bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Visualizing Georeferenced Data: Representing Reliability of Health Statistics
Authors: MacEachren A M , Brewer C A , Pickle L W
Published: October 2006

The power of human vision to synthesize information and recognize pattern is fundamental to the success of visualization as a scientific method. This same power can mislead investigators who use visualization to explore georeferenced data—if data reliability is not addressed directly in the visualization process. Here, we apply an integrated cognitive-semiotic approach to devise and test three methods for depicting reliability of georeferenced health data. The first method makes use of adjacent maps, one for data and one for reliability. This form of paired representation is compared to two methods in which data and reliability are spatially coincident (on a single map). A novel method for coincident visually separable depiction of data and data reliability on mortality maps (using a color fill to represent data and a texture overlay to represent reliability) is found to be effective in allowing map users to recognize unreliable data without interfering with their ability to notice clusters and characterize patterns in mortality rates. A coincident visually integral depiction (using color characteristics to represent both data and reliability) is found to inhibit perception of clusters that contain some enumeration units with unreliable data, and to make it difficult for users to consider data and reliability independently.
Investigating the Relationship between Company Competitiveness and Environmental Regulation in European Food Processing: Results of a Matched Firm Comparison
Authors: Hitchens D M W N , Birnie J E , McGowan A , Triebswetter U , Cottica A
Published: October 2006

The authors use a method of matched-plant comparisons between food processing firms in Germany, Italy, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland to investigate the relationship between environmental regulation and company competitiveness across the European Union. Comparative competitiveness was indicated by measures of value-added per employee, physical productivity, export share, and employment growth. The cost of water supply (public or well), effluent treatment (in-plant treatment and/or sewerage system), and disposal of sludge and packaging were also compared. Total environmental costs in Germany, Italy, and Ireland were small: usually less than 1% of turnover. Compared with the Irish firms, German companies had relatively high environmental costs as well as productivity levels. There was, however, a lack of a clear relationship between company competitiveness and the size of regulation costs: in Ireland and Italy environmental costs were similar but German firms had much higher productivity; compared with German counterparts, Italian firms had lower environmental costs but higher productivity.
Calibration of Cost Functions for Individual Firms as an Alternative to Estimation: An Application to New Brunswick Peat-Mining Firms
Authors: Dufournaud C M , Quinn J T , Olinsky A , Warner B G
Published: October 2006

A method for calibrating the total annual cost function of a single firm is developed by using optimal control and assuming rational behavior of the firm. The method is applied to peat-harvesting firms in New Brunswick, but has wider applicability. Information on the exogenous variables is available without resorting to surveys of individual firms, leaving as endogenous the variables specific to a firm. The results are sufficiently promising that the approach suggested herein may serve as a useful set of parameters for individual firms in follow-up work.
Heartbeat Country: Conflicting Values, Coinciding Visions
Authors: Mordue T
Published: October 2006

In this paper I consider a recent case of tourism in the village of Goathland in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. Although tourism is a long-standing phenomenon in Goathland, over the last few years its nature and impacts have altered in such a way as to cause considerable concern for the resident community. The main catalyst for this change is the fact that Goathland is the filming location for the Yorkshire Television series ‘Heartbeat’, which has not only instigated a manifold increase in tourist numbers to the village but has also heralded a marked shift in the way the local environment is consumed by these visitors. By drawing primarily on the results of qualitative research, where interviews were held with tourists, residents, and key informants, I outline and discuss the value judgements contained within the production and consumption of tourism in Goathland, and carry this analysis onto notions of tourism impacts as voiced by respondents. Furthermore, I link these responses to wider concepts, such as the production and consumption of Englishness, heritage, the rural idyll, country lifestyles, and nostalgia to illustrate how these concepts inflect the local tourism process.
Innovation and Profitability of Global Food Firms. Testing for Differences in the Influence of the Home Base
Authors: Rama R
Published: October 2006

In previous research it has been assumed that the performance of enterprises in global markets, especially companies in high-tech sectors, is often associated with the amount of effort devoted to innovation by the home country. In this article I test empirically such assumptions in a low-tech sector, the food and beverage processing industry, with evidence provided by a sample of 4572 foreign patents granted to nationals from major OECD countries over 1969–88 and data on 96 major multinationals. In contrast with most previous research, this study investigates within-industry differences in the impact of the home base. My findings show that the theory is applicable to low-tech sectors. However, the impact of the home country is not homogeneous within industries, and depends on size and international experience of firms. Smaller multinational enterprises and newcomers achieving high profitability tend to be based in countries where the food and beverage national industry is technologically intensive, whereas geography is less crucial to explaining the international performance of very large companies.
The Regional Structures of Third World Economies: Rural—Urban Dynamics in Kenya and Madagascar
Authors: Karaska G J
Published: October 2006

