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This study finds that the livestock environmental regulation (LER) imposed by China has promoted the spatial agglomeration of hog production in the administrative border areas, thereby posing a threat to ecological sustainability. We apply the difference-in-differences-in-differences (DDD) method to a unique dataset in counties along the main stem and 38 important tributaries of the Yangtze River basin in China from 2008 to 2019. Specifically, the slaughter volume and density of hogs in the most downstream border counties of a city are 7.87% and 9.56% higher, respectively, than those of otherwise identical counties within the same municipal jurisdiction. Conversely, in the most upstream border counties, these figures decreased by 12.02% and 15.35%, respectively. Moreover, we find that the fixed capital investment in the most downstream border counties is 22.54% less than that in otherwise identical counties. These findings imply that LER has driven the agglomeration of hog production in downstream administrative border areas, inadvertently shifting the pollution burden to these regions and posing potential challenges to the effectiveness of environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the recent invasion of Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood in North America, there is limited information regarding their distribution and population dynamics in cultivated small fruit crops. Therefore, we investigated the spatial and temporal distribution of S. dorsalis and their natural enemies in commercially produced strawberry fields in Florida. During 2 consecutive strawberry production seasons, 4 and 6 geographically separated strawberry fields were sampled and were divided into grids with 30–40 sampling points per field. At each sampling point, 4–5 leaf and flower samples were collected, and sticky traps were deployed. We quantified the occurrence of S. dorsalis as well as potential natural enemies, including Orius spp. Geocoris spp. and other predators such as long-legged flies. During both years, most of the S. dorsalis and natural enemies were found on field borders, and counts progressively diminished further into the interiors of plots and away from field edges. Cluster and outlier analysis revealed that S. dorsalis formed statistically significant clusters and that these "hot spots" remained in the same general locations throughout the season. There was a strong relationship between the occurrence of natural enemies and the presence of S. dorsalis , but the number of natural enemies was generally low compared to S. dorsalis. Our results indicate that targeting field borders for chemical control or planting strawberries away from natural areas containing potential alternative hosts for thrips may be an effective strategy for reducing agricultural inputs; however, future field assessments are needed to determine if these methods could replace the treatment of entire fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I estimate a gravity model that provides strong evidence that border effects are heterogeneous by region and test for the presence of the spatial attenuation effect and international market access costs. I introduce GDP, importer population density, and importer metropolitan statistical area count as determinants of the border effect. I find the strong and robust result that border effects are decreasing in the GDP of the importing and exporting region: a 10% increase in importer GDP results in a 3.24% to 3.67% increase in international trade relative to domestic trade while a 10% increase in exporter GDP results in an increase in international trade relative to domestic trade by between 2.41% and 2.68%. These results are robust to a variety of specifications and indicate the existence of the spatial attenuation effect. However, this paper finds no indication of market access costs differing significantly when trade crosses the U.S.-Canada border. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study builds a theoretical framework on how subnational governments use promotion schemes to motivate local bureaucrats to address conflicting tasks of economic development and environmental protection. We argue that subnational (province) governments can strategically allocate polluting industries to border areas to make neighbors bear the social cost of pollution and use promotion incentives to make their subordinates (city leaders) comply. Hence, when the central government imposes a stricter environmental regulation policy on provincial governments, border-city leaders obtain a higher probability of promotion. Based on a panel dataset of leaders' career information and administrations across cities in China, we find an increase in promotion probability for border-city leaders compared with their non-border counterparts after 2011 when the environmental protection task became more important. A potential channel is that border-city leaders accept the migration of polluting industries as a signal of compliance. In addition, this effect is more prominent for newly appointed leaders who have stronger political motivations and rely more on their superiors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the Indonesian government has been recommending double-row transplanting systems, i.e., Jajar Legowo (JL) and Jejer Manten (JM), to increase rice production. These systems have been reported to obtain higher yield of Indica rice cultivars than the standard tile (TL) system, primarily due to the border effect. However, scientific investigations of the border effect in these transplanting systems remain limited. This study was conducted during the summer seasons in Japan in 2022 and 2023 to observe the plant growth and yield of a Japonica rice cultivar, Nikomaru, and to investigate differences in meteorological properties, such as intercepted solar radiation (SRint). The study found that higher plant competition for light in JM and JL caused a lower tiller number and above-ground biomass (Wt) per hill than in TL. However, due to denser planting, JM and JL obtained higher tiller numbers, Wt, and sink capacity per unit area than TL. Additionally, the denser canopy in JM and JL compared to TL increased SRint by the whole canopy, even though the space between the double rows was wider. Although SRint was not significantly different among the systems, higher normalized difference vegetation index in JM and JL was strongly correlated with a higher sink filling rate due to the healthier canopy absorbing more solar radiation. The synergistic effect of higher sink capacity and sink filling rate led to higher yields in JM and JL than in TL. This study suggests that JM is the best transplanting system for increasing rice yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the Indonesian government has been recommending double-row transplanting systems, i.e., Jajar Legowo (JL) and Jejer Manten (JM), to increase rice production. These systems have been reported to obtain higher yield of Indica rice cultivars than the standard tile (TL) system, primarily due to the border effect. However, scientific investigations of the border effect in these transplanting systems remain limited. This study was conducted during the summer seasons in Japan in 2022 and 2023 to observe the plant growth and yield of a Japonica rice cultivar, Nikomaru, and to investigate differences in meteorological properties, such as intercepted solar radiation (SRint). The study found that higher plant competition for light in JM and JL caused a lower tiller number and above-ground biomass (Wt) per hill than in TL. However, due to denser planting, JM and JL obtained higher tiller numbers, Wt, and sink capacity per unit area than TL. Additionally, the denser canopy in JM and JL compared to TL increased SRint by the whole canopy, even though the space between the double rows was wider. Although SRint was not significantly different among the systems, higher normalized difference vegetation index in JM and JL was strongly correlated with a higher sink filling rate due to the healthier canopy absorbing more solar radiation. The synergistic effect of higher sink capacity and sink filling rate led to higher yields in JM and JL than in TL. This study suggests that JM is the best transplanting system for increasing rice yield.