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"Empirical Regional Economics: Economic Base Theory, Models and Applications" is an accessible textbook by Richard Conway that provides an introduction to regional economics for undergraduate and graduate students. The textbook is divided into three parts: theory, application of models, and case studies. It focuses on the Puget Sound region of Washington State, but the lessons learned can be applied to other regions. The book offers a comprehensive overview of regional economic growth, models, and case studies, although it lacks engagement with contemporary issues such as climate change. Overall, it is a valuable resource for educators and researchers in the field of regional science. [Extracted from the article]

This study aims to determine the occurrence of convergence in inclusive economic growth at both the national and regional levels, as well as the factors that drive the increase in inclusive economic growth to reduce regional disparities. The analysis used is sigma convergence, absolute beta convergence, and conditional beta convergence. The data used is a panel consisting of 21 provinces in the Western Region of Indonesia (KBI), including Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan, 13 provinces in the Eastern Region of Indonesia (KTI), namely Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara and Bali, Maluku and Papua, as well as national level consisting of 34 provinces in Indonesia from 2017 to 2021. This study shows that at the national level, KBI and KTI, there has been both sigma convergence and absolute beta convergence. Conditional beta convergence only occurs at the national level and KBI. Meanwhile, in KTI, there is no process of conditional beta convergence or what can be called divergence occurring. Variables that significantly affect the convergence process at the national level include government expenditure in the economic, health, and social protection sectors, domestic investment, and the open unemployment rate. At the KBI, significant factors include government expenditure in social protection sectors domestic investment and the unemployment rate. At the KTI, significant factors include government expenditures on the economic, health, and social protection sectors, foreign investment, and the unemployment rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomerations, such as the Yangtze River Delta, Yangtze River Middle Reaches, and Chengdu-Chongqing regions, play a crucial role in driving China's regional economic development. While previous studies have focused on economic and social aspects, the fiscal dimension of urban agglomerations remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by investigating the relationship between population size and fiscal efficiency in these three major urban agglomerations along the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB).We introduce the concept of fiscal efficiency based on revenue and expenditure and select relevant indices, such as efficient population size and fiscal self-reliance. Using statistical data from 2017 to 2019, we employ curve regression analysis in SPSS to estimate the efficient population sizes of these urban agglomerations and examine differences in financial efficiency over time and space. Our analysis reveals that cities with populations over 10 million hinder fiscal efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta, those with 3–5 and 5–10 million in the Yangtze River Middle Reaches, and those with 5–10 and 1–5 million in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomerations. The maximum financially efficient population sizes are estimated at 648 million for the Yangtze River Delta, 308 million for the Yangtze River Middle Reaches, and 320 million for the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomerations. Considering various fiscal indicators, all three agglomerations demonstrate varying degrees of efficiency. The innovation of this study lies in the interdisciplinary approach, integrating finance, demography, urban planning, and regional economics. By analyzing population size from a fiscal perspective, we provide a novel theoretical framework and analytical tool for policymakers. This study highlights the importance of fiscal balance and population optimization in urban agglomerations, contributing to regional coordinated development and sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct air capture (DAC) systems that capture carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere are garnering considerable attention for their potential role as negative emission technologies in achieving net-zero CO2 emission goals. Common DAC technologies are based either on liquid–solvent (L-DAC) or solid–sorbent (S-DAC) to capture CO2. A comprehensive multi-factor comparative economic analysis of the deployment of L-DAC and S-DAC facilities across various United States (U.S.) cities is presented in this paper. The analysis considers the influence of various factors on the favorability of DAC deployment, including local climatic conditions such as temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentrations; the availability of energy sources to power the DAC system; and costs for the transport and storage of the captured CO2 along with the consideration of the regional market and policy drivers. The deployment analysis in over 70 continental U.S. cities shows that L-DAC and S-DAC complement each other spatially, as their performance and operational costs vary in different climates. L-DAC is more suited to the hot, humid Southeast, while S-DAC is preferrable in the colder, drier Rocky Mountain region. Strategic deployment based on regional conditions and economics is essential for promoting the commercial adoptability of DAC, which is a critical technology to meet the CO2 reduction targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vector information of mountainous roads is great significance, including regional economics, emergency response, disaster management, among others. Nevertheless, there are irregular deformations in existing vector data, coupled with incomplete extraction results for mountainous roadways. These issues pose challenges in establishing a matching model between road extraction results and existing vector data, significantly reducing the efficiency of automated updates for the current vector data. Targeting roads as a distinct artificial feature and leveraging their topological connectivity, we propose a vector data updating method based on matching point pair grouping. Firstly, we employ the SDUNet model to extract mountainous road and utilize the Superglue model to match road binary images with vector binary images, resulting in sets of initial matching point pairs. Subsequently, we propose a road line extraction model that groups matching point pairs, eliminates misaligned pairs based on road topological connectivity, and establishes a mapping relationship between road lines and vector lines. Ultimately, through road line optimization and vector line optimization methods, we