Bank Restructuring and Access to Financial Services: The Spanish Case

The Spanish bank sector has restructured extensively since the crisis erupted in 2008 in an attempt to correct the imbalances accumulated during the preceding boom years. Thanks to this restructuring effort, Spain's branch network has been pared back by 32 percent, prompting questions about potential ramifications for the population's access to financial services. Against this backdrop, this paper quantifies, at the municipal level, the segment of the population without access to a bank branch in their home town between 2008 and 2015, paving the way for analysis of the impact of the restructuring effort. It also analyses the role played by the three kinds of deposit institutions in Spain in providing access to financial services via their branch networks. The results show that although the percentage of the Spanish population without access to a branch in their home town has risen, the increase has been small, albeit marked by significant differences from one province to the next. The savings banks (including the former cajas that have converted to banks) are still the most important financial institutions in terms of facilitating branch access to financial services.     

Regional Variation of Firm Size and Growth: The Portuguese Case

This paper analyses the patterns of firm growth of manufacturing firms across Portuguese regions. In particular, we compare firm size and growth in order to investigate 1) whether region‐specific characteristics, interpreted as generating localization economies, exert any influence on firm growth and size, and 2) whether there is evidence of persistence in firm growth across regions. Using an extensive dataset of Portuguese manufacturing firms and applying parametric and semi‐parametric approaches, we found that, in eleven of the eighteen analyzed regions, firm growth is related to firm size and therefore firms have no equal probabilities of attaining a particular growth rate within any given period. Moreover, the results uncovered that firms experience serial correlation in their growth patterns in all regions and region‐specific characteristics, such as industrial diversity, entrepreneurship potential, and workforce qualities, engender differences in the way firms grow. Thus, this paper adds to the literature by showing how geographic location matters to firm size and growth.     

The expansion of Chinese banks along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative: Following customers and geopolitical relations

Existing studies on the global expansion of banks have been mostly based on the experience of the banks from more developed economies, while little is known about the geographies of internationalization of banks from less developed countries. The expansion of Chinese banks, with state-owned commercial banks in the lead, has been accelerating since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed in 2013. This study contributes to existing research by providing new evidence and explanations based on the case of expansion of Chinese banks along the BRI routes. Chinese banks started to expand from Hong Kong and Macao, then expanded to Southeast Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, and finally reached Central Asia and other regions. The branches of Chinese banks are mainly clustered in Southeast Asian countries rather than other regions. Similar to their Western counterparts, Chinese bank branches are inclined to agglomerate in international or regional financial hubs. The regression analysis shows that two factors are crucial in explaining the spatial distribution of Chinese banks along the routes of the BRI. First, Chinese banks are likely to follow their customers, namely, state-owned firms from the non-financial sectors making direct investments in overseas regions. Second, Chinese banks are more inclined to open branches in countries that have good geopolitical relations with China reflecting the challenging international environment for Chinese banks to seek global expansion.     

Who leads regional industrial dynamics? “New industry creators” in Chinese regions

Recent evolutionary economic geography studies have argued that regional diversification emerges as a path‐dependent process, as regions often branch into industries that are related to its industrial structure. However, it is less clear who are creating new industries and under what regional conditions. This research seeks to fill this gap and identify “new industry creators” in regional industrial diversification. We differentiate two types of new industry formation—path‐breaking and path‐dependent—and examine whether some new industry creators are more path‐breaking than others, by incorporating two factors that have been largely overlooked in recent literature on technological relatedness—firm heterogeneity and regional institutions. Based on a firm‐level data set of China’s manufacturing industries, this paper shows that path‐breaking and path‐dependence coexist. Empirical results confirm that firm heterogeneity and regional institutions not only affect the firms’ capabilities in creating new industries, but also encourage/discourage firms to be adventurous and path‐breaking. This research implies that lagging regions can catch up with developed regions by coordinating regional resources and adjusting local institutional arrangements to attract more path‐breaking firms.     