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of countries participation in global trade formats on the turnover of commodity and industrial products in the Western macrozone of the Asia-Pacific Region (APR) in 1993–2021. It is shown that over the last three decades the Western macrozone of the APR, which includes the countries of East Asia, Oceania and Australia, has become the most dynamic economy in the world due to the reduction of restrictions in intra-regional trade. The estimation of border effects based on the gravity model confirmed the long-term total cost reduction for trade in commodity and industrial products in the Western macrozone of the APR. The estimates identified the crucial importance of global format mechanisms for trade expansion in the Western macrozone of the APR in the long run: by 113% for commodity products; by 101% for industrial products. The assessment of indirect trade effects revealed the key role of global formats in expanding trade in the Western macrozone of the APR by creating a common ‘benchmark’ for reducing trade barriers, including by extending such behavior to countries that have not acceded to the GATT and WTO. The discovered multiplication of direct and indirect trade effects of the GATT and WTO indicated the sufficiency of the mechanisms of global formats for the formation of a free market for commodities in the Western macrozone of the APR, which does not require the creation of free trade zones, in contrast to the market for industrial goods, which operates under conditions of monopolistic competition. The estimates obtained in the study complement the existing conclusions on the impact of integration formats on trade, indicating that the sectoral aspect of trade interactions is a key parameter for identifying rational motives explaining the use of specific integration instruments to expand trade within the Western macrozone of the APR. On the basis of the obtained assessments the motives of Russia’s long-term trade and economic positioning within the Western macrozone of the APR with reliance on the WTO mechanisms under the conditions of preserving the raw material model of the national economy are explained

Trade integration associated with globalization and regionalization processes has contributed to the expansion of trade among countries of Asia-Pacific Region (APR), with the contribution of the globalization process to the integration effect being dominant. This study tests the hypothesis that regionalization associated with trade agreements has stimulated trade in certain product markets concentrated within a particular geographical part of the APR. Disaggregation estimates of integration effects were made based on a gravity model for manufactured and primarily products traded in the Western macrozone, in the Eastern macrozone and between macrozones of the APR respectively for the period 1996–2021. The estimates confirmed the hypothesis that the positive effects of regionalization in the APR stimulated only by the market for manufactured products traded in the Western macrozone and between the APR macrozones. Correspondingly, the positive effects of regionalization for the Eastern macrozone countries for manufactured products segment during the period under analysis were associated with trade agreements exclusively with East Asian countries located in the Western macrozone. For the APR countries specializing in exports of primarily products, the long-term strategy of expanding trade agreements was not significant in contrast to countries specializing in trade of manufactured products and promoting industrial cooperation. The assessments revealed the suppression of primarily products trade within the Western macrozone, clearly indicating the targeted priority of trade agreements in expanding of manufactured products trade. The estimates also identified reasons for the dominance of globalization in the effects of integration in the APR: the functioning of the commodities market; the expansion of trade agreements among Eastern macrozone countries, driven by political rather than economic motives

The influence of borders on the spatial organization of the life of society determines the need to take into account the borderland phenomenon: a phenomenon that endows the territory with special properties and functions. A number of authors interpret the borderland phenomenon as a predisposition to interact with a neighbor. It can broach a variety of problems and restrictions associated with a border, from the cultural influence of a neighboring state to issues of mutual trade. Other researchers believe that the borderland phenomenon is defined as a type of geographical location that endows a territory with special functions. Still others suggest talking about the "border effect" and its influence on the adjacent territories. A synthesis of approaches allows us to interpret the borderland phenomenon as territorial manifestations of the immediate proximity of the border, as well as positional properties and functions of a territory, due to the location of the border. Border territories can be central, semiperipheral, and peripheral. The borderland phenomenon potentially provides conditions and resources for the development of territories; however, with deep peripherality, even for open borders, growth zones do not form. In addition, the redistribution of functions between different types of borders and their adaptation to external geopolitical challenges change the significance and correlation of the border and peripheral properties of the territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the border effect phenomenon affecting the mobility of inhabitants in border regions. It aims to identify the determinants of the border effect in transport at the municipal level, considering the distance from the border, the populations and the characteristics of the closest bordering country. The survey in the Czech Republic eventually involved 675 representatives of municipalities who answered questions on inter-municipal mobility. The results confirmed that the most substantial handicap was population size, with small populations corresponding to the limited use of public transport when travelling beyond a given border. The results confirmed that the characteristics of the state or region that shares the border must be considered when assessing border regions. Therefore, the solution to the problems of individual border regions cannot be viewed with a single instrument. It is necessary to consider substantial differences resulting from the economic level of neighbouring countries.

