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Implementing policy and forming socioeconomic conditions that support sustainable and equable growth of regions is currently an important objective both at European and national level. Regional development policy is supported by significant resources from European Union funds. As a result, a constant monitoring of the development process at regional level with application of quantitative methods is an important scientific and practical task. Thus, the aim of the article is to assess the level of economic development in Poland at the voivodeships level (NUTS 2). Economic development is considered here as a multiple-criteria phenomenon. In the case of multiple-criteria analysis a common dilemma is attributed to the problem of applying appropriate weights for variables used in the research. Therefore, in order to provide a rating of voivodeships a taxonomic measure of development with entropy weights was applied here. The research was conducted for the years 2010-2014. It was based on the data provided by Central Statistical Office of Poland. The results of the analysis confirm that in spite of a progress obtained by all voivodeships significant disparities between them are still present.

Tubulin polymerization promoting proteins (TPPPs) constitute a eukaryotic protein family. There are three TPPP paralogs in the human genome, denoted as TPPP1–TPPP3. TPPP1 and TPPP3 are intrinsically unstructured proteins (IUPs) that bind and polymerize tubulin and stabilize microtubules, but TPPP2 does not. Vertebrate TPPPs originated from the ancient invertebrate TPPP by two-round whole- genome duplication ; thus, whether the tubulin/microtubule binding function of TPPP1 and TPPP3 is a newly acquired property or was present in the invertebrate orthologs (generally one TPPP per species) has been an open question. To answer this question, we investigated a TPPP from a simple and early branching animal, the sponge Suberites domuncula. Bioinformatics, biochemical, immunochemical, spectroscopic, and electron microscopic data showed that the properties of the sponge protein correspond to those of TPPP1 ; namely, it is an IUP that strongly binds tubulin and induces its polymerization, proving that these features of animal TPPPs have been evolutionarily conserved.

Poland and Spain share many common features resulting both from similarities of historical experience and also cultural, political, socio-demographic factors. Both countries have similar area, population and GDP structure. They also share historical experience related to political and economic transformation after a long period of non-democratic, centralized governments. Therefore the experience of Spanish membership in the EU is often considered as a model for Poland. The purpose of this research is to perform a comparative empirical analysis of income convergence processes in Poland and Spain on a regional level (NUTS3). We aim to verify if and how these processes are related to one another (show similar paths). Special attention is paid to the periods after accession of these countries to the EU. Convergence patterns in both countries are compared with several tools. Spatial econometric model for absolute beta convergence, sigma convergence indicators and the analysis of distribution dynamics - transition matrices. The impact on EU accession on income convergence in Spain was positive both on a national and regional level. Regional convergence processes sped-up and interregional disparities decreased. The poorest subregions had relatively high probability to increase their income and catch-up with initially more developed regions. In the first decade after accession to EU Poland has also achieved a significant improvement of income indicators on a national level. However, empirical analyses of GDP per capita distribution and its dynamics on a regional level in Poland show that the above mentioned progress does not spread out proportionally on all regions. Neither beta nor sigma convergence is observed. Instead, relatively fastest growth of initially richest regions (mostly large cities) introduces convergence of clubs leading to polarization. EU accession accelerated divergence processes in Poland.

The problem of sustainability has become one of the most crucial issues on the highest European levels. The European Parliament has voiced its support of action plans and their elements regarding sustainable consumption and production. One practical manifestation is the fact that in the programming period 2014-2020 sustainable development appears as a requirement of the European Union (EU in further text) subsidy systems. The access to subsidies is not limited to a branch-wise differentiation, but is also available on a regional, local basis. This was what smart specialisation prepared. The financial and structural frame is provided by the Spatial and Settlement Operative Program (TOP in further text) which provides local communities calls on a regional selection. The further aim, the reduction of administrative burdens and a more simplified call process, could so far not be achieved, as there was rather an increase in the administrative burdens of local governments. Local governments can often only fulfil this complicated criteria-system by involving external experts. The research was aimed at a project about a TOP-based “green town establishment” on the example of European small town. In the followings, the substantiation of the needs-measurement and utilisation plan and the related primary and secondary research will be presented. The aim of the research was the analysis of the substantiation of the project and the measurement of its cohesion with other – urban – strategic documents. This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This chapter investigates how household income, income inequality, and poverty among urban residents in China have developed since 1988, with an emphasis on the period from 2007 to 2013. We use data from the China Household Income Project (CHIP) to show that during a period when many countries in the West were experiencing stagnating or falling incomes, household incomes in urban China were growing by an average of 7 percent per annum. However, unlike during previous periods, earnings were growing by not more than 3 percent per annum, but pensions and imputed rents of owner-occupied housing were growing more rapidly. The trend whereby fewer persons in urban China have incomes that are lower than the poverty line, expressed as the constant purchasing power, continued between 2007 and 2013. We also show that income growth from 2007 to 2013 was slower in the lower part of the income distribution and thus the trend of increased income inequality in urban China continued. This also applied to the number of people falling below the relative poverty line.

