bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
LANGUAGE AND ECONOMY IN FRIESLAND: A FIRST STEP TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT OF A THEORY
Authors: VAN LANGEVELDE AB 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTResearch in the field of language and economy is of international political significance. It is relevant to, for instance, the role that is played by national and minority languages in the process of European unification. This article contains a case study of the mutual relationship between language and economy in Friesland, one of the northern provinces of the Netherlands. An ongoing public debate in Friesland concerns the effects of the Frisian language and the language policy, pursued by the provincial authorities, on the functioning of the regional economy. Possible negative consequences are emphasized in this debate, even though the present literature contains hardly any evidence of such consequences. Little information is available about the position of the Frisian language in trade and industry in Friesland. This is why further research is recommended. Because of the importance of the aspect of image formation in the influence of the Frisian language on the economy, elements from behavioural economic geography will be used.
MOROCCAN RAIL TRANSPORT INVESTMENT: ACCUMULATION VERSUS LEGITIMATION
Authors: STUBBS JOHN , PEARSON RODNEY 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTMuch geographical writing on the subject of rail transport and development has focused on railway expansion in the colonial era. Comparatively little attention has been given to the role of rail transport in the Third World in the post‐colonial era. Following recent World Bank‐financed efforts to rehabilitate the railways of many developing countries, this article attempts to provide some fresh analytical insights into rail transport investment in countries whose economies are becoming ever more dependent on international economic institutions. Moroccan Railways (ONCF) are considered as a specific case study. With reference to the structural adjustment programmes of the World Bank and IMF, this article seeks theoretical explanations for the substantial investment that occurred in Moroccan railways during the 1980s. The study shows that state investment in railways, while critical to Morocco's economic growth, has resulted in insufficient resources for social equity issues like health, housing and literacy.
SOCIO‐ECONOMIC GRADIENTS ACROSS THE INNER‐GERMAN FRONTIER
Authors: JONES PHILIP , WILD M. TREVOR 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTThe objective is to establish the nature and intensity of the economic and social gradients across the former inner‐German frontier at the time of frontier opening in 1989. This focus on the borderlands on either side of the frontier is justified theoretically and empirically. Location theorists have categorised border regions as disadvantaged, and this proposition is tested. Empirically, the spatial juxtaposition of the former frontier districts serves to accentuate the degree of convergence which has to be achieved between the former economic and political systems. Using data primarily at a planning region level, the analysis demonstrates not only the presence of significant divergences across the inner‐German frontier, but also the existence of many shared and fundamental geographical characteristics. The former are creating enormous pressures in the short term, but the latter will have an important bearing on the longer‐term adjustment of these former borderlands to their new role in a unified Germany. The article concludes by cautioning against the adoption of over‐simplified responses to the frontier‐opening theme.
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND EAST‐CENTRAL EUROPE
Authors: GIBB RICHARD A. , MICHALAK WIESLAW Z. 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTEast‐Central Europe (Hungary, Czecho‐Slovakia and Poland) has been undergoing an extraordinary transformation of its political and economic structures. The ultimate objective of the newly resurrected and still fragile democracies is re‐integration with global economy and Western Europe in all spheres of political, economic and social life. However, the success of this process depends not only on the policies implemented in ECE but also on the response and policies of the West and member countries of the European Community. Despite the officially declared support for the reform process, the EC and its organizations have been slow to develop a coherent strategy towards this region. The lack of a long‐term strategy is apparent not only in the political but also in the economic sphere. The emerging political cleavages within the EC are reflected in the ambiguous approach it has adopted towards ECE and Eastern Europe in general. This article aims to survey and evaluate the EC's policies and economic initiatives towards the three countries of ECE since 1989. In particular, attention is focused on the nature and likely impact of the Association Agreements with the EC, the role of newly created Community financial institutions and mechanisms, and direct foreign investment and assistance in the privatization programme. We conclude that the future political and economic stability of ECE and Western Europe depends, to a large degree, on the ability of the EC's political and economic institutions to respond to the long‐term challenge posed by changes in ECE and other regions of the former ‘Eastern Europe’.
SPATIAL IMPLICATIONS OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMMES IN GHANA
Authors: ANYINAM CHARLES 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTSeveral studies have examined the macro‐economic impact and social costs of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) currently being implemented by many developing countries. Conspicuously lacking from the existing body of literature are reviews that explicitly ask and examine some pertinent geographical questions. The primary objective of this article is to assess the spatial implications of Ghana's economic recovery programmes that have been pursued since 1983 under the directions and dictates of the IMF and the World Bank. It argues that, in spite of the moderate successes recorded at the macro‐economic level, a significant flaw of structural adjustment programmes is the neglect of the spatial dimensions of economic development.
PROXIMITY BETWEEN SERVICE PRODUCERS AND SERVICE USERS
Authors: ILLERIS SVEN 
Published: March 2008

