Intermediate Sector Research Articles

Active design of built environments for increasing levels of physical activity in adults: the ENABLE London natural experiment study

Background Low physical activity is widespread and poses a serious public health challenge both globally and in the UK. The need to increase population levels of physical activity is recognised in current health policy recommendations. There is considerable interest in whether or not the built environment influences health behaviours, particularly physical activity levels, but longitudinal evidence is limited. Objectives The effect of moving into East Village (the former London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Athletes’ Village, repurposed on active design principles) on the levels of physical activity and adiposity, as well as other health-related and well-being outcomes among adults, was examined. Design The Examining Neighbourhood Activities in Built Environments in London (ENABLE London) study was a longitudinal cohort study based on a natural experiment. Setting East Village, London, UK. Participants A cohort of 1278 adults (aged ≥ 16 years) and 219 children seeking to move into social, intermediate and market-rent East Village accommodation were recruited in 2013–15 and followed up after 2 years. Intervention The East Village neighbourhood, the former London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Athletes’ Village, is a purpose-built, mixed-use residential development specifically designed to encourage healthy active living by improving walkability and access to public transport. Main outcome measure Change in objectively measured daily steps from baseline to follow-up. Methods Change in environmental exposures associated with physical activity was assessed using Geographic Information System-derived measures. Individual objective measures of physical activity using accelerometry, body mass index and bioelectrical impedance (per cent of fat mass) were obtained, as were perceptions of change in crime and quality of the built environment. We examined changes in levels of physical activity and adiposity using multilevel models adjusting for sex, age group, ethnic group, housing sector (fixed effects) and baseline household (random effect), comparing the change in those who moved to East Village (intervention group) with the change in those who did not move to East Village (control group). Effects of housing sector (i.e. social, intermediate/affordable, market-rent) as an effect modifier were also examined. Qualitative work was carried out to provide contextual information about the perceived effects of moving to East Village. Results A total of 877 adults (69%) were followed up after 2 years (mean 24 months, range 19–34 months, postponed from 1 year owing to the delayed opening of East Village), of whom 50% had moved to East Village; insufficient numbers of children moved to East Village to be considered further. In adults, moving to East Village was associated with only a small, non-significant, increase in mean daily steps (154 steps, 95% confidence interval –231 to 539 steps), more so in the intermediate sector (433 steps, 95% confidence interval –175 to 1042 steps) than in the social and market-rent sectors (although differences between housing sectors were not statistically significant), despite sizeable improvements in walkability, access to public transport and neighbourhood perceptions of crime and quality of the built environment. There were no appreciable effects on time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity or sedentary time, body mass index or percentage fat mass, either overall or by housing sector. Qualitative findings indicated that, although participants enjoyed their new homes, certain design features might actually serve to reduce levels of activity. Conclusions Despite strong evidence of large positive changes in neighbourhood perceptions and walkability, there was only weak evidence that moving to East Village was associated with increased physical activity. There was no evidence of an effect on markers of adiposity. Hence, improving the physical activity environment on its own may not be sufficient to increase population physical activity or other health behaviours. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 8, No. 12. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. This research was also supported by project grants from the Medical Research Council National Prevention Research Initiative (MR/J000345/1).

Impact of Sectoral Growth on the Economic Development of Bangladesh: An Experimental Study

The study investigates the impact of sectoral growth on the economic development of Bangladesh. It has been accomplished from the viewpoint of financial intermediaries as well as real estate, renting and business activities sectors. The secondary data, for the period fiscal year (FY) 1995-1996 to the fiscal year (FY) 2018-2019, has been used to perform the analysis. The dependent variable in this study is the gross domestic product (GDP) representing the development status of the economy of Bangladesh. The independent variables- monetary intermediation (banks) sector (MIS), insurance sector (IS), other financial auxiliaries sector (FAS), real estate, renting and business activity sector (RBS) - have been used to show the relationship with GDP. A Multiple regression analysis has been used to develop the relationship. Besides, the coefficient of determination shows 70.2 % of the variance in GDP can be predicted from the independent variables. If other independent variables are incorporated in the model, 63.6% of the variation in the dependent variable (GDP) can be explained by the independent variables, which is observed by adjusted R-square value. In the analysis, it has been found a considerable effect of monetary intermediation (banks) sector (MIS), insurance sector (IS), other financial auxiliaries sector (FAS), real estate renting and business activity sector (RBS) on GDP of Bangladesh. Finally, application of the outcome of this study will be effective only to the economy of Bangladesh. Keywords: GDP, Monetary Intermediation, Correlation, Regression, Financial Auxiliaries sector (FAS), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-14-09 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