A rural—urban dynamics model is presented as an organizing concept to describe and analyze the regional economic structures of two Third World regions—the Kutus Region of Kenya and the Ambositra Region of Madagascar. The first region evinces strong urban—rural relationships as vibrant trade generates sustained economic growth from commercial coffee, maize, and tomato production. In the Madagascar Region economic growth has stagnated as most of the agricultural production is subsistence in nature; the rural—urban dynamics are strong only in household consumer expenditures, and the multiplier effect is large but only for a limited set of exchanges.
Spatial and Skills Mismatch for Labor-Market Segments
Authors: Bauder H , Perle E
Published: October 2006

The spatial mismatch hypothesis associates high unemployment rates among inner-city blacks with the spatial dispersion of employment to suburban job markets. An alternative explanation for high unemployment is the skills mismatch hypothesis, which argues that skill demands in urban labor markets increase over time, but blacks lag behind other population groups in their job skills and educational attainments. This research suggests that spatial and skills mismatch are interlinked. Logistical regression models are utilized, with 1990 PUMS data, to test the impacts of spatial accessibility on employment of black and white youths between 16 and 25 years of age in three different labor-market segments. The results confirm that a disadvantage for blacks exists as a combination of the two mismatches. Racial job-accessibility differentials appears to be more important in lower labor-market segments but blacks experience a disadvantage both in central-city and in suburban locations.
Economic Change and Environmental Conflict in the Western Mountain States of the USA
Authors: Smutny G , Takahashi L
Published: October 2006

Although the Western Mountain region of the USA has experienced substantial change, especially since 1990, there is relatively little understanding of the processes and impacts of restructuring in this largely rural region. In addition to the widely understood shift to service and high technology employment experienced in urban, suburban, and rural places, restructuring in the Western Mountain states has also significantly challenged existing political and social relationships. The authors examine the outcomes of restructuring by exploring economic, social, and political change in Idaho—a state in the Western USA. Idaho has witnessed a drastic decline in agriculture, ranching, and mining, and a rapid growth in the tourism, recreation, and high-technology sectors. Such changes have contributed to escalating tensions across the state concerning the appropriate use of public lands. The authors illustrate these tensions by exploring an ongoing controversy over the use of Idaho's school-endowment lands. The conflict over how these lands should be used highlights the central role that restructuring has played in political and social conflict over environmental protection and land use in largely rural areas.
The Effectiveness of Constituency Campaign Spending in Australian State Elections during Times of Electoral Volatility: The New South Wales Case, 1988–95
Authors: Forrest J , Johnston R J , Pattie C J
Published: October 2006

Research into the effects of electioneering at the constituency level suggests positive impacts on voters of campaign spending by one party relative to another. In much of this research, however, the political context of the elections studied is ignored or fitted into Key's category of normal or maintaining elections, where voting patterns remain relatively constant from one election to another. There are few, if any, reports of money—votes relationships associated with other types of elections. Analysis of a deviating election followed by two reinstating elections in the state of New South Wales, Australia, from 1988 to 1995 confirms the generality of postulated relationships between campaign spending and voting patterns, even allowing for some degree of underestimation associated with a misreading of voter intentions by the major parties in times of electoral volatility. Further insights into money—votes relationships are provided from particular features of Australian elections: a focus on marginal seats associated with strategic use of a public funding component of election-campaign expenditure, compulsory voting, and the use of an alternative vote or preferential voting system.
Rights, Symbolic Violence, and the Micropolitics of the Rural: The Case of the Parish Paths Partnership Scheme
Authors: Parker G
Published: October 2006

In this paper microlevel politics and conflict associated with social and economic change in the countryside and linked changes in rural governance are explored with a focus upon research carried out on a recent rural policy initiative aimed at local ‘empowerment’. This acts as a touchstone for a wider theoretical discussion. The paper is theorised within a conceptual framework derived and extended from the work of Pierre Bourdieu and others in order to explore case studies of the English Countryside Commission's Parish Paths Partnership scheme. The micropolitics involved with this scheme are examined and used to highlight more general issues raised by increased ‘parish empowerment’ in the ‘postrural’.
Spatial Variations in Net Entry Rates of Establishments in Greek Manufacturing Industries: An Application of the Shift-Share ANOVA Model
Authors: Fotopoulos G , Spence N
Published: October 2006