A geographical approach to identify phosphorus-efficient genotypes among landraces and wild ancestors of common bean

Cultivars of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) capable of yielding well at low levels of native or added phosphorus (P) are highly desirable in many tropical production systems. The objective of the present study was to identify geographical regions which might be sources of such genotypes. A total of 364 landraces, cultivars and wild genotypes, drawn from a broad geographic range, were divided on the basis of growth habit into four field trials, each comprising two levels of P, stressed and unstressed, on an infertile Andosol in Popayan, Colombia. The regression relationship between grain yield per plant in the presence and in the absence of stress was determined, and each genotype's deviation from this relationship was used as a measure of P-efficiency. There was highly significant variation in efficiency among genotypes in all growth habits, and in climbing beans there were consistent regional differences, superior genotypes being identified with greater frequency among those from Bolivia, West Mexico and South Mexico-West Guatemala. The latter region was promising for prostrate bush genotypes also. Wild beans in general performed relatively poorly; it appears that P-efficiency traits in P. vulgaris have been acquired during or after domestication. These results confirm that genetic differences in P-efficiency exist among common bean genotypes and suggest that these are related to geographic origin. Furthermore, the use of a representative sample of germplasm can help to identify segments of the gene bank that are especially promising as sources of desirable traits. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Growth and Location of Economic Activity: The Spatial Dynamics of Industries in Canada 1971–2001

ABSTRACT A growing literature has accumulated that points to the stability of industrial location patterns. Can this be reconciled with spatial dynamics? This article starts with the premise that demonstrable regularities exist in the manner in which individual industries locate (and relocate) over space. For Canada, spatial distributions of employment are examined for seventy‐one industries over a thirty‐year period (1971–2001). Industry data is organized by “synthetic regions” based on urban size and distance criteria. “Typical” location patterns are identified for industry groupings. Industrial spatial concentrations are then compared over time using correlation analysis, showing a high degree of stability. Stable industrial location patterns are not, the article finds, incompatible with differential regional growth. Five spatial processes are identified, driving change. The chief driving force is the propensity of dynamic industries to start up in large metro areas, setting off a process of diffusion (for services) and crowding out (for manufacturing), offset by the centralizing impact of greater consumer mobility and falling transport costs. These changes do not, however, significantly alter the relative spatial distribution of most industries over time.     

中国绿豆核心种质资源在不同环境下的表型变异及生态适应性评价

明确我国绿豆种质资源在不同生态条件下的表型变异及生态适应性,可有效提高其在遗传育种中的利用效率。本研究分别在北京海淀、河北唐山和河南南阳3个生态环境下开展了绿豆核心种质农艺性状的评价。结果表明,绿豆生长习性、结荚习性受生态环境的影响较大,其中仅39.4%的种质在3个试点均表现直立生长;并非所有直立生长的种质均具有限结荚习性。绿豆核心种质在各试点均能成熟,但生育期、株高、主茎分枝等数量性状在试点间差异较大;不同种质在试点间的变化趋势存在差异,并据此筛选出适宜不同生态区域的优异种质26份,以备当地生产利用。混合线性模型分析表明,不同性状的基因型、环境互作等效应存在差异,其中基因型效应在荚长(0.57)、百粒重(0.51)的变异中占重要比率,环境效应在生育期(0.39)的变异中占较大比例,而剩余效应则是主茎分枝(0.62)、单株荚数(0.53)、单荚粒数(0.70)等性状的重要影响因子。最后根据不同绿豆种质农艺性状对生态条件反应的差异,筛选出综合农艺性状均具一定环境稳定性的种质4份,以供广适性育种利用。     

Do Geographic Concentration and Vertically Related Variety Foster Firm Productivity? Micro‐Evidence from Italy

Using a large unbalanced panel dataset of more than 12,000 Italian manufacturing firms for the period 1999–2007, this paper investigates the role of geographic concentration and related variety on firms' total factor productivity (TFP). The main idea is that diversification—captured by a measure of vertically related variety—promotes firm innovativeness and, consequently, productivity, but when the technology has been consolidated, firms join specialized clusters that enhance efficiency. Our results suggest that the effect on firms' TFP of geographic concentration is stronger than that of related variety. We also confirm previous findings on the relevance of agglomeration forces for small firms compared with medium and large firms, where these agglomerative forces do not seem to influence TFP.     

