{"title":"Inter-regional graduate migration, subjective expectations, and human capital mobility","authors":"Andrea C Blanco-Moreno","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100110","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100110","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The ability to attract and retain human capital is critical for regional development. In Colombia, in two regions that are the principal mining royalties receptors, 60 % of people are considered poor. One reason is the misallocation of royalties, caused by the poor design of the project funded by royalties. Consequently, a source of misallocation could be that the royalty receptors lack human capital that could design and supervise royalties-funded development projects. Meanwhile, 25 % of Colombian university graduates struggle to find their first job. One solution to this twofold problem is to promote the migration of recent college graduates. But what motivates the migration from big cities to less developed ones? The intention of migration cannot be studied using data of actual migration and requires data on expectations to include uncertainty in the decision-making process. Using a unique survey on subjective expectations, meaning asking about intentions of migration in a probabilistic form. I study the determinants of the probability of migration intention of 747 future college graduates in Colombia,from the capital city to three mining royalties’ receptors cities. I collect probabilistic expectations about migration, availability of amenities in the origin and arrival destinations, and expected income. The results show that the difference between the subjective expectations of expected income and amenities (access to schools, roads and hospitals) at source and at the arrival destination together with a higher level of trust in others, increases the probability of migration to less developed areas in Colombia. In contrast, preference for present returns, being a student with top grades, or from a privileged economic background decreases this probability. Data collection on migration expectations for these groups will contribute to designing public policy interventions to tackle first-graduate employment and promote institutional capabilities in less developed areas.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 10","pages":"Article 100110"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224003123/pdfft?md5=8df606e629579fefd6b34ec3c4ee6488&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224003123-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141638011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Socioeconomic and territorial dynamics of bullfighting in contemporary Spain","authors":"Vicente Royuela , Carlos M. Belloni","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100077","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100077","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper explores the territorial, economic, and social factors that affect the evolution of bullfighting festivities in Spain. Using data from the Ministry of Culture and Sports, we employ panel data regression models to analyze bullfighting celebrations from 2011 to 2019 before the COVID pandemic. The main findings include the significant role of public interest and attendance in bullfights, the heterogeneity of regions responses to the decline in festivities, and the influence of rural depopulation on this decline. Additionally, political factors, particularly support for animal welfare parties, negatively affect bullfighting celebrations, while economic indicators show no significant impact during the study period.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 7","pages":"Article 100077"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224002063/pdfft?md5=604a0fa8f8a33362bd53d0535883a68b&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224002063-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141401618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Challenges in urban-rural food supply chains for disaster resilience in Nepal","authors":"Namita Poudel, Rajib Shaw","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100073","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100073","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Urban and rural areas are interconnected in fulfilling the food demands of both sides. However, both unprecedented and predictable disasters are disrupting the food service. To address this issue, this paper discusses the need and significance of urban-rural coordination, which promotes use of local resources, solving direct and indirect problems related to food. A smooth food system chain with adequate storage capacity, transportation, and food quality is essential not only during normal days but also throughout times of disaster. Therefore, this research aims to identify the factors disrupting the food system chain in the mid-hill area of Nepal. It explores the interconnection between urban and rural areas in maintaining the food system chain and investigates ways to improve it from a disaster resilience perspective. Kathmandu and Melamchi, urban and rural areas in Nepal are taken for the study. After completing interviews with disaster victims, focus group discussion was conducted with farmers, municipality government officers, disaster experts, and local people. Additionally, further discussion held with traders who are mainly involved in the food system chain from the disaster resilience perspective. Grains, milk, and vegetables primarily flow from rural areas to Kathmandu, while manufactured goods are predominantly supplied from urban areas. The food supply chain services are generally disrupted every monsoon season due to floods and were severely affected during the 2021 flood in the Melamchi area. The results of the study are clustered into five categories, depending on the city region's food system cycle.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 8","pages":"Article 100073"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224001987/pdfft?md5=9dc147c9ce72a1e799a22f59a4ab679e&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224001987-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141389859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mikhail Samarin , Madhuri Sharma , Nicholas N. Nagle
