the Roadside
Station policy is working effectively to revitalize the hilly and mountainous areas, suchas the Tajima region, that do not have large industries within the region.In addition, it isnoteworthy that the total effect is large even though there is only one station in the
Hanshin region. Although the total economic effect accounts for only 0.0133% of regional
nominal gross production (0.3355% in the Tajima region), it is notable that the total
economic effect at 1 station stands out from other Roadside Stations. Currently, efforts
are being made to establish Roadside Stations in cities to serve as bases for informationand communication, and these results are valuable in supporting the promotion of thispolicy.
Next, we compare and consider the ripple effect magnification of the three regions.
Comparing the results of ripple effect magnification of each region, among the 3 regions,
the Tajima region, which is a rural area, had the lowest and the urban region (Kobe City
region) had the highest. This may be due to structural differences in inter-regional
industrial relations between urban and rural areas.In other words, because there are moreindustries in urban and suburban areas than in rural areas, more intermediate inputs canbe procured within the region 12). The results of ripple effect magnification indicate thatthe economic ripple effect of a Roadside Station located in an urban area or suburban area
contributes more efficiently to the economic cycle within the area than that of a Roadside
Station located in a rural area.
However, except for the reason for the difference in the industrial structure between
urban and rural areas, it can be said that the economic effect on the region is significant
by locating a Roadside Station even in rural areas where the local industry is not as
substantial as in urban areas. For example, the ripple-effect magnification of agricultural
products in the Tajima region is 1.62, which is larger than that of the Hanshin region(1.61), so the Tajima region is not inferior to other urban areas or suburban areas in termsof agricultural products alone.From these results, it can be concluded that a greater total
10

economic effect can be obtained, induced by the Roadside Station, by increasing thedegree of the provision of local products within the region, even if the same direct effectis obtained. Of the 13 stations surveyed in this study, the Roadside Station with the highest
ratio of sales of agricultural products to total sales was "Inagawa" (72.5%), and the No. 2
station was "Ogo" (70%).Therefore, considering the above conclusion, the fact that the
ripple-effect magnification in the Hanshin region and the Kobe City region is higher thanthat in the Tajima region can be attributed largely to the fact that these Roadside Stations(Ogo and Inagawa) are operated mainly with agricultural products.
4.2 Economic Ripple effect on Cities and Towns
First, we examine the economic ripple effect of Roadside Station on each city and town.
As for the total effect, it can be seen that the total effect in Asago City within the Tajima
region was large (790 million yen). The total effect of Asago City is much larger than thatof Kami -cho (210 million yen), Yabu City (230 million yen), and Toyooka City (80million yen). This was the largest among the 6 cities and towns surveyed, including
Inagawa-cho in the Hanshin region (580 million yen) and Kobe City in the Kobe City
Region (300 million yen).
Furthermore, when the ratio of the total effect to GDP of each city and town wascompared, the ratio of Asago City was 0.61%, the highest among the Tajima region (The
"Ratio of total effects of Roadside Stations to GDP of municipalities" of the other cities
and towns in the Tajima region consist of 0.42% in Kami -cho, 0.27% in Yabu City and0.03% in Toyooka City.). Asago City has a high percentage of the GDP of the city byRoadside Station, and the economic effect of Roadside Station is the most importantfactor for economic revitalization in the Tajima region compared with other cities andtowns (Table 5).
On the other hand, the total effect of Inagawa-cho as a percentage of GDP ofmunicipalities was 0.94%, which exceeded that of Asago City and was the largest among
the 6 municipalities surveyed. In addition, the total effect of agricultural products (Selfsufficiency rate: 100%) produced in Inagawa-cho was 530 million yen, being the largest
among the 6 cities and towns. This is consistent with the fact that the ratio of agricultural
product sales of "Inagawa" to total sales is as high as 72.5%, and that the Roadside
Station's management policy focuses on agricultural products sold at Farm Stand13).
(Other products are not produced at a local self-sufficiency rate of 100%, and not all
profits are returned to the local economy because they benefit other regions. On the other
hand, since agricultural products are self-supplied within the region, their contribution to
the regional economy will naturally increase.). Next, we examine the "ripple effectmagnification" which is the ratio of the direct effect to the total effect of each city andtown. In Kobe City, it was 1.59 times, the highest among the 6 cities and towns. On theother hand, the magnification of Kami-cho was 1.32 times, the smallest among the 6 cities
and towns. The result of analysis on other city and towns will be detailed in section 3.1.
5.1 Difference in ripple range and ripple effect
The ripple-effect magnification using the input-output tables by city, town and region
shown in the previous section resulted in inconsistent rankings except for Kobe City,
which was ranked first, and Kami-cho, which was ranked sixth. Specifically, regarding
the ripple-effect magnification obtained from the analysis using the municipal inputoutput table, the 2nd was Asago City (1.48), the 3rd was Toyooka City (1.44), the 4th was
11Table 5 Economic ripple effect of the Roadside Station on each city and town (1,000 yen)
RegionMunicipality