AbstractWhen do service firms—especially producers of information services ‐ need to locate close to their customers, and when are they free to locate according to other criteria? This question is highlighted by data on interregional trade in services, by questionnaire studies of sales and purchases of services, and by interview studies on the need for proximity to customers and on the consequences for the location of computer services and technological advice. Three types of services are distinguished: (1) Back offices transmit their services via telecommunications and can locate independently of their customers (low rents and wages then are important) (2) Unsophisticated, customized service firms offer frequently used services and must locate close to their customers, both for cost reasons and because mutual knowledge and trust are decisive (3) Highly specialized service firms may locate independently of their customers, because the high value of their services justify any travelling costs connected with meetings (the recruitment of qualified staff then is important).
KNOWLEDGE‐INTENSIVE BUSINESS SERVICES IN THE RHINE‐NECKAR AREA
Authors: STRAMBACH SIMONE 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe article emphasizes the importance of network relationships for knowledge‐intensive service firms. Network relationships have a key function in the interaction between supplier and client. Clients take advantage of network relationships to find an adequate supplier, especially in the initial contact phase, as clients' uncertainty about the quality and suitability of the supplier's services is greatest at this time. The results of the empirical study also show that network structures within the corporate segment of the knowledge‐intensive services constitute a form of organization that enables the firms to adapt themselves more quickly and flexibly to the individual demands of the client by using interorganizational flexibility potential. Network structures thus provide a possibility for resolving the tension between specialization and complete, individual solutions to clients' problems.
FOREIGN AID TO AFRICA: A GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS
Authors: DIETZ TON , HOUTKAMP JOHN 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTAfrica has become an aid addict. After a brief discussion of the relative importance of aid in present‐day Africa, the geography of aid is described. Political independence meant a proliferation of aid donors and aid arrangements for the African continent. In most new states aid was dominated by the former colonial masters first, but became much more diversified later. However, there is a clear difference between the former British (and Portuguese) and the former French (and Belgian) colonies. Among the new bilateral aid ‘donors’, first the USA became important, followed by East Bloc, German, Scandinavian, and Arab inroads during the 1970s and increased participation by Japan and Italy during the 1980s, while the East Bloc involvement virtually disappeared. During the late 1970s, it also seemed that multilateral aid would become more important, and some thought that within Europe the EC would take over from the various bilateral partners. However, during the 1980s the percentage of multilateral aid in total aid flows and central EC aid in total aid from EC‐Europe stagnated at a rather low level. An interesting phenomenon was the increasing importance of non‐governmental organizations as a channel for aid money from northern governments and multilateral agencies. The changes in the relative importance of official development assistance (ODA) versus ‘other official flows’ and ‘private flows’ during the 1980s are described, and the patterns of aid are compared with the patterns of trade. Finally, aid is compared with development performance and the consequences of large aid dependency are seen to support a ‘rent mentality’ that is detrimental to development.
BUSINESS SERVICE FIRMS IN TWO PERIPHERAL ECONOMIES: SCOTLAND AND IRELAND
Authors: O'FARRELL PATRICK N. , HITCHENS DAVID M. , MOFFAT LINDSAYA.R. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractIn this article, we present a comparative analysis of the competitiveness and performance of business service companies in Scotland and Ireland. Several dimensions of performance are investigated for five industries: market research, management consultancy, product design, graphic design and advertising. Value‐added per person is almost identical in the two areas, but Irish offices achieved a much greater degree of export orientation (16% of sales) than the Scottish firms (4%). Possible demand and supply side causes of such differences are reviewed and potential policy responses considered.
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE INVESTMENT AND INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT IN CHINA
Authors: WEI YEHUA 
Published: March 2008