Revisiting the Roles of the University in Regional Economic Development: A Triangulation of Data

There is a general understanding that university plays a crucial role in regional development under the current age of knowledge economy. At the same time, we have observed a fair number of counter‐evidentiary studies, demonstrating several regions that do not thrive despite strong research universities or other patterns of development in the absence of research universities. However, they are based on case studies of individual universities or regions, and the findings currently cannot be generalized. Another set of studies that have challenged the effect of universities at the nationwide scale and demonstrated its disproportionately small impact of universities, but their scope is limited to spin‐offs, patents, and license activities. In this article, we propose to investigate this subject more systematically by triangulating three methods: 1) national‐scale regression models with Business Dynamics Statistics and National Establishment Time Series data, 2) a regional survey of IT and life science firms in four so‐called “second tier regions,” and 3) a microeconomic firm‐level analysis based on interviews with founders of technology intensive firms. Furthermore, we test the roles of university beyond those explicit, direct measures of spin‐offs and patents by analyzing the firm formation rate and firm growth rate at the regional level, as well as the sources of growth at the company level. All results point in the same direction: The research function of the university has been overstated, and the teaching function of the university has been underappreciated. These findings provide profound implications for the policy of regional development.     

An Analysis of Urban Size and Territorial Location Effects on Employment Probabilities: The Spanish Case

The probability of being employed varies depending on several factors. Many of these are related to personal characteristics such as educational level, age, gender, or number and age of children. Nevertheless, other factors may be relevant, in particular the geographical environment. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relevance of urban size and the position of each territory (in terms of its distance from large metropolises) for the probability of being employed in the Spanish economy. Following the set of economic regions suggested by Polése, Shearmur and Rubiera (2007 ), we try to explain the spatial patterns of employment distribution. Our results show some relevant differences between these alternative economic areas. We find that municipalities with similar sizes and located at a similar distance from a metropolis but belonging to different Autonomous Communities or provinces share similar employability patterns.     

扩张蛋白(Expansin)研究进展

扩张蛋白是一类细胞壁酶蛋白,能够通过打断细胞壁多聚物之间的氢键诱导酸依赖的细胞壁延展和压力松弛。其由两类多基因家族编码,分别命名为α-expansin、β-expansin,每类扩张蛋白基因家族又有很多的基因成员。扩张蛋白已在不同的种属植物中被鉴定存在,并且大量的扩张蛋白基因被克隆。研究表明：每一个扩张蛋白基因在高度特定的位点和高度特定的细胞类型中表达,其表达在时间、空间上受到严格的调控且受到激素和环境因子的调控。目前认为扩张蛋白几乎参与了植物的整个发育过程：除具有增大细胞的功能外,扩张蛋白在细胞生长、种子萌发、根毛形成、根系生长、叶原基形成、叶子生长发育、果实成熟、器官脱离,以及花粉管生长方面起着重要的作用。就此最新研究进展,作一综合阐述。     

Multivariate analysis of variation among wild oat accessions — seed traits

Summary A sample of 457 (Avena sterilis L.) accessions from the World Oat Collection maintained at the Germplasm Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, USA, was studied by multivariate analyses to explain the phenotypic relationships among the entries. According to these analyses, patterns of seed trait associations suggest that diversity may have geographic patterning. For example, the accessions from countries and islands of the western Mediterranean tend to have a common set of traits. Number of spikelets per panicle and groat weight and dimensions were important traits that discriminated the A. sterilis accessions into the group. It was concluded that region-specific adaptations are responsible for occurrence of certain traits and trait associations in specific geographic regions.     