accomplish the automatic updating of vector data for mountainous roadways. Through a comprehensive analysis of over 2600 vector data, our method demonstrates substantial advantages in terms of both F1 and IoU compared to alternative methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the urban rooftop photovoltaic (PV) economics is important for scaling up rooftop PVs for rapid decarbonization. In this study, socioeconomic, technological, and policy factors were integrated into a rooftop PV economic assessment. This comprehensive method was applied to 21 cities in the Guangdong province of China, in combination with local real parameters. The results show that, with higher urbanization levels, electricity tariffs, and PV self-consumption rates, cities in the Pearl River Delta area generally had better economic performance in terms of both economic scale and profitability. They accounted for 75% of the total rooftop PV potential in Guangdong Province and had an internal rate of return (IRR) as high as 14.6–19.2% for Commercial and Industrial buildings (C&I), and 9.9–15.9% for residential buildings (R). Socioeconomic, technological, and policy factors jointly affect the economic performance and create a promising future for Guangdong rooftop PVs. It is projected that the IRR of current worst performing cities will grow by 4.9–5.8, and 4.4–5.9 percentage points, and the payback period will be shortened by 5.8–6.7 and 3.4–4.1 years by 2030 for R and C&I buildings, respectively. Among the three factors, technological advancement had the most significant long-term effect, followed by socioeconomic development. Policy factors play an important role in alleviating short-term cash flow pressure. Integrating the three factors in the assessment provides us with a more comprehensive picture of how urban rooftop PV economics will evolve and a better idea of how to prioritize rooftop PV development. Suggestions for prioritizing the deployment of rooftop PV systems in Guangdong by 2030 were provided. • Socioeconomic, technological, and policy factors were integrated into the urban rooftop PV economics assessment. • An orderly deployment plan for urban rooftop PVs in the Guangdong province of China is proposed. • The technology factor had the most significant effect on rooftop PV economic trends through capital cost reduction. • Socio-economic development contributes to higher electricity demand and revenue. • Policy factors play an important role in the short term in alleviating the cash flow pressure through preferential loan rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents initial findings on the establishment of a social logistics project in a peripheral rural region in Germany. As part of a real-life laboratory, two services were developed and tested with the aim of improving rural supply: the delivery of regional goods and the return of online orders in cooperation with a regional public transport provider, regional retailers and parcel services. An evaluation team provided support to the project in identifying, monitoring, and documenting the societal impact of the services and promoted impact-oriented project management. The concept of providing services of general interest through social logistics and testing them in a real-world laboratory was based on preliminary work in the region. The results indicate that this approach can promote this type of social logistics in the long term. A social logistics approach does not focus solely on economic aspects but emphasises social and environmental benefits for the region. A real-world laboratory approach enables an environment that promotes open exchange, involvement of different stakeholders and joint problem solving in a reflective, iterative process. This methodological approach enabled the continuation and out-scaling of the service's core offerings immediately after ending the test phase and is seen as an important prerequisite for establishing a long-term perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A metropolitan area comprises a collection of cities and counties bound by strong socioeconomic ties. Despite the pivotal role that metropolitan areas play in regional economics, their delineation remains a challenging task for researchers and urban planners. Current threshold-based delineation methods select counties based on their connection strength with prespecified core counties. Such an approach often neglects potential interactions among outlying counties and fails to identify polycentric urban structures. The delineation of a metropolitan area is fundamentally a spatial optimization problem, whose objective is to identify a set of counties with high interconnectivity while also meeting specific constraints, such as area, contiguity, and shape. In this study, we present a novel spatial optimization model designed for metropolitan area delineation. This model aims to maximize intercounty connection strength in terms of both industry and daily life. This approach ensures a more accurate representation of the multicore structure that is commonly seen in developed metropolitan areas. Additionally, our model avoids the possibility of holes in metropolitan area delineation, leading to more coherent and logical metropolitan boundaries. We provide a mixed-integer programming formulation for the proposed model. Its efficacy is demonstrated by delineating the boundaries of the Nanjing and Lhasa metropolitan areas. This study also delves into discussions and policy implications pertinent to both of these metropolitan areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effect of a place-based policy in China, the Northeastern Revitalization Program. In 2003 the State Council of the People's Republic of China initiated the program in northeastern China by removing an agricultural tax, enhancing the urban social security system, facilitating foreign investment, and restructuring state-owned enterprises in the region. Using the synthetic control method, we find that the program had no significant effect on GDP per capita in all three regions. Liaoning had slightly worse GDP per capita post-treatment, as did Heilongjiang (albeit to a lesser extent). While the multiple synthetic control analysis shows that economic outcomes were worse post-treatment, the impact of this program was heterogeneous across the three regions. We argue the lackluster performance likely comes from the continuing dominance of inefficient state-owned enterprises in the provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical omission in research on entrepreneurial ecosystems is the role of large firms. It is claimed that they are critical actors. However, the current consensus – which suggests that their effects are entirely beneficial – is superficial. We present evidence from a case study of Munich, a city that combines an emerging ecosystem with a strong corporate sector, which indicates that the reality is much more nuanced. We confirm the resource-enriching effects of corporations. However, we also identify adverse impacts on the entrepreneurial culture that arise from their