Economic Vitality Research Articles

A key to urban economic growth or an unnecessary burden? Opening airports in small and medium-sized cities

China has recently begun to deploy airports in small and medium-sized cities, and local governments must allocate adequate financial subsidies to maintain their operations. This article examines whether opening airports in small and medium-sized cities is the key to economic growth or an unnecessary burden. To solve the endogeneity problem, we constructed an instrumental variable based on historical ground transportation accessibility and provincial airport density. The main finding is that airports have a positive effect on local economic development. This positive effect depends on the city's industrial foundation and resource endowments. Airports cannot promote the economic growth of cities in remote or poor areas, but they could play an important role in promoting the economy of cities with high-level tourism resources and a strong industry foundation. Airports promote urban economy by increasing comprehensive transportation capacity, improving the market accessibility for enterprises in small and medium-sized cities. Firm-level micro-evidence suggests that airports can shorten the temporal and spatial distances between cities, which significantly increases the productivity, sales, output, exports, and investment scale of industrial firms. Airports promote the economic growth of small and medium-sized cities by enhancing the economic vitality of micro-firms.

Analysis of the Photovoltaic Market in China: Optimization of Industrial Chain and Prospect Forecast Under the ‘Double-Carbon’ Background

Since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2016, the development of renewable energy has become a strategic consensus of all countries in the world. Since 2020, China has officially put forward the goals of “peak carbon dioxide emissions” in 2030 and “carbon neutrality” in 2060, and actively responded to the global proposition of sustainable development goals and carbon emission reduction in Paris Agreement. According to the statistics of the National Energy Administration, fossil energy such as coal, oil and natural gas accounts for more than 80% in China’s current energy consumption structure, while clean energy such as hydro power, wind power and natural gas accounts for only 25.5%. At the same time, China’s energy consumption is increasing year by year, with the total consumption reaching 5.24 billion tons of standard coal equivalent in 2021, and the reform of energy consumption structure is imminent. The new energy represented by photovoltaic is expected to become the main industry to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality in 2030. Based on the investigation of national and local statistical data, combined with the current development of clean energy and photovoltaic industry, this paper analyzes the operation status of leading photovoltaic enterprises, deconstructs the photovoltaic industry chain, extracts data, grasps the future development direction of photovoltaic industry, and reveals the shortcomings and loopholes in the development of photovoltaic industry. At present, the photovoltaic industry is subject to many industrial chain structures, and the market fluctuation between upstream and downstream industrial chains changes periodically. However, in the long run, the photovoltaic industry is on the rise. If the specific links in the industrial chain can be optimized and cost reduced, the coordination capacity within the industrial chain can be increased, the integration of the industrial chain can be realized as soon as possible, meanwhile, the coverage area of photovoltaic power stations can be promoted, the high-quality sunshine conditions in the western region can be fully utilized, and the regional economy can be driven by the development of photovoltaic industry, so that the promotion of green energy industry can be realized, the economic vitality of the western villages and towns can be developed, and the double cycle of domestic and international economy can be promoted.

INTERNET USE, FINANCE ACQUISITION AND RETURNING MIGRANT WORKERS’ HOME ENTREPRENEURSHIP — EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS BASED ON CLDS2016

Whether Internet use can inspire returning migrant workers’ home entrepreneurship is of great practical significance for promoting rural revitalization. Based on the data of China Labor Dynamic Survey (CLDS) in 2016, this paper empirically studies the impact of Internet use on returning migrant workers’ home entrepreneurship. The results show that, firstly, Internet use can significantly improve the entrepreneurial probability of migrant workers returning home by 8%. The results remain significant after using the instrumental variables method for endogenous problem solving and propensity score matching, changing the sample size for robustness testing. Secondly, Internet use promotes migrant workers returning home to make entrepreneurial choices mainly through expanding informal finance and obtaining formal finance. However, the mechanism of expanding informal finance has only been effective for returning migrant workers with higher level of social trust. Thirdly, Internet use has heterogeneous impact on returning migrant workers’ home entrepreneurship, which is reflected in the fact that Internet use will more significantly promote the entrepreneurial probability of migrant workers returning home with necessity entrepreneurship motivation, close to banks, eastern and central regions and developed areas, and internet use will also significantly promote the probability of opportunity entrepreneurship among migrant workers returning home who are satisfied with their household economic situation. Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the construction of broadband infrastructure in rural areas, especially western and developing areas, set up training platforms for returning migrant workers’ home entrepreneurship, promote employment through entrepreneurship and stimulate regional economic vitality, so as to accelerate rural revitalization.

