Industry Structure of Commercial Districts and the Impact of COVID-19

This paper aims to empirically analyze the difference in the closure rate of the commercial district according to the industry structure of the commercial district. Theoretically, the larger the number of stores in a commercial district, the greater the positive externality caused by the agglomeration economies in consumption, namely, the external economies of scale. However, the agglomeration economies could occur from comparison shopping or one-stop shopping, depending on the business structure of the commercial district. According to the empirical results of the regression analysis of all 1164 commercial districts in Korea, the more specialized a commercial district is by stores in a specific industry, the lower the closure rate of that commercial district. This means that the agglomeration economies in consumption are driven by comparison shopping rather than by one-stop shopping and implies that it is necessary to introduce incentives that allow stores in the same industry to cluster together in terms of policy. Meanwhile, if the closure is limited to a specific industry, it will cause an endogeneity problem since it affects the industry structure of the commercial district. Considering this, as a result of additional estimation by 2SLS and GMM using instrumental variables, the error in estimation due to the endogeneity problem was not large, confirming that COVID-19 corresponds to an overall external shock that is not limited to a specific industry. In addition, this paper presents diagnostic indicators for commercial districts to measure the impact of COVID-19. Through this, it will be possible to alleviate conflicts between social classes over compensation or subsidies for sanctions for quarantine. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time to use all commercial districts in Korea for a research in evaluating the impact of COVID-19, and empirical results on agglomeration economies focusing on the consumption side are limited.

Collaborating on Healthcare on an All-Island Basis: A Scoping Study *

Over the past two decades health has been identified as a key area for increased cross-border working on the island of Ireland. To date though, the approach has been minimalist and often project specific. The global pandemic, the continuing fallout from Brexit and the establishment of the Shared Island initiative have pushed the broad issue of healthcare cooperation up the policy agenda. Theoretically, closer cooperation could deliver economies of scale, value for money, opportunities for clinical specialisation, and facilitate the sharing of knowledge. However, despite its obvious potential and policy significance, cross-border collaboration in healthcare has been the subject of remarkably little research attention. This small-scale qualitative study is based on in-depth interviews with 49 individuals with expertise and experience in this area. From these interviews six broad themes emerged: support for collaboration, lack of strategic direction, knowledge sharing, CoviD-19, data and opportunities for future cooperation. Given the similar social, economic and political pressures faced by both healthcare systems, it is concluded that leveraging the strengths from cross-border collaboration should be a policy priority.

Maritime container terminal infrastructure, network corporatization, and global terminal operators: Implications for international business policy

Maritime shipping lines and global terminal operators have benefited from economies of scale to expand geographically and functionally their infrastructure, leading to a corporatized network. Terminal operators are key asset managers seeking value creation by expanding the global maritime container terminal infrastructure network. While corporatization has systematically ensured that terminal capacity was created to accommodate the rise in global trade volumes, the network hit its boundaries when confronted with COVID-19 induced global supply chain disruptions. This paper provides a better understanding of the importance of infrastructure and observed corporatization as a framework for explaining economic processes, notably when transport infrastructures are extensive and capital-intensive. The structure of the global container shipping network is analyzed to unveil the realities of liner service networks operated by shipping lines, and the market structure and consolidation in container shipping and terminal operations. The discussion on the corporatization of the global maritime infrastructure network for container handling is embedded in international business literature. This study also extracts the main implications of the current structure and governance of the global maritime infrastructure network for international business policy, with a particular focus on the current market structure and network resilience.

Can the Growth of the Digital Economy Be Beneficial for Urban Decarbonization? A Study from Chinese Cities