Asago City

Input-Output
Sectors

Analysis
Condition

DirectEffectGeneral Division

Open Economy

535,203.71

210,916.01

746,119.72

Self-sufficiency
rate 100％

296,452.70

168,500.82

464,953.52

296,452.70

335,936.78

632,389.48

158,618.78

41,985.92

200,604.71

39,740.00

18,861.88

58,601.88

Agricultural
Products
Division
General DivisionKami-choTajimaRegionAgricultural
Products
Division
General Division

Yabu City

Agricultural
Products
Division
General Division

Toyooka City

Agricultural
Products
Division
General Division

HanshinRegionInagawa-cho

Agricultural
Products
Division
General Division

Kobe City
RegionRegionKobe City

Municipality

Asago City

Kami-choTajimaRegionYabu City

Toyooka City

HanshinRegionKobe City
RegionInagawa-cho

Kobe City

Agricultural
Products
Division

1st Ripple
Effect/ Direct
EffectClosedEconomyOpen Economy
Self-sufficiency
rate 100％
ClosedEconomyOpen Economy
Self-sufficiency
rate 100％
ClosedEconomyOpen Economy
Self-sufficiency
rate 100％
ClosedEconomyOpen Economy
Self-sufficiency
rate 100％
ClosedEconomyOpen Economy
Self-sufficiency
rate 100％
ClosedEconomy2nd Ropple
Effect

1st Indirect
Effect39,740.00

36,386.06

76,126.06

167,624.03

64,090.42

231,714.45

102,900.00

60,989.31

163,889.31

102,900.00

139,443.87

242,343.87

54,680.41

20,552.90

75,233.31

29,573.70

18,238.56

47,812.26

29,573.70

37,598.44

67,172.14

410,844.68

158,367.15

569,211.84

371,146.35

154,531.97

525,678.32

371,146.35

278,573.92

649,720.27

186,495.15

99,291.54

285,786.68

147,000.00

91,425.42

238,425.42

147,000.00

157,879.98

304,879.98

NominalGDP oneach Cityand Town(2014FY)

Total Effect/Nominal
GDP oneach Cityand Town(%)