Impacts of transport strike on Pakistan economy: An inoperability Input-Output model (IIOM) approach

The transport sector has backward and forward linkages with other sectors of the economy. A strike in the transport sector can be disruptive for other interdependent sectors of the economy. This study investigates the macroeconomic impacts of a transportation strike using the Inoperability Input-Output (IIOM) model. The study uses 25 sectors Input-Output tables of Pakistan economy and combines IIOM approach with Monte Carlo Simulations to quantifies the impacts of 21 days (during 2012) transport strike on Pakistan economy. The results indicate that the most affected sector of that strike was financial intermediation sector followed by the food & beverages sector and petroleum, chemical & non-metallic mineral products sector being the second and third most affected sectors, respectively. The study is an application of IIOM in transportation strikes and has usefulness for the policymakers, researchers, and readers that has an interest in application and extensions of Input-Output based analysis.

Production network structure and the impact of the monetary policy shocks: Evidence from the OECD

We aim to answer the question on whether the production structure influences the transmission of monetary policy shocks. For 24 OECD economies, we estimate time-varying Bayesian VARs and compute the time-varying impulse response functions of GDP to monetary shocks. We analyze the production network structure using specific network measures. When looking at the relationship between the production networks measures and the impact of monetary policy shocks on GDP, upstreamness and downstreamness are found significant. We also identify an amplifying role for real estate and the financial intermediation sectors.

Is There Visual Lateralisation of the Sun Compass in Homing Pigeons?

Functional lateralisation in the avian visual system can be easily studied by testing monocularly occluded birds. The sun compass is a critical source of navigational information in birds, but studies of visual asymmetry have focussed on cues in a laboratory rather than a natural setting. We investigate functional lateralisation of sun compass use in the visual system of homing pigeons trained to locate food in an outdoor octagonal arena, with a coloured beacon in each sector and a view of the sun. The arena was rotated to introduce a cue conflict, and the experimental groups, a binocular treatment and two monocular treatments, were tested for their directional choice. We found no significant difference in test orientation between the treatments, with all groups showing evidence of both sun compass and beacon use, suggesting no complete functional lateralisation of sun compass use within the visual system. However, reduced directional consistency of binocular vs. monocular birds may reveal a conflict between the two hemispheres in a cue conflict condition. Birds using the right hemisphere were more likely to choose the intermediate sector between the training sector and the shifted training beacon, suggesting a possible asymmetry in favour of the left eye/right hemisphere (LE/RH) when integrating different cues.

Monetary policy transmission in the United Kingdom: A high frequency identification approach

This paper investigates the impact of monetary policy shocks on macroeconomic and financial variables in the United Kingdom using a new series of high-frequency monetary policy surprises. Employing our surprises as an instrument in a monthly SVAR over the UK’s inflation-targeting period, we show that a monetary policy tightening induces a decline in economic activity and in CPI, an appreciation of the Pound, a reduction in bank credit, and a significant increase in mortgage and corporate bond spreads. UK monetary policy also affects foreign credit spreads, consistent with the extensive presence of large international players in the UK financial intermediation sector. We finally propose a novel test of overidentifying restrictions, which exploits the availability of the narrative series of monetary policy shocks constructed by Cloyne and Hurtgen (2016), and find that our high-frequency monetary policy surprises are not significantly affected by non-monetary news.