In this chapter, using selected rural samples of the CHIP 2002 and CHIP 2013 surveys that cover a total of fourteen provinces, we focus on income and poverty differentiation among Chinese ethnic minorities and changes over time in atypical ethnic regions, that is, outside of China's five autonomous regions. As shown by our analysis as well as in other literature, the incomes of ethnic minorities have always been lower than those of Han. However, the income gap between ethnic minorities and Han narrowed during the 2002-2013 period in atypical ethnic areas. At the same time, it should be noted that during this period inequality increased more for ethnic minorities than it did for Han. Our decomposition of the inequality index shows that the income gap between Han and ethnic minorities can mainly be attributed to factors such as household characteristics and residence location rather than ethnic identity. Between 2002 and 2013 the pattern of poverty changed both for Han and ethnic minorities, but the changes in absolute poverty and relative poverty were the opposite. At the absolute poverty level, the poverty rate, poverty depth, and poverty strength narrowed. But in terms of relative poverty, the poverty rate, poverty depth, and poverty strength increased. Descriptive analysis reveals that ethnic differences in terms of poverty narrowed from 2002 to 2013. Regression analysis suggests that this might be attributed to the fact that ethnic minorities are mainly located in less-developed regions where their ethnic identity does not make any difference. In fact, when controlling for the regional variables, the level of poverty among Han is even more serious than that among ethnic minorities. It is also worth noting that the coefficient of education among ethnic minorities is significantly larger than that among Han, indicating that the development of education may be a very effective anti-poverty strategy for ethnic minorities.

The ‘creativity hype’ has nurtured both manifold insights by dint of academic studies, research reports and policy papers as well as an array of extensive shortcomings concerning the academic understanding of ‘creativity’. In the realm of economic geography, an inflationary and unwitting utilization of the term ‘creativity’ in general, and creativity in arts and sciences in particular has prevented a serious debate and revealed four main deficiencies about: (1) the nature of creativity, (2) the process of creativity, (3) allocation of meaning (to) creativity as well as (4) the general relationship between creativity and space. This conceptual paper contributes to shed some light upon these shortcomings by assembling, juxtaposing and systemizing interdisciplinary perspectives, insights and findings on these specific types of creativity. The results illustrate that creativity (in general) is characterized by something with meaningful novelty (originality component), which is useful and valuable at the same time (effectiveness component), verified (by individuals or teams), validated (by communities) and selected (by markets) against a frame of reference. Interestingly, despite a traditional focus on meaningful novelty (originality component) in creativity in arts and sciences, the very logic of bisociation (the sole creative act) is fundamentally different. Moreover, modern views emphasize the effectiveness component within these types of creativity as reflected in cultural and creative industries or academic entrepreneurship. Ultimately, a potpourri of manifold spatial metaphors connected to creativity can be found in literature; therefore, a systemic attempt towards the general relationship between creativity in arts and sciences and space (understood as location, place, and landscape) will be introduced.

Weimar achieved urban recovery as a ‘consumer city’ with sub-brandings like a population magnet with a high living-quality, a cultural city with touristic attractions, and a university city. Its intensive cultural promotion policies combined with urban regeneration programs have contributed to the recent demographic and economic growth. This study demonstrates this success and investigates its sectoral weaknesses compared to other German cities. Weimar needs an optimal mixture of consumption- and production-oriented development strategies to rectify the current structural imbalances and better control those negative impacts caused by a rapidly ageing population. Besides ample presence and intact connectivity of high-tech industries and producer services within a city which enhance R&D, innovation and productivity, Weimar should more seriously consider, when design-ing future development policy, that both urban growth approaches are interrelated: agglomeration generates higher income for the creative class, whereas high urban amenities attract young creative entrepreneurs selecting locations for start-ups.

It is one of the key targets of both national governments and the EU to reduce regional development differences. This paper reviews the proof of existence and potential explanations of subnational regional deviations in competitiveness. Then, the financial data of a sample of Hungarian manufacturing firms from the 2010-2014 period is analysed for regional effects. Based on this data, we cannot reject the existence of regional effects; however, they mainly show up in export intensity, labour efficiency and wage level, rather than in entities' profitability. Compared to the dispersion among firms within the same region, sub-sector, and size-category, the effect of regional factors seems to be modest. One of the main contributions of this article is to contrast the EU regional competitiveness index with financial statement data in order to show that firm-level competitiveness in Hungary is hard to track by regional indices, as some factors are over-weighted while other variables are missing from those measures. In particular, spatial characteristics like the proximity of more developed areas and central location within a given wider country area are missing.