The spatial planning for border port areas often requires consideration to the influence of cross-border bilateral exchanges and cross-border natural habitat ecosystems on territorial spaces, and implementation of national initiatives such as the "Community with a Shared Future" and the "Belt and Road Initiative". The existing research on spatial planning focuses more on the administrative areas within a country and less on the cross-border regional connections. Also, existing literature regarding border port areas as typological research focuses more on economic and spatial development modes and less on the influence of 'networks and flow' on the territorial spaces. The author, based on the work practices in the land border areas in Yunnan and Jilin provinces as well as combining the theoretical concept 'network and flow' of Michael Batty, describes the features of cross-border flow network by use of border effect framework, researches the key considerations for the spatial planning for cross-border areas in the new era of spatial planning system construction, and initially provides optimization measures exampled by specific cases, which can be used as reference for the spatial planning for cross-border areas at all levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores whether social ties, proxied by Facebook friendship links, can explain why the number and value of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are greater within countries than between countries. We find that social ties are positively correlated with the number and value of M&As. We also demonstrate that the home bias in M&As is greatly reduced once we control for the differences in social ties between and within countries. We further find that social ties particularly facilitate M&As when the level of corruption is high, press freedom is limited in the target country, and there are more cultural differences between the acquirer and target countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our findings suggest that risk-sharing is 24.6% higher within Brazilian federal states than between a sample of South American countries. This "border effect" occurs irrespective of the geographical distance between regions which, in turn, decreases risk-sharing (by 2.3% per thousand kilometers). We report that the variance of state disposable income is between 73.1 and 78.5% lower than the variance of gross state product in Brazil. Our results show that fiscal federalism promotes risk-sharing by reducing the volatility of disposable income. The tax-transfers system is progressive as income persistently flows from rich to poorer Brazilian states. We conclude that the benefits from increasing international integration within South America will be higher than in the intranational case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing enables the rapid assessment of many traits that provide valuable information to plant breeders throughout the growing season to improve genetic gain. These traits are often extracted from remote sensing data on a row segment (rows within a plot) basis enabling the quantitative assessment of any row-wise subset of plants in a plot, rather than a few individual representative plants, as is commonly done in field-based phenotyping. Nevertheless, which rows to include in analysis is still a matter of debate. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate row selection and plot trimming in field trials conducted using four-row plots with remote sensing traits extracted from RGB (red-green-blue), LiDAR (light detection and ranging), and VNIR (visible near infrared) hyperspectral data. Uncrewed aerial vehicle flights were conducted throughout the growing seasons of 2018 to 2021 with data collected on three years of a sorghum experiment and two years of a maize experiment. Traits were extracted from each plot based on all four row segments (RS) (RS1234), inner rows (RS23), outer rows (RS14), and individual rows (RS1, RS2, RS3, and RS4). Plot end trimming of 40 cm was an additional factor tested. Repeatability and predictive modeling of end-season yield were used to evaluate performance of these methodologies. Plot trimming was never shown to result in significantly different outcomes from non-trimmed plots. Significant differences were often observed based on differences in row selection. Plots with more row segments were often favorable for increasing repeatability, and excluding outer rows improved predictive modeling. These results support longstanding principles of experimental design in agronomy and should be considered in breeding programs that incorporate remote sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The border effect (BE) is widely observed in crop field experiments, and it has been extensively studied in many crops. However, only limited attention has been paid to the BE of ratoon rice. We conducted field experiments on ratoon rice in Qichun County, Hubei Province, Central China in 2018 and 2019 to compare the BE in the main and ratoon crops, and to quantify the contribution of BE in the main crop to that in the ratoon crop. The BE of two hybrid varieties was measured for the outermost, second outermost, and third outermost rows in each plot of both crops. To determine the contribution of BE between the two crops, portions of hills in the outermost and second outermost rows were uprooted during the harvest of the main crop so that the second and third outermost rows then became the outermost rows in the ratoon crop. Overall, the BE on grain yield was greater in the main crop than in the ratoon crop. In the main crop, the BE on grain yield was 98.3% in the outermost row, which was explained by the BE on panicles m−2, spikelets/panicle, spikelets m−2, and total dry weight. In the ratoon crop, the BE on grain yield was reduced to 60.9 and 27.6% with and without the contribution of the BE in the main crop, respectively. Consequently, 55.1% of the BE on grain yield in the ratoon crop was contributed from the main crop. High stubble dry weight and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) accumulation at the harvest of the main crop were responsible for the contribution of BE in the main crop to that in the ratoon crop. Our results suggest that increases in stubble dry weight and NSC accumulation at the harvest of the main crop could be important strategies for developing high-yielding cropping practices in the rice ratooning system.