Increasing Returns and Economic Geography with Solow-Uzawa, Dixit-Stiglitz, and Krugman Unified

The purpose of this study is to study interdependence between growth and economic geography. We build a two-regional growth model of endogenous wealth under perfect and imperfect competition by integrating the three basic models – the Solow-Uzawa growth model, the Krugman two-region model, and the Dixit-Stiglitz imperfect competition model – in economic theory. The economy in our approach is composed of three sectors – the capital goods sector as in the Solow one sector, the consumer goods sector as in the Uzawa model, and the intermediates sector as in the Dixit-Stiglitz model. The economy is composed of two regions as in the Krugman two-region model with intermediates produced in the two regions under imperfect competition. The household behavior is modelling by synthesizing Zhang’s concept of disposable income and utility function and the Dixit-Stiglitz concept of composite good and utility function. We build and simulate the model. We identify existence of equilibrium. We examine effects of changes in some parameters on economic geography. We examined the effects of changes in some parameters on economic geography. For instance, we showed that as the transportation cost falls, the population is more concentrated on one region, the numbers of varieties of intermediates are reduced, the output level of each firm in the intermediate sector is increased, the household consumes more each intermediate good, and prices of all intermediate goods are reduced

Public Policy and Changing Pattern of Industrial R&D System in India: A Comparative Analysis of Pre- and Post-reform Periods

This article is an attempt to examine the trends of industrial R&D expenditure by the private sector and public sector during pre-reform (1980–1992) and post-reform period (1993–2010). The agenda of economic reform is to liberalise the industrial sector and make it more competitive in the global scenario. The analysis indicates that in the post-reform period, the percentage share of R&D expenditure drastically shifted from public sector to private sector. The major share of R&D expenditure remained in capital goods manufacturing sector. R&D expenditure is highly concentrated in the capital goods sector by public and private sectors. Second, preferential sector in terms of share of R&D expenditure has been intermediate sector by the public sector and consumer non-durables by the private sector overtime. Consumer durables sector is a completely ignored sector across the board. R&D intensity has been in the range of low and medium across industry groups and time. It may be argued that industries might not be enabling to realise spillovers from the transfer of technology and also would be fragile to enhance its ability to make product and process innovations of its own. The changing pattern of R&D expenditure by the industrial sector confirms the supremacy and autonomy of the market. These are the areas where R&D expenditure is required to gain technological capabilities and absorptive capacity for a low R&D intensity country like India. The article argues that technological and industrial policies should be taken into consideration with respect to the demand and production processes. Especially since the Indian economy is a low-income country with a massive agrarian and rural labour force, it needs to transform technological capabilities and organisation of industrialisation according to the indigenous and categorised necessities by both the public and the private sectors.

Water in the Wine? Monetary Policy and the Impact of Non-bank Financial Intermediaries

Canada was lauded for surviving the 2007-08 global financial crisis relatively unscathed. In part, this was due to the success of our financial services sector. This resilience, especially in contrast to the US banking sector, is partly explained by the smaller size of the non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI) sector in Canada – more popularly known as “shadow banking.” But signs of robust growth in Canada’s NBFI sector after the crisis suggest this resilience might be under threat. The assets of those institutions engaged in non-bank financial intermediation have continued to grow in Canada since the global financial crisis, and now account for a larger share of total financial assets than prior to the crisis. A more important NBFI sector has multiple effects on the financial system and on the economy. On the one hand, intermediaries in the sector, or NBFIs, provide alternatives for both depositors and borrowers that improve the functioning of the economy by increasing competition. On the other hand, they also might increase vulnerabilities, since they are often not as closely regulated, and deposit insurance does not cover their liabilities. We find that, as NBFI deposit growth increases in importance, it can dilute the effectiveness of monetary policy. This drag might be the result of depositors shifting between NBFIs and traditional banks, an effect that is exacerbated as the NBFI sector grows. We also find that contractionary monetary policy causes an increase in business credit growth for NBFIs and a fall in chartered bank business loan growth. Although the overall effect on business credit growth is the desired decrease, the increase in NBFI business loans both decreases monetary policy effectiveness and results in a riskier composition. Lastly, we find the insignificant effect on overall mortgage credit growth following a contractionary monetary policy shock appears to be driven by a shift of credit from traditional banks to NBFIs, and could be a concern from a financial stability perspective. Overall, these results highlight the importance of a growing NBFI sector for monetary policy and financial stability. Our findings suggest that both the traditional monetary policy tool of the overnight rate and tightening mortgage underwriting standards through macroprudential policy might have the unintended side effect of increasing financial instability. One way to reduce this potential side effect is to limit the migration of loans between traditional banks and NBFIs by tightening regulation of NBFIs to level the playing field between the two types of financial institutions. At a minimum, the systemically important NBFIs should face capital requirements and underwriting standards similar to those imposed on traditional banks. We hope these results help the Bank of Canada as it continues to evaluate and model the evolution of monetary policy transmission in the Canadian economy. To that end, NBFIs should be front and centre when the four coordinating bodies that provide systemic financial services oversight next meet.