Can Gender and Major Explain College Students’ Performance in Business Statistics?

Recent discussions in education, industry, and government have focused on the need for growth and diversity in STEM fields. STEM education and practice directly contribute to the economic vitality of a nation and benefit its citizens. Yet, STEM education and employment growth seem lopsided concerning both gender and diversity. While researchers have studied various dimensions of this phenomenon, this paper seeks to add to the knowledge base by analyzing the effects of gender and college major on performance and attitudes in statistics-related courses. T-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple regression were used to investigate the effects of gender, major, and attitude on performance in business statistics courses. Results indicate that, in the business statistics course, there were no significant differences between the average score of male students and female students in 2 of 3 semesters. In the marketing research course, where similar statistical concepts as taught in the business statistics course were adopted, results were similar. However, there were differences in the students’ scores when their academic majors were considered. Findings from this study can contribute to developing effective and innovative pedagogical methodologies to teach statistics and related subjects.

The Recovery of China's Industrial Parks in the First Wave of COVID-19.

Industrial parks are functional urban areas that carry the capacity to support highly concentrated production activities. The robustness and anti-interference ability of these areas are of great importance to maintaining economic vitality of a country. Focusing on the rate of production recovery (RPR), this paper examines the recovery of 436 major industrial parks in mainland China during the first wave of COVID-19. Leveraging spatio-temporal big data, we measured 14 attributes pertaining to industrial parks, covering four categories, namely spatial location, central city, park development, and public service. We focused on the spatial association and heterogeneity of the recovery patterns and identified the factors that truly affected the recovery of industrial parks with quantitative evaluation of their effects. The results reveal that: (1) RPR of industrial parks are significantly spatially clustered, with an obvious "cold spot" in the early outbreak area of Hubei Province and a prominent "center-periphery" pattern in developed areas, which is highly correlated with the spread of the epidemic. (2) The mechanisms driving the resumption of industrial parks are complex and versatile. All four categories in the variable matrix are related to RPR, including up to eight effective influencing factors. The effect of influencing factors is spatially heterogeneous, and its intensity varies significantly across regions. What is more interesting is that some impact factors show positive effects in some industrial parks while inhibiting the recovery in others. On the basis of the discussion of those findings with practical experiences, the planning and construction strategies of industrial park are suggested to mitigate the impact of similar external shocks.

Study on the Impact of Breakthrough and Incremental Innovation on Firm Capacity Utilization

Effectively resolving manufacturing overcapacity is an important way for China to stimulate economic vitality and achieve high-quality economic development. Although research on technological innovation to resolve overcapacity has attracted academic attention, less research has been conducted from the perspective of innovation intensity. This paper uses the panel data of 1447 A-share listed companies in China’s manufacturing industry from 2016 to 2020, based on a two-way fixed effects model. The paper divides technological innovation into two dimensions to explore the impact of breakthrough innovation and incremental innovation on enterprises’ capacity utilization. The results show that both breakthrough and incremental innovations can effectively improve the capacity utilization of enterprises; however, the breakthrough innovation has a greater degree of improvement. The moderating effect shows that a good institutional environment strengthens the positive relationship between breakthrough innovations and the capacity utilization of enterprises. The heterogeneity analysis finds that breakthrough and incremental innovations have a stronger effect on the capacity utilization of state-owned enterprises. This paper further improves the theoretical framework of the relationship between technological innovation and enterprise capacity utilization and provides a theoretical basis and motivation for the Chinese manufacturing industry to resolve overcapacity and respond to the national requirements for high-quality development.

:Phoenicians and the Making of the Mediterranean

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Female entrepreneurs and path-dependency in rural tourism

This article discusses the characteristic and constraints of female entrepreneurs in rural tourism. The paper draws on a longitudinal case study following and comparing 26 microbusinesses and entrepreneurs in rural tourism in Norway (Global North) and Chile (Global South) from 2003 until 2020 (Nordbø, 2009, 2018, 2022). It responds to a call for more research on female entrepreneurship from different geographical locations, and from within an industry of great importance for the economic development and vitality of rural areas. The female entrepreneurs in the study stand out with reference to their motivation for running a business, their goals and economic aspirations, priorities, challenges and survival rates, among other things. The findings from the research show that although some of the differences and challenges are clearly related to the female entrepreneurs' embeddedness in national, regional and local contexts and historical path dependency, others are more global in scale and related to the spread and diffusion of Western ideas of entrepreneurship and rural economic development. Female entrepreneurs in rural tourism, more than men, and independent of Global North – Global South location, can become locked into path-dependent trajectories related to rural tourism as an economic sector, tourism entrepreneurship as a rural economic development strategy, and the history of place. The article suggests it is vital to understand and differentiate between such factors in order to be able to provide more accurate initiatives for the empowerment and business survival of female entrepreneurs in rural areas, in both the Global North as well as the Global South.