Net entry rates of manufacturing establishments across Greek regions are examined here by means of both an appropriately modified conventional shift-share method and a linear-model variant. All results accord with earlier findings for UK regions, signifying that the main source of variation in spatial net entry patterns stems from within-industry variation in locational preferences across space. However, analysis by establishment size indicates that the predominance of within-industry variation, expressed by the magnitude and the significance of the competition effect, is much less marked for larger establishments. The determinants of spatial variations in net entry rates across Greek regions and over manufacturing sectors emphasise local economic conditions, especially for smaller firms. In methodological terms, the one-way ANOVA-based variant of shift-share analysis is criticised on the grounds that the alleged numerical equivalence between the estimated industry-mix component and that calculated conventionally is an artefact of little value. It is demonstrated that this numerical equivalence is sustained even when fundamental estimation assumptions are violated and despite the use of only partial information.
Framing with Images
Authors: Faludi A
Published: October 2006

In policy analysis, the concept of framing has become an idea of good currency. In planning, framing means giving shape, not only in a figurative but also in a literal sense of the word. So, drawn images are used to support verbal statements of policy, or they directly express policies. In this paper I will first discuss framing. Then I will focus on images. Recognising the power of images as the glue holding policy together could all too easily lead to the acceptance of the urban designer's claim for preeminence in planning. This claim rests on the alleged creativity of designers and/or their unique ability to encapsulate in their designs the totality of urban life. Although such claims are rejected in this paper, the autonomy of urban design as a field of endeavour is nevertheless recognised. The issue arising is that of crossing frames between urban designers, planners, and their clients, the public. This is all the more urgent because urban design, like planning, is in the public domain.
The Marginalisation of Local Political Elites in Britain
Authors: Page E
Published: October 2006

Experience since the late 1970s in Britain has shown the limitations of regarding central -local government relations as a bargaining relationship between interdependent actors, as found in the United States of America, France, and West Germany. The actions of the present Conservative Government highlight the weakness of British local government. This weakness can be attributed to a process of development, involving globalisation and professionalisation, common to many Western nations, but which in Britain has led to a marginalisation of local political elites.
When Nationalists Challenge: When Nationalists Rule
Authors: Williams C H
Published: October 2006

Explanations for the rise of minority nationalist movements in advanced industrial societies tend toward being statist in character. In this paper, the procedures are examined by which minorities in Quebec and Wales have sought to offer an alternative basis for the legitimisation of group rights and participation within the state structures. Attention is drawn to the pivotal role of language reproduction in these case studies and to the implications for the survival of the minority culture of this new form of local state dependency. Though the tangible benefits which have accrued to the minorities as a result of nationalist mobilisation are acknowledged, disquiet is expressed as to the primacy given to language-related policies and to the future prospect of extending the legitimacy of the minority tongue from public to private domains. In this respect, Quebec offers a more integrative pattern than Wales, where language intrusion is causing conflict within the Welsh-speaking minority and is creating new sources of class-based friction. However, it is concluded that both in Wales and in Quebec the reform of language policy is part of a wider restructuring of social and political relationships. Further research is clearly needed on the economic implications of language planning and on the class restructuring which postwar developments have produced within the Welsh and Québecois societies.
Remote Sensing, Digital Mapping, and Geographical Information Systems: The Creation of National Policy in the United Kingdom
Authors: Rhind D W
Published: October 2006

The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology has examined remote sensing and digital mapping, taking the view that these represented converging fields of endeavour which are now of considerable scientific and commercial importance. This paper reports the way in which the Committee worked and how it saw the main issues—such as establishing user needs, the availability of trained manpower, and the availability of software tools (Geographical Information Systems or GIS) for handling the rapidly increasing data volumes. The Committee's conclusions with regard to GIS are itemised and the Government's response to these recommendations is examined. Finally, the roles of the leading ‘actors’ in the report creation process are briefly examined.
Spending Cuts or Local Tax Increases? An Analysis of Local Authority Preferences in England
Authors: Sondheimer J P
Published: October 2006

Local authorities in England have been set spending targets. If they exceed these targets, their central government grant is reduced, thus sharply increasing the local tax rate. The resulting spending decisions of local authorities have been analysed, in an attempt to explain their behaviour in terms of a model of rational spending behaviour in line with neoclassical consumer theory. Various families of indifference curves indicating preferences between expenditure and local tax rate increases have been tested for consistency with the actual spending decisions of the authorities, and evidence found to support such a model. Empirical results are presented. But there is evidence that other variables, such as past spending decisions and expectations about the future, also have a significant impact on spending decisions.
Recent Development of Central-Local Financial Relations in Italy
Authors: Pola G
Published: October 2006