The Rise (and Fall) of Tech Clusters

Tech clusters play a growing role in knowledge-based economies by accommodating high-tech firms and providing an environment that fosters location-dependent knowledge spillovers and promote R&D investments by .rms. Yet, not much is known about the economic conditions under which such entities may form in equilibrium without government interventions. This paper develops a spatial equilibrium model with a competitive final sector and a monopolistically competitive intermediate sector, which allows us to determine necessary and sufficient conditions for a tech cluster to emerge as an equilibrium outcome. We show that strongly localized knowledge spillovers, skilled labor abundance, and low commuting costs are key drivers for a tech cluster to form. Not only is the productivity of the final sector higher when intermediate firms cluster, but a tech cluster hosts more intermediate firms and more R&D and production activities, and yields greater worker welfare, compared to what a dispersed pattern would generate. With continual improvements in infrastructure and communication technology that lowers coordination costs, tech clusters will eventually be fragmented.

Structural path analysis of China's coal consumption using input-output frameworks.

In-depth study of the key sectors and supply chain paths driving coal consumption in China is valuable for effectively formulating coal reduction and replacement policies to achieve sustainable development. This study conducted a structural path analysis, based on the latest publicly available input-output tables and energy use data provided by the World Input-Output Database, to trace China's coal consumption transmission throughout its entire supply chain. The results indicate that investment, exports, and household consumption are important factors in coal consumption. "Electricity, Gas and Water Supply" is a critical sector for, largely indirect, coal consumption. The path of "Electricity, Gas and Water Supply→ intermediate sectors→ Construction→ Investment" accounts for the bulk of coal consumption in China. The node path analysis shows that the 2-node transmission paths, starting from Construction and ending with "Other Non-Metallic Mineral" and "Basic Metals and Fabricated Metal" are important sources of coal consumption induced by investment demand. The 1-node path of "Basic Metals and Fabricated Metal" is an important path for coal consumption induced by export demand. The 1-node path of "Electricity, Gas and Water Supply" is an important path for coal consumption caused by household consumption demand. In order to effectively implement coal reduction and replacement policies, China should control coal consumption in these key sectors and channels and optimize intermediate input and energy use structures.

VARIETY, COMPETITION, AND POPULATION IN ECONOMIC GROWTH: THEORY AND EMPIRICS

We provide aggregate macroeconomic evidence on how, in the long run, a diverse degree of complexity in production may affect not only the rate of economic growth, but also the correlation between the latter, population growth and the monopolistic (intermediate) markups. For a sample of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, we find that the impact of population change on economic growth is slightly positive. According to our theoretical model, this implies that the losses due to more complexity in production are lower than the corresponding specialization gains. Using a finite mixture model, we also classify the countries in the sample and verify for each cluster the impact that the population growth rate and the intermediate sector’s markups exert on the 5-year average real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate.

Financial Intermediation and Income Distribution

What is the social impact of the financial intermediation sector? I analyze the aggregate and the redistribution impact of financial intermediaries in an economy with a set of potential entrepreneurs. The intermediation sector endogenously develops to relax credit constraints by monitoring a borrowing entrepreneur. Competitive intermediaries i) eradicate non-fundamental-based income inequality by spreading economic opportunity to financially constrained individuals—the redistribution impact, and ii) boost entrepreneurship and restore the socially optimal occupational pattern—the job-creation impact. Although the job-creation impact is socially beneficial, the redistribution impact is not—social surplus declines overall due to a pecuniary externality associated with the redistribution function of the financial intermediation sector. Monopoly intermediation limits the redistribution impact and may raise the utilitarian welfare.

