The future of old industrial regions in a carbon-constrained world

Even if a global agreement is achieved on climate change issues, it is likely that national policies will continue to differ. Consequently, the competitiveness of some industries could be affected and the so-called ‘carbon leakage’ effect might occur. This effect is more likely for those industries with a risk of relocation. Most of the studies that examine the carbon leakage phenomenon look at implications at the national or supra-national level, and neglect the important fact that some of the key industries affected are highly concentrated in the old industrial regions (OIRs). From a regional perspective, it is clear that these areas are affected more severely by climate policies. Using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, the impacts for one of the most vulnerable sectors – the iron and steel (IS) sector in the European OIR of the Basque Country (BC) – are first examined. The analysis is then replicated for the OIR of the North RhineWestphalia (NRW) region in Germany. The results show that although total effects may be diluted from a national perspective, the economic impact at the regional level may be quite large and may significantly reduce regional gross domestic product (GDP). This has broader implications for the OIRs and suggests a need to further explore policy insights for economic development and adaptation in them.     

生态经济研究中的整体性视角

在简要介绍整体性视角含义的基础上,总结了生态经济学基本思想、主要问题、学科演替、新兴领域及未来研究主题中体现的整体性视角.分析了传统的水资源社会经济循环规律研究的劣势,在简单介绍了上升性（效率）、发展能力、恢复力和可持续性等指标及其含义后,开发了整体性视角下的水资源社会经济循环规律研究框架.最后系统地总结了整体性视角在...     

The spatial distribution of economic activity in Melbourne, 1971–2006

This paper reports an empirical analysis of the distribution of employment by industry in Melbourne and how this changes over time. Depending on the nature of the industry being considered, two main patterns of spatial behavior are found, population-related dispersion and centralization. A methodology for estimating the benefits of centralization is developed and applied. Centralization benefits are highest for business services and other high-level services, supporting the view that the benefits of concentrating in the central business district are related to knowledge creation and exchange. Other forces, such as competitive pressure, land prices, and colocation with other industries, play only a minor role in determining the spatial distribution of industries, at least at the spatial levels used here. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

论气象的经济学属性

气象具有三重经济学属性：一是生产力属性,它既是创造自然财富的自然生产力,又是创造人工财富的社会生产力。二是气象的破坏力属性,即是天气和气候的状态所致的具有经济特征的多发气象灾害。三是气象的消费属性,即人们的生产与生活中,不可须臾离却气象。认识气象的经济学属性,有利于充分利用和发挥好气象的资源价值,创造更多的社会财富;有利于降低灾害性气候的破坏影响,提高人类社会福祉。     

基于BP神经网络的吉林省县域经济发展水平评价

选取6个经济指标,运用BP神经网络模型对吉林省39个县级城市的经济发展水平进行评价。结果表明：吉林省区域经济发展水平总体不高,经济发展水平地域差异显著。经济发展水平较高的县市在空间上表现为明显的空间集聚,长吉图地区县市的经济发展水平明显高于其他地区,而经济发展较差的县市主要集中在吉林省西部地区。     

A comparison between manganese nodules and cobalt crust economics in a scenario of mutual exclusivity

The past 20 years have been characterised by limited interest in the economic viability of deep seabed mining with the exception of those mineral ores rich in precious metals such as polymetallic sulphides. This paper goes against the tide. After reviewing the most significant literature, it compares the economic feasibility of mining polymetallic manganese nodules and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in a scenario of mutual exclusivity. It uses a new indicator, the cobalt-nickel price ratio, whose aim is to verify at what metal prices the net present value of the two mining projects equalises. Previous research has shown that the turning margin between manganese nodules and cobalt crusts is a cobalt price of $50/kg. The present paper revises this by showing that the choice between mining crust and nodules depends on fluctuations in the price of nickel. A Monte Carlo simulation proves that cobalt crust mining could be reasonably preferred to manganese nodules at cobalt prices of $40-60/kg if the price of nickel fell below $11/kg. Within this condition, investors would receive the minimum acceptable internal rate of return of 15%, which is at a level of risk closer to the land-based mining. However, when the price of nickel passes the $11/kg threshold, the equilibrium between the two ventures can be reached only at a cobalt price greater than $100/kg, causing cobalt crust to become uncompetitive. Finally, the paper, recognising that prices are not unique drivers, introduces legal, political, technological and environmental concerns to show that the final choice between the two mining ventures cannot be merely driven by economic issues.     

Conceptual Design of Xiamen-Jinmen Bridge

This article presents thoughts on the conceptual design of the Xiament-Jinmen Bridge including design principles, natural conditions of meteorology, oceanography, topography, submarine morphology and seismic and engineering geology, and the economic benefits from the bridge.     