Italian local authorities share with those of other European countries a considerable degree of fragmentation. In addition, they suffer from the well-known North-South differential in economic conditions. On top of this, their management has long been split between the left-wing (mainly Communist) and the conservative (mainly Christian Democrat) political philosophy. This has rendered their performances and behaviour quite heterogeneous and has complicated the task of securing an equitable system of central-local financial relationships. For decades most of the southern authorities and the ‘red’ fraction of the centre-northern authorities have taken advantage of the possibility of borrowing for balancing the budget on the current account. This was a major loophole in the system until 1977. Bankruptcy was avoided ony through ‘entente’ between the Christian Democrats and the Communists in early 1978 (at the time of Mr Moro's murder), whereby all outstanding debt of local authorities was cancelled and transferred to the Central Government. In spite of an officially proclaimed ‘restraint’ there followed a period of real ‘Renaissance’ in local budgets, especially on the capital side. Borrowing—this time for capital expenditure—was again at the root of this development. Part of the deal was a revival of the ‘fiscal effort’ on the local side, making use of the few sources of own revenue left to local authorities after the fiscal reform of 1973–1974. Meanwhile, the ‘equalisation issue’ was raised with regard to the distribution of the general grant. Distribution criteria have been constantly changing since 1982. A completely new approach is now under consideration at the Ministry of Interior, based on the notion of ‘equal grant’ for ‘normal’ local authorities. Such an approach will eventually put aside the ‘past expenditure’ criterion which is still at the core of the grant distribution. While waiting for this reform, local authorities will almost certainly get a new local tax (‘tax for the financing of services’) starting in 1986.
The Evaluation of Intergovernmental Programs
Authors: Nathan R P
Published: October 2006

This paper is the introductory essay for a set of six papers in which a series of field network evaluation studies, conducted in the United States of America, on the effects of major changes in the grant-in-aid policies and programs of the national government are described. The studies, begun in 1972, focused on the effects of new grant programs on state and local governments and the services they provide. The five studies are of (1) the revenue sharing program, (2) the community development block grant program, (3) all federal grants-in-aid in eleven large cities in 1978, (4) the public service job-creation program, and (5) the cuts and changes in federal grant-in-aid program made under President Reagan. In this paper, the rationale, methodology, and history of these studies are described.
On Measuring Fiscal Centralization and Fiscal Balance in Federal States
Authors: Bird R M
Published: October 2006

In this paper the methods and conclusions of the extensive literature attempting to measure fiscal centralization and fiscal balance in federal states are reviewed, focusing on the six developed-country federations. The conclusion is that the empirical evidence is unclear and that the attempt to derive simple quantitative measures of such complex concepts is more likely to obscure than to illuminate reality.
Changing Intergovernmental Relations and Urban Economic Development
Authors: Przeworski J Fox
Published: October 2006

Three transformations are occurring at present in OECD countries: (1) economic systems are undergoing structural adjustments, (2) the role of government with regard to the economy is being redefined, and (3) the relations among different levels of government as well as between public and private institutions are being revamped. The central question of this paper is what are the impacts of changing intergovernmental relations on planning and implementing urban economic development programmes. Appropriate initiatives necessarily involve a wide range of policies and institutions. The public efforts to confront local economic problems constitute the hub of activities of numerous governmental and quasigovernmental institutions.
Federalism and Australian Local Government: Reflections upon the National Inquiry into Local Government Finance
Authors: Self P
Published: October 2006

In 1984 the Hawke Government appointed a National Inquiry to review the federal revenue-sharing grants for local government introduced eight years previously, and to propose desirable aims and a basis for future federal support. Australian local government is on a small scale and closely under the control of state governments; federal support raises complex issues of intergovernmental relations. In this paper, the wide-ranging Report of Inquiry, and its political outcome, are related to basic issues about federal-state relations and the rationale and extent of federal interventions. In particular, the Australian experience is interesting for its attempts at combining vertical redistribution of revenue with ambitious and detailed equalisation policies, financed at federal level but administered by independent state agencies.
The Autonomous Communities: Politics and Economics
Authors: Sancho J R Lasuén
Published: October 2006