conservative and risk-avoiding mindset. Corporations are one of the most significant actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems. They are widely regarded as having a positive influence on local entrepreneurial activity. However, our study of Munich shows that they also have adverse effects, especially on entrepreneurial culture. We find that although corporations provide valuable resources into the entrepreneurial ecosystem, their conservative mindset, self-interested behaviour, and siloed activities negatively impact local entrepreneurial culture and undermine the community aspect of entrepreneurship. These adverse effects could be mitigated by corporations adopting agile practices when collaborating with disruptive start-ups, developing them into future business partners rather than a source of technical and business talent, and building ecosystem-wide networks with other actors. It is therefore essential that corporations are part of the leadership group of entrepreneurial ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past two decades, Turkey has experienced a noteworthy increase in the establishment of universities and enrollment of students across various degree programs. However, this surge in higher education has been accompanied by a growing number of unemployed higher education graduates. To address this phenomenon, this research conducts a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between different levels of tertiary education, undergraduate, master's, and Ph.D. (Doctorate) and unemployment. The study utilizes TurkStat's regional database, covering data from 26 provinces in Turkey spanning the years 2008 to 2021. Prior to delving into coefficient analysis, the Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) panel causality test was applied to identify the direction of potential causality and to establish an accurate model. The findings suggest a potential causal relationship running from being a higher education graduate, at all levels (bachelor's, master's, and PhD ), to unemployment rate. Subsequently, to further scrutinize this relationship in light of causality findings, the Panel Augmented Mean Group estimator (AMG) was employed. The results indicate that a 1% increase in the total number of Bachelor's degree graduates is associated with a 1.16% increase in unemployment rate. Based on these findings, it can be argued that, instead of further investing in higher education, a policy approach targeting middle-skilled jobs through advanced investment in vocational high schools may be more cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the economy, many regions have experienced a slowdown in economic growth. In order to promote the development of the electric vehicle (EV) industry, the country has also begun to introduce various policies to encourage the development of the EV industry. In this context, many local governments have begun to introduce policies and measures related to the development of the EV industry, such as increasing land use for the development of the EV industry and increasing support for the new energy automobile industry. These policy measures have played a positive role in promoting the development of the EV industry, but there are also some problems. For example, when many local governments introduce policies to support the development of the new energy automobile industry, their support for the EV industry is not significant. This article studied the collaborative optimization of the EV industry chain in response to issues such as insufficient technical strength, imbalanced supply-demand relationship, and insufficient downstream service chain capabilities in the EV industry chain. This article analyzed the composition of the EV industry chain and established an EV industry chain model to address these issues. This article used collaborative optimization algorithms to analyze the production volume of EVs in the EV industry chain, as well as the comprehensive efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency values of upstream, midstream, and downstream. Through experimental analysis, it was found that the comprehensive efficiency value of the upstream of the EV industry chain after using the collaborative optimization algorithm was 0.0792 higher than before. The research results of this article have provided reference significance for the analysis of collaborative optimization algorithms in other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the printed and online newspaper media in the UK, notions of 'decolonisation' referring to various contexts, such as historical, relating to museums and institutions, cultural decolonisation and in relation to modern independence discussions, can be traced. In this article, we have applied topic modelling and natural language processing methods to carry out a classification of, and sentiment analysis on, newspaper headlines and texts from leading British newspapers covering decolonisation over the past decade. The results show an abrupt change in the meaning of decolonisation starting in the middle of the 2010s with an increased focus on cultural and institutional matters, particularly in right-leaning media. Surprisingly, the editorial slant of broadsheets seemingly only had at best moderate effects on tone, while headlines in right-wing tabloids were significantly more negative. Articles covering cultural aspects of decolonisation were substantially more negative than those applying a more traditional, territorial definition of decolonisation. Given the influence of newspaper media on public and private opinions, we discuss the heritage implications of these findings and suggest avenues for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes how ethnic diversity affects the provision of public goods in democratic and non‐democratic societies when political parties compete for voter support by offering a mix of private and public goods. Our model implies that increasing diversity that leads to more heterogeneous preferences for public goods decreases the provision of public goods in democracies, where political power is distributed equally among citizens, while there is a weaker or no effect in non‐democracies, where political power is distributed unequally among citizens. When measuring diversity by ethnic fractionalization and public good provision by either levels of government expenses, expenditures on health, or life expectancy, we indeed observe a negative association between diversity and the provision of public goods in democracies but no or only a weak association in non‐democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Employee mental health and well-being (MH&WB) is critical to the productivity and success of organizations. Training line managers (LMs) in mental health plays an important role in protecting and enhancing employee well-being, but its relationship with other MH&WB practices is under-researched. Aims To determine whether organizations offering LM training in mental health differ in the adoption of workplace- (i.e. primary/prevention-focused) and worker-directed (including both secondary/resiliency-focused and tertiary/remedial-focused) interventions to those organizations not offering LM training and to explore changes in the proportions of activities offered over time. Methods Secondary analysis of enterprise data from computer-assisted telephone interview surveys. The analysis included data from organizations in England across 4 years (2020: n  = 1900; 2021: n  = 1551; 2022: n  = 1904; 2023: n  = 1902). Results Offering LM training in mental health was associated with organizations' uptake of primary-, secondary-, and tertiary-level MH&WB activities across all 4 years. The proportion of organizations offering primary-, secondary- and tertiary-level interventions increased over time. On average, tertiary-level activities were most adopted (2020: 80%; 2021: 81%; 2022: 84%; 2023: 84%), followed by primary-level activities (2020: 66%; 2021: 72%; 2022: 72%; 2023: 73%) and secondary-level activities (2020: 62%; 2021: 60%; 2022: 61%; 2023: 67%). Conclusions Offering LM training in mental health is associated with the adoption of other MH&WB practices by organizations. Suggesting that organizations that are committed to the mental health agenda are more likely to take a holistic approach (including both worker and workplace strategies) to promoting workforce mental health, rather than providing LM training in isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Territorial economic and social disparities remain a major problem for the European Union today, especially in Eastern Europe. The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of the economic and social shocks of the 2000s (the economic and financial crisis of 2008-09 and the COVID-19 pandemic) on the economies of four Central Eastern European countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary). The study presents county-level differences in gross value added with classical descriptive statistics, inequality indices, convergence analyses and spatial autocorrelation. The results show that the impact of the shocks of the 2000s varies across counties, which led to different paths of recovery. Spatial autocorrelation is significant, but patterns remain stable through the period of exogenous shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers attempt to foster entrepreneurship within European regions yet firm interrelationships across European regions remain understudied. This paper analyses the extent to which past firm births and deaths influence future firm births and deaths across European NUTS 2 regions through the lens of competition, multiplier and Marshall effects. Using a novel multilevel mixed effects regression model, we find evidence for an immediate multiplier effect changing to a competition effect as time passes across European regions and countries. We also identify that significant variations in firm birth and death rates exist across European regions validating the importance of more decentralized regional entrepreneurial policies which has implications for policies like the European Regional Development Fund's (ERDF) Cohesion Plan and the Smart Specialization Strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airlines have implemented various management systems to avoid different risks but without considering interoperability or integration. This results in a lack of a holistic view and a counterproductive and isolated approach to managing different risks. Therefore, this article proposes a newly designed model to have an integrated system for airlines to ensure interoperability and demonstrate the added value of such a model. The model is based on a survey outcome which confirmed the need for interoperability amongst different management systems. The developed model creates a language for key processes in different management systems, enabling different management systems to create interoperability. The language consists of 3 components used by the different systems. Adding a process to integrate all the different systems provides a holistic view of how each management system works together by providing focus points for the different risks airlines face. Together with the concept of the IMS cube, a new practical model is developed and provides new insights into the different management systems, which remain undetected when looking at management systems individually. It is concluded that a holistic risk profile assists airlines in making decisions which impact multiple management systems rather than individual management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tolerance of others on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion and sexuality is an important component of social capital but has received scant attention in the social capital well-being literature. We examine the components of social capital and their relationship with life satisfaction using data from the Life in Transition Survey in European Union transition countries. A principal component factor analysis identifies three distinct and independent social capital components: tolerance, ties, and trust. Using a multilevel modelling approach, we estimate the relation between these components and life satisfaction, whilst controlling for individual and area effects. Tolerance, ties (networks) and trust are positively associated with life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying a spatialized data envelopment analysis, this paper estimates and analyzes the efficiency of European Union NUTS‐2 regions during the period 2000–2014. The space‐dependent efficiency scores estimated with the proposed model show a bimodal distribution that is not detected by the aspatial approach. The results confirm the crucial role of location of production units, offering important new insights on both the causes of regional disparities in labor productivity and the observed polarization of the European distribution of per capita income. The findings further suggest significant differences for the two subgroups (spatial clusters) of regional economies found in the correlation analysis between the efficiency scores and the components of the EU Regional Competitiveness Index. Consequently, policies suitable for one group of regions may not be suitable or appropriate for the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shift‐share analysis has been extensively used to investigate the different drivers of changes in socioeconomic variables in both spatial and non‐spatial contexts. This paper presents a comprehensive shift‐share formulation that, by considering all the possible interactions between the geographical and sectoral variables that interplay in a non‐spatial context, accounts for the intrinsic conditions of the regions that could affect the regional changes when spatial influences are not detected. The proposed technique is illustrated by analyzing the growth of industrial gross value added in the Spanish provinces between 2015 and 2019. Our results show the relevance of the intrinsic effects: the advantages (disadvantages) of the industrial sector within each province and the regional