Dinamismo, complejidad y especificidad de los litorales estuarinos: análisis de la dinámica litoral en Punta Atalaya, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Los litorales son espacios complejos y dinámicos, producto de la interacción entre las dinámicas naturales y las valoraciones sociales a lo largo del tiempo. Esta interacción desencadena procesos variados que confieren especificidad a sus costas. En los litorales estuarinos se forman ambientes intermareales denominados marismas, intensamente modificadas en las grandes metrópolis urbanas.La dinámica de estos ambientes ha sido extensamente estudiada en el hemisferio norte, encontrándose escasas investigaciones en el hemisferio sur. En el presente trabajo se realiza un estudio multitemporal de una marisma de formación reciente en la costa de Punta Atalaya (partido de Magdalena, Buenos Aires, Argentina), situada en el sector intermedio de la costa argentina del estuario del Río de la Plata, utilizando la línea de costa como indicador del límite exterior de este ambiente. Se partió de su identificación en fotografías aéreas e imágenes de satélites de alta resolución en el periodo 1929-2016. Mediante la utilización de un software especializado en el análisis multitemporal de cambios, inspecciones en el campo y revisión de bibliografía general y específica, se realizó una aproximación explicativa de la dinámica litoral de esta franja territorial.Se determinó que la costa de Punta Atalaya presenta una tendencia progradante en el último siglo, aunque cambios en la microescala temporal y espacial son detectados a lo largo de todo el periodo, respondiendo a dinámicas acrecionales y erosivas que derivan de la interacción de procesos biológicos, sedimentarios, meteorológicos y sociales. Cada proceso puede desencadenar múltiples respuestas y tener impactos diferenciales en tiempo y espacio. En este sentido, se cuestionan las nociones de equilibrio utilizadas en las clásicas investigaciones acerca de los balances sedimentarios costeros. El sector correspondiente al área de estudio no posee categoría de área protegida, por lo que su valoración ambiental en este sentido debe contemplar la dinámica del mismo.

Las vegas de altura del Valle de El Bolsón (Dpto. Belén, Catamarca) y su articulación a los territorios locales

Recientes prospecciones en las cabeceras de las quebradas de Los Nacimientos, Lampacillo y Yerba Buena, en el valle de El Bolsón, provincia de Catamarca, aportaron relevantes datos relacionadas con ocupaciones pastoriles, correspondientes posiblemente al siglo XIX y XX, así como también a poblaciones cazadoras-recolectoras representadas por fragmentos de puntas de proyectil, principalmente de formas lanceoladas, características del Arcaico y del período de transición hacia sociedades productoras de alimentos. Es llamativa a su vez la escasa presencia de evidencias correspondientes a los períodos Formativo y de Desarrollos Regionales, que son abundantes, en cambio, en el fondo del valle y en sectores intermedios de las quebradas laterales. Nuestro objetivo en este trabajo es presentar los resultados de estas prospecciones, así como también el avance del análisis de los materiales recuperados para evaluar los modos de articulación de las vegas de altura con los paisajes conocidos en sectores más bajos en distintos momentos de la historia de ocupación del valle.

The Impact of Remittances on Economic Activity

We propose a simple macroeconomic model with input-output sectoral linkages based on Acemoglu et al. (2016) to quantify how changes in aggregate demand due to additional income from household’s remittances propagates through the network of input-output linkages in Sub-Saharan African countries. We first propose two network centrality measures to assess the role of some sectors as key input providers in the economy. Then, we use these measures to quantify the effect of sectoral linkages on sectoral and total output following an increase in remittances inflows. Our empirical results suggest that the effects of remittances on recipient economies increase with the degree of linkages across sectors, which is especially prominent in the case of the financial intermediation sector. Our paper contributes to the emerging macroeconomic literature on the propagation of shocks across sectors and the implications for the whole economy.

