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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]

Purpose: This article examines the links between average city size, fiscal decentralisation, and national economic growth in 33 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Design/methodology/approach: The data in this paper comprise an unbalanced panel dataset which contains economic growth indicators, average city size, fiscal decentralisation indicators and control variables in 33 OECD member countries from 1975 to 2015 in five-year intervals. Fixed-effects (FE) estimators are used for the analysis. Findings: This research finds i) countries with larger weighted average city sizes have higher economic growth, ii) countries with greater fiscal decentralisation have higher economic growth, but iii) countries with larger weighted average city sizes with greater decentralisation have lower rates of economic growth. Originality/value: The research highlights the importance of agglomerations and decentralised governance and management for economic growth. While the findings are consistent with previous evidence that larger city sizes and fiscal decentralisation are separately associated with higher rates of economic growth, the authors find countries which have larger cities and greater fiscal decentralisation experience lower rates of economic growth highlighting a need for caution on decentralisation agendas in such cases. The implications of this suggest policymakers should proceed with caution on decentralisation agendas in countries with large cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical patterns of land-use development across many countries in the Global North have generally been characterised by land-use segregation, low-density settlements, and limited transport accessibility. This can lead to inefficient regional developmental patterns and can increase the environmental degradation attributable to regional expansion. Numerous metrics and datasets have been employed to infer the sustainability and efficiency of these developments. Here, we quantify and visualise the relative entropy of land-use configurations across the Republic of Ireland using a novel dataset. Specifically, we combine the discipline-standard CORINE Land Cover 2018 dataset and OpenStreetMap data, which provides more thorough land-use classifications in urban areas. Spatial differences in relative entropy are visualised using a spatial typology distinguishing between areas exhibiting low and high levels of relative entropy. Our Main Map visualises the coverage of both CORINE and OpenStreetMap datasets, compares relative entropy estimates for both datasets, and illustrates the disparities in cross-dataset estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since late 2019, COVID-19 has devastated the global economy, with indirect implications for the environment. As governments' prioritized health and implemented measures such as the closure of non-essential businesses and social distancing, many workers have lost their jobs, been furloughed, or started working from home. Consequently, the world of work has drastically transformed and this period is likely to have major implications for mobility, transportation and the environment. This paper estimates the potential for people to engage in remote work and social distancing using O*NET data and Irish Census data and calculates the potential emission savings, by commuter type from a switch to remote working and occupational social distancing. The results show that while those who commute by car have a relatively high potential for remote work, they are less likely to be able to engage in social distancing in their workplace. While this may be negative for employment prospects in the short run, our analysis indicates that this pattern has the potential for positive environmental implications in the short and long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sustainable retail development implies that retail centres should serve their communities economically and socially, while not degrading local environments. However, existing literature identifies that retail centres often create negative externalities, impacting the sustainable development of both the core and peripheries of city regions. International evidence also shows that retail sprawl and transport emissions have been exacerbated by existing planning architecture, notably retail parks. This has resulted in commercial centres shifting from high streets to car-dependent, suburban retail centres, worsening congestion levels and environmental degradation. This paper examines how location-effects influence transport-related emissions and travel mode choice when shopping in Ireland's five major administrative city regions. This paper adapts 2016 Census commuting data, and utilises retail and residential location data, to estimate hypothetical travel-related emissions within a multi modal transportation network incorporating cars, buses, cycling, and walking. This analysis is performed at the Small Area level for Ireland's five major cities and their surrounding commuter belts. The results show that retail centres generating the most travel-related emissions tend to be found outside city cores, in the fringe areas of built-up city environments, and that these retail centres are generally only accessible to car users. This supports theories suggesting that accessibility-centred development is the best option to combat the ill effects of sprawl, and that car dependency worsens the environmental degradation associated with sprawling developments. Above all, this study highlights the excessive environmental degradation caused by car dependent retail environments and offers direction for future policymaking. • Car dependent retail centres exacerbate transport-related emissions. • Peripheral retail centres are generally car dependent, worsening travel-related emissions. • Retail centres accessible to sustainable transport users generate less travel-related emissions. • Car dependency increases as distances from city cores increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population shrinkage has gained attention from academics and policymakers in recent years, due to the long-term implications the phenomenon has for public service delivery and the viability of urban and rural communities. We visualise the socio-temporal evolution of population shrinkage and growth, utilising a spatially rectified dataset containing population data from seven Census of Population covering the 1986–2016 period in the Republic of Ireland. Spatial changes in population distribution are visualised in a map that classifies small administrative units using a spatial typology distinguishing between those experiencing population growth or shrinkage, across the 30-year period. The temporal dimensions of these developments are considered in a sequence of inset maps that apply the same typology to identify the intercensal changes. Overall, the map facilitates the visual communication of long-run population trends, the identification of areas experiencing limited or no growth, and indicates the relative consistency of these trends over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]