Economics Commons^™

Are Industry Clusters And Diversity Strange Bedfellows?, Randall Jackson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In this address, I review industry clustering and diversification strategies to compare and contrast their underlying foundations. The lack of a consensus choice of one or the other for regional economic development strategies along with the recognition that in the dynamic process of development these two processes are related leads me to conclude that clusters and diversity need not be such strange bedfellows after all, and that a rational approach to economic development can leverage the strengths of each and offset weaknesses. I follow this discussion by introducing a cluster assessment diversification strategy (CADS) apparatus that can be used to …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 8, Spring 2015

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Examining The Impact Of Casinos On Economic Development: A Spatial Analysis Of The Counties In The Mid-Atlantic Region, Andrew J. Economopoulos

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

Few have formally evaluated the economic impact of casinos, and yet most agree that it is crucial in estimating the net benefit to society. A new casino investment should stimulate economic activity in the immediate region, but its operations could potentially reduce employment and incomes within the industry. Grinols outlines the factors that could lead to positive or negative growth from the investment, but what is critical to the empirical validation of the investment is the definition of region. Since data is geographically limited to political boundaries, it is necessary to employ a spatial methodology that captures the impact beyond …

The Economic Impact Of The University Of Arkansas, Katherine A. Deck, Mervin Jebaraj

Publications and Presentations

As the state’s flagship institution of higher education, the University of Arkansas delivers a significant economic impact to Arkansas. In 2014, an impact in excess of $1.2 billion came from the University via operations, construction, technology transfer, student expenditures, and visitor spending. The University of Arkansas has a substantial influence on the direction of the state’s economy by fulfilling its mission of developing human capital, growing ideas, and transmitting knowledge to the public.

Urban-Focused Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (Ceds), Thomas Edison State College, The John S. Watson Institute For Public Policy, New Jersey Urban Mayors Association, Michael N'Dolo, Jim Damicis, Rachel Selsky, Abby Straus, John Findlay

Urban Mayors Policy Center

This Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is the outgrowth of a long running effort by the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy at Thomas Edison State College (Watson Institute) to support economic and community development in New Jersey with a particular focus on urban areas in need of revitalization. The Watson Institute was previously awarded a United States Economic Development Administration (USEDA) grant to complete an economic analysis of the North Central New Jersey Region. The USEDA approved that analysis and awarded additional funds to continue our work, culminating in this CEDS plan.

Several years ago, the Watson Institute …

State Of The Northwest Arkansas Region 2015 Report, Katherine A. Deck, Mervin Jebaraj

State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report

The State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report is an annual publication, commissioned by the Northwest Arkansas Council, that serves as a tool for evaluating the economic performance of the region. The Northwest Arkansas Council announced in January 2015 that the organization’s five-year strategic plan for 2010-2015 was completed one year ahead of schedule. As a result, the Northwest Arkansas Council created a blueprint for development that outlines new peer regions and strategies for 2015-2017. In the new three-year plan, the performance of Northest Arkansas is benchmarked with other contemporary, high-performing regions such as Austin, Des Moines, Madison, and Raleigh-Durham. …

Part 6: The Small-Business Story In Virginia: What A Quarter Century Of Data Reveal, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

Very small businesses in Virginia (those with fewer than 10 employees) have been holding their own, but many have found it difficult to grow beyond this size. Very small businesses now account for smaller proportions of total employment and payrolls in Virginia than was true 25 years ago. However, public policy changes can alter this situation.

Optimism In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being, 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

This year, rural Nebraskans are the most positive about their current situation as they’ve been in all 20 years of this study. Just over one-half (53%) of rural Nebraskans believe they are better off than they were five years ago (the highest proportion in all 20 years of this study, tied in 2008). This is up slightly from 50 percent last year. And, rural Nebraskans’ outlook on their future is the most optimistic in all 20 years of this study. Almost one-half of rural Nebraskans (48%) believe they will be better off ten years from now (the highest of all …

Efectos Regionales Del Libre Comercio: El Caso Del Noreste De México, Gaspare Genna, Edgardo Ayala Gaytán, Joana Chapa Cantú, María De Lourdes Treviño Villarreal, Marcos Pérez Estrella

Selected Works Temporary Series

This work documents trade and productivity flows between Northeastern Mexico, US States, and Canadian provinces. It quantifies the effect of NAFTA on exports, investment foreign direct and total productivity of Northeastern Mexico and, through the combination of a general equilibrium model and time series techniques, analyzes the effects of structural change generated by the NAFTA on value added, employment and welfare.