{"title":"Geographies and determinants of rent burden: A regional economic analysis of the U.S. metropolitan landscape","authors":"Mikhail Samarin , Madhuri Sharma , Nicholas N. Nagle","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100072","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100072","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Rental housing affordability, a growing topic in interdisciplinary scholarship, remains relatively peripheral to geography and regional science. This article focuses on geographies of rent burden and factors affecting it at the metropolitan level in the conterminous U.S. By conducting cartographic and regression analyses, we examine relationships between rent burden and numerous related aspects derived from scholarly work. Besides offering a new measurement of rent burden, we put a special emphasis on regional economic specializations as potential predictors of rent burden’s intensity. The relationship between these two have not been studied in existing scholarship. Our results indicate that the most consistent determinants of more intense rent burden in numerous models include higher housing values and poverty rates, substantial shares of racial/ethnic minorities, and family structure represented by lower percent married. Regarding economic specializations, we find that manufacturing is a strong predictor of lower rent burden in most models, with its effect demonstrating an opposite direction—higher rent burden occurs in metropolises <em>not</em> specializing in manufacturing. Simultaneously, metropolises with substantial concentrations of employment in (i) education and medicine and (ii) arts, entertainment, and recreation exhibit higher rent burden and most of these metropolises are mid- and small-sized.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 7","pages":"Article 100072"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224001975/pdfft?md5=bfebdb058f64830ca459786a27ee917c&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224001975-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141275271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Industrial clustering and location in India: Sectoral patterns of investments and employments","authors":"Meghamrita Chakraborty","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100041","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Industrial growth plays a vital role in driving regional progress, as inequalities primarily stem from diverse industries. This becomes particularly significant in the Global South, where wealth creation is a challenge, poverty is persistent and disparities are widening. India serves as a typical example, with skewed industrial distribution and non-inclusive development. Understanding industrial distribution is thereby essential in tackling the challenges of achieving balanced regional development. The paper investigates spatial distribution of industrial activity in India and finds that the interaction of different factors motivate industrial investments to choose already advanced regions like Gujarat and Maharashtra. Using a panel dataset spanning 37 years, the study analyses the different manufacturing sectors and the impact of socio-economic factors on industrial investment across 16 major states of India from 1980 to 81–2017–18. The results provide conclusive evidence of the determining influence of human capital, infrastructural benefits and the presence of diverse industrial activities on the distribution of industrial investments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100041"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000763/pdfft?md5=17bf384eb39d4c4dbd87e638f8072b3d&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000763-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141314996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Financial Technologies for All MENA citizens: Tackling barriers and promoting inclusion","authors":"Zakaria Elouaourti , Aomar Ibourk","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100019","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The digital divide within the financial sector, closely intertwined with the rapid evolution of financial technologies, commonly known as \"FinTech,\" has fundamentally reshaped the landscape of financial services. These innovations have ushered in novel avenues for accessibility, enhancing the security of financial transactions and transcending traditional spatiotemporal constraints. This paper embarks on a journey to address key inquiries within the MENA region. It explores digital financial inclusion levels across MENA countries, identifies segments facing digital financial exclusion, scrutinizes the role of the digital divide, often compounded by a lack of financial literacy, as a barrier to financial inclusion, and investigates how FinTech can serve as a catalyst for inclusive development, with a specific focus on marginalized groups like women and the elderly. Our research employs a comprehensive mixed-methodological approach. We draw from micro-level data sourced from 9053 individuals, extracted from the World Bank's latest Global Findex 2021 database. Our comparative analysis, rooted in a two-step principal component analysis method to create the MENA Digital Financial Inclusion Index (DFII), shedding light on the current state of digital financial inclusion in the MENA region. Despite recent initiatives, our findings underscore that digital financial inclusion in the region remains relatively low. Furthermore, our