Understanding the Non‐Metropolitan—Metropolitan Digital Divide

Abstract A consistent gap exists between home Internet use in metropolitan areas and in non‐metropolitan areas in the U.S. This digital divide may stem from technology differences in home Internet connectivity. Alternatively, differences in education, income, and other household attributes may explain differences in metropolitan and non‐metropolitan area home Internet access. Effective programs to reduce the metropolitan–non‐metropolitan digital divide must be based on an understanding of the relative roles that technology and household characteristics play in determining differential Internet usage. The household Internet adoption decision is modeled using a logit estimation approach with data from the 2001 U.S. Current Population Survey Internet and Computer Use Supplement. A decomposition of separate metropolitan and non‐metropolitan area estimates shows that differences in household attributes, particularly education and income, account for 63 percent of the current metropolitan–non‐metropolitan digital divide. The result raises significant doubts that policies which focus solely on infrastructure and technology access will mitigate the current metropolitan–non‐metropolitan digital divide.     

Real Wages and Unemployment in Local Labor Markets: Pennsylvania MSAs, 1975-86

This paper specifies an unemployment rate model with relatively long lags on the manufacturing real wage and the level of real GNP as the independent variables. Estimates of the model for 12 MSAs in Pennsylvania over the period from 1975:2 to 1986:4 generally indicate a fairly strong positive unemployment response to lagged real wages. This is consistent with theoretical models of the labor market that hypothesize strong real wage effects during periods of aggregate supply shocks. The unique characteristics of the time period under study and the disaggregation to local labor markets might account for the fact that, in contrast to many previous empirical studies, we are able to uncover evidence of a positive real wage-unemployment relationship in U.S. time series data.     

Spatial Labor Markets and the Rural Labor Force

Functional economic areas have long been recognized as the appropriate unit of analysis for examining the spatial organization of regional economic activity. While easily defined conceptually, few fine-tuned empirical delineations based on either trading or commuting patterns have been produced. In this paper, labor market areas (LMAs) based on commuting patterns of Saskatchewan residents are constructed for two points in time, 1981 and 1991. Detailed Statistics Canada data on place of work and place of residence for the experienced labor force were used 38 distinct LMAs were identified for 1991, and 37 for 1981. The 15 largest LMAs, which included just under one-half of all rural municipalities (RMs) in southern Saskatchewan, grew in absolute terms and gained in relative importance during the decade. Another 23 (22) smaller LMAs in 1991 (1981), provided jobs for modest but declining numbers of both commuters and noncommuters. The remaining 30 percent of all RMs had such low or diffused levels of commuting that they were not included in any LMA in either year. A pattern apparent for all LMAs was an intensification of commuting within the labor market area. Although there was a reduction in the number of commuters from centers of employment to surrounding areas between 1981 and 1991, there was an even larger increase in commuters to centers of employment. While commuting to a job in an urban center is still a distinct possibility for the rural labor force living within the 15 largest LMAs, it is increasingly less likely for those residing elsewhere in rural Saskatchewan. In these remote areas, alternatives to urban-based employment are required.     

Job Lock in Rural versus Urban Labor Markets

While the possible negative effect of employer‐sponsored health insurance on labor mobility (job lock) has spawned substantial research, little research has considered differences in job lock between rural and urban areas. Job lock might differ in rural areas because of specific features of rural economies, in particular, the thinness of rural labor markets. This paper estimates measures of job lock for rural and urban areas. Parameter estimates suggest that it is larger in rural areas. The results also indicate that nonwage benefits such as retirement plans, paid vacation, and sick pay are more important factors in married rural workers decisions to change jobs while wages are a more important factor in the transition decisions of single urban workers.     

A Micro‐Simulation Approach to Modelling Spatial Unemployment Disparities

This paper aims to construct a comprehensive model capable of simulating spatial unemployment disparities. The key feature of the model is that it simultaneously deals with commuting and migration. Much of the existing literature simply models one adjustment mechanism at a time. This paper adopts a micro‐simulation approach to build a model which can deal with equilibrium and disequilibrium unemployment disparities in a context where commuting and migration are possible. The model is then used to demonstrate the importance of considering both types of flows and to guide future empirical and theoretical work in the area.     