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the structure of rural poverty in China. Based on data from the China Household Income Project (CHIP) in 1988, 1995, 2002, 2007, and 2013, we analyze: 1.) Anti-poverty trends and problems during the recent three decades. 2.) The structure of poverty during the recent period in comparison with previous periods. We consider those factors that may raise household income; those factors that may reduce household consumption expenditures; and other factors related to the poverty alleviation goals. We conclude that along with a reduction in the absolute poverty rate, the poverty gap increased after 2007, and the relative poverty rate continued to increase. Furthermore, according to an analysis of the reasons for poverty, we discover some positive effects of the rural social security policies on household characteristics in 2007. However, health problems among the elderly, among children below the age of 15, and among disabled adults continue to exist.

Durch die Niedrigzinspolitik der EZB ist der Immobilienmarkt der Gefahr einer Preisblase ausgesetzt. Da eine Zinserhöhung in nächster Zeit nicht zu erwarten ist, rücken andere institutionelle Handlungsmöglichkeiten in den Fokus. Hohe Eigenkapitalquoten sowohl der Kreditnehmer als auch der Banken sowie lange Zinsbindungsfristen können Preisblasen entgegenwirken. After the financial crisis, some Euro countries are still facing major economic problems. They require favourable interest rate conditions in order to free themselves from their difficulties. But due to the low interest rate policy of the ECB, the risk of a housing price bubble in Germany is increasing. Since a rise in interest rates is not expected in the near future, other national institutional possibilities come to the fore. High capital ratios of both the borrower and the banks, and long rate fixation periods may counteract the development and impact of price bubbles. This might improve the stability of the German real estate market.

This paper investigates household dissolution and changes in asset wealth (socio-economic position) in a rural South African community containing settled refugees. Survival analysis applied to a longitudinal dataset indicated that the covariates increasing the risk of forced household dissolution were a reduction in socio-economic position (asset wealth), adult deaths and the permanent outmigration of more than 40% of the household. Conversely, the risk of dissolution was reduced by bigger households, state grants and older household heads. Significant spatial clusters of former refugee villages also showed a higher risk of dissolution after 20 years of permanent residence. A discussion of the dynamics of dissolution showed how an outflow/inflow of household assets (socio-economic position) was precipitated by each of the selected covariates. The paper shows how an understanding of the dynamics of forced household dissolution, combined with the use of geo-spatial mapping, can inform inter-disciplinary policy in a rural community.

P25 loaded few layered molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets (P25@MoS2) are successfully synthesized through a facile one-step hydrothermal process. The bi-catalytic activities, i.e., photocatalytic and electrocatalytic activities, of the as-prepared nanomaterials have been investigated. For the as-prepared products, the photocatalytic performances were investigated by degrading simulated pollutant under sunlight irradiation, and the hydrogen evolution reaction evaluated the electrocatalytic performances. The results indicate that P25@MoS2 possesses excellent activities in both photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. The presence of MoS2 broadens the light absorption range of P25 and improves the separation and transformation efficiency of photogenerated carriers, thus improving its photocatalytic performance. The existence of P25 inhibits the aggregation of MoS2 to form more dispersed MoS2 nanosheets with only few layers increasing its active sites. Thereby, the electrocatalytic performance is heightened. The excellent multifunction makes the as-prepared P25@MoS2 a promising material in the fields of environment and energy.

This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the link between internal mobility and economic growth through the case of a European country, such as Poland. According to the study, the origin of immigration flows explains the trend of regional disparity. The estimates suggest that the impact of immigration from urban areas is positive and prevalent compared to the aggregate. Conversely, the influence from the rural areas is negative and slowing economic performance of the region of destination. These results demonstrate that there is heterogeneity in the flow of immigration and that the differences may depend on the level of human capital in the different places of origin.