In this paper it is argued that there is a built-in dilemma in the 1978 Spanish Constitution which can be understood and solved only by comparing the ‘formal’ and the ‘real’ Constitutions of the country. The present shared quasi-federalism will prove inadequate in the long term because it fails to recognize that, for most of the time, political centralization and economic growth cannot occur together in Spain. This fact arises because Spain is a country with an ‘inverted centre-periphery’; the political and economic centres are at different locations. As a result future policy should be orientated towards greater decentralized powers, but with more effective integration of the nationalist parties of the Autonomous Communities into national policies.
Financial Aspects of Political Decentralization in Spain
Authors: Segura J V Sevilla
Published: October 2006

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 introduced a dramatic change into the political organization by decentralizing the existing State into seventeen regional governments with a broad range of authority. This transformation involved a ‘services transfer process’ from the central government and a simultaneous evaluation of the financial resources needed by the regional governments.

The paper contains an analysis of the main features of this process, focusing on the various problems that have arisen in the estimation of the cost of the services transferred. Finally, some recommendations are offered for the future multilevel public financial system, which are in accordance with the present Spanish regulations on this subject.
Wiseman on Federalism: A Critical Comment
Authors: Scott A
Published: October 2006

In this paper I give a critical commentary on the paper by Wiseman, “The political economy of federalism: a critical appraisal”. Wiseman's paper has originality which has stood it well over time. I comment briefly on the equity-efficiency debate but concentrate on the aspects of political economy introduced by Wiseman. The opportunity is also used to give a brief view of subsequent developments in the literature, which have shown how far, in so many respects, Wiseman's emphasis on the “politics” of federalism has turned out to be correct.
Norwegian Local Tax Policy
Authors: Hansen T
Published: October 2006

A broad outline of the main elements of the Norwegian local tax system is first given. This is followed by a discussion of some of the changes that have taken place in the relative distribution of various sources of local revenue since the mid-seventies. It is shown that although local government's share of total national income tax revenues has increased over recent years, such taxes have decreased as a proportion of total local revenues. This relative decline in the importance of local income taxes has been compensated, in particular, by increases in state grants. Thus, whereas in 1977 taxes accounted for 53% of total local current revenues, by 1982 this proportion had dropped to 47%. Over the same period, central government grants increased from 31% to 35% of current revenues. It is also shown that fees and charges are becoming increasingly important as sources of local revenues.

These relative changes in the composition of local revenues have not been uniform across all municipalities. Whereas the larger cities were subject to real cutbacks in tax revenues, taxes continued to increase in the smallest and most peripheral municipalities, despite a government decision in 1978 to lower the maximum local tax rate. Overall, it is suggested that the long-term effect of the policy of central government, as regards local revenues, has been to bring about a rather massive redistribution of revenues, solely benefitting the smallest and already the most well-off municipalities.
Post-Chernobyl Nuclear Reactions in the USA
Authors: Johnson J H , Zeigler D J
Published: October 2006

This paper contains an assessment of the impact of the Chernobyl disaster on US civilian and military nuclear programs. Specific attention is devoted to the major policy changes sought by federal nuclear regulatory agencies, the US Congress, state and local governments hosting nuclear installations, and the nuclear industry in the twelve-month period following the April 1986 accident in the Soviet Ukraine.
Public and Private Technological Innovation Strategies in a Spatial Context: The Case of France
Authors: Dyckman J W , Swyngedouw E A
Published: October 2006

Some decisive elements of implicit or explicit technology policies have escaped policy attention in France. These elements and their relationship with patterns of regional development are highlighted in this paper. The ‘modernization’ strategy in France is examined first, and then the regional dynamics of high-technology production are explored. Subsequently, the role of military expenditure in regional development processes is evaluated. It is concluded that this implicit policy has dramatically altered the character of industrial activity bundles in selected regions and has greatly influenced their potential for future technology-intensive growth. The regional subsidies and incentive policies have proven less important, insofar as modernization and technological change is concerned, than the military expenditures. It is argued that there is little evidence that the impressive military procurement program is integrated with other aspects of regional policy and no evidence that it is playing a role in the industrial restructuring of the older industrial areas.
US Technology Policies and Their Regional Effects
Authors: Premus R
Published: October 2006

