Regional Science Policy and Practice最新文献

Acquiring flexible citizenship through education of transnational immigrants is an important way to realize class transition and obtain a better life. However, when immigrants cross space and social class, they generally also cross the cultural fields, which brings about the problems of self-identity. Existing studies on the identity and adaptation of Chinese educational immigrants mainly focus on middle-class groups, and there are few case discussions on poor groups. This study used ethnographic methods to trace the personal life histories of students from a high school of charity nature in Guangdong province who had immigrated to Europe. The study found that the poverty alleviation attempts of private charitable education supported by entrepreneurs provided students in poor areas with the opportunity to flow to the developed eastern areas before university. Due to the precise and sustainable input of educational resources and capacity building, the students have completed their personal life and labour production through two cross-local education migrations at the high school and university stages. Some also immigrated across the border for the third time, obtained "flexible citizenship", and realized class transition. However, compared with students from middle-class and ordinary families with less income, their identity and adjustment problems appear to be more serious. Because they left their native families to live alone in the early years, and then continued to migrate across cultures, they had significant individual psychological problems such as alienation, loneliness, integration difficulties, and identity suspension.

Rapid urbanization in developing nations like India has exacerbated urban poverty, with proliferation of slum households. These vulnerable urban settings, with high density and asymmetric availability/accessibility of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), provide an amicable ambience for the transmission of contagious diseases. Considering this, geographical targeting and mapping of vulnerable urban groups have emerged as pivotal strategies in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and similar contagions, as endorsed by both the World Health Organization and the World Bank. The asymmetries in WASH provisions across slum households and other low-income areas were brought into sharper focus during COVID-19, revealing the potential for the spread of similar contagions in future. In this context, we employed Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA), considering the parameters of physical distancing and WASH provisions in slums, to develop a COVID-19 risk index and map risk zones within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area. The analysis has been further substantiated through Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) carried out across fifty slums in different risk zones of the KMC to underscore the vulnerability of these areas in the face of pandemics. Our findings highlight the dire situation of slum dwellers, who remain highly susceptible to contagions like COVID-19 due to inadequate access to clean water, sanitation, and physical distancing measures. These revelations prompt critical questions on achieving the targets of Sustainable Development Goals and stress the urgent need for geographical targeting and tailoring of place-specific policies to foster sustainable cities and safeguard the 'right to the city' for these vulnerable sections.

While policy evaluation is essential for improving labor programs, a significant knowledge gap exists regarding the impact of local labor market policies in developing countries. This article analyzes the impact of three employment programs in Chile aimed at enhancing employability and wages, namely Youth Employment Subsidy (SEJ), Women's Employment Subsidy (BTM), and Job or Skill Training (CT). We evaluate data from the CASEN Survey in 2015 and 2017 using matching techniques, presenting results for each program separately as they target different segments of the labor market. Fixed effects by territorial units, time effects, and geographic factors are all employed as controls per each matching procedure. For wages, variables such as the worker's productive sector, type of contract, and other socioeconomic controls are considered as well. Robustness analyses through different matching strategies are included. The results indicate that the SEJ and BTM have positive and significant effects on employability, while their impact on wages is null. As for CT, there are positive and significant effects on wages and employability, though with nuanced variations across territories. These findings are relevant in terms of effective labor market support programs, crucial for improving working conditions, narrowing gaps, and increasing employment opportunities.

The outbreak of pandemic at the beginning of 2020 has been urban exclusive and brought the existing inequalities across class and different types of settlements into the forefront. A prolonged period of lockdown, promotion of social distancing, and quarantine of infected individuals, which had been recommended as preventive measures raises a question on the feasibility of these measures in Indian cities considering the challenges related to adequate housing and exclusive access to basic amenities. Against this background, this paper tries to understand the level of pandemic preparedness of urban households across different socio-economic groups, city-size, and settlement types and its changes in the last two decades based on an analysis of unit level data from the National Sample Survey (NSS). The paper has attempted to construct a ‘Pandemic Preparedness Index’ (PPI) to measure a household’s ability to maintain isolation and social distancing. Results indicate that urban households have become more prepared for such pandemics over this period. However, the poor and slum households, particularly located in metropolitan cities still face multiple deprivations related to housing and basic amenities, which make them more vulnerable to such pandemics. This paper calls for urban household's pandemic and disaster preparedness with an increased policy focus on poor and slum households in metropolitan cities.