Who should bear the pain of price competition? A Kaleckian approach

Ongoing globalization and the rise of neoliberalism have intensified price competition in domestic and international markets. If we consider a cost reduction owing to price competition, an important question arises: what is the most effective way of reducing costs to stimulate output and growth? By constructing a Kaleckian model with an intermediate goods sector and a final goods sector, we show that reducing the mark-up rate in the latter sector rather than the former promotes capacity utilization and capital accumulation. Moreover, we show that transferring the burden of the cost reduction onto workers in the intermediate goods sector decreases the demand and growth rate.

The Montellina Spring as an Example of Water Circulation in an Alpine DSGSD Context (NW Italy)

Alpine areas, with normally fissured bedrock outcrops, do not typically contain important hydrologic reservoirs, except for small aquifers located in Quaternary sediments. By contrast, mountainous areas affected by deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD), especially if covered by glacial sediments, contain large aquifers and are consequently promising for water exploitation. This last geological setting is observed, for example, in the lower Dora Baltea Valley (near the confluence with the Renanchio Basin) in which the Montellina Spring is located and exhibits a very high discharge. A multidisciplinary approach (detailed geological survey of the bedrock and Quaternary cover, as well as hydrogeological research based on tracer tests, hydrochemical analyses, and water balance studies) was used, allowing for a reconstruction of the geological and hydrogeological setting of the investigated area, also considering its environmental implications. The consequent hydrogeological model derives from the coexistence of some factors. In detail, the thick glacial cover, widespread in the intermediate sector of the slope, represents an important aquifer with a slow groundwater flow to the spring. The buried glacial valley floor, hosting this cover, can convey the groundwater from the high Renanchio Basin zone towards the low sector. The loosened bedrock of the low sector, consequent to DSGSD phenomena, favors the concentration of groundwater along the contact with the underlying normal fissured bedrock outcropping at the base of the slope. Finally, the flow until the spring essentially takes place through N100° trend open fractures and trenches. Part of the Montellina Spring discharge is also fed by the low Renanchio Stream, as highlighted by fluorescein tests, essentially using NE-SW oriented open fractures on the bedrock. The results of the investigation on the Montellina Spring can provide some insight regarding the hydrological potential of other alpine areas with a similar geological setting.

Collaborare per competere nel turismo: il ruolo del co-marketing per i tour operato

Purpose of the paper: The purpose of the paper is to investigate marketing alliances in the tourism context, with particular attention to the Italian tour operators sector. In particular, this study explores: a) the diffusion degree of cooperative strategies among the tour operators ; b) the goals pursued, by the critical success actors, c) the advantages achieved and d) the degree of satisfaction generated by them. Methodology: The research adopts mixed methods: a) a semi-structured in-depth interview with a key player in the processes of organising co-marketing initiatives; b) participant observation at an important Italian tour operator; c) a survey addressed to the main Italian tour operators. Findings: The study has highlighted important benefits for companies that adopt co-marketing strategies in the tour operating sector, but also shortcomings in specialist skills concerning the management of co-marketing processes. Practical implications: This paper provides useful information for the implementation of a co-marketing strategy in the tour operating sector. Originality of the paper: The main element of originality concerns the field of phenomenon observation choice: the strategic alliances in the tourism intermediation sector, a phenomenon which has not been very much explored so fat.. Research limits: The main limit is due to the difficulty of carrying out significant in-depth studies deriving from the use of descriptive statistics, given the small number of respondents.

Long-time asymptotics of the focusing Kundu–Eckhaus equation with nonzero boundary conditions

The long-time asymptotics of the focusing Kundu–Eckhaus equation with nonzero boundary conditions at infinity is investigated by the nonlinear steepest descent method of Deift and Zhou. Three asymptotic sectors in space–time plane are found: the plane wave sector I, plane wave sector II and an intermediate sector with a modulated one-phase elliptic wave. The asymptotic solutions of the three sectors are proposed by successively deforming the corresponding Riemann–Hilbert problems to solvable model problems. Moreover, a time-dependent g-function mechanism is introduced to remove the exponential growths of the jump matrices in the modulated one-phase elliptic wave sector. Finally, the modulational instability is studied to reveal the criterion for the existence of modulated elliptic waves in the central region.