In this paper it’s demonstrated that over the past decade Russia has sought to diversify its economic ties in favour of East Asian countries as part of the strategy on ‘turning to the East’. Such ties accounted for almost one third of Russia’s foreign trade turnover by 2020. According to the estimates presented in the article, the negative impact of geopolitical factors on Russian foreign trade has affected most countries that border Russia. At the same time, proximity and the presence of a land border have generally had a positive effect on Russian foreign trade, which indicates the opportunity to redistribute the foreign trade flows towards Asia. An assessment of the intensity of Russia’s foreign trade with East Asian countries demonstrates the redundancy of barriers in bilateral interactions. These estimates indicate a greater intensity of trade between the Russian economy and China, as well as the presence of Russia’s significant potential for expanding trade in the case of ‘deep’ integration with East Asian countries by levelling excess costs: with China – by 84%; with Taiwan – by 86%; with the Republic of Korea – by 102%; with ASEAN countries – by 113%; with Japan – by 122%. Due to the higher share of the trade with China in Russia’s foreign trade, rapprochement with the Chinese economy will contribute to generating large volumes of trade turnover between Russia and the outside world. It has been shown in the paper that as Russia approaches the economies of East Asia, reciprocity should be taken into account when reducing bilateral barriers as it may directly affect the choice of Russian strategy for purposes related to increasing mutual trade

Successful primary spread of huanglongbing (HLB) within the citrus orchard occurs by the dispersal of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP; Diaphorina citri) carrying the HLB bacterium "Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus" (CLas) from external areas to blocks located in the orchard periphery. Higher ACP population is usually concentrated in a strip of up to 200 m from the orchard's edge. Consequently, a higher number of HLB‐symptomatic trees is also detected in this edge strip. Control strategies should be intensified in this strip to prevent further ACP dispersal and therefore to avoid more infected trees in inner blocks. The effect of the citrus planting direction, either parallel or perpendicular to the orchard's edge, was evaluated by comparing the HLB gradient and incidence in blocks located at the orchard's edge by the analysis of satellite images. Six areas with two neighbouring blocks (one planted in parallel and the other in a perpendicular direction) were evaluated in two periods. The exponential decay model was fitted to the HLB incidence at each distance in each block. Parameters from the model (a and b parameters) were similar between blocks planted in parallel (0.60 and 0.018 per metre, on average) and perpendicular (0.75 and 0.016 per metre, on average) planting directions. The total HLB incidence in blocks with a perpendicular planting direction (±30.3%) was higher than in blocks with a parallel planting direction (±22.8%). Overall, planting parallel to the orchard's edge is beneficial in reducing HLB incidence in orchards. This strategy can be integrated into HLB management programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the dividing line of the political entity's jurisdiction, the border causes the discontinuity of social and economic, and then forms political, economic and cultural differences. The border is a key interface for the free cross-border flow of elements, and its shielding or mediating effect affects the welfare level of a country or region's social and economic development. Using the literature review method, this paper sorted out the origins and basic concepts of the border effect, summarized the development context of the border effect from measurement method, research scale and analysis conclusion, and discussed the research perspective and main content of border effect in Economic Geography, World Economic, Regional Economics and Industrial Economics. Based on the heterogeneity of the research perspective, five main measurement methods of border effect were summarized, namely, the gravity model, the law of one price, the Ricardian model, the computable general equilibrium model and the regional growth model. Finally, this paper discusses the future research direction of border effect based on China's practical problems: exploring the countermeasures to overcome the implicit border barrier, strengthening the research on compensation modes of border effect in border areas, and exploring the collaborative optimization mechanism of administrative boundaries at all levels, to promote the high-quality development of China's economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat can be cultivated by hole sowing, but its border effect has not yet been studied. Therefore, we carried out a field experiment from 2021 to 2022 at the Doukou Crop Experimental Demonstration Station (108°52′ E, 34°37′ N) of Northwest A&F University in Jingyang County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, China. The response of dry matter, photosynthetic characteristics, and yield components of wheat to the border effects under the hole sowing method was studied. The results showed specific border effects on each index of five wheat varieties (XN136, XN175, XN527, XN536, and XN765), among which the border effects of XN175 and XN765 were the most significant, with the highest yield. Subsequent correlation analysis revealed that only grain per spike and intercellular carbon dioxide concentration responded negatively to the border effects, and the rest were positively correlated. Finally, we conducted a random forest model analysis of different indicators of wheat varieties with significant border effects. We found that net photosynthetic rate and aboveground dry matter per plant had the most significant impact and contribution to the border effects. In contrast, grain per spike had the most negligible impact on the border effects. Our results fill a gap in the study of the border effects of wheat under hole sowing cultivation for future researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Erratic climatic conditions and poor intrinsic soil properties are major challenges constraining agricultural sustainability, resilience, and food security in the Loess Plateau in China. Thus, it is necessary to explore ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting with organic mulches to improve soil physical properties and maintain sustainable agricultural production. Materials and methods: A consecutive 5-year field experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with ten treatments (three biochar application rates (0, 30, and 60 t ha−1) × three ridge widths (30, 45, and 60 cm) + flat planting without biochar (FP) as a control). Results: Ridges compacted with biochar-soil mixture reduced bulk density and soil solid-phase ratio and increased total and capillary porosity, soil gas-phase ratio, and aggregate stability. Compared to FP, available water content in ridges compacted with biochar-soil mixture increased by 0.5–9.0% at furrow bottoms and 1.4–22.9% at ridge tops. Annual alfalfa fodder yield for MCS30, MCS45, MCS60, SMB30, SMB45, SMB60, DMB30, DMB45, and DMB60 (MCS, SMB, and DMB were abbreviations for ridges compacted with biochar-soil mixture at biochar application rate of 0, 30, and 60 t ha−1, respectively, while subscript numbers 30, 45, and 60 referred to ridge