Efectos Regionales Del Libre Comercio: El Caso Del Noreste De México, Gaspare Genna, Edgardo Ayala Gaytán, Joana Chapa Cantú, María De Lourdes Treviño Villarreal

Departmental Papers (PS)

This work documents trade and productivity flows between Northeastern Mexico, US States, and Canadian provinces. It quantifies the effect of NAFTA on exports, investment foreign direct and total productivity of Northeastern Mexico and, through the combination of a general equilibrium model and time series techniques, analyzes the effects of structural change generated by the NAFTA on value added, employment and welfare.

Part 2: Northern Virginia: Standing At A Fork In The Road, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

Direct federal employment and procurement spending accounts for almost 40 percent of all economic activity in Northern Virginia, which in turn accounts for more than 40 percent of all economic activity in Virginia. Sequestration has hobbled Northern Virginia’s growth. However, George Mason University’s leading economic index suggests better times are on the horizon.

Part 7: Consolidating Or Merging The Public Service Provision In Virginia Cities And Counties: Where Can We Save The Most Money?, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

Controlling for variables such as the cost of living and local characteristics, we examine the provision of 25 distinct public services by the 95 counties and 39 independent cities in Virginia. Could we save money and perhaps provide better services if we combined the provision of some of these services across county and city lines? The evidence suggests that the answer is yes for at least 13 of these public services and perhaps for another four.

Front Matter: The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2015, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Cover, front matter, table of contents, sponsors, and other materials for the 2015 The State of the Region report authored by the Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University

Part 1: Running In Place? Our "So-So" Regional Economy, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

2015 has been another “Goldilocks” year – not too hot, not too cold – economically speaking. We grew faster than the rest of Virginia, but slower than the U.S. It appears that 2016 will reprise this scenario.

Part 2: Defense Expenditures In Hampton Roads: Digging Deeper, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

While defense expenditures are decelerating, in FY 2015, Newport News (dominated by Huntington Ingalls) received $1.13 billion in new defense contract awards, while Virginia Beach received $838 million, Norfolk $774 million and Hampton $166 million. Atlantic Diving, headquartered in Virginia Beach, was our second-largest contractor with $206 million.

Part 3: The Port Of Virginia: A Primer, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The economic importance of the Port of Virginia has increased as it is handling record cargo volumes and now is recording positive net operating income. The Port is challenged to find ways to deal effectively with congestion and logistical problems in and around the Port as well as to secure the funds necessary to modernize its infrastructure and equipment.

Part 4: The Third Economic Sector: Nonprofit Organizations In Hampton Roads And The United Way, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

A total of 2,009 nonprofit organizations in Hampton Roads filed tax returns with the IRS in 2012. This does not include most churches. Collectively, these organizations are big business: their revenues approached $9.6 billion.

Part 5: Early Childhood Care And Education: Should They Be Our No. 1 Economic Development Strategy?, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Investments in early childhood care and preschool programs generate higher rates of return on public dollars than investments in conventional economic development programs that emphasize either attracting new firms, or public-private partnerships to build arenas and hotels.

Part 6: Is Hampton Roads Facing A Shortage Of Nurses?, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Our region does not face a debilitating shortage of nurses. With a few tweaks to our policies, we will have a sufficient number of nurses to meet our needs in the years to come.

Part 7: The Economics Of Casino Gambling In Hampton Roads, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The experience of other cities tells us that casino gambling would not have a large economic effect upon Hampton Roads. Further, casino gambling brings with it a variety of other costs that must be considered. The net effect may be close to zero.