AbstractConsiderable efforts have been made by the Chinese government to achieve a spatially balanced pattern of industrial development. However, regional inequality has persisted after four decades of socialism in China. This article attempts to analyze spatially and temporally the relationship between industrial output and state investment, the major vehicle to implement regional development policies. Regression analysis shows that the relationship between investment and output was poor in 1953 and extremely poor in 1965 when large amounts of investment were channeled into interior development. It became stronger in 1978 and was the best in 1990. The expansion method suggests that the relationship weakens with increasing distance from the coast, and investment efficiency was poorer in the interior. This article has found that state investment did not bring in the expected industrial development, which significantly contributed to the persistence of regional inequality. The changing relationship between state investment and industrial output in China is a result of historical, political, economic, and geographical factors.
AN ECONOMETRIC MODEL OF SOCIO‐SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT OF TOURIST REGIONS. THE CASE OF THE SWISS CANTON OF VALAIS
Authors: BAILLY ANTOINE S. , PAELINCK JEAN H.P. 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTLike all human activities, tourism reflects the social and cultural values of an epoch. The relative lack of quantitative modelling in tourism research shows the need to develop theoretical models, using the contributions of behavioural geography and psychological analysis. A generalized Lotka‐Volterra system is then applied to a case study, the Swiss canton of Valais, to show potential applications in spatial planning.
SPATIAL EFFECTS OFINTERNATIONALISATION OF THE SPANISH AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
Authors: LAGENDIJK ARNOUD , VAN DER KNAAP BERT 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACT The authors investigate the spatial evolution of automobile production in Spain in the post‐war period, in relation to a typology of changing regional specialization. The article describes how successive rounds of investments have transformed the traditional pattern of specialization into a configuration determined by the production and network strategies of foreign investors. The spatial outcome of this process may be attributed, to some extent, to specific locational strategies pursued by the foreign investors; there is also a high incidence, however, of
de facto
spatial changes, resulting from foreign acquisitions of local firms. As a result, internationalization has made the local production structure more aligned with, but also highly dependent on, the economic core areas of Europe.
MOBILITY AND INEQUALITY IN RURAL NIGERIA: THE CASE OF OFF‐ROAD COMMUNITIES
Authors: PORTER GINA 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThis article draws attention to the specific problems faced by off‐road communities on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria. It contends that many members of off‐road communities have become more isolated, more unequal, at least in part because of road construction in their region, and that the structural adjustment programme in place between 1986 and 1994 has exacerbated their problems. Economic, social welfare and political issues are examined in turn. Suggestions are made regarding ways off‐road communities could be assisted at limited cost. However, the study concludes that there will have to be much greater political commitment to poverty‐focused development before the needs of off‐road communities are adequately addressed.
PLURALIST AND ASSIMILATIONIST MODELS OF ETHNIC SETTLEMENT IN LONDON 1991
Authors: PEACH CERI 
Published: March 2008

AbstractLondon 1991 census data are used to examine two theories of ethnic minority adjustment to dominant societies and their accompanying spatial patterns. The assimilationist model suggests a complete diffusion of residence over time and high rates of intermarriage or cohabitation; the pluralist model suggests continuing, moderately high levels of segregation and high degrees of social closure. The article argues that in London, die Caribbean population is following the melting pot route both in spatial and marital terms, while the Bangladeshi population is following the pluralist route. Indian patterns contain elements of each, but the high levels of concentration in the core settlements and high rates of homogamy, suggests more pluralist than melting pot trajectory.
URBAN ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING AND ETHNIC SEGREGATION IN DÜSSELDORF
Authors: GLEBE GÜNTHER 
Published: March 2008

AbstractEthnic segregation remains a conflicting issue and an important factor in understanding the dynamics of ethnically pluralistic cities. The question of segregation is seen in a widened context of the post‐Fordist urban restructuring process. Ethnic minorities are facing growing social polarization trends. Because of severe qualification deficiencies they are threatened by a growing mismatch on the labour market. Segregation in schools is seen as a factor diminishing achievement in the educational system and prospects on the labour market. A multi‐level longitudinal analysis documents for Düsseldorf varying segregation patterns with relatively high spatial stability over time. The housing market is seen as the determining factor of segregation.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF SURVIVAL: HOUSEHOLD STRATEGIES IN URBAN SETTINGS
Authors: MEERT HENK , MISTIAEN PASCALE , KESTELOOT CHRISTIAN 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThe rise of poverty in Western societies can be explained by three socio‐economic processes: the dualisation and polarisation of the labour market, the dismantling of the welfare state, and the increase of new types of households like single parents and singles. These processes are interrelated and they lead towards different mechanisms of social exclusion. This article stresses that not everyone excluded from the labour market, welfare provisions, or social networks has to be regarded as excluded from society. By developing survival strategies in different economic systems (market, reciprocity, associative redistribution) poor households try to escape from social marginalisation. The whole of their survival strategies is analysed in five different settings in and around Brussels. It is argued that these areas offer very different opportunities for social integration and community development, essentially related to the heterogeneity of the environment and the social cohesion of the population concerned.
UK VINING PEA GROWERS‘ AND FREEZERS’ RESPONSES TO POTENTIAL GLOBAL WARMING
Authors: HOLLOWAY LEWIS E. , ILBERY BRIAN W. 
Published: March 2008