dynamism are important factors to explain the industrial changes in the Spanish regions. These findings provide evidence for the use of the comprehensive shift‐share as a tool that contribute to the regional analysis by identifying the characteristics of vulnerable regions that require further attention to avoid or lessen the effects of low economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the intersection between Frank Gehry's iconic Hotel Marqués de Riscal (MdR) and the Marques de Riscal winery, investigating their causal relationship with the surge in wine tourism. Using Google Trends data and empirical research, it establishes the influential role of the MdR Hotel in driving positive impacts on the winery and the local economy. Findings highlight: (1) the hotel's symbolic signaling elevates the winery's reputation globally, (2) repositioning efforts lead to increased economic returns and profitability, and (3) the transformational MdR Hotel attracts visitors, generating new economic activity and job opportunities in the Rioja region. Insights into the transformative effects of the iconic MdR Hotel on the winery and the local economy are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to quantify the spatial changes in farmland and model the efficiency of their use in mountainous territories, considering climate, topographical characteristics, and the development of exogenous geological processes. The main factors affecting land-use efficiency were assessed using qualitative and quantitative fact-finding, correlation analysis, and Geographic Information Systems tools. Accordingly, 14 major influencing factors were identified. A correlation and regression analysis was performed to resolve the modelling task. Using the correlation analysis methodology, the impact of each factor on the required indicator was quantified. The model developed shows that the land structure and production volume mainly influence land-use efficiency in agriculture. This finding fits well with pan-European studies. There is an annual trend towards more efficient use of farmland. In general, mountainous regions may provide high indicators of agricultural production under conditions of warm climate, sufficient moisture content, soil fertility and/or moderate fertilization, control of erosion processes, and predominance of low hypsometric heights. The developed model allows for optimizing the utilization of land resources, improving soil fertility and crop yields, and finding the right decisions for preventing the development of unfavourable processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-commerce growth as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic was only expected to occur by 2025–2030. Online shopping increased in intensity and diversity. At the same time, retailers diversified their operations and opened online channels, also in sectors that previously showed reluctance to make this shift. These evolutions resulted in an expansion of household freight in terms of volume, geography, and organisation. Hence, half a decade of innovation in the e-commerce sector was needed in the span of two years. This manuscript summarises the repercussions for household freight since the pandemic's start. Given that interactions between consumers, retailers, and logistics service providers drive the e-commerce system, this manuscript combines these different literatures into a holistic framework, going beyond traditional siloed research on last-mile logistics, retail strategies, or online shopping behaviour. We found that logistics has come to the forefront: logistics service providers now need to provide tailored services and come in direct contact with consumers. As a result, we need (i) to gain insights into the new geography and dynamics of household's freight origins and destinations; (ii) use this to re-examine existing relationships between consumer, retailer, and logistics service provider, and; (iii) assess the impact of more demanding consumers on the sustainability of the overall system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fuel poverty is a pressing global issue for households, particularly low-income ones. This study employs a subjective approach to examine fuel poverty in Jordan. Analyzing data from a survey of 490 participants in Zarqa Governorate, it evaluates the main determinants of subjective fuel poverty. The survey was conducted over 1 month, from March 10 to April 10, 2022. Findings reveal that the sample households experience challenges related to fuel poverty. The modeling of subjective indicators indicates an association between income level and the probability of being in arrears with utility bills. Moreover, the results highlight issues such as an inability to maintain adequate summer and winter temperatures and the presence of leaks, damp, and rot. In light of these findings, policy interventions should focus on enhancing energy efficiency and supporting vulnerable low-income households, particularly those in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Sustainability issues are crucial in today's competitive environment. The integration of technology plays a vital role in the attainment of sustainability objectives. The study aims to investigate the relationship between green intellectual capital (IC), green information systems (IS), green management initiatives (GMI) and green technology adoption in light of natural resource-orchestration theory (ROT). Moreover, digital technology adoption mediates between green IC, green IS, GMI and sustainable performance. Finally, digital transformation strategy is used as a moderator between green technology adoption and sustainable performance. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 484 managers from automobile manufacturing companies was used in this study to evaluate the proposed relationships using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) methodology. Findings: Findings reveal that green IC, green IS and GMI significantly influence green technology adoption. Besides, green technology adoption plays a crucial role in improving sustainable performance. Moreover, green technology adoption significantly mediates between green IC, green IS, GMI and sustainable performance. Finally, a digital transformation strategy significantly strengthens the relationship between green technology adoption and sustainable performance. Practical implications: The organizations need green technology adoption to address environmental concerns, respond to consumer demand, achieve cost savings and comply with government regulations. Besides, in decision-making, organizations must focus on green IC, green IS, GMI, green technology adoption and digital transformation strategy to boost sustainable performance. Originality/value: The originality of this study lies in its use of the natural ROT as a framework to examine the impact of multiple green resources on green technology adoption, leading to sustainable performance. Digital transformation strategy is used as a moderator between green technology adoption and sustainable