The Annals of Regional Science

Much of the available analysis of policies for the disposal of publicly held resources is based on comparatively straightforward extensions of the neoclassical pricing and allocation theory. As such, these analyses have to a large extent not fully incorporated the fact that firms normally acquire rights to these resources in sealed tender markets. In this paper, a simple bidding model is used to show that the choice of disposal policies can influence the firm's bid and also the public revenues obtained from the sale of the resource. It is additionally shown that the implications of such policy choices are conditioned by the firm's attitudes towards risk. Finally, it is argued that a modification of existing prescriptions may be necessary if a more realistic specification of the disposal problem taking account of the sealed tender market in which rights are obtained, is considered.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the ongoing debate about the performance of several location quotients (LQs), including Flegg’s location quotient (FLQ) and the industry-specific FLQ (SFLQ), which was newly developed by Kowalewski (Reg Stud, 240–250, 2015). Unlike FLQ, which has one unique $$\delta $$ -value for all industries in a region, SFLQ allows for a variation in the exponential parameter value of $$\delta $$ for each industrial sector in order to capture specialization and to reduce the tendency for overestimation or underestimation of each of the industries in a given region. Since the national and regional survey data are available for South Korea, this study evaluates and compares the results for SFLQ against those of other non-survey techniques. The findings prove that SFLQ is superior to other LQs, including FLQ and augmented FLQ. In addition, empirical evidence shows that the optimal values for the exponential parameters vary drastically among industries. SFLQ provides more detailed information on regional industries with individual $$\delta $$ values, which is definitely helpful when analyzing regional specialization and shifts in industrial structure. Furthermore, to determine the optimal exponential $$\delta ({\delta _j })$$ value in FLQ and SFLQ in advance, Flegg’s and Kowalewski’s regression models are tested with the use of Korean data. The statistics indicate that the regression equations are debatable and still need major improvement.

The original version of the article unfortunately contained an error in Acknowledgements section. Below is the corrected version.

Over the last several years, considerable attention has been directed to the analysis of interregional and international capital transfers. A few of these studies have been concerned with the persistence of interregional interest rate differentials over time. In this vein, Davis and Banks have argued that between regions within the United States there have been persistent regional differences in going interest rates over very long periods and a tendency for particular regions to show persistently higher or lower than average rates for a variety of different instruments. Unfortunately, the Davis-Banks argument is based upon casual observation rather than upon formal empirical testing. In analytical terms, it has been elsewhere shown that persistent interregional interest rate differentials, if they in fact do exist, may be entirely compatible with conventional economic theory once it is recognized that there may exist barriers of one form or another to the interregional flow of funds. Using this framework of analysis as a point of departure, this paper examines whether the interregional flow of funds within the United States over time has in fact been insensitive to interest rate differentials.

This paper presents a profit-maximizing location model to investigate the impact of demand on the optimum location decision of a firm in the Weberian triangle. It will be shown that:(1) When the distance of the firm's location from the product market is held constant, the optimum location for the firm would be independent of the demand function if and only if the expansion path in input space is linear through the origin as demand varies;(2) When the distance of the firm's location from the product market is a decision variable, the optimum location for the firm would be independent of the demand function if and only if the production function is linearly homogeneous.

Economic growth has a significant impact on health vulnerability primarily through the process of urbanization. This paper conducts a pioneer study by analyzing the impact of regional economic growth and urbanization on the public health vulnerability in the 51 states and territories of the USA from 2011 to 2018 with a fixed-effect panel data regression model. We construct an epidemiological vulnerability index (EVI) using regional smoking, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension, collect CDC social vulnerability index (SVI) as state-level public health vulnerability status, and use COVID-19 to test the actual effect of health vulnerability. The preliminary results show that higher regional economic growth is related to lower EVI and SVI, while urbanization is positively associated with regional health vulnerability and the severity of COVID-19 from case rate and death rate. Robustness check with unemployment shows the same result. We conclude that economic growth is related to lower public health vulnerability, and urbanization has negative public health benefits. Our finding indicates an urgent need to balance the externalities generated by economic development and urbanization trends on public health vulnerability by promoting reasonable medical resource distribution, health practices and safety, improving social and environmental justice, and other health management measures.

The purpose of this article is to critically examine key factors that have been involved in the remarkable economic turnaround of Mediterranean France, which until recently was always considered to be a peripheral zone within the national economy. Particular attention is given to the role of noneconomic factors that condition the location choices of households and firms and to the roles of technological innovation, service activities, and small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in the regional development process. With increasing vertical disintegration, Mediterranean France has been realizing external economies from the expansion of the entire system of production. SMEs, which are especially prevalent in this region — and which have behavior patterns that follow a logic that is more spatial than sectoral in nature — have contributed significantly to endogenous regional development through their growth as an ensemble. The new regional organizational paradigm transcends older forms of industrialization.