Factors Influencing Residential Location Choice towards Mixed Land-Use Development: An Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

This study is aimed to determine the MLU development factors by executing a Delphi Method (DM). The MLU factors can contribute to the land-use development process in the thickly populated urban centers of developing countries. This is the first study of its type conducted to clarify MLU development factors in urbanized settlements of Sindh province, Pakistan. Karachi and Hyderabad are thickly populated cities in Pakistan where mixed land-use (MLU) development prevails over the years. The DM was attempted in two rounds focusing on the opinion of urban development specialists and academic experts. The experts initially provided a set of forty-two factors identified from the literature. These factors were arranged in a Likert-based questionnaire and determined through the coefficient variation. The prominent factors were identified as household savings, travel costs and low rent, nearby household items and shared utility services, economic vitality, variety in purchasing grocery and shopping items, demographic change and social poverty, accessibility to nearby public services, reduction in commuting time and easy access to restaurants. This proposed research recommends policy implications focusing on identified key parameters of MLU development, such as low carbon exposure, livable environment, and planned municipal system.

Bayonne Bridge, USA: raising the roadway

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Bayonne Bridge crosses the entrance to the ports of Newark and Elizabeth, NJ, USA. The longest steel truss arch span in the world when it opened in 1931, the bridge was designed by Othmar Ammann. To maintain the economic vitality of the ports, the original 46 m navigational clearance needed to be raised to 65.5 m in order to accommodate mega container ships passing through the newly widened Panama Canal. Precast concrete segmental construction was used along with an innovative staged construction approach to avoid long-term bridge closures and to expedite the construction schedule. The new navigational clearance was attained in 2017 and project completion occurred in mid-2019.

Multinational data show that conspiracy beliefs are associated with the perception (and reality) of poor national economic performance

AbstractWhile a great deal is known about the individual difference factors associated with conspiracy beliefs, much less is known about the country‐level factors that shape people's willingness to believe conspiracy theories. In the current article we discuss the possibility that willingness to believe conspiracy theories might be shaped by the perception (and reality) of poor economic performance at the national level. To test this notion, we surveyed 6723 participants from 36 countries. In line with predictions, propensity to believe conspiracy theories was negatively associated with perceptions of current and future national economic vitality. Furthermore, countries with higher GDP per capita tended to have lower belief in conspiracy theories. The data suggest that conspiracy beliefs are not just caused by intrapsychic factors but are also shaped by difficult economic circumstances for which distrust might have a rational basis.

Sensors securing sustainable digital urban logistics—A practitioner’s perspective

The transport of goods, equipment and waste to, from, in and through urban areas (urban logistics) are essential for the economic vitality of the city but at the same time make urban environmental and social targets more difficult to achieve The European Green Deal and the UN Sustainability Goals also challenge the ways of addressing planning and management. At the same time Covid 19 has led to new challenges for urban logistics together with changes in consumer purchasing and travel patterns. Digitalisation offers new ways of collecting data and providing input to planning and modelling of urban logistics that might alleviate these challenges. This article addresses how digitalisation and especially sensors can contribute to new forms of data for analysis and play a role in developing sustainable digital urban logistics measures and plans through data collection and sharing. The research contains empirical insights from a survey and workshop in Norway. The results from the survey show that sensors are the digital solution that practitioners see as most useful for urban transport. This is supported by results from the workshop supporting a sensor scenario. When it comes to the digitalisation process, the practitioners expect that the different levels of government will facilitate digitalisation of urban logistics and most practitioners have the opinion that all levels of government should do more to facilitate new solutions Testing should take place as collaboration between private and public actors. Due to Covid 19 the government level is seen to have an important role for exchange of information and advice, and for giving economic incentives and support, rather than providing law and regulatory changes or the reorganisation of public services. The local level is considered to have an especially important role for digitalisation including data for modelling, planning or public procurement procedures. The article addresses these questions by reference to the partnerships for freight transport in London and Gothenburg. This article adds insights for planning practitioners into how sensors will challenge as well as provide new possibilities, to suggest new paths for planning and modelling urban logistics and an amplified role for freight partnerships.