An environmentally friendly city is a livable home for the future. Can the rapidly developing digital economy help decrease carbon emissions and realize a low-carbon and clean city promptly? This study focuses on examining how multi-dimensional digital economic growth has influenced CO2 emissions across 280 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019. Findings discover that (1) An "n”-type curve nexus exists between CO2 emissions and the digital economy in Chinese cities, which means that digital economy expansion initially strengthens CO2 emissions, but at a certain level, it can help achieve the target of urban decarbonization;(2) The digital economy's influence on CO2 emissions is spatially spilled and regionally heterogeneous, and by means of economies of scale and industrial composition upgrades, it can help the city to lower carbon emissions and benefit the low carbonization of neighboring cities. However, based on the "rebound effect”, the intermediary role of technological effects in reducing emissions in the short term is not apparent;(3) The expansion of trade openness and appropriately stringent environmental rules in line with national conditions are beneficial to lower CO2 emissions in the city and the surrounding cities in the short term. It is recommended that policy makers actively promote the development of the digital economy, strengthen exchanges and cooperation between cities, narrow the gap between cities, and actively learn the advanced management concepts of surrounding cities through the development of economies of scale and industrial structure transformation to accomplish the target of "carbon neutrality” sooner rather than later.

How to improve the future efficiency of Covid-19 treatment centers? A hybrid framework combining artificial neural network and congestion approach of data envelopment analysis.

Covid-19 virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2) threatens the health of human beings worldwide, imposing a concern for the world and prompting governments to control the contagion. Although vaccination is a proper tool to control the transmission, the efficient allocation of limited health-care resources to massive patients can improve the effectiveness of medical services. Relying on the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), the aim of this research is to enhance the future efficiency of Covid-19 treatment centers by forecasting their efficiency and providing benchmarks. To do this, we use the congestion approach of data envelopment analysis (DEA) based on the theory of economies of scale principles. In the traditional input-oriented DEA, inefficient decision-making units (DMUs) can become efficient merely by reducing the inputs. However, this may not always be true in real-world applications such as improving the efficiency of COVID-19 treatment centers (DMUs). Meaning that the treatment centers with less congested inputs (e.g., ventilators, test equipment, pulmonologists, and nurses, etc.) normally have higher mortality rates. For this reason, in this study, we take the congested inputs approach into account to provide proper benchmarks for the inefficient treatment centers. According to the congestion approach of DEA, an optimum increase in congested inputs can lead to a greater than a proportional increment in outputs. In other words, if more respiratory equipment, pulmonologists, patient rooms, nurses and beds, etc. are allocated to Covid-19 treatment centers, not only the number of deaths (undesirable outputs) are decreased, but also the number of recoveries (desirable outputs) are increased. Such an optimal rise in the congested inputs is determined in pairwise comparisons derived from the model. Accordingly, in this study, first, considering the congestion approach of DEA and historical data of five periods, we identify the initial efficiency of Iranian Covid-19 treatment centers. Then, by running ANN, we forecast the future inputs and outputs, the overall efficiency, and rank of the treatment centers. By doing this, the prospective efficient and inefficient DMUs are identified, and appropriate benchmarks are determined.

Unternehmenskonzentrationen in der Fleischbranche und die performative Rolle der Agrarökonomik – das Beispiel Sektorplanungen im Schlachthofbereich