This paper uses the 2005 and 2006 China General Social Survey (CGSS) to study the relationship between social capital and self-reported health in China. It is the most comprehensive analysis of this subject to date, both in the sizes of the samples it analyses, in the number of social capital variables it investigates, and in its treatment of endogeneity. The authors identify social trust, social relationships, and social networks as important determinants of self-reported health. The magnitude of the estimated effects are economically important, in some cases being of the same size or larger than the effects associated with age and income. Their findings suggest that there is scope for social capital to be a significant policy tool for improving health outcomes in China.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) regulates important neuronal functions via p35. p35 undergoes cleavage in response to neuronal activity and neurotoxic conditions to release its subunit p25. Although p25 has been implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases, the mechanisms by which p25 mediates neurodegenerative impairment have not been fully elucidated. We aimed to determine the role of p25-mediated neurodegeneration on neurogenesis in an inducible transgenic mouse line overexpressing p25 (p25 TG) in the forebrain. Adult neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) were labeled with BrdU in vivo, which were significantly increased in numbers in the subventricular zone, the hippocampus, and the cortex of p25 TG mice. Consistently, more mitotic cells were observed in p25 TG mice than in controls, even in the cortex and the CA1, which are not neurogenic regions. BrdU-positive cells were negative for GFAP or γ-H2AX, suggesting that they are not astrocytes or dying cells. Neurospheres derived from the dentate gyrus and the cortex were significantly increased in p25 TG mice and can be differentiated into astrocytes and neurons. However, p25 TG decreased the long-term survival of proliferating NPCs and severely impaired adult neurogenesis. A Transwell co-culture system was used to assess the influence of p25-expressing primary neurons on adult NPCs. Co-culture with p25-expressing neurons downregulated Ki67 expression and upregulated cleaved caspase-3, indicating that the paracrine signaling in cell-cell communication is essential for NPC survival and proliferation. Moreover, increased CDK5 activity impairs Wnt activation. This study demonstrates that hyperactivation of p25 may temporarily enhance NPC proliferation, but impair their long-term survival., Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (NARSAD Young Investigator Award), American Heart Association (American Heart Scientist Development Award), National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH R01AG046174), National Natural Science Foundation (China) (Grant No. 81560205), National University of Defense Technology (China) (Research Foundation (JC 14-02-01)), Neurodegeneration Consortium, Glenn Foundation for Medical Research

The chapter aims to introduce an integrated approach to concepts of (1) smart cities and (2) age-friendly cities and communities. Although these ideas are widely promoted by the European Union and the World Health Organisation, they are perceived as separate. Meanwhile, these concepts are closely intermingled in theory and practise concerning the promotion of healthy and active ageing, a universal design, usability and accessibility of age-friendly environments, reducing of the digital divide and robotic divide, and reducing of older adults' social isolation. The conclusion underlines the need for participatory creation of ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies and applications with older adults and the need for advocacy to promote AAL in the context of the silver economy especially in the Central and Eastern Europe.

This article is an analysis of how the rural area was defined in the Romanian legislation starting with the oldest law in force until last legislative initiatives in the field. The texts of Romanian legal acts were studied comparatively and against the provisions of the European Charter of Rural Areas. It was found that the definition of rural area in Romania was done generally by comparison and even in opposition to urban area. The new European paradigm emphasizes the complementarity of the two areas, different as specificity but equally important. Thus, the European Union's aim is no longer to transform rural into urban but to preserve and capitalize the specificity of each area in order to increase the living standards of all citizens, to maintain a healthy natural environment and to comply with the principles of sustainable development. National legislation does not seem to keep up with these trends, the biggest risk identified so far being a low rate of absorption of European funds. To avoid blockages, the documents providing the access to finance found, however, solutions for choosing beneficiaries specific to them. However, redefining the Romanian rural area within the national legislation, rigorously and in compliance with current European trends is a necessity for the elaboration of sustainable development policies in the medium and long term.

The Urban Network and Territory research, developing in the Directory of Studies and Regional, Urban and Environmental Policies (Dirur) of the Ipea, comes following the activities focused on dynamic analysis, characterization and prospect about the urban agglomerations and the urban-regional system. With focus 2000-2014 period, highlights the changes in relations between the territories, demographic profile, productive and functional of the municipalities and their relations with the outside world, as well as in the configuration and trend of socio-spatial organization of the South American continent, in order to contribute to the development of strategies to support the formulation and implementation of territorial development policy (urban and regional) national and regional scale, In addition to subsidizing studies, research and policies of that order in scales of the subcontinent and the States of the Federation. This research is justified since over the last decade, the process of urbanization in the country and the continent have intensified. The creation of new towns, the growth of small and medium-sized cities, the population density in areas already consolidated and the occupation of pioneer fronts are some of the phenomena that characterize the ongoing process. For understanding the nature of the process of urbanization, the phenomena mentioned above need to be more clearly identified and characterized in detail, and enlarged its analysis, especially with regard to the functional role of urban centres, productive restructuring which took place (in particular the processes of industrial de-concentration and expansion of the agricultural frontier), the demographic dynamics of the cities and towns and economic infrastructure , and existing urban social-including logistic networks.