Total
EffectRipple-effectMagnification

1.39

47,502.81

793,622.53

1.48

1.57

34,776.32

499,729.84

1.69

2.13

51,448.33

683,837.82

2.31

1.26

9,291.27

209,895.98

1.32

1.47

2,326.12

60,928.00

1.53

1.92

3,282.30

79,408.36

2.00

1.38

1,878.66

233,593.11

1.39

1.59

1,009.80

164,899.12

1.60

2.36

2,749.11

245,092.98

2.38

1.38

3,543.14

78,776.45

1.44

1.62

2,206.81

50,019.07

1.69

2.27

3,895.57

71,067.71

2.40

1.39

6,295.86

575,507.70

1.40

1.42

3,726.87

529,405.18

1.43

1.75

11,422.63

661,142.91

1.78

1.53

11,315.89

297,102.57

1.59

1.62

6,483.16

244,908.59

1.67

2.07

20,501.99

325,381.96

2.21

12

1st Ripple
Effect1,301,021

0.61%

499,752

0.42%

865,160

0.27%

2,625,882

0.03%

612,2420.94%

6,370,100,000

0.00%Inagawa-cho (1.40), and the 5th was Yabu City (1.39). On the other hand, by region, the
2nd was Inagawa-cho (1.55), the 3rd was Yabu City (1.54), the 4th was Asago City (1.53),
and the 5th was Toyooka City (1.38). In other words, Asago City and Toyooka City, whichranked the second and the third respectively by municipality, fell to the fourth and thefifth respectively by region, while Inagawa-cho and Yabu City, which ranked the fourthand the fifth respectively by municipality, ranked the second and the third respectively byregion. These results indicate that the economic ripple effect of a Roadside Station varies
in degree depending on the ripple effect range. As mentioned above, the ripple effectrefers to the effect that final demand generated in an industry induces production in eachindustry one after another. In this section, I will examine in more detail how this effectvaries depending on the measurement range.
The specific examination method will be carried out in the following two steps. First,
in addition to the Ripple-effect magnification (Total Effect/Direct Effect), an index
obtained by dividing the 1st ripple effect by the direct effect was newly established. Then,both indexes were compared. The reason for setting this new indicator is as follows. In
the estimation process of "ripple effect magnification", the total effect which becomes anumerator is the sum of "primary ripple effect" and "second ripple effect". In other words,"second ripple effect" represents the extent of the inducement effect of consumption
converted from a portion of the income distributed from the inducement effect of "1stripple effect". Therefore, the total effect is a value obtained by adding the effect ofconsumption brought about by income distribution to the "1st ripple effect".
This makes it possible to examine the difference in the spread of the ripple effect before
and after income distribution from the difference in the ripple effect magnification (Total
Effect/Direct Effect) and the value of the 1st ripple effect/direct effect. By applying sucha method, it is possible to simultaneously compare the size of the area to be measured forthe ripple effect and the gradual change in which the ripple effect is derived. In otherwords, the degree of economic ripple effects induced by Roadside Stations in each cityand town can be analyzed from both "spatial extent" and "temporal spread", and the effectof regional supply can be verified in more detail. The estimation results of ripple effectmagnification for each city and town at each stage are shown in Figure 1.
5.2 1st Ripple Effect/Direct Effect and Ripple-effect Magnification
In 4.1, using regional input-output tables, I compared the magnifications of the ripple
effect on each region, which is induced by Roadside Station in each city and town (Table4). Here, I compare the ripple effect magnifications for regions and cities and compare
the ripple effect magnifications before and after each income is distributed. In this way,the effects of economic revitalization in Roadside Stations will be discussed in moredetail. In Figure 1, the magnification (1st ripple effect/direct effect) before the distributionof income for a region is indicated by a solid line at a left end point ●, the magnification
after the distribution of income is indicated by a solid line at a right end point ■, themagnification before the distribution of income for a city or town is indicated by a dashedline at a left end point ♦, and the magnification after the distribution of income is indicatedby a dashed line at a right end point ▲. Here, measurement points indicating themagnifications before and after the income distribution for the region are shown by asolid line, and measurement points indicating the magnifications before and after theincome distribution for the city and town are shown by a dashed line. Comparing thepositional relationship between these 2 curves (Solid and Dashed Lines) and the13

Figure 1 Comparison of the ripple effect for the region and the ripple effect for cities and.
Towns
Asago City / Tajima Region［①, A］