ZusammenfassungIn der deutschen Fleischbranche wurde nur sechs Wochen nach Ausbruch der Corona-Pandemie deutlich, welch problematische und konzentrierte Strukturen hier bestehen – angezeigt durch die Schlachthöfe des Unternehmers Tönnies, die sich zu Corona-Hotspots entwickelten. Für Konzentrations- und Intensivierungsdynamiken solcher Strukturen werden üblicherweise sowohl ökonomische (wettbewerbliche Konzentrationstendenzen durch Größenvorteile) als auch wirtschaftspolitische (Arbeitsmarktpolitik, umweltpolitische Vorgaben usw.) Gründe angegeben. Kaum thematisiert wird dabei jedoch die aktive Rolle wissenschaftlicher Expertise im Prozess der fortschreitenden Intensivierung der Tierproduktion und hier insbesondere im Bereich Schlachtung und Verarbeitung. Dies steht in Diskrepanz zu der Tatsache, dass in Deutschland ab den 1970er-Jahren von Agrarökonomen Strukturpläne erstellt wurden, die dann als Sektorpläne politisch umgesetzt worden sind, wodurch die Strukturkonzentrationen maßgeblich forciert wurden.Daher soll im nachstehenden Beitrag diese performative Rolle der deutschen Agrarökonomik im Prozess der bewusst herbeigeführten Konzentrationen im Bereich der Schlachthofstrukturen thematisiert und aus soziologischer Perspektive hinterfragt werden. Dazu wird in einem ersten Schritt die Fleischbranche als Forschungsgebiet skizziert und aus wissenschaftssoziologischer Sicht auf Entwicklungen eingegangen, entlang derer die derzeitige Forschungsstruktur erklärbar wird. In einem zweiten Schritt werden die Planungsvorgänge und ihre Folgen thematisiert und hier insbesondere am Beispiel des sogenannten Böckenhoff-Planes, auf dessen Grundlage nach 1989 die Schlachthöfe in den Neuen Bundesländern stark dezimiert wurden. In einem dritten Schritt wird abschließend die aktive performative Rolle der Agrarökonomik vor dem Hintergrund der aktuellen Problemlage reflektiert. Dazu wird mit einem strukturationstheoretischen Zugang auf die Differenz zwischen marktfokussierter ökonomischer Sphäre und den Bewirtschaftungsvorgängen und ihren Folgen insgesamt insistiert. Hier zeigen sich auch die Grenzen der derzeit geltenden Ökonomik, da weder die eigene performative Rolle bei der Ausgestaltung der ökonomischen Sphäre nach marktwirtschaftlichen Vorstellungen noch die Folgewirkungen dieses Herangehens problematisiert werden.Alternate :In the German meat industry, only six weeks after the outbreak of the corona pandemic, it became clear what problematic and concentrated structures exist here—particularly indicated by the slaughterhouses of the Tönnies Group, which developed into corona hotspots. Economic reasons (competitive concentration tendencies due to economies of scale) and politico-economic factors (labor market policy, environmental policy requirements, etc.) are mentioned in order to explain the dynamics of concentration and intensification on the production side. However, the active role of scientific expertise to accelerate the progressive intensification of animal production is discussed very rarely, especially in the slaughtering and meat packing industry. This also shows the limits of the currently dominant economic approaches, which not only fail to reflect their own performative role in the shaping of the economic sphere but also ignore the consequences of their market-centered perspective.Therefore, in the following article, this performative role of German agricultural economics in the process of deliberately induced concentrations in the slaughterhouse industry will be addressed and questioned from a sociological perspective. In a first step, the meat sector as a field of research is outlined from the perspective of sociology of science. This helps explain the current research structure. In a second step, the planning processes and their consequences are discussed, in particular using the example of the so-called Böckenhoff plan, on the basis of which the slaughterhouses in the new German states were heavily decimated after 1989. Finally, in a third step, the active performati e role of agricultural economics is reflected against the background of the current situation. For this purpose, a structural theoretical approach is used to highlight the difference between the market-focused economic sphere and the economic activities and their consequences as a whole. This also shows the limits of the currently dominant economic approaches, which not only fail to reflect their own performative role in the shaping of the economic sphere but also ignore the consequences of their market-centered perspective.

Modeling Inventory Cost Savings and Supply Chain Success Factors: A Hybrid Robust Compromise Multi-Criteria Approach

Determining success factors for managing supply chains is a relevant aspect for companies. Then, modeling the relationship between inventory cost savings and supply chain success factors is a route for stating such a determination. This is particularly important in pharmacies and food nutrition services (FNS), where the advances made on this topic are still scarce. In this article, we propose and formulate a robust compromise (RoCo) multi-criteria model based on non-linear programming and time-dependent demand. The novelty of our proposal is in defining a score that allows us to measure the mentioned success factors in a simple way, in meeting together all three elements (RoCo multi-criteria, non-linear programming, and time-dependent demand) to state a new model, and in applying it to pharmacies and FNS. This model relates inventory cost savings for pharmacy/FNS and success factors across their supply chains. Savings of inventory costs are predicted by lot sizes to be purchased and computed by comparing optimal and true inventory costs. We utilize a system that records the movements and costs of products to collect the data. Factors, such as purchasing organization, economies of scale, and synchronized supply, are assumed using the purchase system, with these factors ranked on a Likert scale. We consider multilevel relationships between savings obtained for 79 pharmacy/FNS products, and success factor scores according to these products. To deal with the endogeneity bias of the relationships proposed, internal instrumental variables are employed by utilizing generalized statistical moments. Among our main conclusions, we state that the greatest cost savings obtained from inventory models are directly associated with low-success supply chain factors. In this association, the success factors operate as endogenous variables, with respect to inventory cost savings, given the simultaneity of their relationship with cost savings when inventory decision-making.

