Suchergebnisse

Accurate regional estimates of output are desired as an indicator of level of development and as a variable used to explain internal migration, demand patterns, fertility and other aspects of behaviour. This chapter explores one often neglected aspect of regional income differences, namely that due to price differences or regional purchasing power parities. When nominal regional income measures are adjusted for these price level differences they are termed real regional incomes. The preferred method of estimating regional purchasing power parities by detailed price comparisons is discussed for Brazil, the United States and the European Union. The empirical thrust of the chapter is an investigation of different methods for estimating regional real incomes based on PPP data for 167 countries and nominal regional incomes and other data for about 870 administrative areas at the subnational level. Even in their present form we believe the real income estimates provided for the geographical units present opportunities for understanding the world economic structure.

This paper models tax competition between two countries that are divided into regions. In the first stage of the game, the strategy variable for each country is the division of the provision of a continuum of public goods between the central and regional governments. In the second stage, the central and regional governments choose their tax rates on capital. A country's decentralization level serves as a strategic tool through its influence on the mix of horizontal and vertical externalities that exist under tax competition. In contrast to standard tax competition models, decentralizing the provision of public goods may be welfare-enhancing.

Among the many invasions that have stressed coastal marine systems in recent years, none have had such broad-reaching biological and political impacts as the Caulerpa taxifolia invasions of the Mediterranean Sea, Australia, and the United States. From its initial invasion of the northwest Mediterranean in 1984, to its discovery in Agua Hedionda Lagoon and Huntington Harbour in the summer of 2000 in California, this invasive alga has produced dramatic changes both in the biological landscape of coastal bays and estuaries and the political landscape of invasive species management.