Structural Relationship between COVID-19, Night-Time Economic Vitality, and Credit-Card Sales: The Application of a Formative Measurement Model in PLS-SEM

Cities worldwide are actively promoting their Night-Time Economies (NTEs) to recover from the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. However, in the case of Seoul, Korea, the interest in the NTE from an urban perspective remains insufficient. Therefore, this study was performed with the following two objectives: (1) To empirically identify the characteristics of Korea’s NTE and derive an indicator of the nighttime economic vitality (NTEV) by considering the NTE in urban regions; (2) to explore the structural relationship between NTEV, COVID-19, and credit-card sales in Seoul, to which operational restrictions were stringently applied according to the COVID-19 policy of Korea. The NTEV was evaluated using indicators of the nightly floating population, night-lighting value, and number of entertainment facilities. Moreover, to identify the structural relationship between COVID-19, NTEV, and credit-card sales based on abnormal analysis data, a formative measurement model of the partial least squares structural equipment modeling framework was used. The results highlighted that the effect of COVID-19 differed depending on the density of facilities to which the “social distancing policy” was applied, and the NTEV boosted the consumption economy of the entire city. Moreover, we empirically confirmed that an increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients directly or indirectly decreased credit-card sales, which deteriorated the urban economy.

Souvenir Traders and Their Impact on Cultural Tourism and Economic Development

This research delves into the dynamic role of souvenir traders in the Tomok Area of Samosir Regency, shedding light on their services and strategies and their profound impact on local tourism and the creative economy. Souvenir trading in this region transcends traditional commerce, serving as a cultural exchange that preserves Batak heritage, fuels economic growth, and contributes to the broader creative economy. The study begins by investigating the background of the research, emphasizing the cultural significance, geographical location, and economic conditions of the Tomok Area. The existing literature and related studies are reviewed, providing a comprehensive understanding of souvenir trading, tourism, and the creative economy. This background prepares the groundwork for a detailed exploration of tourism and creative economy, introducing readers to the concepts and their relevance to the Tomok Area. The research dissects the services provided by souvenir traders, highlighting their cultural engagement, authenticity, and personalization. It underlines how these services enhance the tourist experience, fostering deeper connections between visitors and the local culture. The study then uncovers the challenges faced by souvenir traders, including market competition, changing tourist preferences, and sustainability demands. A critical component of this research is the examination of successful strategies employed by souvenir traders. Real-life examples showcase how cultural engagement, product customization, collaboration with local artisans, sustainability practices, and an online presence have positively influenced their businesses and the region's economy. By acknowledging the challenges and building on their successes, traders, local authorities, and the community can collectively work toward further enriching the Tomok Area, making it a prime destination for cultural exchange and economic vitality.

India’s Bilateral relations in Regional Trade with the Vietnam: An Analysis

India and Vietnam countries are located in Asia continent region of the world. Moreover, India is located in South Asia and where as Vietnam is located in Southeast Asia. In geostrategic terms, both are the maritime countries and are highly dependent on the sea based diplomatic commerce trade for their respective economic vitality. The Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi had visited to Vietnam in September 2016. This visit has provided a major boost to India’s diplomatic bilateral relations with Vietnam. The both countries have agreed to elevate their current Strategic Partnership to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The year 2021 marked the completion of 5 years of this partnership. This article has analyzed the progress of India’s diplomatic bilateral relations which focusing on the regional trade relations with the Vietnam Socialist Republic country.

Analysis on the Sustainability of People to People Assistance and High quality Elderly Care

The rapidly developing population aging is deeply and inevitably affecting the economic and social development of China. At present, the rural elderly care is the biggest weakness in the elderly care service system, so solving the aging dilemma and solving the rural elderly care problem will directly affect social harmony, and to a large extent, it can greatly stimulate economic vitality. The concept of "mutual aid pension" has been put forward for a long time, but it has developed slowly and achieved little effect. The reason is that the foundation of mutual aid pension organizations is weak, the source of funds is limited, and there is no staff. The existence of development bottleneck makes the prospect of mutual aid for the elderly known, but rural mutual aid for the elderly has an inherent advantage: villages. The existence of a village is the natural environment, the emotional maintenance, the economic capital, and the key element of the "slow" but inevitable "far" mutual aid for the elderly. The worldwide problem of "providing for the elderly" calls for more answers, and rural mutual aid for the elderly must play a role.