The general objective of the wider research this paper is part of is to analyze in a multidisciplinary framework the economic development poles of the Romanian border areas and to identify the ways to building a viable strategy in a cross-border framework. One of the specific objectives is to design a complex model that shapes an adequate architecture for a development strategy for a cross-border area. A result that meets this objective is an architectural tridimensional model for building a development strategy for a cross-border area that is presented in this paper, based on the growth/development poles. The description includes the main coordinates and representations of the model, where the building framework is the institutional system layered on many levels, the main levels being structured by the economic sectors and where the solidity points are the growth/development poles from the cross-border area.

U ovom diplomskom radu prikazani su sustavi koji se koriste u trenutcima krize, odnosno u kriznim situacijama. Prije opisivanja svakog od sustava za komunikaciju u kriznima situacijama prikazani su motivi za pisanje rada, kao i opisivanje svih vrsta krize, od prirodnih katastrofa do nekih situacija koje uzrokuju ljudi. Pošto je velik broj svakodnevnih kriznih situacija u svijetu, potrebno je da su sustavi što efikasniji. U radu su prikazani sustavi: TETRA, TETRAPOL (kao i sustav koji im je prethodio, a to je kanalni radijski sustav), LTE, DMR i P25. Prikazani su principi rada svih tih sustava i njihove karakteristike. Također su prikazane i prednosti i nedostatci svakog od sustava za komunikaciju u kriznim situacijama te ilustrirane arhitekture sustava i uvid u sva sučelja sustava. LTE predstavlja dio GSM evolucijskog pravca za mobilne, širokopojasne mreže, nakon EDGE, UMTS, HSPA i evolucijske HSPA. Karakteristike LTE sustava koje su standardizirane od strane standardizacijskog tijela 3GPP za kritčne komunikacije su: grupna komunikacija sa PTT (engl. push to talk) značajkama, uređaj- uređaj komunikacija, grupna MCPTT (engl. mission chritical push to talk) komunikacija i ProSe usluge (engl. proximity services). Grupna komunikacija sa PTT značajkama je najvažnija karakteristika u kritično nužnim glasovnim uslugama jer omogućuje efikasnu komunikaciju u grupi samo pritiskom tipke za PTT. Usluga MCPTT je namijenjena za podršku poboljšanoj PTT usluzi, prikladnoj za kritično nužne scenarije, između nekoliko korisnika (grupni poziv), gdje svaki korisnik ima mogućnost dobiti pristup dopuštenju za razgovor na presudan način. MCPTT prvenstveno ima za cilj osigurati profesionalnu PTT uslugu koja omogućuje grupnu komunikaciju. ProSe značajke usmjerene su na direktno pronalaženje mobilnih uređaja koji su u neposrednoj blizini jedan od drugoga, kao i omogućavanje optimiziranih komunikacija među njima, uključujući komunikaciju direktnim putem. Osnovne stavke kod sustava za grupnu komunikaciju (GCSE) koje moraju biti zadovoljene su: interoperabilnost, učinkovitost, skalabilnost, ProSe, fleksibilnost, visoka dostupnost, te učinkovitost resursa. Kod LTE sustava također su opisane i doate funkcionalnosti koje su standardizirane od strane 3GPP, kao što su izolirani rad E-UTRAN, korištenje korisničkih uređaja visoke odašiljačke snage i dijeljenje pristupne radio mreže (RAN). E-UTRAN osigurava da ne dođe do prekida komunikacije zbog nekog problema kroz samostalni rad LTE baznih postaja koje pružaju usluge povezivanja korisnika kada bazne postaje nisu povezane sa ostatkom jezgrene LTE mreže. Korisnički uređaj visoke snage omogućava veću prostornu pokrivenost kroz povećanje odašiljačke snage uređaja, te veću učinkovitost i dostupnost. Dijeljenjem pristupne radio mreže poboljšava se kvaliteta usluge u područjima sa većom zagušenošću prometa te se povećava dostupnost. Na kraju rada su opisani budući sustavi za komunikaciju u kriznim situacijama odnosno budući PPDR sustavi. Budući PPDR sustavi su u osnovi bazirani na povezanosti između TETRA i LTE sustava. U radu je prikazana njihova moguća povezanosti kako bi se smanjili nedostatci i povećale prednosti svakog od tih sustava.

International audience; The development of photoactive materials with self-cleaning and depolluting qualities is a hot topic in materials science, given their impact on several technologies, in a wide range of contexts of applications. Anatase phase titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the largest used photocatalyst, with increasing applications ranging from air quality control to renewable energies, to green building materials for zero energy communities. Yet, it is partially transmissive in the near infrared (NIR), which negatively affects the solar reflectance of TiO2 containing materials. In this contribution we describe an unexpected increase in anatase near infrared (NIR) reflectance observed during environmental exposure. We unveil its complex mechanisms, based on the contact with nitric acid generated by NOx photocatalytic degradation, which causes partial reduction and decrease in crystallinity to TiO2. This may open the way for introducing multiple environmentally beneficial effects on TiO2 pollutants degradation, self-cleaning, and energy performance.

