Suchergebnisse

The role of public administrations as leading agents for the provision of public services has gained increased attention as a result of the economic challenges that followed the economic downturn that hit most countries after 2008. These policy efforts have materialized in economic reforms that condition the funding & performance evaluation of public services. In parallel, scholars & policy observers have fueled the debate on what elements form the objective function of public service providers as well as on how to model the technology of public services for evaluation purposes. These concerns have become evident in the approach adopted by many academic studies dealing with efficiency assessments in a number of public services (e.g. education, health care, local governments). ; Peer Reviewed ; Preprint

The paper examines the impact of entrepreneurial Role-Models upon the entrepreneurial process in rural areas with strong entrepreneurial history versus those that are not necessarily characterised by such a tradition. To attain this objective, we adopt a socio-cultural institutional approach to entrepreneurship. We carry out a Rare Events logit model using a robust Spanish dataset from 2003. The main contribution of the study indicates that the difference between entrepreneurial activity levels in rural Spain is in large part explained by the presence of entrepreneurial Role-Models favouring entrepreneurial activity in rural Catalonia, an area with strong entrepreneurial tradition.

"This collection covers the essential concepts in the management of coastal disasters, outlining several field surveys of coastal disasters in the 21st century, including the Indian Ocean and Tohoku Tsunamis, and the storm surges of Hurricane Katrina, Cyclone Nargis, and Typhoon Haiyan. Measurements of flood heights, distributions of structural destruction, and residents' testimonies are reported, and the results are analysed and compared with past events and numerical simulations, with the reality of these disasters reconstructed. The book then covers the current understanding of disaster mechanisms and the most advanced tools for future simulation. Uniquely explains how to use disaster surveys along with simulations to mitigate risk. Combines pure scientific studies with practical trials and proposes future procedures for effective coastal disaster mitigation. Coastal Disaster Surveys and Assessment for Risk Mitigation is ideal for students in the disaster field as well as engineers who manage tsunamis, storm surges, high wave attacks and coastal erosion"--

Atoll Island States exist on top of what is perceived to be one of the planet's most vulnerable ecosystems: atolls. It has been predicted that an increase in the pace of sea level rise brought about by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere will cause them to disappear, forcing their inhabitants to migrate. The present book represents a multidisciplinary legal and engineering perspective on this problem, challenging some common misconceptions regarding atolls and their vulnerability to sea-level rise. Coral islands have survived past changes in sea levels, and it is the survival of coral reefs what will be crucial for their continued existence. These islands are important for their inhabitants as they represent not only their ancestral agricultural lands and heritage, but also a source of revenue through the exploitation of the maritime areas associated with them. However, even if faced with extreme climate change, it could theoretically be possible for the richer Atoll Island States to engineer ways to prevent their main islands from disappearing, though sadly not all will have the required financial resources to do so. As islands become progressively uninhabitable their residents will be forced to settle in foreign lands, and could become stateless if the Atoll Island State ceases to be recognized as a sovereign country. However, rather than tackling this problem by entering into lengthy negotiations over new treaties, more practical solutions, encompassing bilateral negotiations or the possibility of acquiring small new territories, should be explored. This would make it possible for Atoll Island States in the future to keep some sort of international sovereign personality, which could benefit the descendents of its present day inhabitants

AbstractAdopting a policy of migration can be one possible adaptation strategy against climate change. It has been forecasted that if the worst predictions regarding climate change and sea level rise become reality atolls around the world could become submerged in the future. This would render them uninhabitable and could lead to questions about whether Atoll Island States could still be considered as States. The international community has been avoiding any commitment to create a convention that would protect people displaced by climate change. In order to solve such potential problems, the authors will argue that a framework of bilateral agreements, initiatives, and national policies could constitute a viable solution for the various interested parties. The article will discuss the characteristics of Atoll Island States, touching on possible solutions for climate change displacement which have been discussed by the governments and civil society of the affected States.

This study analyses how the entrepreneurial ecosystem and different types of entrepreneurship impact regional performance. By analysing 121 European Union regions between 2012 and 2014, we find that quantity (Kirznerian) entrepreneurship negatively impacts regional performance, while this effect turns positive in the case of quality (Schumpeterian) entrepreneurship. Also, regions with a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem have a greater capacity to materialize the effects of high business formation rates, regardless of their quality (Kirznerian entrepreneurship), while regions with weak entrepreneurial ecosystem may rely on innovative (Schumpeterian) entrepreneurs to compensate the absence of entrepreneurship support policies and increase their economic outcomes. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (author's final draft)

This study analyses how the entrepreneurial ecosystem and different types of entrepreneurship impact regional performance. By analysing 121 European Union regions between 2012 and 2014, we find that quantity (Kirznerian) entrepreneurship negatively impacts regional performance, while this effect turns positive in the case of quality (Schumpeterian) entrepreneurship. Also, regions with a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem have a greater capacity to materialize the effects of high business formation rates, regardless of their quality (Kirznerian entrepreneurship), while regions with weak entrepreneurial ecosystem may rely on innovative (Schumpeterian) entrepreneurs to compensate the absence of entrepreneurship support policies and increase their economic outcomes. ; Peer Reviewed ; Postprint (author's final draft)

From the perspective that a region's industrial development mostly builds upon existing local capability endowments to form a trajectory of related diversifications, we argue that regions with a strong technology-based knowledge-intensive business service (T-KIBS) sector potentially have resource-based relatedness in their 'knowledge space' allowing their local manufacturing sector to diversify production more easily towards Industry 4.0. The study assays whether the internal configuration of the local KIBS sector contributes to the economic outcome of local industry by implementing spatial econometrics models on a regionalized database for 24 European Union countries. ; Peer Reviewed ; Preprint

The world's population is expected to increase to over 8 billion by 2020. About 60% of the total population of the world lives in coastal areas and 65% of the cities with a population of over 2.5 million are located in coastal areas. Written by an international panel of experts in the fields of engineering and risk management, The Handbook of Coastal Disasters Mitigation presents a coherent overview of 10 years of coastal disaster risk management and engineering, during which some of the most relevant events of recent time have taken place, including the Indian Ocean tsunami, hurricanes Katri