This paper contains an examination of the changes in US science and technology policies in response to the recently increasing international competition and worldwide economic restructuring. Although historically these policies have been the responsibility of the Federal Government, in recent years the states and local governments have emerged as important partners in a ‘grass roots’ movement to help bridge the gap between science and industry. The central focus is on overcoming technical, financial, labor market, and community locational barriers to high-technology expansion. The old practice of ‘smoke-stack’ chasing has given way to inward-looking policies that encourage business start-ups and expansions. Key objectives of state and local government policies are to increase the flow of new ideas into the innovation process, to shorten the time for its initial introduction into a new product or process technology, and for a more rapid assimilation of new technology through-out the regional industrial structure.
Distributional Effects of Open-Ended Matching Grants
Authors: Jonsson E
Published: October 2006

An equalisation grant is intended to even out the differences in cost and income that occur between different local governments, and which are not due to differences in the scope of the services provided. Open-ended matching grants counteract this intention. Such grants provide local authorities with the opportunity of offering a higher level of service without imposing a correspondingly higher rate of tax. It is mainly authorities with a high-tax capacity that have the financial ability to take advantage of this opportunity. Open-ended grants neutralise in this way the income distributive effects of the tax equalisation grant. An evaluation of Swedish data confirms that this is indeed the case.
Swiss Federalism: Problems of Interdependence and the Role of the Cantons
Authors: Bieri S
Published: October 2006

In this paper the position of federalism in Switzerland is discussed and the restrictions of cantonal autonomy are demonstrated. There are a number of different kinds of difficulties involved in doing this. Owing to a strong socioeconomic interdependence across regions and the related interlocking of policymaking it is especially difficult to reach an allocation of tasks which allows for autonomous actions by the cantons. Institutional reforms are possible, mainly in fiscal federalism, but some scale problems cannot be solved.
Regional Economic Policy within the Framework of Cooperative Federalism
Authors: Klemmer P
Published: October 2006

In the brief history of West German federalism the field of regional economic policy underwent an important change. In the beginning it had been a state function, but became more and more influenced by the federal government. This development was confirmed by a change of the Basic Law in 1969 when regional economic policy became one of the three ‘joint tasks' ( Gemeinschaftsaufgaben). Since then both the federation and the states have been included in the decisionmaking process. Meanwhile several problems of this specific form of federalism have been become evident. The most important items of criticism are a tendency towards centralization and uniformity, an increasing inflexibility in the face of new problems, and an almost inevitable tendency towards expanding the support areas.
Multidimensionality in State Policy and Programs: A Critique of Pluralist State Theory
Authors: Klak T
Published: October 2006

In public policy analysis the state is often presented as primarily technocratic and virtually separate from society. It freely chooses its own goals, but falls short primarily because of shortcomings in policy planning techniques. This view, however, conflates policy and investment programs, while neglecting state–society relations, multipurpose policies, and the legitimation of spatial policy. State theory must be able to interpret these dimensions of the state and its limited autonomy, as this critique of Lim's theory of state policies suggests.
State and Society: Some Reflections on Theory and Theory-Building
Authors: Lim G-C
Published: October 2006

This paper begins with a selective review of theories relevant to the state–society relationship. The review focuses on the mode by which competing theories are constructed. Three factors which affect theory-building are considered: Assumptions about the intention of the state; the function and capacity of the state; and the forms of alliance, allegiance, and conflict. It is argued that each of these competing theories is valid under specific circumstances and it is suggested that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive but can be complementary at a given point in time. With these reflections on theory and theory-building as background, Klak's comment on an earlier paper is evaluated.
Urban Regime Theory in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Stoker G , Mossberger K
Published: October 2006

The urban literature has devoted increasing attention to cross-national comparison of urban change and governance. What is lacking, however, is the development of conceptual frameworks that are adequate to embrace the greater variation in conditions encountered in cross-national research, compared with conditions within a single country. Without such a framework, comparison remains an exercise in depicting unique and unrelated cases. Urban regime theory holds potential for explaining the variety of arrangements through which policymakers in cities have coped with change, because of its sensitivity to local conditions and local actors. Its essential contribution is to focus attention on the collective action problems that have to be overcome for effective urban governance to emerge. The nature of the collective action challenge varies according to the purpose, composition, and position of potential regime partners. Substantial differences in motivating factors must be taken into account in order to apply regime analysis cross-nationally. Drawing upon differences already identified in the regime literature, the authors propose a typology of organic, instrumental, and symbolic regimes.
An Optimal Grants-in-Aid Allocation Rule in the Context of an Asymmetry-of-Information Model
Authors: Levaggi R
Published: October 2006