Inefficiently organized, factory-dominated cityscapes have been one of the more enduring legacies of the twentieth century experiment with socialist central planning in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Drawing on a unique survey of large, formerly state-owned urban industrial firms in Russia, we explore how land tenure reforms affect the pace at which this legacy is being erased. Specifically, the privatization of plots is shown to promote the development of a rental market that transfers land use rights away from socialist-era industrial users. We address the potential endogeneity of land tenure in two ways, including using a measure of regional variation in urban land policy as an instrumental variable.

Many Polish cities are faced with a dilemma: to enact their local land-use plans and be exposed to the immediate financial consequences of their adoption, or to protect their budgets against these costs and give up control of the development of the cities. There are very broad compensation rights for value decline due to planning regulations and for areas designated in plans for public roads. At the same time, current planning system policies and instruments in Poland largely neglect how the costs of providing urban infrastructure and services are socialized and how the benefits of development processes are privatized. The use of value capture instruments is very limited. This paper discusses the distribution of rights and liabilities in relation to the two main sides of the property-values effect caused by land-use planning regulations and public works in Poland, in the background of the new planning system and property-rights approach adopted in the country. The article presents the current situation, initially explores a possible ways forward based on varied international experiences, discusses the institutional design of land markets, and indicates the need for planning by Law and property rights.

This report summarizes the characteristics of migration in the People's Republic of China (PRC) after its reforms and opening up. Rapid urbanization in the PRC has resulted from recent decades of intense rural-urban migration. The scale of migration increased rapidly and long-term migration is the main characteristic. The population characteristics of migration are determined not only by a personal decision, but also a joint decision within households to send members with comparative advantages in manufacturing and services, usually male and young, to work in cities. Coastal regions where manufacturing and services are better developed, especially big cities, are the major destinations. The aspiration for higher-income and better job opportunities is the major force that drives migration, while public services and urban amenities also partly account for population flows. However, in the PRC, there are still major institutional barriers - especially the hukou system and related segmentation in the urban labor market, social security, and public services access - that hinder rural-urban and interregional migration. Facing the challenges of fast urbanization and growing urban diseases, local governments still rely on the current system to control the population flow into large cities. Controlling population growth by discriminative policies will lead to more social problems. Policy makers should reconsider the way to achieve efficient and harmonious urbanization by shifting to more pro-market policies and reducing the migration costs embedded in institutional constraints.

A new composite of TiO2 (P25) and N-doped carbon quantum dots (P25/NCQD) was prepared by a hydrothermal method and was used for the first time as catalyst of the photo-oxidation of NO under UV and visible light irradiation. P25/NCQD composite exhibited a NO conversion (27.0%) more than two times higher of that observed for P25 (10%) under visible light and the selectivity of the process was increased from 37.4% to 49.3%. The composite also showed better photocatalytic performance than P25 in the UV region with increases of 36.3% on NO conversion and 16.8% on selectivity. Moreover, compared with P25, the photodegradation ratio of methylene blue was enhanced from 68% to 91% after UV irradiation for 1 h. NCQD played a crucial role on the photocatalytic activity improvement of P25/NCQD, increasing visible light absorption, slowing the recombination and improving the charge transfer. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

At least since Schumpeter published his work "The Theory of Economic Development" (1912), a wide body of literature has focused on the evolutionary process behind firm growth and survival. Recently a growing interest is devoted to the variable "location" as a critical factor, shaping firm performance. However, less attention has been paid to the region-specific characteristics that may play a relevant role in determining the growth and survival of a firm. Some works see university-based knowledge spillovers as one such factor (Audretsch and Lehmann 2005, Cassia et al. 2009). This paper extends this approach to the regional innovator network, promoting region-specific knowledge spillovers. Two data bases are applied. First, patent data delivers the innovator network for Thuringia. The second data base contains firm specific information on innovative ventures founded in Thuringia in the period between 1990 and 2006. The results show that the firm´s individual probability to be innovative and connected to the innovator network positively influences the chances of this firm to survive.

This paper evaluates housing policy in the Republic of Korea over the past several decades, describes new challenges arising from the changing environment, and draws lessons for other countries. The most important goals of the housing policy have been to alleviate housing shortages and to stabilize housing prices. To achieve these goals, the government has been engaging the private sector while establishing public sector institutions and legal framework, providing developable land, and allocating housing units to intended target groups. Thanks to the sustained and massive provision of new housing since the 1980s, the country's absolute housing shortage has been resolved, and overall housing conditions have improved substantially. Since the turn of the new millennium, enhancing the housing welfare of low-income households and the underprivileged has been added to housing policy goals. The supply of public rental housing was increased, and a housing benefit was introduced to address the new policy goal, but more work needs to be done. Today, the Republic of Korea also faces new housing challenges regarding the country's demographic and socioeconomic changes.