performance. This study provides a comprehensive and integrated perspective on the subject with empirical evidence and relevant insights, contributing to the advancement of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data-driven innovations (DDI) have significantly impacted firms' operations thanks to the massive exploitation of huge data. However, to leverage big data and achieve supply chain innovation, a variety of complementary resources are necessary. In this study, we hypothesise that supply chain innovation (SCI) is dependent on firms' big data analytics capabilities (BAC). Furthermore, we propose that this relation is mediated by two crucial capabilities of agility and adaptability that enable firms to efficiently meet the challenges of supply chain ambidexterity. Finally, we also test the moderating role of technology uncertainty in our research model. We collected data from 386 manufacturing firms in Pakistan and tested our model using structural equation modelling. The results confirmed our initial hypotheses that agility and adaptability both mediated our baseline relationship of BAC and big data innovation in supply chains. We further found support for the moderating role of technology uncertainty. Furthermore, technology uncertainty moderates the relationship between BAC and SCI. This study extends the current literature on digital analytics capabilities and innovation along the supply chain. Practically, our research suggests that investment in big data can result in affirmative consequences, if firms cultivate capabilities to encounter supply chain ambidexterity through agility and adaptability. Accordingly, we suggest that managers belonging to manufacturing firms need to build up these internal capabilities and to monitor and assess technology uncertainty in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing innovation literature has assumed that the relationship between firms' R&D intensity and innovation take place without the interplay of other organizational factors. However, the reality differs, and research to date has shown that other factors affecting firms' innovation need to be considered. This is important especially in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries, which are highly dependent on both internal and external R&D and are associated with an inability to use R&D resources effectively. This study therefore responds to calls for further analysis, especially within the CEE region, and focuses on the role of two factors affecting SMEs' innovativeness and their effects, which have been mixed so far. First, we investigate the effects of SMEs' R&D intensity and capacity utilisation on product innovation. Second, we reveal the moderating role of SMEs' different ownership structures (ownership concentration; private/public ownership; family/non-family ownership) in the relationship between R&D intensity and product innovation. We confirm that CEE SMEs' ownership concentration and private ownership moderate the relationship between R&D intensity and product innovation. In contrast, we reject our hypothesis expecting that family ownership of SMEs can significantly moderate the relationship between R&D intensity and product innovation. Interestingly, we also show that the relationship between capacity utilisation and innovation is non-linear (inverted U-shaped). This study makes a significant contribution in the form of analysis within the CEE region, whose innovation systems are seen to be weak, and it is therefore necessary to bring new knowledge and recommendations to managers and public policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration represents a process where people leave their homes for various reasons. The aim of the article is to evaluate the level and development of migration in Slovakia and to identify its causes in the Gemer region, which is among the least economically productive regions of Slovakia. We quantified the development and level of migration based on secondary data through selected analytical indicators of migration. We determined the motivations of the residents of the Gemer region to migrate using a questionnaire survey. Until 2004, Slovakia was an emigration country, but in recent years it has turned into a destination country. However, the situation is not the same for all regions of the country. A negative migration balance persists in the Gemer region, although restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic have slowed this trend. We found that up to 21% of respondents from the region migrate for work. Up to 45% of respondents want to move out of the region, while in 64% of cases the migration is motivated by economic reasons. The opinion on migration is influenced by the gender of the respondent but is not related to the level of education achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the concept of digitalization has gained increasing attention in the field of agriculture. The adoption of digital technologies such as sensors, drones, and precision farming tools has the potential to revolutionize how agricultural production is carried out, leading to increased efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. This study examines the current state of digitisation and the use of digital tools in agriculture among Hungarian farmers. The uptake of digitalisation has been slow, and more comprehensive policies and strategies are needed to improve progress. The study shows that while there are positive developments, such as the increasing use of precision technologies, there is still a lack of digital infrastructure and skills, as well as limited access to finance and information. The study concludes by making recommendations for policy makers, stakeholders and farmers to enhance the digitalisation of agriculture in Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catenary electric road system (ERS) is a technology that enables powering pantograph-equipped road freight vehicles with electricity from overhead catenary while in motorway traffic to provide energy for propulsion and charging the vehicle batteries. Once leaving the catenary road, the energy stored in the battery or another energy source, e.g. hybrid diesel, natural gas or hydrogen, is used for propulsion. In this research we model the deployment of such catenary network on the Flemish road network in Belgium to identify three points. First, what are the economic impacts of the catenary electric road system implementation in Flanders for the road haulage industry, their clients and wider society under different technology adoption scenarios. Second, what is the most optimal way of building such a catenary network. And last, what are the synergies that would come from implementation of this technology in the neighboring countries and how to benefit from those. In this research we find that catenary ERS has the potential to be developed into an economically sustainable and relatively cheap way of decarbonizing road freight transport. It offers considerable economic incentives for all the involved stakeholders and is beneficial to the society