Productive Efficiency and Territorial Externalities in Small and Medium‐Sized Industrial Firms: A Dynamic Analysis of the District Effect

A series of works have analysed differential behaviour in terms of productive efficiency between companies inside a hypothetical industrial district and those outside the district. This objective has been addressed using measures of technical efficiency. The results obtained provide valuable information for quantifying the district effect at a given moment in time. However, constant changes in the market and business behaviour mean that it is worthwhile studying the business district effect from a dynamic point of view. In this study, we provide this new vision through the use of Malmquist productivity indices. This methodology enables us to analyse possible differential evolutions by comparing the productive efficiency of companies inside and outside a district over a period of time. An empirical application has been made on a set of small and medium‐sized Spanish ceramic producers during the period of economic expansion between 1996 and 2007.     

石羊河下游河岸带的景观结构及变化

应用景观生态学和空间对比分析方法,探讨石羊河下游流水和断流河段的河岸带景观,对其绿洲形成、分布及其结构调控和生态环境改善据有参考意义。结果表明：景观要素发生和分布受到河流地貌约束,顺直型河道区域的景观丰富度约为分汊型和漫流型的2倍,在漫流型河道区域以农田为优势斑块。流水和断流河段的景观结构分别呈带状水平结构和镶嵌结构,而斑块丰富度逐渐降低,均匀度增大。地下水位深度达7-8 m引发景观组成和结构变化,距离河床约200 m是河岸带景观发生转变的区域。石羊河下游河岸带景观变化时间与河流改道及水利改造时间相一致,因人类土地利用方式增减景观要素,区域水资源变化促进景观演变。河岸带景观结构是区域绿洲结构的基础。     

Selection and Construction of New Types of Water Supply Pipings

To overcome the disadvantages of traditional galvanized pipe, new types of water supply piping materials have been developed. Comparison and classification are made based on their characteristics such as thermal stability, resistance to pressure, expansion coefficient and thermal conductivity, resistance to water hammer, cost and easiness of installation. Furthermore, the characteristics were discussed according to their locations in buildings: distribution main line in each pressure zone, branch pipe in water closet and the main line. Finally, the conclusion about the principles for pipe selection according to its location in buildings is given.     

Growth patterns of Slash and Caribbean Pine and their hybrids in Queensland

Summary Seasonal height and girth growth patterns of hybrids between Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var elliottii L. & D.) and Caribbean Pine (Pinus caribaea Mor. var hondurensis B. & G.) were compared with those of the parental species over one year at Beerwah Forest in southern coastal Queensland, Australia. The parental growth patterns differed markedly. Slash Pine had very vigorous early season growth, the rate then declined steadily through the later part of the season until the species entered winter dormancy. Caribbean Pine grew steadily throughout the year with late summer the most active period and winter the least. The hybrids combined the parental growth patterns with a consequent vigour advantage.Slash Pine showed a high degree of stem to stem synchronization of height growth in the early season, but much less in the later part, whilst height growth of Caribbean Pine was totally asynchronous. The hybrid was intermediate in stem to stem synchronization.The number of branch whorls produced by individual trees of Slash Pine on the main stem in the season 1965–1966 were found to be directly related to the length of the growing season for the tree concerned and also to the total height of the tree. Counts on trees at various centres in Queensland showed a decrease in branch whorl number per season with movement northwards suggesting a decrease in the length of the growing season of the species at lower latitudes. Possible physiological reasons for this are discussed.     