Kami-cho / Tajima Region［②, B］

1.55

1.34
1.53x

1.33x

1.33

1.5

1.32

1.48x

1.32x

1.31

1.45

1.3
1.4

1.39x

1.29
1.28

1.35

1.34x

1.27

1.3

1.26

1.24
1.23
     

RegionMunicipality  

1st Ripple Effect / Direct Effect

RegionYabu City / Tajima Region［①, A］

Total Effect / Direct EffectMunicipality

Toyooka City / Tajima Region［③, A］

1.6

1.5

1.55

1.54x

1.5

1.45

1.45
1.4

1.26x

1.25

1.25
1.2

1.27x

1.44x

1.4
1.39x

1.38x

1.35
1.3

1.38x

1.38x
1.35
1.3

1.30x

1.28x

1.25
1.25

1.2
1.15

1.2
1st Ripple Effect / Direct EffectRegionTotal Effect / Direct Effect

1st Ripple Effect / Direct EffectMunicipality

RegionTotal Effect / Direct EffectMunicipality

Kobe City / Kobe City Region

Inagawa-cho / Hanshin Region［②, B］
1.6

1.6

1.59x

1.59
1.55

1.55x
1.58

1.52x

1.57

1.5

1.56
1.45
1.55
1.4

1.40x

1.39x

1.54
1.53

1.53x

1.35
1.52
1.3

1.51
1st Ripple Effect / Direct EffectRegionTotal Effect / Direct Effect1.5

Municipality

1st Ripple Effect / Direct EffectTotal Effect / Direct Effectpositional relationship between the 4 measurement points (● points, ■ points, ♦ points,▲ points), they can be classified into the following 3 types.
Type (1): The type where the line indicating the ripple effect magnification for eachregion (Solid) crosses the line indicating the ripple effect magnification for each city andtown (Dash) (Asago City and Yabu City).
Type (2): A type in which a line indicating a ripple effect magnification for each region(Solid) and a line indicating a ripple effect magnification for each city and town (Dash)are parallel to each other, and the former (Solid) is above the latter (Dash) (Kami-cho andInagawa-cho).
Type (3): A type in which a line indicating a ripple effect magnification for each region
14

(Solid) and a line indicating a ripple effect magnification for each city and town (Dash)are parallel to each other, and the former (Solid) is below the latter (Dash) (Toyooka City).
With regard to these three types, the characteristics of each type are discussed from thepoint of view of positional relationship of each type. In type (1), in the stage of the 1st
ripple effect (before income is distributed), the ripple effect on each city and town
(Dashed lines, ♦) is larger than the ripple effect on each region (Solid line, ●), and in thestage after income distribution, the ripple effect on each region (solid lines, ■) exceeds
the ripple effect on each city/town (dashed lines, ▲), and the 2 curves are crossed. The
first ripple effect is the sum of the amount of final demand and the induced first indirect
effect within the region. Therefore, at the stage of the 1st ripple effect, the effect within
the municipality is greater than the effect within the region. This means that production,collection, and sales through the Roadside Station have a greater economic effect within
the limited municipality range than within the regional economic zone. In other words,
this indicates that the supply within the region is established in a narrower range.
Asago City and Yabu City correspond to this type of city and town. There are many
Roadside Stations in these cities that are focused on selling agricultural and marine
products ("Tajima no Mahoroba" (Asago City), "Yoka Tajima no Kura" (Yabu City),
etc.14)). This is the result of the management focusing on agricultural products shippedfrom neighboring shippers. In both cities, the Roadside Station produced a greater ripple
effect in a limited area in each city, and the measurements also demonstrated that theRoadside Station has become a key facility for both cities, contributing significantly tothe economic revitalization of the city.
In type (2), from the stage of the 1st ripple effect to the stage of the 2nd effect, theripple effect for each region (Solid line) consistently exceeds the effect for each city andtown (Dashed line). The municipalities corresponding to this type are Kami-cho andInagawa-cho.However, the two towns are located in a rural area (former) and a suburban
area (latter) and have completely different industrial structures. Thus, although thesetowns are of the same type (2), the economic ripple effect on their areas is quite different.
The reasons for this are discussed below. Firstly, Kami-cho is located in a heavy snowfallarea, and its "Amarube" and "Hachi Kita" are mainly selling local specialties such as
souvenirs as shown in Table 2. The ratio of specialty products (Souvenirs, etc.) to total
sales was 85% at both stations, and the Roadside Station's economic ripple effect derived
from industries in the neighborhood was small, and there were few industries in the town,
so it seems to have become type (2).
On the other hand, Inagawa-cho is located in a suburban area and "Inagawa" ischaracterized by its management focusing on selling agricultural products shipped fromfarmers in the area. The main reason for Inagawa-cho to be classified as type (2) is asfollows. "Inagawa" is considered to be that production goods such as fertilizer and seeds,
which are necessary for agricultural production, are supplied mainly from the service areaof JA Hyogo Rokko (Mainly neighboring Kawanishi City) (From the results of myinterviews)15). The difference in these factors between Kami-cho and Inagawa-cho can beseen in the difference in the size of the ripple-effect magnification in both towns.
Finally, type (3) has a positional relationship in which the effect on each city and town
(Dashed line) exceeds the effect on each region (Solid line) consistently from the stageof the 1st ripple effect to the stage of the 2nd ripple effect. In Toyooka City, whichcorresponds to this type, there is "Kannabe Kogen". The station's characteristics are thatits direct effect on the Tajima region is as small as 54 million yen, the ratio of agricultural
15