This article conducts an environmental and economic impact evaluation of the mining and quarrying sector in the top five carbon‐emitting nations. By applying the hypothetical extraction method, we investigate both the demand and the supply side of the carbon dioxide emission of each industry in China, the United States, India, Russia, and Japan. The results show that inter‐sector linkages are similar between countries. We identify the priority sectors associated with the mining industry, which deserve more consideration in formulating mitigation policies to reduce the carbon footprint. Among these sectors, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, and manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products hold special responsibility toward the environment.

Integration into the global economy can cause shifts in industries and decrease the industrial sector's share. Deindustrialization, which refers to declining industry share, is commonly observed in developed countries. However, many developing countries have also experienced deindustrialization without attaining a high economic level in the era of globalization. Since transitioning to a market economy and integrating with the European Union (EU), deindustrialization has become a significant issue for Western Balkan countries. Thus, our paper analyzes the impact of economic globalization on the deindustrialization process in five Western Balkan countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia by using panel data spanning 2000–2019. Our study involved the creation of two models utilizing the augmented mean group (AMG) estimation method to ensure precise results. Our research shows that in model I, the economic globalization index, economic growth, capital investment, and the rule of law positively impact industry employment share. In model II, trade openness and economic growth positively affect manufacturing value‐added; however, capital investment and the rule of law have a negative impact. Our findings indicate that economic globalization promotes industrialization in the Western Balkans instead of leading to deindustrialization. The panel causality results from Dumitrescu–Hurlin indicate that in model I, there is a one‐way causal relationship going from economic globalization and capital investment to the share of industry employment. In model II, the causal relationship goes from economic growth and the rule of law to manufacturing value‐added, from manufacturing value‐added to trade openness and capital investment.

The transport system is a crucial component of economic development in any country. Bosnia and Herzegovina, being a country with a diverse topography, faces unique challenges and opportunities in its transport system. This paper examines the potential challenges and opportunities of the transport system in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its role in economic development. Using a qualitative research approach, we conduct an in‐depth analysis of existing literature and collect primary data through semi‐structured interviews with key stakeholders in the transport industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our findings indicate that the transport system in Bosnia and Herzegovina faces significant challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, lack of modernization, limited investment, and weak institutional framework. However, there are opportunities for the development of the transport system including its strategic location as a transit hub, potential for infrastructure improvements, and its unique natural resources that can be leveraged for tourism and sustainable development. The development of the transport system can also lead to increased trade and investment, job creation, and improved social welfare. To fully realize the potential of the transport system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, policymakers and stakeholders need to work together to address the challenges and leverage the opportunities. This paper provides policy recommendations for improving the transport system, including investment in infrastructure, modernization of the transport sector, institutional strengthening, and the promotion of sustainable development. The findings of this study have significant implications for the economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and countries with similar challenges and opportunities in the transport sector.

The Western Balkans is experiencing an ongoing inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry as several European enterprises have already established their presence in the region. These inflows have generated large-scale ICT investments in the region, creating new knowledge-based clusters and technology spillovers in regional economies. On the basis of financial statement indicators collected for 327 European and regional ICT enterprises and on panel data estimation, this paper tries to estimate technology transfer in the Western Balkan region. Specifically, the proposed model examines cluster spillover effects in improving the absorptive capacity of the Western Balkan region in creating a pool of specialized local suppliers and a talented regional labor force. Model estimation results indicate that limited spillover effects have occurred from the newly created clusters of European ICT enterprises in the regional economy of the Western Balkan region. Spillovers related to improved technical capabilities, increased labor productivity, higher resource efficiency, and flexible operational structures require further stimulation to speed up convergence and integration of the local ICT industry in the corresponding European value chain. Finally, this paper concludes that competitive advantages such as a cheap labor force are no longer feasible for sustainable development. To narrow down the existing know-how gap, particular efforts are required regarding policies focused on educating human capital and transforming regional enterprises to successfully compete in the European market.