widths) increased by 9.4%, 9.4%, 6.9%, 29.5%, 24.9%, 12.5%, 21.3%, 16.2%, and 6.1%, respectively, over 5 years. Conclusions: Ridges compacted with biochar-soil mixture improved soil physical properties. Suitable biochar application rate was 30 t ha−1 and optimum ridge width was 30 cm for alfalfa production in ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting with biochar application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving business environments as a kind of internally oriented institutional reform has been approved to attract Foreign Direct Investment and promote foreign trade. However, its effect on trade openness has been ignored. By introducing a dummy variable of the border into the gravity equation model, this study redefines and measures the trade openness, representing the ease of goods and service import of an economy. Then we estimate the impact of business environments on trade openness with the ease of doing business score of the World Bank's Doing Business project. The results reveal that, although some countries tend to implement trade protectionism in the time of economic crises and the trade openness suffers temporary setbacks, the overall development trend of the world economy increasingly opens up. Besides, the level of trade openness varies significantly among economies where developed countries demonstrate more openness than developing ones. More importantly, we find the positive effect of business environments on trade openness and the countries with lower development level benefited more from the improving business environments. It highlights the importance of improving business environments in promoting trade openness in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borrowing size plays a crucial role in promoting urban economic development. In theory, administrative boundaries pose obstacles to borrowing size due to the border effect. However, internet development mitigates the adverse impact of administrative boundaries on borrowing size due to the cross-border effect. To verify the above argument, this paper empirically tests the impact of administrative boundaries and internet development on borrowing size based on the panel data of 214 cities in 14 urban agglomerations in China from 2008 to 2019. The results confirm that the internet development has indeed produced a cross-border effect. The mechanism analysis indicates that specialized division and cost saving are mechanisms of the cross-border effect. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the cross-border effect of internet development fosters the borrowing size for developing business and technological functions, while not significantly influencing cultural functions. • The border effect imposed by administrative boundaries impedes borrowing size between cities. • Internet development has brought about cross-border effects and promote borrowing size between cities. • The critical mass required for cities to develop advanced functions can be achieved through online channels. • Specialized division and cost saving are mechanisms behind the cross-border effect. • Internet development promotes the borrowing size for developing business functions and technological functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simultaneous sowing of two or more species in the same field without a fixed location in relation to each other—mixed intercropping—is associated with the problem of optimizing agrotechnics for plants with different requirements and instability of the composition of the crop. An alternative which eliminates these problems can be strip intercropping. Based on the published results of seven long-term field experiments aimed at understanding the proximity effect of various species in strip intercropping, a mathematical simulation of strip intercropping production effects was performed: oat/lupine, barley/pea, wheat/pea, triticale/pea, wheat/barley, wheat/triticale, and triticale/barley. The simulation takes into account different widths of the strips and the possibility of their separation by a path. The yield of strip intercropping consisting of cereals and legumes was similar to the average yield of both components grown in single-species crops. Separating the cereal from the legume plant by a path did not have a major effect on the total yield; however, it increased the share of the legume plant in the yield. The width of the strips was also important in terms of yield and the share of individual species in the yield, especially when strips were separated by a path. Taking into account the level of yield and the technical possibilities of optimizing agrotechnics for each of the components separately, as well as the possibility of separate harvesting, then strip intercropping and strip intercropping separated by paths, with 3 m wide strips, are justified. The analysis of the results showed that the formation of strip intercropping or strip intercropping separated by paths consisting of only two species of cereals does not bring production benefits when compared to monoculture of the individual components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interregional housing price comovement is a stylized fact worldwide. This study explores how it is affected by administrative division adjustment. We exploit city‐county mergers in China as a quasi‐natural experiment to construct a difference‐in‐differences strategy for causal identification. Based on monthly housing price data for districts (counties) in China from 2010 to 2019, we find that city‐county mergers significantly improve correlations in housing prices between the merged county and the urban district. This effect is more obvious in cities with a large economic gap between merged counties and urban districts, located in the central and western regions, and with lower administrative hierarchies (non‐provincial‐capital cities). The mechanism test shows that the impact of city‐county mergers on housing price comovement results mainly from integrating housing demand rather than integrating housing supply, like the unified land supply policy that local government implements in the new administrative scope after mergers. The results are helpful in understanding housing price comovement from the view of regional integration and provide clear policy implications for housing market regulation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of regional economic integration/ convergence in the Pearl River Delta has been the planning goal for 40 years since the reform and opening up. On the basis of methodology about economic convergence, this study investigates the intercity border effects of nine cities in the Pearl River Delta from 2013 to 2020, according to the NPP-VIIRS nighttime light data. Geographically, in addition to Guangzhou being located in the center, the integration trend on the east bank of the Pearl River Delta is clear, whereas three different clusters are found on the west bank. Based on the clustering of three metropolitan areas, namely, Guangzhou–Foshan–Zhaoqing, Shenzhen–Dongguan–Huizhou, and Zhuhai–Zhongshan–Jiangmen, the convergence development and common improvement among the cities in the three metropolitan areas have large differences. Guangzhou–Foshan–Zhaoqing has no convergence trend at all, whereas narrowing gaps are found in Shenzhen-Dongguan-Huizhou. Economic convergence among cities are related to the industrial synergy development. On the basis of the research conclusion, attention should be given to the advantageous industries in each city instead of standing on the original