as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Ticket sales are an essential source of income for football clubs and federations. Analyzing the determinants of fans' willingness-to-pay for tickets is therefore an important exercise. By knowing the match- and fan-related characteristics that influence how much a fan wants to pay for a ticket, as well as to what extent, football clubs and federations can modify their ticket offering and targeting in order to optimize this revenue stream. Design/methodology/approach: Using a detailed discrete choice experiment, based on McFadden's random utility theory, this paper formulates a Bayesian hierarchical multinomial logit model. Such models are very common in the discrete choice modeling literature. The analysis identifies to what extent match and personal attributes influence fans' willingness-to-pay for games of the Belgian men's and women's football national teams. Findings: The results show that the strength of the opponent, the type of competition, the location of the seats in the stadium, the day and kick-off time of the match and the ticket price exert an influence on the choice of the respondent. Fans are attracted most by competitive games against strong opponents. They prefer to sit along the sideline, and they have clear preferences for specific kick-off days and times. The authors also find substantial variation between socio-demographic groups, defined in terms of factors such as age, gender and family composition. Practical implications: The authors use the results to estimate the willingness-to-pay for match tickets for different socio-demographic groups. Their findings are useful for football clubs and federations interested in optimizing the prices of their match tickets. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, no stated preference methods, such as discrete choice analysis, have been used to analyze the willingness-to-pay of sports fans. The advantage of discrete choice analysis is that options and variations in tickets that are not yet available in practice can be studied, allowing football organizations to increase revenues from new ticketing instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion is a critical process that leads to landscape degradation, compromising soil fertility and ecosystem functions. Forest ecosystems, with their intricate characteristics, play a pivotal role in mitigating soil erosion and providing soil retention ecosystem services (SRES). This study explores the impact of forest patch thresholds and critical points on soil erosion rates, focusing on 401 catchments in Poland using generalised additive models to identify thresholds and critical points in forest patches. Landscape metrics were applied to measure landscape structure, including shape, fractal dimension, contiguity, related circumscribing circles, and perimeter-area ratio indexes. These metrics, along with slope, rainfall, organic carbon content, water content, and clay ratio variables, were considered dependent variables in the models. The developed models have demonstrated reliable performance in estimating soil erosion rates, with a significant deviation explained from 80.5 to 81.1 for coniferous forest patches, 79.1 to 80.1 for broad-leave forest patches, and 80.9 to 81.4 for mixed forest patches at p < 0.05. In broad-leaved forests, three thresholds are identified in the shape index, which influence soil erosion rates in a complex manner. For coniferous forests, thresholds in the perimeter area ratio, related circumscribing circles, and contiguity indexes exhibit nonlinear relationships with soil erosion rates. Mixed forests show two thresholds in the related circumscribing circle and one in the fractal dimension index, affecting soil erosion rates differently. This research contributes significantly to understanding the interplay between forest patch shapes and soil erosion rates, providing decision support for land use planning. The identified thresholds and critical points offer valuable tools to enhance sustainable landscape functionality, emphasizing the importance of considering forest landscape structure in preserving soil retention ecosystem services. • Forest patch shape significantly influences soil erosion rates. • Three thresholds found in broad-leaved forests impact erosion rates. • Critical points in forest patch shapes influence soil retention. • Connectivity indexes affect erosion rates in coniferous forests. • The study offers valuable insights for sustainable land use planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper disentangles the impact of critical water levels on container cargo transported along the Rhine River. It analyzes monthly throughput and all instances where navigability was constrained due to low or high water levels between 2000 and 2022, employing a time series econometric model. The study considers water level conditions at critical locations between economic centers while controlling for confounding effects. Our findings reveal an average monthly impact of -0.2% per day of disruption and -5.9% when the disruption remained for more than 24 days. Notably, vulnerability to critical conditions has doubled since 2018 and exhibits spatial variation. The most pronounced disturbances and their lagged effects are associated with localized low water level incidents. We show that enhancing the resilience of inland waterways to climate change is essential to avert potential losses in container throughput, estimated to range between 7% and 20% annual average by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progression of shared mobility across Europe is remarkable. While station-based car and bike sharing have a more extended history, particularly in major European (capital) cities, recent advancements in modal types and operational models have significantly transformed the shared mobility landscape. Rapid expansion by private organisations has broadened access to shared mobility services across Europe. However, not all European cities are considered potentially viable markets due to local factors such as stringent regulatory frameworks and unfavourable economic conditions. The composition of the local offerings influences how citizens use these services, impacting travel behaviour and the local transport networks differently. Therefore, understanding the availability of various shared mobility schemes across Europe is essential for comprehending the market structure, its development, the providers' decision drivers, and the potential consequences for local transportation systems. First, this paper presents data on various segments and features of the shared mobility market across European cities with more than 100.000 inhabitants. Second, two cluster approaches, i.e. k-means and latent class clustering analysis (LCCA), are conducted to structure this European market. Third, the contextual characteristics, such as socio-demographics, the built environment and the geography, are compared among the clusters using Dunn testing. The results depict that the market is very fragmented, ranging from cities