The antithesis between autonomy, equity, and efficiency are central elements in fiscal federalism. The literature argues that the existence of lower tiers depends on their ability at being better informed than the centre on local preferences and suggests that central government should exercise its control mainly through the grant allocated to each tier. However, setting up an efficient system requires the knowledge of nonobservable local parameters, and this creates an asymmetry-of-information problem that the literature on grants-in-aid has not recognized so far. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap. An optimal grant system that central government could use to reach an efficient allocation of resources within an intertemporal model characterized by asymmetry of information is described. The optimal grant formula is set in a dynamic framework by using an approach taken by Harris and Townsend in 1981. The formula obtained is very general and can be applied to many other situations involving delegated choices.
Urban Processes in the Face of China's Transition to a Socialist Market Economy
Authors: Wu F
Published: October 2006

In this paper the urban process in the face of China's transition to a market economy is examined from the perspective of political economy. Before economic reform, China operated a centrally planned economy. Production activities were organized on the basis of sectoral departments of the central government, and the reproduction of labour was carried out through self-contained development. The dominance of the state stemmed from its role in resource allocation. Economic reform, launched in 1978, introduced market mechanisms to urban processes in China. Through fiscal, housing, and land reforms decisionmaking was decentralized. Under so-called ‘comprehensive development’, municipalities are now required to organize urban development. The state has lost its dominant status in budgetary investment. Self-raised, extrabudgetary funds increased rapidly. Work units still extract surplus value efficiently but have had to become the major purchasers in housing markets because workers in the public sector cannot afford housing. The persistence of state ownership in the mode of production makes it unlikely that market forces will play a leading role in urban development in China.
Conflicting Objectives for Rural Local Government: Service Provision to Exurban Communities in Israel
Authors: Newman D , Applebaum L
Published: October 2006

The delivery of public services in rural areas is a problem encountered not only by declining and peripheral areas but also by newly founded exurban communities. The problems of small size are exacerbated by the demand within these communities for high levels and a high quality of service provision. The existing local government network in these rural and rurban areas is unable to cope with the increased demand emanating from these new communities. This is particularly problematic in Israel, where the rural system of local government, the regional councils, have traditionally fulfilled the role of providing services to agricultural and cooperative communities. In this paper the nature of the service demands made by new exurban communities in Israel, the problems encountered by the regional councils in providing these same services, and the tensions which result from this lack of compatibility are discussed. Proposed functional solutions are presented and compared, ranging from minor modifications to the existing system of rural local government to those which require a change in the formal municipal status of the exurban communities.
Supporting Peripheral Economies or Industrial Policy in Favour of National Growth? An Empirically Based Analysis of Goal Achievement of the Japanese ‘Technopolis’ Program
Authors: Sternberg R
Published: October 2006

Since the early 1980s, R&D-intensive industries have been a major concern of economic and technology policy in all highly industrialized countries. This includes Japan where, typically, especially strong economic disparities exist between the megalopolis of Tokyo–Nagoya–Osaka and the rest of the country. The main objectives of the ‘Technopolis’ Program of the Japanese national government, implemented in the mid-1980s, were—and still are—the introduction of technology into all sectors of the national economy and the reduction of the disparities between the individual parts of the country. On the basis of hitherto unpublished data on each one of the twenty-six technopolises, in this paper I analyse their chances of success and draw conclusions regarding the regional–political value of the Technopolis strategy. One of the most important results of this analysis is the discovery of a strong and negative correlation between the success of the twenty-six sites and their distance from the Japanese core region around Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.
Municipal Reform in the Tel Aviv Metropolis: Metropolitan Government or Metropolitan Cooperation?
Authors: Razin E
Published: October 2006

In this paper the influence of macrosocietal shifts on municipal reforms in metropolitan areas, as reflected by the cyclic swing from periods of increased efforts to rationalize metropolitan governance to periods of acceptance and promotion of a fragmented pattern, is demonstrated. An analogy between the changes in industrial organization and municipal organization is suggested. The paper is focused on Israel's economic core region—the Tel Aviv metropolis—with surveys of reports of commissions dealing with municipal reforms and of boundary commissions assessing claims for municipal boundary changes between 1960 and 1993. A unique feature of Tel Aviv is the region's past failure to implement proposals for major rationalization during a period when such reforms were common in countries with similar political systems. This failure was a result of specific political and geographical factors that counterbalanced the broad processes that supported reform. The subsequent period of economic stagnation weakened prospects for comprehensive reforms. Renewed growth in the 1990s has intensified pressures for municipal change but has not been associated with the comeback of old notions of metropolitan government. Rather, flexible modes of cooperation and coordination appear to be preferred, priority being given to reorganizing local government in the urban—rural fringes of the metropolis rather than dealing with the inner parts of the metropolis.
Growth and Institutional Change: The Influence of the Spanish Regionalisation Process on Economic Performance
Authors: Rodríguez-Pose A
Published: October 2006