metropolitan area planning. Periphery cities should understand their own industry advantages to proceed the industrial synergy development within core cities. • Barriers to economic convergence in PRD are the intra-metropolitan-area gaps. • Shenzhen–Dongguan–Huizhou shows a significant convergence trend. • Guangzhou–Foshan–Zhaoqing has no convergence trend at all. • Zhuhai–Zhongshan and Jiangmen–Zhongshan shows separate convergence trend. • High level of industry synergy can explain the economic convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of 'border effects' and the implementation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on international trade in manufacturing goods. We take advantage of the time dimension in a panel setting to capture the rise of trade in final goods and intermediate inputs that are a distinguishing feature of Global Value Chains (GVCs). Our results suggest that reduced border effects account for the bulk of the increase in international manufacturing trade. The cost of a national border is estimated to have fallen by around 4.3% per year for trade in final goods and 2.8% for trade in intermediate inputs. Moreover, we show that it is important to control for different border effects for final goods and intermediate inputs when estimating the trade impact of FTAs in gravity equations. With this enhancement, our results suggest that FTAs increase trade in final goods by 52% after ten years, with no statistically significant difference for trade in intermediate inputs. We also find evidence that FTAs that more comprehensive FTAs like the European Union have a greater trade effect than the average FTA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecotones are interesting portions of forests where microorganisms can be studied for monitoring and diversity purposes. Given the faster life cycle of these organisms, their study in such a context is important to develop models that allow us to understand adaptive microbial dynamics. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of myxomycetes present in the leaf litter layer in different geographical locations representing both temperate and tropical systems, using an experimental approach within the ecotones produced by sharp forest edges. Employing the moist chamber technique and three ecological indicators (species richness, diversity, and number of records, as a proxy for abundance) associated with the reproductive phase of the life cycle of myxomycetes, the present study summarized the potential effect of both temperate and tropical ecotones on the distribution of these organisms. Data from 26 locations in six countries showed that all indicators were higher in temperate than in tropical forests and that most differences could be explained by ecological effects. The overall influence of the ecotone on myxomycetes was opposite in temperate and tropical forests, but the data collected for both types of forests showed similarities that could be explained by comparable mathematical models. These results suggested that, with the methods used herein, ecotones do affect ecological patterns of myxomycetes, but the intensity and directionality of such an effect differ depending on the forest type involved.

Using a firm-level dataset of more than 500,000 domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) for 95 countries during the period 1995–2015, we measure the level and evolution of the border effect on M&As. We find that the number and value of M&As between same-country firms are five times larger than between firms of different countries. We show that the border effect on the number and value of M&As remained constant during the period. The border effect on M&As in the European Union is substantially lower than elsewhere. We find that the border effect is lower for large investors and firms operating in the primary industry and utilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective is to acknowledge local fiscal revenue as a tool to finance infrastructure, by estimating the border effect on the collection of the property tax. A panel data set (2010-2019) of the Mexican municipalities is used to estimate different models by fixed effects. The results show that border municipalities collect $69 to $75 Mexican pesos per capita more than non-border municipalities. We argue about the use of local sources to finance infrastructure on the north border region of Mexico. In the estimation of the border effect, compared to previous studies, we use a broader database that includes all Mexican municipalities. We conclude that institutional differences are important for explaining differences and evolution in the collection of property tax. Local sources of funding, in the face of the need for infrastructure, can be exploited if there is an adequate institutional framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the dynamics and structure of trade interaction between Chinese regions and Russia using official Chinese data and assesses the border effects for export and import flows. The analysis shows that Chinese imports from Russia exhibit a much more uneven distribution across Chinese regions than exports. The results of the gravity model estimation indicate that the size of the border effect for exports of Chinese regions to Russia was larger compared to trade barriers with other countries. At the same time, the hurdles impeding the access of Russian production to Chinese regional markets expressed in the ad-valorem tariff equivalent were higher than for other countries. The estimates reveal that Russian exports to Chinese regions have been experiencing higher barriers in recent years than Chinese regional exports to Russia. The findings suggest that leveling barriers would reinforce the access of Chinese coastal regions to the Russian market, making exports to Russia even less evenly distributed across Chinese regions. A substantial reduction of barriers is likely to increase Russian imports in China thanks to the growing flows of Russian goods to virtually all Chinese regions. Accordingly, Russian exporters need to diversify their supply across Chinese regions so as to bypass the middlemen and tap new regional markets in China

Wheat can be cultivated by hole sowing, but its border effect has not yet been studied. Therefore, we carried out a field experiment from 2021 to 2022 at the Doukou Crop Experimental Demonstration Station (108°52′ E, 34°37′ N) of Northwest A&F University in Jingyang County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, China. The response of dry matter, photosynthetic characteristics, and yield components of wheat to the border effects under the hole sowing method was studied. The results showed specific border effects on each index of five wheat varieties (XN136, XN175, XN527, XN536, and XN765), among which the border effects of XN175 and XN765 were the most significant, with the highest yield. Subsequent correlation analysis revealed that only grain per spike and intercellular carbon dioxide concentration responded negatively to the border effects, and the rest were positively correlated. Finally, we conducted a random forest model analysis of different indicators of wheat varieties with significant border effects. We found that net photosynthetic rate and aboveground dry matter per plant had the most significant impact and contribution to the border effects. In contrast, grain per spike had the most negligible impact on the border effects. Our results fill a gap in the study of the border effects of wheat under hole sowing cultivation for future researchers.