with a minimal offer (i.e. one type of modality available) to cities with a very competitive market consisting of numerous modalities and operators. As expected, the most comprehensive offer of shared mobility is found in cities with the highest economic potential, measured by GDP per capita and population size. However, these cities tend to impose stricter regulations and invest in public schemes, especially for bike and car sharing, affecting the share of private operators. This may explain why private scooter sharing companies are willing to operate in smaller cities that initially seem to lack the economic conditions to accommodate a profitable sharing scheme. In cities where scooters are absent, mainly in Dutch cities, free-floating moped- and bike-sharing schemes have acted as a surrogate. Still, the comprehensiveness of the offer in these cities is considerable, suggesting that even with strict regulatory frameworks, other factors like infrastructure can create an attractive environment for operators. Overall, shared mobility is well-developed in European cities, meaning that many people are already aware of or have access to some form of shared mobility. This provides opportunities for other less-developed modalities, such as cargo bicycles, to further expand and offer specific use cases for car replacement. Therefore, future research could follow up on market developments to understand how various segments evolve and to examine the role of different policy frameworks more thoroughly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycentricity is at the core of the urban policy and planning debate on both city size and spatial configuration, but there is no conclusive evidence for how and when polycentricity can improve urban agglomeration efficiency. This study examines the impacts of polycentricity, as well as features of its spatial configurational, on urban agglomeration efficiency. An improved relative threshold method based on local isolines (IRT-LI) is developed to identify urban centers and sub-centers, and this indicator is regressed against agglomeration economic efficiency acquired through an input-output method—super-slack-based measure (Super-SBM). Taking 252 prefectural-level cities in China as examples, this study finds that polycentricity does not demonstrate any linear or U-Shape impact on the agglomeration economy efficiency of all cities, while the impacts become positive only when urban population and central city density surpass certain thresholds (population over 6 million and density over 6000 people/km2). Compactness in density and balance in the size of multiple centers are key spatial configurational features to improve economic efficiency, while the number of centers should only be increased for large size and high-density cities. Policymakers and planners are encouraged to limit polycentric planning only to megacities/mega-city-regions and combine compact, multi-functional, mixed land-use spatial configurations with polycentricity. • Impacts of polycentricity and configuration on economic efficiency are examined. • An IRT-LI method is developed to identify urban centers and sub-centers. • Polycentricity does not demonstrate any significant impact on economic efficiency. • The impacts become positive when population and density surpass certain thresholds. • Compactness in density and balance in the size are key configurational feature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently confronted with the dilemma of achieving its green development goals while maintaining economic growth. The National Ecological Demonstration Zones (NEDZs) represent an innovative attempt by local governments to balance economic development with ecological civilisation, potentially offering a solution to this issue. This study calculated the Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) for 1925 districts and counties from 1999 to 2018. Using the selection of NEDZs as a quasi-natural experiment, a difference-in-differences model was employed to empirically analyse the impact of NEDZs on GTFP. The results indicated that the establishment of NEDZs led to an average increase in GTFP of 0.2175 compared to the control group. The primary mechanisms involved are innovation, structure, and enforcement. Moreover, the green development effects of the NEDZs exhibited regional heterogeneity. Compared to the western regions, the central and eastern regions showed limited green development effects. Areas with smaller populations, lower human capital, and lower administrative levels demonstrated significant improvements after the implementation of the NEDZ. Further analysis reveals a significant spatial agglomeration pattern of GTFP and the NEDZs exert a strong 'siphon effect' on the GTFP of neighbouring areas. This study provides a new perspective on the GTFP research and offers theoretical and practical evidence for assessing the impact of NEDZs. • The green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 1925 counties are calcuated. • The construction of NEDZs significantly enhances GTFP. • The green development effect of NEDZs exhibits heterogeneity in different types of regions. • Innovation effect, structural effect, and enforcement effect are the main mechanisms. • The NEDZs can reduce GTFP in nearby regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analysis of 12 decarbonisation scenarios via the electrification of space heating. • Innovative modelling approach that combines two highly detailed models. • Building stock and upstream supply sector of whole EU are covered. • Electrification via heat pumps leads to 11% lower system costs compared to hydrogen. • Heat pumps are cost-efficient in decentralised and in district heating systems. This paper analyses different levels and means of the electrification of space and hot water heating using an explorative modelling approach. The analysis provides guidance to the ongoing discussion on favourable pathways for heating buildings and the role of secondary energy carriers such as hydrogen or synthetic fuels. In total, 12 different scenarios were modelled with decarbonisation pathways until 2050, which cover all 27 member states of the European Union. Two highly detailed optimisation models were combined to cover the building stock and the upstream energy supply sector. The analysis shows that decarbonisation pathways for space and water heating based on large shares of heat pumps have at least 11% lower system costs in 2050 than pathways with large shares of hydrogen or synthetic fuels. This translates into system cost savings of around €70 bn. Heat pumps are cost-efficient in decentralised systems and in centralised district heating systems. Hence, heat pumps should be the favoured option to achieve a cost-optimal solution for heating buildings. Accordingly, the paper makes a novel and significant contribution to understanding suitable and cost-efficient decarbonisation pathways for space and hot water heating via electrification. The results of the paper can provide robust guidance for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]