Antioxidative Response of Quinoa Exposed to Iso‐Osmotic,Ionic and Non‐Ionic Salt Stress

Antioxidants play an important role in adapting plants to abiotic stress by detoxifying reactive oxygen species (ROS). Involvement of antioxidant enzymes in abiotic stress tolerance of highly stress‐tolerant quinoa was studied in a climatic chamber at 6 mOsm (milliosmolar) ionic (300 mm NaCl) and non‐ionic (600 mm mannitol) salts combined with increasing levels of potassium K1 and K2 (6, 12 mm ), respectively. Fifteen days of salt treatment (both ionic and non‐ionic) decreased plant growth (shoot and root fresh weight), stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content index. Furthermore, both forms of salt stress increased the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and peroxidase up to 2.33‐, 3.98‐, 4.78‐ and 5.55‐folds, respectively, compared to no salt treatment, whereas membrane stability index decreased corresponding to increase in lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde), with salt treatments compared to non‐stressed plants. However, no significant effect of potassium and salt treatments has been noticed on the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII. The results suggested that enhanced antioxidant enzymes activity under salt stress could be one of the factors responsible for abiotic stress tolerance in quinoa.     

How Effects of Local Labor Demand Shocks Vary with the Initial Local Unemployment Rate

This article estimates how effects of local labor demand shocks on labor market outcomes vary with the initial local unemployment rate, which has not been previously studied. The data are on 23 large U.S. metro areas from 1979 to 2011. The article finds that demand shocks to local job growth have greater effects in increasing real wages if the local economy initially has low unemployment. However, demand shocks have greater effects in reducing unemployment, and increasing labor force participation, if the local economy initially has high unemployment, although these differences are only of modest statistical significance. The estimates are based on a new econometric approach to determining the correct dynamic structure for how local labor markets respond to demand shocks. This new approach finds that demand shocks have persistent effects on labor force participation and real wages, but not on unemployment, which contradicts some previous research.     

Co‐creating an Open Government Action Plan: The Case of Sekondi‐Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly,Ghana

This paper contributes to the limited literature on open government initiatives at the subnational level in developing countries. It examines the motivations of actors in a local government authority to utilize the capabilities of various stakeholders to overcome constraints in cocreating an action plan for open government reforms. This empirical analysis utilized qualitative fieldwork conducted in Sekondi‐Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana's third largest local government. The findings demonstrate that a confluence of citizen demand for openness, and willingness within the governance stakeholders, are motivating the pursuit of open government reforms. Viewed through an open innovation framework, we argue that achieving good governance through information transparency, public participation, and accountability reforms is hindered by the institutional environment. Ghana's subnational governments need national level commitment to provide the resources, mandate, and authority to become truly “open.”     

Differential Physio‐Biochemical Responses to Cold Stress of Cold‐Tolerant and Non‐Tolerant Grapes (Vitis L.) from China

There are many grape species exhibiting differences in cold tolerance in China. ‘Zuoshan1’ (Vitis amurensis Rupr. cv. Zuoshan1), one kind of the most cold tolerant grapes, can endure ?40 to ?50 °C, whereas, ‘Maoputao’ (Vitis quinqanguoari Rehd. cv. Maoputao) is sensitive to the cold stress. To understand the physiological mechanism, we investigated responses of both species to a range of decreasing temperatures under the controlled condition. The cold‐tolerant ‘Zuoshan1’ showed higher accumulation of abscisic acid than non‐tolerant ‘Maoputao’, which was correlated with a more dramatic increase in solutes including sugars, proteins at early stage of our detection. At latter stages, these solutes showed more decline in ‘Zuoshan1’. Meanwhile, earlier leaf yellowing and necrosis of ‘Zuoshan1’ were detected with concomitant decrease in the chlorophyll (Chl) content along with remarkable increase in electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde, which indicated that the earlier leaf senescence occurred to ‘Zuoshan1’. Based on the leaf morphology and parameter investigation, it was concluded that cold‐tolerant grape ‘Zuoshan1’ made quicker responses to the low temperature (LT), indicating it sensed the cold‐signal more strongly than the non‐tolerant grape ‘Maoputao’. Therefore the ability to take more active response to cold stress contributes to the higher tolerance in ‘Zuoshan1’.     