Natural Disasters and the Reshaping of Global Value Chains

To understand the longer-term consequences of natural disasters for global value chains, this paper examines trade in the automobile and electronic sectors after the 2011 earthquake in Japan. Contrary to widespread expectations, we find that the shock did not lead to reshoring, nearshoring, or diversification across non-Japanese suppliers;and trade in intermediate products was disrupted less than trade in final goods. Imports did shift to new suppliers, especially where dependence on Japan was greater. But production relocated to developing countries rather than to other top exporters, and to larger countries. The results, showing relative inertia in intermediate goods and the dominance of economic fundamentals (cost and scale) in determining sourcing decisions, may help us understand supply chain adjustment after other natural disasters, like the COVID-19 pandemic. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of IMF Economic Review is the property of Macmillan Publishers Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Arriving at a natural solution: Bundling credits to access rangeland carbon markets

On the Ground•Natural solutions, such as “avoided conversion of grasslands,” offer agricultural land managers a way to mitigate climate change while monetizing climate benefits.•Managers who avoid converting grasslands to other uses, such as row crops, can quantify the amount of stored carbon and sell credits, but high costs of developing carbon credit projects price many landowners out of the carbon market.•Aggregation can create economies of scale, which lower barriers of entry and allow more landowners to participate in the market.•Given the current low prices in the carbon market, aggregation is not a panacea and aggregated projects are not financially viable for many landowners.•As the demand for carbon credits continues to grow, land managers can position themselves to take advantage of carbon market opportunities should prices increase, and projects become financially viable.

Raising the bar (21)

This editorial summarizes the papers published in issue 17(3) (2022). The first paper analyses the impact of knowledge spillovers on patent applications using a Tobit model. The second paper sets out an economic-theoretical model of industrial specialization patterns across cities and their impact on the spatial agglomeration of skilled workers and long-term productivity growth. The third paper analyses the price and average cost functions of a competitive industry in which firms face diseconomies of scale but enjoy economies of scale when they agglomerate. The fourth paper shows that productivity spillover effects and their endogeneity are key to understanding the productivity-compensation gap. The fifth paper studies geographical and sectoral specialization versus concentration of global supply chains. The sixth paper combines spatial autoregressive (SAR) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models to test whether urban residents have reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic by moving out of US metropolitan centres into the suburbs. The seventh paper investigates the impact of natural disasters caused by climate change on forced outmigration flows in South and South-East Asian countries.

From World Factory to Global City-Region: The Dynamics of Manufacturing in the Pearl River Delta and Its Spatial Pattern in the 21st Century

Since the 21st century, the PRD has gradually been transforming from a world factory to a global city-region. Based on the manufacturing and urban economic data, this paper uses the upgrade (UPG) index of industrial structure, comparative advantage and economies of scale to evaluate the development level of manufacturing in the PRD from 2000 to 2019. Through geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR), this paper measures the impact of four types of components (R & D, service economy, production capability and foreign investment) on the development of manufacturing in different periods. The results show the disharmony between the scale, structure and quality of the manufacturing in different cities. The impact on the manufacturing from R & D has spatiotemporal differences;the impact of foreign investment on the west coast cities of PRD is stronger than that of the east coast cities with varied impact mechanisms. The impact of the service economy is strong in sub-core cities. The impact of production capability has a transmission effect from core cities to the sub-core cities, indicating the manufacturing subdivision of function within the region. By 2019, The PRD has gradually transformed into a dual-core structure and the two cores have differentiated development paths.