The spatial transfer pattern and dynamic mechanisms of pollution-intensive industries are key issues for national and regional sustainable development. Although previous studies have emphasized the impact of environmental regulations on the transfer of pollution industries, there is a lack of firm-level analysis of the combined effects of different types of environmental regulations and other factors on them, which has led to the pollution haven hypothesis remaining contested. In order to provide micro evidence to test the pollution haven hypothesis, this paper reveals the temporal and spatial evolution of pollution-intensive foreign firms’ distribution in China, and explores the impact of heterogeneous environmental regulations on the location choices by using spatial analysis and zero-inflated negative binomial regression. The empirical results were as follows: Firstly, pollution-intensive foreign firms were highly concentrated in the eastern developed region and have a strong path dependency in China. Secondly, environmental regulations, especially the market-based environmental regulation, had a significant negative impact on the location choices of pollution-intensive foreign firms. Thirdly, the spatial distribution of pollution-intensive foreign firms was strongly influenced by new economic and geographic factors. Fourthly, pollution-intensive foreign firms have a significant pollution border effects in developed regions but not in economically less-developed regions due to transportation costs. The governments are expected to adopt heterogeneous environmental regulations based on the level of regional economic development to avoid the pollution haven phenomenon, thus achieving a sustainable development.

This paper examines the existence of distance and border effects in the dissemination of knowledge in economics research using a state-of-the-art gravity model for domestic and international citations between 1970 and 2016 for the top 20 source countries. We extend the model with two novel indicators, English proficiency and bilateral internet ties-two key forces in the dissemination of research and knowledge more generally. Our results show that (i) citations decrease with distance, (ii) citations exhibit a significant home bias greater than 1.68, i.e. a more than 50% higher propensity to cite domestic articles, (iii) home bias as well as geographic and cultural distance measures remain significant and at persistent levels over time, (iv) bilaterally high levels of English proficiency are insignificant for citations beyond the measure of general language similarity, (v) countries with closer internet ties have higher shares of bilateral citations, and (vi) geographic proximity is insignificant for citations to econometric articles while cultural linkages are significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Official Chinese statistics data were applied to analyze the dynamics and structure of trade interactions between regions of China and Russia; the border effect on export and import flows was estimated. The analysis showed that import flows from Russia to China are distinguished by a significantly greater uneven distribution between Chinese regions as compared to export ones. Assessment of the gravity dependences indicated that, compared with other countries, the border effect on exports from Chinese regions to Russia was characterized by rather high values, and the barriers hindering access of Russian products to the markets of Chinese regions were higher in ad valorem equivalent than for other foreign countries. Based on the estimates obtained, it was revealed that in recent years, the import of Russian products to Chinese regions has faced large barriers compared to export of products from Chinese regions to the Russian market. It has been determined that with the leveling of barriers, the advantages of access to the Russian market will further strengthen the coastal Chinese regions, and exports to Russia may become even more uneven between Chinese regions. It is shown that with a significant reduction in barriers, imports from Russia to Chinese regions can increase due to an increase in the supply of Russian products to almost all Chinese regions. The estimates give grounds to state that Russian suppliers need to diversify the supply of goods between Chinese regions in order to bypass intermediaries and develop new regional sales markets in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the size of the border effect or home bias within the European Union (EU) with the aim to quantify its impact in the trade integration process which started in 1992. The gravity model serves as a general framework where the use of sectoral data allows obtaining a more accurate measure of the border effects. The econometric analysis applied to a gravity model that contains a high disaggregation in the data introduces heteroskedasticity problems together with the presence of zero values, therefore, in order to obtain consistent estimates, the use of the Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood estimation method is recommended. Our results show that the bilateral trade ?ows depend upon the size and proximity of the trade partners, together with other variables as adjacency or language. Evidence in favour of a positive and diminishing border effect has been found for the period 1995-2006 and it accounts for 20% to 22% within the EU-19.

Yield loss of ratoon crops caused by the rolling damage to the left stubble from mechanically harvesting main crops has been reported in previous studies. However, limited attention has been paid to identify the effect of the mechanical harvesting of the main crop on the yield of a non-rolled zone (NRZ) of a ratoon crop. A two-year field experiment on ratoon rice with two harvest methods (mechanical harvesting: MEH; manual harvesting: MAH) of a main crop was conducted to identify whether there is a border effect on the yield of the NRZ, and to evaluate whether the border effect will compensate for the yield loss of the ratoon crop. On average, MEH reduced the grain yield of the ratoon crop by 17.6% compared with MAH. The yield of the rolled zone (RZ) in MEH was 66.1–70.3% lower than that of MAH, which was attributed to the lower panicle m−2, grain filling percentage, total dry weight, and harvest index. In contrast, the yield of the NRZ in MEH was 2.7–10.8% higher than that of MAH. The yield differences of the non-rolled single row (R1), side row (R2), and middle row (R3) in the NRZ compared with MAH were 22.9%, 8.5%, and −10.1%, respectively, which were mainly explained by the panicle m−2, spikelets m−2, total dry weight, and regeneration rate. These results suggest that rolling during the mechanical harvesting of the main crop induced a border effect on the yield of the NRZ, which reduced the yield loss of the ratoon crop. The yield gain of the NRZ was attributed to the increased yield of R1 and R2 rather than R3.