Shallow waters: social science research in South Africa's marine environment

This paper provides an overview of social science research in the marine environment of South Africa for the period 1994–2012. A bibliography based on a review of relevant literature and social science projects funded under the SEAChange programme of the South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR) was used to identify nine main themes that capture the knowledge generated in the marine social science field. Within these themes, a wide diversity of topics has been explored, covering a wide geographic area. The review suggests that there has been a steady increase in social science research activities and outputs over the past 18 years, with a marked increase in postgraduate dissertations in this field. The SEAChange programme has contributed to enhancing understanding of certain issues and social interactions in the marine environment but this work is limited. Furthermore, there has been limited dissemination of these research results amongst the broader marine science community and incorporation of this information into policy and management decisions has also been limited. However, marine scientists are increasingly recognising the importance of taking a more holistic and integrated approach to management, and are encouraging further social science research, as well as interdisciplinary research across the natural and social sciences. Possible reasons for the lack of communication and coordination amongst natural and social scientists, as well as the limited uptake of research results in policy and management decisions, are discussed and recommendations are proposed.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: The Rice Economy of Asia . Randolph Barker and Robert W. Herdt with Beth Rose. Using Microcomputers: A Guidebook for Writers, Teachers, and Researchers in the Social Sciences . Blaine A. Erie—the Lake that Survived . Noel M. Burns. Geology and Society . Donald R. Coates. Caves and Karst of Kentucky . Percy H. Dougherty, ed. Altered Harvest: Agriculture, Genetics, and the Fate of the World's Food Supply . Jack Doyle. The Middle East and North Africa, A Political Geography . Alasdair Drysdale and Gerald H. Blake. Clamor at the Gates. The New American Immigration . Nathan Glazer, ed. Development and the Landowner: An analysis of the British experience . Robin Goodchild and Richard Munton. Discovering Landscape in England and Wales . Andrew Goudie and Rita Gardner. The Modern Plantation in the Third World . Edgar Graham and Ingrid Floering. Social Relations and Spatial Structures . Derek Gregory and John Urry, eds. The World Food Problem 1950–1980 . David Grigg. Costa Rica: A Geographical Interpretation in Historical Perspective . Carolyn Hall. The Urbanization of Capital: Studies in the History and Theory of Capitalist Urbanization . David Harvey Consciousness and the Urban Experience: Studies in the History and Theory of Capitalist Urbanization . David Harvey. Reviving Main Street . Deryck Holdsworth, ed. Rural Roads and Poverty Alleviation . John Howe and Peter Richards, eds. Uneven Development in Southern Europe: Studies of Accumulation, Class, Migration and the State . Ray Hudson and Jim Lewis, eds. Karst Geomorphology . J. N. Jennings. The Geomorphology of North-west England . R. H. Johnson, ed. Climate Impact Assessment: Studies of the Interaction of Climate and Society . Robert Kates, Jesse Ausubel, Mimi Berberian, eds. Public Service Provision and Urban Development . Andrew Kirby, Paul Knox, and Steven Pinch, ed. State and Market: The Politics of the Public and the Private . Jan-Erik Lane, ed. Living Cities . Twentieth Century Fund Task Force on Urban Preservation Policies. World Climatic Systems . John G. Lockwood. Urban Ethnicity in the United States. New Immigrants and Old Minorities . Lionel Maldonaldo and Joan Moore, eds. Culture and Conservation: The Human Dimension in Environmental Planning . Jeffrey A. McNeely and David Pitt, eds. The Andean Past. Land, Societies, and Conflicts . Magnus Mörner. Gaia: An Atlas of Planet Management . Norman Myers, ed. Progress in Industrial Geography . Michael Pacione, ed. Progress in Political Geography . Michael Pacione, ed. Rivers and Landscape . Geoff Petts and Ian Foster. Urbanization and Planning in the 3rd World: Spatial Perceptions and Public Participation . Robert B. Potter. One Island, Two Nations? A Political Geographical Analysis of the National Conflict in Ireland . D. G. Pringle. Circulation in Third World Countries . R. Mansell Prothero and Murray Chapman. The Ozarks Outdoors: A Guide for Fishermen, Hunters, and Tourists . Milton D. Rafferty. Suburban Burglary: A Time and a Place for Everything . George Rengert and John Wasilchick. Geomorphology and Soils . K.S. Richards, R.R. Arnett, and S. Ellis, eds. The Homes and Homeless of Post-War Britain . Frederick Shaw. Indochinese Refugees in America . Paul J. Strand and Woodrow Jones, Jr. Wild Horses and Sacred Cows . Richard Symanski. Forever Wild: Environmental Aesthetics and the Adirondack Forest Preserve . Philip G. Terrie. The Regional Economic Impact of Technological Change . A.T. Thwaites and R.P. Oakey, eds. The Good Life . Yi-Fu Tuan.