MULTINATIONAL BANKING IN THE TIMES OF CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

The article provides an analysis of the changes that has recently occurred in the activities of multinational banks, taking into account the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak. Given the importance of multinational banks in many countries, understanding the scale and direction of these changes for the world economy has become essential. Over the last two decades we have been witnessing the following trends in multinational banking: the credit strategies transformation - from aggressive into conservative;the rise of South-South banking;the shift toward alternative sources of funding;the dramatic increase in banks size;the expansion of Chinese banks;the strengthening position of fast-growing markets as multinational banks home countries and the growing importance of developing and emerging markets as multinational banks host countries;the geographic expansion and regionalization of their activities. Our findings show that the aforementioned trends are driven by the economic downturn in developed countries and the increasing economic importance of developing countries. On the basis of this finding we forecast a low likelihood that banks from developed countries will be active lenders in the nearest future. Banks from developing countries have much better financial positions, which increase their relative importance as foreign lenders, especially within their geographical region. It looks like the year 2020 will become a year of tipping points in the development of multinational banking. A decade after the 2008-2009 global economic crisis banking industry faces a new challenge, which seems to have influenced almost every sector of the world economy, - the coronavirus outbreak. Given the background, the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak on multinational banking should be carefully examined.

Regional and plant-size impacts of COVID-19 on beef processing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. consumers witnessed changes in the volume and type of meat products available at retail and food service markets. Simultaneously, widening farm-to-wholesale price spreads fueled calls for industry change and several related policy proposals. The objective of this study is to document fed cattle slaughter and evaluate the structure and performance of the beef processing industry during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. For major beef-producing regions, the 2019-2020 change in federally inspected U.S. cattle slaughter volumes varied in isolated instances with regional reliance on larger processing facilities. Implications of this are discussed both for current policy and industry discussions, as well as to encourage additional future research.

Public Attitude towards Nuclear and Renewable Energy as a Factor of Their Development in a Circular Economy Frame: Two Case Studies

Nowadays, most countries of the world are implementing the transition to the low-carbon economy which implies the need to carry out a full-scale eco-modernization of the energy sector. Green energy may be identified as one of the core concerns of energy sector modernization as it allows a considerable decrease in emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. Therefore, nuclear and renewable energy may become key areas of global energy development in the near future, which is also in agreement with circular economy concepts. However, public opinion (and other controversial visions/aspects) is one of the barriers to their development. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between attitudes towards nuclear and renewable energy in two countries: a EU country (Italy) and a non-EU country (Russia), considering the level of their development. The authors conducted a survey among residents regarding their attitude towards nuclear and renewable energy, as well as their attitude to the present energy policy. The cluster analysis technique was used to analyze the results. The obtained results confirmed the dependence between the level of development of nuclear and renewable energy and the public attitude towards it. The national energy policy also might influence public opinion on the development of nuclear or renewable energy. The authors identified public attitude as one of the key factors in the development of energy and the achievement of environmental and social sustainability.

Process Simulations and Experimental Studies of CO2 Capture

The net greenhouse gas emissions need to become zero or even negative beyond 2050 to comply with the Paris Agreement and keep global warming well-below 1.5–2 °C with respect to pre-industrial levels [2]. [...]in the oxy-combustion systems, the combustion of the fuel takes place with pure oxygen rather than air, giving as a result a virtually pure CO2 stream due to the absence of nitrogen in the incoming comburent gas. [...]it is expected that energy demand grows strongly in the developing countries in coming decades, and therefore, about 70% of CCS development should be carried out in these regions in order to meet the long-term climate targets included in the 1.5–2 °C global emission scenario [2]. [...]progress in CCS deployment must be accelerated in developing countries. Rich nations need to provide developing regions with not only financial support to facilitate the transition to low-carbon economy but also the experience gained in successful large-scale operating projects to reduce costs and risks in future scaling up of CCS technologies in the developing countries.

The Covid-19 pandemic and meat supply chains.

The Covid-19 pandemic has upended societies, economic activity, and business environments. With a focus on the meat processing sector, this paper considers the short, medium, and potential long-term implications of the pandemic for food supply chains. A series of short-run demand and supply shocks affected the food system. The pandemic has generated a lively discourse around the adaptability and resilience of food supply chains in the medium to longer term. Scale and scope economies in meat processing offer significant cost and efficiency advantages, while a more dispersed industry structure can be more flexible. The pandemic is likely to accelerate the adoption of automation and digitalization within food supply chains. The Covid-19 pandemic also focused consumer attention on the food system and the nature of food supply chains. Consumers' underlying food values may shape their response to uncertainty during a pandemic. The pandemic offers lessons for the food industry in proactively identifying and addressing points of vulnerability within supply chains.