and marine product sales to total sales is as small as 13%, and the main sales of the station
are local specialties and souvenirs (53%), hot springs, and restaurants (34%) (Table2).The fact that hot spring and restaurant employees are both employed in the area (SeeTable 2) is considered to be the reason why the ripple effect of Roadside Station on thecity is consistently larger than the ripple effect on the region from the stage of the 1st
ripple effect to the stage of the 2nd ripple effect.
Furthermore, the ripple effect remains larger in the city than in the region after income
distribution, indicating that regional supply to the Roadside Stations also contributes toregional revitalization within the city even in consumption derived from income
distribution. However, the total effect of 79 million yen of the city, which is smaller thanthat of other cities and towns, is also an important indication. In other words, if
management focuses only on the sale of local products and souvenirs and the managementof hot springs and restaurants, the total effect is small due to the limited scale ofmanagement. The results show that, in order for the Roadside Station to have a significant
economic effect, it is first and foremost necessary to increase the sales of the Roadside
Station by focusing on agricultural products as in the case of Asago City and Yabu City.
Next, I will focus on the effects of regional supply before the distribution of income by
the Roadside Station. This consideration further clarifies the importance of promoting theregional supply to Roadside Stations, which are more restricted to a narrow range ofmunicipalities.
5.3 Effect of the Roadside Station on Local Supply
The results before income distribution for each city and town can be classified into thefollowing two types.
Type A: This type shows the magnification (1st ripple effect/direct effect) for the city.
and town (♦) exceeding the magnification (1st ripple effect/direct effect) for
the region (●) before income is distributed (Asago City, Yabu City, Toyooka
City).
Type B: This type shows the opposite magnitude relationship to type A. (Kami-cho and.
Inagawa-cho).
First, in Type A, the ripple effect before income distribution is greater in limited areas
such as cities and towns. In Asago, Yabu, and Toyooka cities, the Roadside Station
operates regional supply within the city and town, i.e., within a limited area, and shows asignificant revitalization effect within the city at the production, collection, and sales
stages. Next, type B municipalities are Kami-cho and Inagawa-cho. As mentioned above,these two towns have different industrial structures, and therefore have different causes
for such results. This result indicates that the effect of regional supply to Roadside Station
has already had a large ripple effect in the area beyond the city and town from the preincome distribution stage. Therefore, it can be seen that the city and town of Type B do
not maximize the effect of regional supply limited to the city and town of the Roadside
Station.
The Roadside Station is a public facility established by a municipality. Municipal
governments have high expectations for Roadside Station as a measure for regional
development. In order to enhance the economic ripple effect including the effect derived
from consumption at Roadside Station, it is the first and foremost important issue for
16Roadside Station policy to be promoted by cities and towns that the management ofRoadside Stations within cities and towns before income distribution is fully effective inthe provision of local products within the region. From this point of view, the results
verified that the regional revitalization policies based on the Roadside Station of Type A
cities and towns are effective.
6. Effects of Employment on Cities and Towns
Next, the employment inducement effect created by the Roadside Stations is examinedby the number of induced employees. The number of induced employees was estimatedby multiplying the estimated total effect obtained from the input-output analysis by theemployment coefficient obtained from the employment table. The employment
coefficient is obtained by dividing the number of employees in each department in eachcity or town by the production value of the department. Each coefficient was calculatedusing the values in the appendix table of the input-output tables by city and town. That is
to say, this coefficient shows the input of the employer required for the production perunit of the department.
Figure 2 shows the estimated number of induced employees for each city and town.
First, I consider the Tajima region. The total number of induced employees across theregion was 74. The number of induced employees by municipality was 33 in Asago City,
12 in Kami-cho, 23 in Yabu City, and 6 in Toyooka City. Within the Tajima region, it has
the greatest employment induced effect on Asago City. Asago City has theaforementioned "Tajima no Mahoroba". The Farm Stand "Marugoto Sanchoku Market"
directly sells agricultural products from the Tajima region. Thanks to community-based
initiatives such as selling fresh vegetables and fruits, handmade pickles and bread, andproviding restaurant menus using local ingredients, the area of the stand has been doubled,
and the number of shippers has increased (Kobe Shimbun: 2015/10/17). The estimationthat the number of induced employees is the largest in the region is consistent with thisbusiness situation.
In the Hanshin area, the number of induced employees was 93, the largest among the
6 cities and towns. This is comparable in size to the entire Tajima region's employment
inducement effect. Considering that the Roadside Station in the Hanshin region is a
"Inagawa," only 1 station, the employment inducement effect for the local area can besaid to be large. According to the interviews conducted in this study, the products
manufactured by the processing group "Inanosato" belonging to "Inagawa" in theirprocessing plant "Inakko Club" are popular with consumers. Therefore, the estimatedresult of the employment inducement effect is consistent with the result of the interview.
Furthermore, the large employment effect of Inagawa-cho can be attributed to theindustrial structure of the city, where Inagawa-cho is located in the Hanshin region andwhere there are many industries and many employment opportunities.
And the number of induced employees for Kobe City was 27. Kobe City belongs to theurban area, and the employment inducement effect by the Roadside Station is equivalent
to that of Yabu City, and it can be seen that the Roadside Station has a sufficient effect interms of employment. In this way, the estimation results of the good employment
inducement effect were obtained in the Hanshin and Kobe City regions, and it was foundthat the Roadside Station showed the effective employment effect even in the suburban
and urban areas, and that the employment creation effect by the Roadside Station waslarge even in the areas other than the hilly and mountainous areas.
17Figure 2 Number of induced employees in each city and town (persons)
100