Ex-situ conservation of maize germplasm from different latitudes

Germplasm collections often include open-pollinated varieties from diverse latitudes and climatic areas that cannot be correctly conserved in a single environment. The objective of this research was to investigate if open-pollinated maize varieties from diverse latitudinal and climatic conditions could be conserved in a single location. Twelve varieties from the humid Spain, the dry Spain, and the Canary Island were multiplied in three locations from the humid Spain, one from the dry Spain, and one from the Canary Islands. Hand pollinations were made in 100-plant plots following a randomized complete block design with two replications in five locations during two years. Differences between origins and between varieties were significant for most traits, including those related to growth cycle (male and female flowering and grain moisture). The varieties from each latitudinal and climatic origin did not behave as a consistent germplasm block; contrarily, the location × variety interaction was significant for most traits. The varieties from the humid Spain maintained their ranks of growth cycle across locations and differences between varieties were more important in the dry Spain. The growth cycle of the Canarian varieties was completely different in the dry Spain. We can maintain the varieties from any Spanish environment and latitude at any location, but most varieties could be modified by natural selection for adaptation.     

Location matters: A spatial econometric analysis of regional resilience in the European Union

The aim of this study is to empirically examine regional resilience by assessing economic growth patterns in two distinct groups of regions across the European Union in the aftermath of the 2008 economic and financial crisis. In an effort to consider the regions as interconnected economic areas and account for spillover effects, the model incorporates complex spatial effects that consider both spatial heterogeneity and spatial dependence. The analysis follows a step‐wise approach. First, spatial heterogeneity is assessed by employing Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis, which identifies two distinct spatial regimes, a core and a periphery, based on their initial level of economic development. A Spatial Durbin Model is then employed to estimate the determinants of regional resilience and growth in both regimes, including potential spillover effects. Results indicate that while both spatial regimes experience processes of economic convergence, recent determinants of growth, as well as spillover dynamics, differ across the two. In the core regime, better institutions, higher shares of investment, and an economy specialized in higher value‐added sectors significantly spur domestic growth, with investment also inducing positive spillover effects to neighbouring regions. In the peripheral regime, low shares of lower‐secondary educational attainment and high shares of tertiary educational attainment have a significant positive effect on domestic growth, with higher shares of tertiary educational attainment also inducing positive spillover effects. Moreover, technological readiness is also identified as an important factor in the peripheral regime with positive spillover effects. Upon the bedrock of these findings, initial policy proposals are offered.     

The Retail Bank CD Market: An Assessment of Geographic Scope

ABSTRACT Over the past fifteen years, legislative, regulatory, and technological changes have occurred which have redefined the concept of a “local” bank deposit market. This study employs an interest rate covariability model to evaluate the geographic extent of bank retail CD markets. Classifying deposits according to both size and maturity, a total of four markets are analyzed using yield data for six major state banking areas. The evidence presented for all four cases supports the view that significant, though not perfect, integration exists. The principal finding is that the geographic scope of retail CD markets is inversely related to both size and maturity.     

The Impact of Metropolitan Structure on Commute Behavior in the Netherlands: A Multilevel Approach

ABSTRACT This paper documents the investigation of the impact of metropolitan structure on the commute behavior of urban residents in the Netherlands. Not only has the impact of monocentrism versus polycentrism been analyzed, but the influence of metropolitan density and size has also been considered, together with the ratio of employment to population and the growth of the population and employment. Furthermore, data are used at a variety of levels of analysis ranging from the individual worker to the metropolitan region rather than being drawn from aggregate level statistics alone. Multilevel regression modeling is applied to take account of the interdependencies among these levels of aggregation. With regard to mode choice, the results indicate that the probability of driving an auto to work is lower in employment‐rich metropolitan regions, and rises as the number of jobs per resident has grown strongly. Furthermore, women in most polycentric regions are less likely to commute as an auto driver. All else being equal, commute distances and times for auto drivers are longer in most polycentric regions than in monocentric urban areas. In addition, commute time as an auto driver rises with metropolitan size, whereas commute distance depends on employment density and the growth of the number of jobs per resident. The investigation shows that metropolitan structure, although significantly influencing commute patterns, explains only a small part of the variation of individuals’ commute behavior.