In the last decade, after accession to European Union, Poland has achieved a significant improvement of indicators relating to income on a national level. Polish GDP per capita (in PPP terms) increased from 49% of European Union average in 2004 to 67% in 2013 showing progress in each year (source: Eurostat). Simultaneously an impressive progress was achieved by Polish secondary schools pupils, which is confirmed by international comparisons of educational results (PISA). Empirical analyses of GDP per capita distribution and its dynamics on a regional level in Poland show that the above mentioned progress does not spread out proportionally on all regions and income convergence is not observed. Instead, the relatively fastest growth of initially richest regions (mostly large cities) introduces convergence of clubs which leads to polarization. The purpose of the research is to analyze the relationship between the local convergence of income and educational achievements on a local level in Poland in the period 2003-2013. We aim to verify if and how the convergence processes of these two phenomena are related to each other. The analysis is applied on the level of municipalities (LAU 2, former NUTS 5). Income is measured in terms of per capita revenue in municipality budget from the share in receipts from personal income tax (source of data: Local Data Bank, Polish Central Statistical Office). Educational achievements are measured by the median results of standardized lower-secondary school leaving exams (source of data: Polish Central Examination Board). We introduce a concept of parallel convergence as a way of measurement of the co-relationship between the two phenomena. The evolution of the joint distribution of income and educational achievements is analyzed with the use of a transition matrix generalized for the two-dimensional distributions and with two dimensional kernel density estimates. The analysis shows that in regions with initially highest relative income also initial educational achievements are usually equal to or higher than the average for the whole country. In the regions with relatively lowest initial income the initial distribution of educational achievements does not differ from its distribution for all municipalities. The joint distribution is relatively stable over time. Initial analysis of the dynamics of the joint distribution between 2003 and 2013 shows that for regions with initially lowest income the probability of improving low exam results is lower than the probability of becoming relatively richer. The largest mobility of the joint distribution was observed for the groups with the lowest or low initial income and the highest educational achievements, while highest persistence was found for the groups initially richest with high or the highest educational achievements.

This paper investigates the persistence of entrepreneurship in the region of Kaliningrad between 1925 and 2010. During this time period the area experienced a number of extremely disruptive shocks including; devastation caused by World War II, a nearly complete replacement of the native German population by Soviets, and 45 years under an anti- entrepreneurial socialist economic regime followed by a shock-type transition to a market economy. Nevertheless, we find a surprisingly high level of persistence of industry-specific self-employment rates in the districts of the Kaliningrad region. Our analysis suggests that persistence of entrepreneurship is higher in regions with a history of successful entrepreneurship. That is, in regions where a specific industry was particularly efficient and entrepreneurial activity was especially pronounced.

Polish cities are constantly changing, and in view of the rapid socio-economic and political changes are naturally faced with many new problems. As a result of the wave of political and economic changes which took place after 1989, many Polish cities faced not only the challenge of adapt their spaces to the changing conditions and needs of the residents, but also that of adapting their competencies and skills to changing requirements and needs of the labour market. Problems of unemployment, with their associated long-term problems of poverty and social exclusion, as well as a lack of local community engagement in public life worsened the plight of many former industrial cities. Revitalization of the regeneration processes, designed to lead portions or entire cities out of the crisis, seems to be the ideal tool to improve the situation of decaying industrial cities. This article attempts to identify the key components in the revitalization and regeneration processes available to such cities, in particular their economic bases and the opportunities offered by such processes. Polskie miasta ulegają ciągłym przemianom, a w dobie intensywnych przemian społeczno-gospodarczych i politycznych borykają się z wieloma problemami. Wskutek przemian polityczno-gospodarczych po 1989 r. wiele miast poprzemysłowych stanęło przed wyzwaniem dostosowania nie tylko ich przestrzeni do zmieniających się uwarunkowań i potrzeb mieszkańców, ale także przed wyzwaniem dostosowania kompetencji i umiejętności pracowników do zmieniających się wymagań i potrzeb rynku pracy. Problemy bezrobocia, w tym długotrwałego, ubóstwa, marginalizacji społecznej oraz te związane z brakiem aktywności lokalnej społeczności w życiu publicznym powodują trudną sytuację wielu miast poprzemysłowych. Rewitalizacja jako proces naprawczy, wyprowadzający fragmenty lub całe miasta z sytuacji kryzysowej wydaje się idealnym narzędziem poprawy sytuacji miast poprzemysłowych. Niniejszy artykuł stanowi próbę identyfikacji kluczowych związków przemian gospodarki miast poprzemysłowych, szczególnie ich bazy ekonomicznej i procesu rewitalizacji.