The relationship between institutional change and economic growth has been attracting great attention in recent years. However, despite some notable exceptions, researchers have been wary to approach this topic empirically. This paper represents an empirical attempt to try to unravel the impact on economic performance of what has been one of the most significant processes of institutional change in Western Europe in the past few decades—the regionalisation process—by taking the case of Spain, one of the countries where the shift from a highly centralised to a decentralised structure has been most profound. Results show that, at least in the early stages, the emergence of the Spanish regional state has had slightly beneficial effects on the relative growth performance of regions achieving the greatest level of autonomy when compared with their growth rates in the high point of Spanish centralism. Nevertheless, it is still too early to assert whether this positive influence will be a long-lasting one or can be attributed mainly to the dynamics of institutional change and, thus, will wane with time.
Multiple Environmental Designations: A Case Study of Their Effectiveness for the Ythan Estuary
Authors: Ross A , Stockdale A
Published: October 2006

High-value landscapes, habitats, and species are protected increasingly through a range of local, national, and international designations and policies. Often one site may be protected by a multitude of designations. However, international designations are commonly implemented through national mechanisms. Using the Forvie Sands and Ythan Estuary area of northeast Scotland as an example, we review the effectiveness of multiple environmental designations. After an examination of existing and proposed designations for the study area, overlaps and loopholes in environmental protection are identified. We conclude that protection from more than one designation may either afford the site additional protection or emphasise the importance of the site at different levels; local, national, and international. The principal loophole relates to unregulated activities undertaken beyond the designated site which may have an adverse effect on the protected area. Possible solutions include extending the designation to include the sources of the threat or to combine an appropriate designation strategy with effective regulation of the threat itself. In developing designation strategies, environmental protection agencies should consider these options.
The Reform of Schools Funding: Some Case-Study Lessons
Authors: Barrow M
Published: October 2006

Since the Education Reform Act of 1988 there has been substantial change in the funding of schools in Britain. Individual schools now have their own budgets which are determined by formula, and they have substantial freedom to spend their budgets as they wish. They are also entitled to keep any savings which they make, and these are rolled forward to the next financial year. The funding formula for a school is designed by its local education authority, subject to constraints imposed by central government. More recently a class of self-governing, or grant-maintained, schools has developed with a parallel funding system which is also formula based. A new institution, the Funding Agency for Schools, has been created to oversee the financing of these schools. In this paper, which is based on interviews with officers in six local education authorities and on documentation from several others, the author assesses these recent changes in the education ‘market’. It is concluded that the market is not working well due to the complexity of the funding arrangements, the institutional arrangements, the inappropriate incentives offered, and the change in the ‘atmosphere’ of the education market.
Regulatory Parking Policies at the Firm Level
Authors: Verhoef E , Nijkamp P , Rietveld P
Published: October 2006

This paper is focused on the intersection of two main policy ‘tracks’ followed in the Netherlands for the containment of road transport externalities: transport plans at the firm level, and regulatory parking policies. In this paper an applied modelling approach is taken, and the aim is to identify the relative importance of factors that are decisive for the viability of an individual firm's parking policies. The outcomes of an empirical survey conducted at the corporate level of the Free University in Amsterdam are used to discuss the social feasibility of regulatory parking policies conducted at the firm level (in terms of the employees' attitudes) and the effectiveness of such policies. Insight is provided into relevant backgrounds and obstacles serving to affect employees' commuting behaviour and that are likely to be encountered in the formulation of regulatory transport policies at the firm level. Moreover, the outcomes of this research may be relevant for the evaluation of regulatory parking policies at larger spatial scales (for example, neighbourhood parking schemes).
The Professionalisation of Urban Cultural Policies in France: The Case of Festivals
Authors: Négrier E
Published: October 2006

Beyond the sociological definition of a profession which offers rather static perspectives, the notion of professionalisation as a process provides several ways to understand the nature and change of cultural policies. In the field of central-local relationships, it is thus necessary to analyse the combination of a plurality of capacities, interests, and values to explain the specific influence of professionalism on policymaking. All these elements have been found from a case study of the creation and implementation of a music festival in a city in southern France (Montpellier). Professionalisation can indeed be considered as a key notion with which to understand both urban cultural policies as a whole and the implementation of a single cultural project.