93

90
80
70
60
50
40

33

30

27

23

20

12

6

10
0
Asago City

Kami-cho

Yabu City

Toyooka City Inagawa-cho

Kobe Ci ty

7. Conclusion
In this study, I analyzed the economic ripple effect of Roadside Station on the regionaland municipal levels of Tajima region as a rural area, Hanshin region as a suburban area,
and Kobe region as an urban area. First, economic ripple effects between regions andbetween cities and towns were compared and analyzed. In addition, from the results ofripple effect magnification using input-output tables by region and city and town, theeconomic ripple effect on the region and the economic ripple effect on the city and town
were compared by dividing them into the effect before and after income distribution. By
this, the effect of the regional supply by the Roadside Station was analyzed in detail. Thenthe employment inducement effects for cities and towns were analyzed and compared.
The results obtained are summarized as follows.
The analysis of regional input-output tables can be summarized in the following threepoints. (1) The total effect of each region was 1849.72 million yen for the Tajima region,
685.82 million yen for the Hanshin region, and 297.1 million yen for the Kobe City region.
The Tajima region, where 11 stations are located, has the largest total effect. It is quitecharacteristic that the total effect of the Hanshin region is large even though there is only
one station in the region. (2) The ripple effect magnification of the Tajima region was
1.49 times, that of the Hanshin region was 1.55 times, and that of the Kobe region was
1.59 times. Among the three regions, the reason for the lowest ripple effect magnificationin rural areas is considered to be the structural difference between urban and rural interindustry relations. This is because there are less industries in rural areas than in urban
areas, and the number of regional imports is larger than in urban areas. Excluding
structural factors, it can be said that the economic ripple effect of a Roadside Station in ahilly and mountainous area is more than a numerical value. (3) Ripple effectmagnification by agricultural products alone was high in the all regions, with 1.62 times
in Tajima, 1.61 times in Hanshin, and 1.67 times in Kobe City region respectively. As theresult shows that the ripple effect magnification of agricultural products, which is based18