Stronger together: The value impacts of hybridizing distributed wind

While over 1400 GW of distributed wind potential has been documented in the United States, less than 0.01% of that has been deployed to date. Significant amounts of renewable resources will need to be deployed in coming years to meet national clean energy goals, making the identification of opportunities and barriers to deployment for this resource a topic of high interest. Wind resource variability, which can cause uncertainty and instability in the grid and affect the number of attainable and beneficial applications the resource can pursue, is often a common hurdle to deployment. Pairing distributed wind with other technologies, such as solar photovoltaics and/or energy storage, however, has the ability to alleviate this issue through generation complementarity and increased dispatchability. Both characteristics have the potential to increase project value across a range of applications from bulk energy to ancillary services. Understanding where and how value differs under various hybrid configurations (e.g., distributed wind with solar, distributed wind with solar and storage) can overcome barriers to deployment and improve the economic vitality of projects. In this study, we describe the potential value impacts of adding solar photovoltaics and/or energy storage to a distributed wind energy installation, provide a qualitative ranking system for each value stream that might be available for the new hybrid power system, and present quantitative results for the potential dollars per year that might be possible for select value streams. From a benefits perspective, we find that hybridizing has the potential to add value to all value streams, with the addition of energy storage providing greater value impact than that of solar photovoltaics.

Research on the Differential Patterns and Spatial Linkages of Entrepreneurial Vitality in Old Revolutionary Areas

"Entrepreneurship" is a buzzword in today's society, entrepreneurial activities are the endogenous driving force of regional development, and entrepreneurial vitality has become an indicator to measure the development level of entrepreneurial activities, economic development vitality, and development potential of a region. Due to its historical reasons and special geographical location, the old revolutionary areas are lagging behind in development and their entrepreneurial activities are not active enough. Our government has launched various policies to support entrepreneurship in old revolutionary areas in order to achieve revitalization and coordinated development. Based on the panel data of 52 prefecture-level cities in China's key old revolutionary areas from 2010-2018, this study investigates the spatial linkage of entrepreneurial vitality in key old revolutionary areas and its evolution and proposes a series of countermeasures for the revitalization and development of old revolutionary areas.

Research on the Differential Patterns and Spatial Linkages of Entrepreneurial Vitality in Old Revolutionary Areas

"Entrepreneurship" is a buzzword in today's society, entrepreneurial activities are the endogenous driving force of regional development, and entrepreneurial vitality has become an indicator to measure the development level of entrepreneurial activities, economic development vitality, and development potential of a region. Due to its historical reasons and special geographical location, the old revolutionary areas are lagging behind in development and their entrepreneurial activities are not active enough. Our government has launched various policies to support entrepreneurship in old revolutionary areas in order to achieve revitalization and coordinated development. Based on the panel data of 52 prefecture-level cities in China's key old revolutionary areas from 2010-2018, this study investigates the spatial linkage of entrepreneurial vitality in key old revolutionary areas and its evolution and proposes a series of countermeasures for the revitalization and development of old revolutionary areas.

25 Sustainable Dairy Breeding: Working within the US National Evaluation System

Abstract We define sustainable agriculture as a balance of practices protecting the natural environment, promoting economic vitality, and building healthy communities in the present without compromising the future. The dairy industry has been working for decades with these goals in mind, but under the brand of productive efficiency. This has resulted in tremendous gains in farm profitability and cow performance, though dairy systems are continually impacted by resource availability, advancing technology, and changing consumer values that all affect the environment in which cows must perform. As we redefine selection goals for sustainability we should prioritize overall fitness, encompassing a dairy cattle population that is genetically diverse, resilient, and adaptable. Greater genetic gains correspond to a faster rate of inbreeding, which has long been recognized as an antagonist to health and performance. Male genetic variation is very limited due to the marketability of high genetic merit sires and so conserving female genetic diversity must be a top priority. National genetic and genomic evaluations are delivered with the cooperation of key industry partners through a complex system of data sharing and management; incorporating new phenotypes (e.g., emissions) will require operating within the parameters of this system. Examples of changing industry trends include the rise in embryo transfer, increasing interest in evaluations for heat tolerance, higher frequency of robotic milkers in the United States, and the popularity of beef-on-dairy crossbreds as managers seek to sustain farm profits. Genetic improvement tools need to be just as dynamic as the dairy industry, but they all depend upon reliable and accurate data flow. Autonomous, sensor-based phenotyping represents a huge opportunity for genomic improvement, but translating this rapidly generated data into something that can be used for genomic selection will be a new challenge.