Shikkhangon: A Non-Disruptive Primary Education Center For The Underprivileged Children In Bangladesh, Nisar Ahmed

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Over the last few decades, Bangladesh has achieved significant progress in providing access to primary education for all children. But, the underprivileged segment of the population still cannot send their children to schools, primarily due to the inflexible nature of the traditional school system that conflicts with their lifestyle and livelihood. Also, the quality of students’ achievements under the traditional system suffers due to low quality of pedagogy. In order to provide a quality education befitting the lifestyle of the underprivileged, a departure from the traditional schooling is proposed. This new model allows students to access and learn from motivated …

Developing Economies By Advancing Entrepreneurship: An Interview With Amaury De Parcevaux, Simone T.A. Phipps, Amaury De Parcevaux

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Today, Amaury de Parcevaux is the President of Beeleev, a company he co-founded with Hugues Franc, Founder and CEO. Franc and de Parcevaux attended boarding school together in France, and reflect the vision and mission of Beeleev, which aims to build a collaborative business platform for entrepreneurs seeking to grow their business internationally. Entrepreneurs can benefit from Beeleev via membership. Beeleevers’ membership opens a farreaching network that connects entrepreneurs from different countries, providing the necessary contacts to aid entrepreneurs as they conduct business in another country. For example, if an American entrepreneur needs to find a way into the Korean …

Technical Efficiency Of Onion Production In Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, District Malakand, Abid Khan

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

This research was conducted to estimate the technical efficiency and determinants of onion production, by using the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function with the inefficiency effects model. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect data, randomly, from 93 respondents. The empirical results showed that urea, farm yard manure (FYM), irrigation, and pesticides were the major factors that influence changes in onion production. Farm-specific variables such as education and area were found to have significant effects on the technical inefficiency among the onion producers. The technical efficiency of farmers varied from 0.7478 to 0.9851 with a mean technical efficiency of …

Cell Phone Repairers In Cameroon, 2000-2013, Walter Gam Nkwi

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

This article focuses on cell phone repairers in Cameroon history. It examines how the cell phone has been appropriated by Cameroonians by repairing and extending its life. It questions the ways the repairers have understood the inner parts of the cell phones. How has the repairing of cell phones led to sustaining the livelihood of the repairers? It appears that life would have been unimaginable in the second half of the 21st century without better communication. In Africa mobile phone communication has expanded exponentially over the last decade and will hopefully continue to do so during the coming decades. Cell …

Fellows Address: Are Industry Clusters And Diversity Strange Bedfellows?, Randall Jackson

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

In this address, I review industry clustering and diversification strategies to compare and contrast their underlying foundations. The lack of consensus choice of one or the other for regional economic development strategies along with the recognition that in the dynamic process of development these two processes are related leads me to conclude that clusters and diversity need not be such strange bedfellows after all, and that a rational approach to economic development can leverage the strengths of each and offset weaknesses. I follow this discussion by introducing a cluster assessment diversification strategy (CADS) apparatus that can be used to measure …

Drivers Of Agricultural Land Use Change And Management Decisions In The Dakotas: The Influence Of Climate Change And Other Factors, Moses Luri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis conducts a general assessment of the: main drivers of land use change; recent and projected land use patterns; and the evolution of agriculture in the Dakotas. Specifically, it determines the main motives of land use change in the Dakotas by investigating individual and joint effects of external drivers of land use change on farm operators’ decisions and also examines recent and projected agricultural land use patterns in the Dakotas. Farm operators’ perceptions about the evolution of agriculture in the Dakotas based on observed changes in their local area were also analyzed. The study region consists of 37 counties …

Part 3: Digging Deeper: A Closer Look At Defense Spending In Virginia, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

An estimated 11.8 percent of Virginia’s GDP depends upon defense spending. An important part of this are the contracts awarded to Virginia businesses by the Department of Defense. Two regions – Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads – account for 86 percent of these contracts.

Part 4: If You Can Make It There... You Can Make It Even Better In Virginia, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

The good news is that the “real,” inflation-adjusted incomes of Virginians in nearly every area of the Commonwealth are higher than in nearly all comparable regions along the Atlantic Coast, including New York City.

Part 5: Fly Away With Me: A Look At Virginia's Airports, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

For several years, both passenger traffic and the number of available seats have been in decline at nearly all of the Commonwealth’s airports. Reagan/Washington National and Charlottesville are the major exceptions. Decisions made by the U.S. Congress have placed a particular burden on Dulles International.

Part 8: Domestic Migration: What Moves Us?, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

Virginians and all other Americans can vote with their feet and move from one location to another in response to job opportunities, amenities and other factors. Recently, Virginia has experienced very low or even negative levels of net domestic migration. We look at the migration experience of 358 metropolitan regions nationally (including the largest eight in Virginia) to provide some answers.