Regional Economics Commons^™

Quality Of Life Satisfaction: A Comparative Survey Analysis Of The Eastern Panhandle And Southern West Virginia Counties, James O. Bukenya, Tesfa Gebremedhin

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

The main objective of this paper is to analyze and report quality of life survey responses from a random sample of over 1028 individuals from 21 counties in West Virginia. The survey responses are drawn from a quality of life survey conducted in 2000. Perhaps the most interesting observation from the responses was not that differences exist among counties but that, in all counties, the level of satisfaction was remarkably high (over 50%). Only small fractions of individuals were explicitly dissatisfied, surprisingly in counties with the highest growth levels in per capita incomes.

Comparing Three Spatial Cluster Tests From Rare To Common Spatial Events, Ge Lin

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

In the past few years, several new tests for spatial clustering have been proposed. With ever increasing capability of GIS and wider availability of spatial statistic functions, spatial analysts are likely to face challenge of properly using these tests. Seemingly gaps also exist between the development of new tests and follow up evaluations against various assumptions. In this research note, I compare three cluster tests along a range of distribution from rare to common spatial events. The results not only revealed sensitive data feature that each test is designed to detect, but also clarified the interpretation based on the nature …

Environment And Trade: A Review Of Issues And Methods, Haixiao Huang, Walter C. Labys

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

This survey attempts to provide an overview of the major issues concerning economic interactions between environmental and trade policies. Such a review is necessary because of the pressure that the accelerated pace of globalisation is placing on environment and trade. Not only is world trade increasing rapidly but global industrialisation related to trade has spawned severe environmental degradation. As a consequence, growing numbers of researchers have attempted to analyse the linkages between these areas. This study attempts to provide a perspective on received and future research by employing a dual approach economic studies of the major environmental and trade issues …

Disability Legislation: An Empirical Analysis Of Employer Cost, Beth A. Loy, Tesfa Gebremedhin

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

As U.S. civil rights legislation, Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was created to eliminate workplace discrimination on the basis of disability. Using the United States as an example, this research analyzes the potential for disability legislation to laden employers with excessive cost burdens, specifically expenses from additional workplace injuries and illnesses. In addition, this study looks at the likelihood that employers compensate for these costs by cutting workplace sick leave benefits. Prior to the ADA’s implementation, U.S. employers had the fear of incurring excessive cost. The paper successfully counters this fear by looking first …

Site Correspondence Effects In Benefit Transfers: A Meta-Analysis Transfer Function, Randall S. Rosenberger, Tim Phipps

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Several factors can affect the validity and reliability of benefit transfers. This paper proposes the existence of meta-valuation function and uses meta-regression analysis to estimate this function. The meta-valuation function controls for systematic effects of differences in sample and site characteristics on the magnitude of error associated with an experimental benefit transfer. Validity measures are derived through various specifications of multi-site and single-site travel cost demand models for hiking on a variety of trails in Colorado. The results show that some characteristics account for a large portion of error in the benefit transfer application. When the meta-regression analysis function is …

Growing The Economy Of Clay Country Through Industry Targeting: A Preliminary Analysis, David W. Hughes, Steven N. Zaricki

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Seasonality, Nonstationarity And The Structural Forecasting Of The Index Of Industrial Production, Eugene Kouassi, Walter C. Labys, François B. Aka

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

In this paper we focus on two ‘STS’ models suitable for forecasting the index of industrial production. The first model requires that the index be transformed with a first and seasonal difference filters. The second model considers the index in its second difference filter, while seasonality is modeled with a constant and seasonal dummy variables. Tests designed to discriminate empirically between these two models are also conducted. Our results prefer the performance of the second model, particularly when the conventional ML estimation procedure is replaced by the ALS procedure. This process together with appropriate seasonal adjustment advances the possibility of …

Heterogeneity And Chaotic Dynamics Incommodity Markets, Catherine Kyrtsou, Walter Labys, Michael Terraza