estimations, based on the <strong>Heckman selection methodology</strong>, emphasize the pivotal role played by factors such as educational attainment, labor force participation, information and communication technologies, and internet access as primary drivers of digital financial inclusion in the MENA region. Our research contributes a substantial body of empirical evidence regarding digital financial inclusion levels across MENA countries, charting a path toward bridging the digital divide within the financial sector. These strategies encompass enhancing digital financial literacy, catalyzing broader participation in the labor market, and facilitating expanded access to mobile phones and the Internet. In light of our comprehensive dataset, the policy implications drawn from our study are of paramount interest to financial sector regulators in the MENA region, grounded in the real-life experiences of the individuals constituting our database, with the overarching goal of elevating digital financial inclusion in the region to new heights.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100019"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000519/pdfft?md5=7ec756cbc33274c00bc8444dfcc4678e&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000519-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Macroeconomic determinants of organic farming efficiency: Double bootstrap DEA estimates from the Indian states","authors":"Anup Kumar Yadava","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100036","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In developing nations such as India, organic farming has emerged as an alternative and sustainable agricultural strategy. Therefore, it is critical to determine the key determinants that could effectively enhance the efficiency of organic farming in India and promote its expansion. This study focuses on the macroeconomic determinants that affect the efficiency of organic farming in India. The study utilizes data from 2012-13 to 2017–18 for 22 Indian states and empirically analyses the macroeconomic determinants of organic farming efficiency by incorporating the double bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. The efficiency of organic farming is assessed by considering three crucial determinants: human capital, agricultural infrastructure, and agricultural public spending. The empirical evidence suggests minor impact of agricultural infrastructure and public spendings have overall significant and positive impact on organic farming efficiency. Moreover, the allocation of various funds toward agricultural public expenditure would likely to enhance the adoption of organic farming practices in India.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100036"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000714/pdfft?md5=2c3021238dd8c7a1e7f25b2a23a3029d&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000714-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"On the non-linear relationship between large shareholders and bank performance: North African banks vs. banks in the Middle East","authors":"Majdi Karmani , Rim Boussaada , Abdelaziz Hakimi","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The paper aims to empirically assess the threshold effect in the large shareholders <em>(LS)</em> and bank performance relationship. We used a sample of MENA banks during the period 2004–2017. To get benefit from a comparative regional analysis, the whole sample was divided into two sub-samples, banks in the Middle East and banks in North Africa. We performed the Panel Smooth Transition Regression model <em>(PSTR)</em> as an econometric approach. Empirical results indicate a threshold effect in the large shareholders-bank performance relationship. Additionally, results show that this effect differs across regions. More specifically, we found that, below the threshold, large shareholders significantly decrease bank performance for the whole sample. Surpassing this threshold, the effect becomes positive. The opposite result was found for banks located in the Middle East region. However, no significant effect was found for banks in North African countries in almost regressions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100010"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000386/pdfft?md5=8c07660fb356de500231c98a49e92f20&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000386-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Threshold effect in the relationship between external debt and energy access in sub-Saharan African countries: A dynamic panel threshold specification","authors":"Taha Zaghdoudi","doi":"10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rspp.2024.100024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper investigates the relationship between external debt and energy access in the Sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1999–2021. Results from the dynamic panel threshold method indicates that the link between external debt and energy access is nonlinear. Moreover, the findings reveal a statistically negative relationship between external debt and energy access above the threshold of 5.04 %, beyond which external debt reduces energy access in SSA countries. Besides, results indicate that economic growth and trade openness enhance access to electricity. However, renewable energy consumption decreases energy access. This paper upholds the view that external debt should be kept to a reasonable level in order to avert the opposite effect on energy access.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45520,"journal":{"name":"Regional Science Policy and Practice","volume":"16 6","pages":"Article 100024"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1757780224000593/pdfft?md5=f012def0e3bcf37953a4c9c459b71120&pid=1-s2.0-S1757780224000593-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141315134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}