Responses to N Deficiency in Stay Green and Non‐Stay Green Argentinean Hybrids of Maize

Breeding has developed better yielding maize hybrids for low N environments, which also have delayed leaf senescence (‘stay green’ trait, SG). Here, we studied whether the SG trait can further improve yield of modern hybrids under N‐limiting conditions. In two field experiments, four maize hybrids with different senescence behaviour were grown under three N fertilization levels, from 0 to 200 kg N ha^?1 (N0, N100 and N200). After silking, hybrids differed for senescence depending on the canopy layer (P < 0.05): the SG AX878 only delayed senescence at the mid and upper canopy layers while the SG NK880 delayed senescence of all layers. Across N doses, higher yields were achieved by both SG hybrids, AX878 and NK880 (P < 0.05) but yield was not only determined by senescence behaviour. Kernel weight (KW) response to N availability was larger for SGs than for their non‐‘stay green’ counterparts. Delayed senescence in SG hybrids was not related to higher post‐silking N uptake but to higher (P < 0.05) %N in leaves and lower (P < 0.05) %N in kernels at harvest (below the critical 1.1 % under N deficiency). Across N levels, KW positively related to N content per kernel, with a steeper slope (P < 0.05) for the SG hybrids. Taken together, our results suggest that a condition where N limits kernel growth, in a scenario of saturating C availability, may be common to stay green genotypes of maize.     

Growth of Creative Occupations in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: A Shift‐Share Analysis

ABSTRACT This article uses a shift‐share model to investigate the growth of creative occupations in U.S. metropolitan areas during the 1990s. Empirical findings indicate that the performance of the creative economy varied widely across the U.S., and that the highest competitive growth rates of the creative workforce occurred in the Rocky Mountain, Southeast, and Southwest regions. Further analysis focused on whether high competitive workforce growth between 1990 and 2000 translated into high competitive employment growth from 1999 to 2003. The results show that many of the areas with the highest competitive growth rates of creative economy employment from 1999 to 2003 were some of the weakest regions in terms of creative workforce growth during the 1990s. This raises questions about the extent to which jobs follow people in the creative economy, and suggests that an initial strong presence in the creative economy is not a prerequisite for future growth.     

Comparative Study of CaMsrB2 Gene Containing Drought‐Tolerant Transgenic Rice (Oryza sativa L.) and Non‐Transgenic Counterpart

Concerns regarding the safety of transgenic foods have been raised because of possibility of undesirable effects development during genetic engineering. Analysis of phenotypic traits can increase the likelihoods of identifying those unintended effects in dietary composition of the GM crops. Objective of this study was to compare the transgenic lines with their non‐transgenic counterpart. Different vegetative and reproductive traits as well as antioxidant properties were considered to evaluate the transgenic (HV8 and HV23) lines containing CaMsrB2 gene and their non‐transgenic (Ilmi) parent line. Grain size and weight, seed germination, root length, root and shoot dry weight, length and width of flag leaf, plant height, and ligule, stamen and carpel length were not significantly different. Onset and completion of heading in each line occurred almost during the same period. The antioxidant properties in terms of DPPH (1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity and polyphenol content were not statistically different under same treatment condition. The results suggested that the transgenic rice lines containing CaMsrB2 gene were equivalent to their non‐transgenic counterpart without any visible unintended effects.     