on regional supply, is high, the management policy of Roadside Station, whichemphasizes regional supply, will increase the economic ripple effect of Roadside Stationon the region.
The results of the analysis using the input-output tables by city and town can besummarized in the following two points. (4) The total effect of Roadside Station on eachcity and town was the largest in Asago City among the 6 cities and towns (790 millionyen). (5) Inagawa-cho (93 persons) had the largest number of employees induced byRoadside Station among the 6 cities and towns. In the Tajima region, Asago City had thelargest number of induced employees (33 persons).The results of the comparative analysis
of economic effects on regions and municipalities are summarized as follows. (6) In bothregion and city, the ripple effect magnification was the first place in Kobe City and thesixth place in Kami-cho.(7) The cities of type (1)(The type in which the ripple effectmagnification for each city and town exceeds the ratio for the region before income
distribution, but the magnitude is reversed after income distribution) are Asago City andYabu City. (8) Looking only at the ripple effect magnification before income distribution,
type A cities and towns are Asago City, Yabu City, and Toyooka City, where themagnification for each city and town exceeds that for the region. The findings obtained
from (7) and (8) are comprehensively considered as follows. According to the ripple effectmagnification of Asago City, Yabu City, and Toyooka City in (7), the Roadside Station
was supplied within the city and town before income distribution, and it contributed
greatly to regional revitalization. However, the ripple effect magnification of the regionis larger than in these cities after income distribution, indicating that the derived
consumption is more effective in the region than in the city. In Toyooka City (8), on theother hand, the ripple effect magnification in the city consistently exceeds themagnification in the region before and after income distribution, but the effect is not
sufficient in terms of the amount of money.
Therefore, the economic ripple effect in terms of the amount of money is small even
if the effect in Toyooka City exceeds that in the area even after the distribution of income.
On the other hand, the economic ripple effect itself is large in Asago and Yabu City. The
above results indicate that, in order to achieve the full effect of regional revitalization, it
is most important to implement policies that achieve a large monetary economic ripple
effect through management focusing on agricultural product sales. So, the conditions
under which a Roadside Station can exert its maximum effect on economic revitalization
within a city or town can be summarized as follows. [1] it is important that the Roadside
Station places an emphasis on the sale of agricultural products and manages the supply
within the region, and [2] it is important to provide more consumption opportunities
within the city and town so that the consumption generated by the income distribution
derived from the Roadside Station can take place within the city and town. With regard
to item [2], it can be said that, for example, it is important to establish facilities that leadto large-scale consumption within a city or town.
And the employment effect on cities and towns can be summarized as follows. (9) The
results showed that the number of induced employees for the Inagawa-cho and Kobe City
areas was large at 93 and 27, respectively. This can be attributed to the presence of manyindustries in urban areas. In contrast, the number of induced employees in the Tajima
region was 33 in Asago City, 12 in Kami-cho, 23 in Yabu City, and 6 in Toyooka City.
Apart from the difference in industrial structure between urban and rural areas, theimportance of these employment effects is high.In this study, the economic effect of the19regional supply of Roadside Station was analyzed. I believe that the use of two types ofdata, regional and municipal input-output tables, provided a more detailed direction forregional revitalization policies based on Roadside Station.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Dr. Mitoshi Yamaguchi, an emeritus professor at Kobe University, for giving me