The paper presents an assessment of the change in the spatial differentiation of vegetable prices in conditions of imposing restrictions on foreign trade. The purpose of the study was to identify the specifics of price reactions in the regional vegetable markets to the ban on foreign economic operations with Turkey, that require the import of certain types of Turkish vegetables into the Russian Federation. The method of research included three stages. In the first stage, using the volatility indicator, the spatial behavior of vegetable prices was assessed; in the second – the groups of vegetable markets of the subjects of the Russian Federation were determined, characterized by the greatest price differentiation, for which the border effect was calculated in the third stage of the study. The study was conducted for two time periods: 2015 (before the ban on the import of vegetables from Turkey) and January – October 2016 (the period of the ban on the import of vegetables from Turkey). A comparative evaluation of the results of the study for two study periods showed that in January – October 2016, the range of variation and the mean value of the relative CPI volatility for vegetables decreased. In addition, border effects have decreased for all selected groups of markets, characterized by increased differentiation of prices for vegetables. Based on the results obtained, a conclusion was made that the spatial differentiation of prices in regional vegetable markets in January-October 2016 has reduced compared to 2015, which indicates the adaptation of regional vegetable markets to changes in institutional conditions

Land market regulations are often justified by the assumption that activities of foreign and non-agricultural investors drive up prices in domestic land markets. However, empirical knowledge about the dynamics of agricultural land prices across borders is sparse. Using the German reunification as a natural experiment, we study the effect of the former inner German border on the dynamics of agricultural land prices in East and West Germany. We apply a land price diffusion model with an error correction specification to analyse spatial agricultural land markets. A novel feature of our model is its ability to distinguish price diffusion within states and across state borders. We provide evidence for a persistent border effect given that the fraction of spatially integrated counties is larger within states than across the former border. Moreover, we observe non-significant error correction terms for many counties along the former border. From a policy perspective, it is striking to realize that even 25 years after German reunification, pronounced land price differences persist. It is quite likely that price diffusion through existing borders within the EU would take even more time given language barriers, different institutional frameworks, and information asymmetries between domestic and foreign market participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explain how the border effect interfered in the Goiás trade negotiations in 2009. This effect was empirically estimated by Poisson Pseudo-Maximum-Likelihood (PPML) estimator, using sectional data for the 20 main international trading partners of the State of Goiás plus the 26 Brazilian federative units. Even though Goiás is expanding the commercialized products through public policy incentives and through the entrepreneurial capacity of economic agents, the results found in this study indicate that the products marketed by Goiás are mostly agroindustry and that the Goiás trade between the Brazilian federative units is many times greater than trade with international regions, thus indicating a strong home bias. For the Brazilian federative units that share borders with Goiás, the results show that the trade is, on average, greater than with the others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we constructed a global trade computable general equilibrium model using the input-output table data in 2002, 2007, 2010, and 2015 to measure the border effect of the bilateral trade of agricultural products between China and the Belt and Road (B&R) countries, and designed a simulation analysis under different scenarios for the impact of the B&R initiative on China's agricultural trade. We discovered that: (1) The border effect of agricultural product trade between China and the B&R countries decreased by 20.9% in 2015 compared with that in 2010, which means that the B&R initiative to some extent reduced the trade barriers and promoted the bilateral agricultural trade between China and the B&R countries. (2) There are different changes in border effect between China's domestic regions and between unilateral and bilateral border, the decline of border effect in China's costal area is larger than that in inland area, and the decline in import border is larger than that in export border. (3) With the improvement of the B&R framework and the implementation of supporting policies, the decline in trade costs and in local agricultural product preference as well as the agricultural technology progress will further reduce the border effect. China's domestic regional trade gap will gradually narrow, the bilateral agricultural trade will be highly active, and the continuous growth of agricultural trade will emerge between China and the B&R countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing which habitats (e.g. forest interiors or edges) are used by mosquitos and their relationship with possible environmental changes can assist in the development of public policies for the prevention of mosquito‐borne disease epidemics. This study assessed the influence of abiotic factors and vegetation structure on a mosquito community in an Atlantic rainforest remnant frequented by humans. Biting mosquito collections were undertaken by two operators and carried out every 2 weeks between October 2014 and October 2015, during the afternoon, at three points within the forest: A1 (40 m from the edge), A2 (220 m from the edge) and A3 (270 m from the edge). A significant difference was found between tree circumference at breast height from the different areas, as well as in tree height. However, no significant difference in the analysed abiotic factors between areas was observed. The paired comparison of mosquito abundance between the sample areas indicated that area A3 was different from area A1. Additionally, the abundance of the analysed species (Aedes crinifer, Aedes scapularis, Aedes serratus, Psorophora ferox, Sabethes aurescens, Sabethes identicus, Trichoprosopon pallidiventer and Wyeomyia limai) increased with distance from the forest edge. This observation may suggest that the abundance of certain species may be indicative of the level of disturbance of a forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Colombian–Venezuelan borderlands, the reconfiguration of armed group presence and mass migration create and reinforce conditions of high violence and risk. Against this backdrop, we ask: What are the gendered security implications of the double crisis in the borderlands? Based on fieldwork in four regions along the border, this article argues that the border effect is gendered; the very factors that coalesce to produce this effect exacerbate existing gendered power dynamics, particularly as these relate to gender-based violence. Accordingly, this article demonstrates the specific ways in which the border – as a facilitator, deterrent, magnet and/or disguise – reinforces experiences of gendered insecurity in this region. The article finishes by outlining the implications for other international borderland settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]