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

The nonlinear testing and modeling of economic and financial time series has increased substantially in recent years, enabling us to better understand market and price behavior, risk and the formation of expectations. Such tests have also been applied to commodity market behavior, providing evidence of heteroskedasticity, chaos, long memory, cyclicity, etc. More recently the evaluation of empirical financial models suggests that chaotic structure in asset prices can result from the heterogeneity of trader’s expectations. The present evaluation of futures price behavior confirms that the resulting price movements can be random, suggesting noisy chaotic behavior. The root cause of this behavior …

Part 1: Economic Performance And Per Capita Income: The Inside Story, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

It’s true the region’s per capita income trails national averages, but much of the gap between Hampton Roads and the nation disappears when cost of living differentials are taken into account. Further, the region’s per capita income gap may not be due so much to lagging wage rates, but rather to much lower levels of business income and wealth for Hampton Roads as compared to other regions.

Part 3: The Decline Of Coal And The Rise Of Deep-Draft Ships: The Future Of The Port, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Since the early 1990s, the Port has stagnated in terms of the volume of the cargo it handles. This is due almost solely to a decline in bulk cargo (mostly coal). Nonetheless, the Port continues to provide major a economic impetus to the region because it has become much more efficient and competitive over the past decade.

Front Matter: The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2001, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Cover, front matter, table of contents, and other materials for the 2001 The State of the Region report authored by the Regional Studies Institute at Old Dominion University

Part 6: Regionalism And The Dillon Rule: An Interpretive Essay, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

While the Dillon Rule does not explicitly appear in many Virginia statutes, it is the accepted legal and legislative standard in Virginia. In essence, it says no city, town, county or region may exercise any power not explicitly granted it by the General Assembly. We argue that the Dillon Rule, while not without points in its favor, has outlived its usefulness.

Part 2: Major League Sports Teams: A Pipe Dream?, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

There is remarkably little economic evidence in favor of major league sports franchises, even in cities such as Baltimore. Cities and regions that subsidize major league sports teams nearly always find it a losing proposition. If a region, such as Hampton Roads, attempts to attract a major league sports team, then it should do so for reasons of pride and identification rather than economics.

Part 7: Banking In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The economic impact of the disappearance of the headquarters of large banks from the region, and from Virginia, has been quite negative. In this chapter we contrast Virginia and Hampton Roads to North Carolina, and demonstrate that the wave of banking mergers and consolidations that occurred over the past two decades, but particularly in the 1990s, has not been good for Hampton Roads.

Part 8: A Look At The Alternative: Private And Independent K-12 Schools, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Here we examine the nature of private and independent K-12 education in Hampton Roads. There is great diversity in private education in the region. Private institutions typically have lower average class sizes, but have fewer computers and offer lower teacher salaries than do public K-12 schools.

Part 5: Population And Politics: Virginia Legislative Redistricting And The Decline Of Political Power, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The region’s political power in the Commonwealth has fallen precipitously over the past decade. The recent legislative redistricting process reduced the number of Hampton Roads delegates and sena-tors by about 15 percent, and the region has lost nearly all of its most senior and powerful legislators. We are at a low ebb in terms of political clout in Richmond, but brighter times may be on the horizon.

Part 4: Seeing Things Through Different Lenses: The Opinions Of Blacks And Whites, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

This year’s Report surveyed more than 1,100 Hampton Roads residents, about half of whom were African American. African Americans see several issues differently than other citizens do. Notably, they have a different perspective on the role and effectiveness of the policy of affirmative action. African Americans also are much more likely to vote Democratic and attend church than the region’s other citizens. This is the first significant public-opinion poll ever taken of African Americans in Hampton Roads.

The Regional Public-Private Civic Infrastructure Of Hampton Roads And Its Impact On The Implementation Of Economic Development Initiatives, James Andrew Probsdorfer

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

This study analyzes the effectiveness of a network of five regional organizations to promote economic development in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Using a case study methodology, data collected from organizational documents, media reports, and personal interviews was categorized and triangulated to determine how many regional economic proposals were implemented from 1990 to 2000. This analysis created a regional timeline from which was produced a regional inventory of economic proposals. This study concluded that the regional economic development organizations in Hampton Roads have a fragmented network and their output has been influenced by regional factors.

Specifically out of a total of nineteen …