a generous guidance throughout this research. I would also like to take this opportunity to thankDr. Taiji Hagiwara, a professor at Kobe University, for giving me very beneficial advice on how
to conduct the research when I was in my doctor program. And I would like to thank Mr. Azumi
Kakegawa for English language proofreading.
Notes1) The basic policy of the Roadside Station is to create an economic cycle within the region by
consciously establishing inter-industry relations within the region. This is indicated in the All
Nippon Michi-no-Eki Network and NPO Hito to Michi Kenkyukai, Cooperation by Ministryof Land, Infrastructure and Tourism (2017),159.
2) For a definition of endogenous development, see Miyamoto (2007) pp. 316-323. I havetheoretically developed the effects of the Roadside Station on regional economies based on thetheory of endogenous development (Matsuo, R. (2017), Chapter 2, Matsuo, R. (2014), pp. 67 71).
3) These Roadside Stations have been selected as a nationwide model "Roadside Station" for theirregional development through management focusing on sales of local agricultural products (All
Nippon Michi-no-Eki Network and NPO Hito to Michi Kenkyukai, Cooperation by Ministryof Land, Infrastructure and Tourism (2017),81-129)
4) See Headquarter for Overcoming Population Decline and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan(2015).
5) The input-output tables by city and town in Hyogo Prefecture are based on data compiled by
Regional Policy and Statistics Study Group (2017).
6) The method by which I conducted input-output analysis for an economic zone in this study isbased on the method by Watanabe (2014). Watanabe (2014) pointed out that for analyzing theeffects of tourism policies, the target area is too wide for each prefecture. Considering the factthat there are several subregions with different industrial structures in the prefecture, heanalyzes the economic ripple effect by creating a subregional input-output table with strong
economic ties. Watanabe called this area division "subregion". In this article, based on Ashiya
and Goto (2015), they are called "regional economic zone". Ashiya and Goto refer to theeffectiveness of creating an input-output table that divides Hyogo Prefecture into seveneconomic zones.
7) Regarding the actual location of "Inagawa" (Inagawa-cho) and "Ogo" (Kobe City), I thoughtthat there were different conditions because the regional economic zone to which they belonged
was different from "urban area" and "suburban area".
8) The method was based on Kawamura (2011), but interviews with several Roadside Stations in
Hyogo Prefecture showed these values to be reasonable, so I adopted them.
9) Kawamura (2011) made this assumption for a passenger car in Gifu Prefecture.” Interviews
with the Yoka Tajimano Kura found that about 1/3 of cars refuel in the area. The advantage ofadopting this approach is that I could obtain estimates as close to current conditions as possible
with limited funds. However, it is certain that the economic effect can be obtained moreaccurately by the whole investigation.
10) Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Statistics Bureau, "Results of the 2015.
Population Census (definitive value)" Hyogo Prefecture website.
11) See 2014 Overview of Gross Municipal Product by Region "2014 Municipal Accounts(summary version)". In addition, the economic ripple effect will not end in that year and will
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continue in the following fiscal year, although the figure will decrease. Therefore, the value ofthe ripple effect becomes larger.
12) Hyogo Prefecture "2014 Municipal Accounts (summary version)", Hyogo Prefecture. website.
13) See Matsuo, Y. (2014) pp 79-82.
14) The "Yoka Tajimano Kura" limits the range of farmers who ship agricultural products to. those
who live near Roadside Stations (Matsuo. R. and M. Yamaguchi (2015), p 78). "Yoka Tajima
Mahoroba" focuses on agricultural product sales and is selected as one of the "Priority roadstations" (Matsuo. R. and M. Yamaguchi (2018), p43).
15)See Matsuo, Y. (2014), p.80.
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