The Effect of Mulching,Tillage and Rotation on Yield in Non‐flooded Compared with Flooded Rice Production

Non‐flooded rice cultivation has been proven to be an effective measure to reduce water consumption in drought areas of Southeast China. However, rice cultivation under non‐flooded conditions leads to less stable productivity and lower grain yield. The objectives of this study were (1) to compare crop performance and yields among flooded and non‐flooded rice over several seasons, (2) to identify the yield performed in non‐flooded rice systems over seasons and whether the options which included no‐tillage, straw mulching and wet‐dry rotation system can narrow the grain yield gap between non‐flooded and traditional flooded condition. The results showed the difference between flooded rice (F) and non‐flooded rice (NF) with straw mulching was much lower than the difference between F and NF without straw mulching. Within late seasons, the difference of aboveground total biomass between non‐flooded rice without mulching and flooded rice gradually widened as the number of cropping seasons increased. Compared with the non‐flooded rice without mulching, straw mulching can reduce the decline of aboveground total biomass and grain yield. The yield difference between F and NF treatments became smaller in no‐tillage plots than complete tillage plots. It suggested that no‐tillage can keep the crop production more stable. In comparison with continuously non‐flooded cultivation, our study indicated that the wet‐dry rotation system can reduce the yield decline under non‐flooded condition.     

Servicing Our Economy: Producer Service Location and Government Procurement 2004–2010 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area

Harrington and Campbell (1997) previously illuminated the pattern of producer services' suburbanization in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area between 1970 and 1992. Their results showed producer services growing at a faster rate at locations farther from the central city. We revisit the topic utilizing data from 2004 to 2010, assessing not only changes in the distribution of producer services since their work, but also the impact of massive increases in defense spending on producer services' growth throughout the first decade of the twenty‐first century. Multivariate linear regression is used to estimate per capita growth of producer services employment using six independent variables. Our results reveal producer services employment during the time period has grown significantly more quickly in the urban D.C. core than the outer suburbs, contrary to Harrington and Campbell's research. Additionally, we find per capita producer services employment is self‐limiting over the study period: locations with more producer services employment in 2004 experienced significantly less producer services growth over the period. We find federal procurement has no correlation on producer services overall, with limited effects on some subsectors. Analyzing a select group of producer services subsectors revealed that no sectors followed the overall model exactly, suggesting that targeting producer services for growth must be done carefully. None of our models show employment diversity to be a factor in differentiating economic growth at the intra‐metropolitan level.     

Yield and Quality Characteristics of Quinoa Grown in Open Field Under Different Saline and Non‐Saline Irrigation Regimes

A possible alternative to minimize the effects of salt and drought stress is the introduction of species tolerating these conditions with a good adaptability in terms of quantitative and qualitative yield. So quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) cultivar Titicaca was grown in an open field trial in 2009 and 2010 to investigate the effects of salt and drought stress on quantitative and qualitative aspects of the yield. Treatments irrigated with well water (Q100, Q50 and Q25) and corresponding treatments irrigated with saline water (Q100S, Q50S and Q25S) with an electrical conductivity (EC_w) of 22 dS m^?1 were compared. Salt and drought stress in both years did not cause significant yield reduction, while the highest level of saline water resulted in higher mean seed weight and as a consequence the increase in fibre and total saponin content in quinoa seeds.     

Differential Employment Patterns for Citizens and Non‐Citizens in Science and Engineering in the United States: Minting and Competitive Effects

ABSTRACT The consequences of the heavy inflow of foreign talent for U.S. scientists and engineers over the period 1973‐1997 are examined using data from the Survey of Doctorate Recipients. Of particular interest is whether non‐citizens trained in the United States have displaced citizens from jobs in science and engineering (S&E). Using a novel adaptation of the shift‐share technique, it is shown that citizen S&E doctorates have fewer jobs in S&E and fewer academic jobs than their non‐citizen counterparts for two reasons: the citizen doctoral population has experienced slower growth than the non‐citizen doctoral population, and citizen S&E doctorates have been displaced. Whether the displacement observed was a voluntary response of citizens to the lure of better opportunities elsewhere or an involuntary response indicative of having been pushed out by foreign talent remains to be determined.