AbstractGlobal warming from anthropogenic emissions of ‘greenhouse gases’ is expected to become apparent and this will impact upon existing agricultural production and farm management systems. At the same time, farm businesses are becoming increasingly integrated into a food production system whereby on‐farm production is, in the case of some agricultural products, greatly influenced by external agencies such as food processing companies. This article uses a study of both farmers and agencies in Lincolnshire and Humberside who are involved with vining pea production for the frozen pea market to explore the nature of the farmer‐processor relationship and to examine the implications of this for the adaptation of vining pea production to the imposition of global warming. It is concluded that change at the farm level will be largely externally driven, that die attitudes of powerful individuals within external agencies will strongly influence the direction of change, and that the attitudes of farmers towards global warming and change are of less relevance in die case of adjustment in vining pea production. This has implications for die management of change, not just in response to global warning but also in response to other types of change which are long term and uncertain.
R&D AND REGIONAL NETWORKS DYNAMICS IN DUTCH PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
Authors: GEENHUIZEN MARINA VAN , KNAAP BERT VAN DER 
Published: March 2008

ABSTRACTNational conditions, particularly regulation, have been an important factor in the competitiveness of the Dutch pharmaceutical industry in the past decades. Regulation had no uniform impact on the sector, as witnessed by a loss of strength in the innovative segment and a gain in strength in the segment producing generic drugs. New product technology is the major basis for competition in the innovative segment. This knowledge is highly specialized and often protected against a free flow. Consequently, regional networking between companies can only be relevant for related companies within the same corporation. Since the late 1980s, there has been a trend for out‐sourcing of R&D to universities, associated with different needs in the various stages of R&D. In some respects, there is a poor match between demand and supply of knowledge. Both at the national and regional level attempts are now being made in order to improve the economic use of knowledge.
VAL, THE FUNCTIONAL AND SPATIAL ORGANIZA TION OF BUSINESSES
Authors: HOEK REMKO VAN 
Published: March 2008

AbstractIn the business environment of global competition, the pendulum between centralization and decentralization of activities may swing differently. With value‐added logistics (VAL), activities previously relocated to global manufacturing plants in low‐cost countries may be shifted back to the Western world. The explanation behind these spatial evolutions requires an analysis of the link between the functional and the spatial organizations. In modern network organizations, companies try to achieve such capabilities as global efficiency and local responsiveness simultaneously. In two case studies, a theoretical framework will be used that integrates market and producer transactions and links the functional organization of value‐adding processes with the spatial organization. By studying past, present and projected organizations, the spatial impact of VAL, resulting from the integration or disintegration of activities, can be assessed. These studies show how the spatial organization is becoming of increasing importance to the success of a company's strategy.
EXPANDING THE THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF DIFFERENTIAL URBANIZATION
Authors: GEYER HERMANUS 
Published: March 2008

AbstractRecently, the concept of differential urbanization was introduced. It conceptually links the processes of urbanization, polarization reversal, and counter‐urbanization across the development spectrum in the First and Third Worlds. Based on supporting evidence in developed and less developed countries, this study expands the theoretical foundation of the concept by first focusing on a graphical analysis of the processes of urbanization, polarization reversal, and counterurbanization. Secondly, it looks into the explanations given for counterurbanization. Thirdly, factors likely to influence post‐counterurban migration trends are discussed, and finally, the relevance of certain causes of differential urbanization given in the literature are explored.
NORTH‐SOUTH ENERGY RESOURCE TRANSFERS IN CHINA AND THE PORT INTERMEDIARY
Authors: TODD DANIEL 
Published: March 2008

AbstractA pressing problem confronting China is that of energy supply. Despite a huge endowment of energy minerals, the country must tackle the thorny issue of an alarming divide between the regions replete with energy and those devoid of it. Exacerbating die mismatch is die fact that the energy‐deficient regions are precisely die ones experiencing the most dramatic growth. Only a diorough revamping of transport infrastructure, in which ports and north‐soudi coastwise shipping play a seminal role, can hope to eliminate the energy imbalance existing between supplying and consuming regions. Bodi types of regions are expected to benefit in consequence: die former on die strength of interregional energy exports; die latter on die basis of international product exports. The part played by ports and associated land transport facilities is aired in this article.
REGIONAL LABOUR MARKET RESEARCH ON PARTICIPATION RATES
Authors: ELHORST J. PAUL 
Published: March 2008

AbstractThis article reviews the methodology of 17 empirical studies in which the participation rate has been estimated with the help of regional data. After defining and pointing out the orientation of regional labour market research on participation rates, three methodological issues dominate the discussion and eventually the conclusions: the extent to which the participation rate of the population of working age should be disaggregated to subpopulations; the theoretical foundation of the independent variables of the regional participation rate; and the spatial dimension of a participation rate equation being estimated from a regional perspective, the latter covering the delineation of regions, the modelling of regional interdependencies and spatial heterogeneity.