This paper uses the 2005 and 2006 China General Social Survey (CGSS) to study the relationship between social capital and health in China. It is the most comprehensive analysis of this subject to date, both in the sizes of the samples it analyses, in the number of social capital variables it investigates, and in its treatment of endogeneity. The authors identify social trust, social relationships, and social networks as important determinants of self-reported health. The magnitude of the estimated effects are economically important, in some cases being of the same size or larger than the effects associated with age and income. Their findings suggest that there is scope for social capital to be a significant policy tool for improving health outcomes in China.

This paper analyzes the housing markets and housing policies in Hong Kong, China and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Both markets face housing affordability problems due to limited land supply, for which the solutions vary considerably. Hong Kong, China has adopted a railway and property development model, which involves close collaboration between the government and property developers in compact urban areas, while leaving most greenbelts and surrounding islands underdeveloped. Although the PRC has pledged to maintain a minimum level of basic farmland to feed its large population, this target has often been compromised due to local governments' fiscal constraints and growth concerns. The targets and outcomes of housing policies in both markets are in line with their social welfare systems. Hong Kong, China favors the elderly and the poor, thus housing policies tend to support the lower-income band. The PRC focuses on the young and the rich; hence, most regulative housing policies for the higher-income band have turned out to be unsuccessful. Hong Kong, China also aims to assist public housing tenants to become private homeowners, but its policies help provide housing subsidies, a less effective measure to access owner-occupied housing. On the contrary, the success of Housing Provident Fund in providing mortgage interest rate reduction, which is a more effective measure to access owner-occupied housing, accounts for the high homeownership rate in the PRC.

Titanium dioxide in powder form is largely used as a catalyst in the field of detoxification of aqueous effluents by photocatalysis. One of the most efficient commercial photocatalysts is TiO2/P25 manufactured by flame hydrolysis. In this work, we compared the photocatalytic efficiency between this commercial P25 and a synthetic TiO2-AgCl prepared in our laboratory by sol-gel method. The photocatalytic activities of P25 and TiO2-AgCl were tested using methylene blue (MB) solution under UV and visible light irradiation. The P25 and TiO2-AgCl photocatalyts were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, and SEM. Synthesized temperature had an effect on phase transformation of TiO2leading to a photoactivity. The results of the photodegradation experiments explain this difference between the P25 and TiO2-AgCl. For the TiO2-AgCl system, MB was significantly more degraded under UV exposure than when it was exposed to the visible light. The significant enhancement in the TiO2-AgCl photoactivity under UV irradiation can be ascribed to simultaneous effects of AgCl deposits both by acting as electron traps and enhancing the MB adsorption on the TiO2-AgCl surface. It is noted that TiO2-AgCl nanoparticles calcined at 400 °C show high composition of anatase phase with the smallest crystallite size, factor responsible for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity. It was also apparent that photocatalytic activity of TiO2-AgCl nanoparticles is higher than a commercial P25 due to a higher concentration of OH radicals on TiO2 surface and a smaller crystallite size. Furthermore, the photocatalytic kinetic were also observed.

Inspiriert durch die Beispiele westlicher Staaten sind Technologie-, Gründer- und Innovationszentren (TGZ) auch in mittel- und osteuropäischen (MOE-)Ländern aus dem Spektrum wirtschaftspolitischer Maßnahmen nicht mehr wegzudenken. Die Errichtung von TGZ in MOE-Ländern folgt der generellen Annahme, dass diese als zentrale Katalysatoren hin zu einer mittelstands- und existenzgründungsbasierten Restrukturierung ökonomischer Systeme fungieren können. Neben der Unterstützung von Unternehmensgründungen und kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen wird von TGZ außerdem beispielsweise erwartet, dass sie den regionalen Wissens- und Technologietransfer beschleunigen. Gegenwärtig ist nicht bekannt, inwiefern TGZ in MOE-Ländern den verschiedenen Facetten ihres Auftrags gerecht werden. Um diesbezüglichen Untersuchungen eine Datengrundlage bereitzustellen, hat das IWH im Rahmen der Aktualisierung der IWH-TGZ-Datenbank eine Erweiterung auf ausgewählte MOELänder vorgenommen: Polen, die Tschechische Republik, die Slowakei sowie Lettland, Estland und Litauen. Der Beitrag stellt erste Ergebnisse dieser Erhebungswelle vor.