Showing papers in "Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies in 1993"

The development and use of interregional input‐output models for indonesia under conditions of limited information*

Abstract: Spatial development planning in developing economies has created the need for analytical frameworks that are capable of providing assessment of alternative strategies. This paper reports on the methods used to construct a set of interregional input-output tables for a five-region division of Indonesia under conditions of limited information for 1980 and 1985. The tables were constructed as a prelude to the development of a comparable set of interregional social accounts and the eventual construction of an interregional computable general equilibrium model. The structure of the Indonesian economy is explored and described; the fine structure is revealed through an examination of the fields of influence of some of the analytically important coefficients. Finally, a brief examination of the use of the model in an export promotion strategy is reported. The dominant positions of Sumatera and Java are revealed as is the concomitant difficulties attendant upon development strategies that attempt to encourage growth in other regions.

Land markets and the effect of regulation on formal‐sector development in urban indonesia

Abstract: Until recently, urban land and housing markets in Indonesia seemed to function well. Informal-sector development provided low-income housing affordably. Through government programs, formal-sector developers could build housing for all but the poor. Since 1989, however, daily conversation pictures land speculation as rampant and formal-sector housing as rising beyond the means of the middle class. Newspapers carry stories of conflicts between small landowners and large developers with government officials in between. This article investigates this situation by addressing two related questions: are urban land prices rising “too fast?”; how do land regulations and development practices affect costs, and who pays these costs? The article includes quantitative estimates of urban land prices, changes in urban land supply, movement of land through the permitting process, and the effect of development regulations on costs. Data come from a literature survey and interviews of some of the largest formal-sector developers in Indonesia. A principal finding concerns a development regulation called a “location permit” and the “social function” of land in Indonesian law. Although helpful as a means of assembling land in Indonesia's highly fragmented land markets, location permits allow formal-sector developers to hold land off the market and pay low prices to small landowners. Ultimately, the “social function” of land under Indonesian law holds down the price formal-sector developers pay for land, but not at the price at which they sell their product. The article concludes by proposing reforms to the regulatory process.

Kampung improvement in the small and medium sized cities of central java

Abstract: The analysis of data from the Kampong Improvement project in the small and medium sized cities of central Java demonstrates that house upgrading is no longer the only measure of improved welfare for Kampong residents. The privatizing of previously public essential services like water supply and those of MCK facilities (bath, laundry, toilet) currently provide evidence of improved living standards. Kampong residents in larger cities did not exhibit more responsible attitudes toward maintenance than smaller-city residents. Kampong location in relation to the city center, the city’s economy and the socio-economic characteristics of the population were more influential factors.

The design of municipal development funds

Abstract: Municipal Development Funds (MDFs) have become the preferred means of many donors and, increasingly, national governments for the finance of urban infrastructure. This article assesses their performance and design based on extensive data collection on ten MDFs and recommends changes. MDFs have two overall goals: credit and development. The greatest appeal of MDFs as credit providers is that they can wholesale funds for a wide variety of small urban infrastructure project to many local governments. However, they have largely failed to move toward market principles, and, too often, have succeeded in building infrastructure without strategically promoting local development. In this context, donors have focus sed on gearing MDFs to promoting local development - improving project appraisal, rationalizing the inter-governmental transfer system, establishing capital budgeting and fiscal planning, distributing funds among regions and municipal-size categories, and promoting community participation. But MDFs have also produced uneven results in achieving these goals. At bottom, MDFs have failed to connect with local demand. Local governments often have little idea what local people - particularly poor communities - want and need. Not surprisingly, they often fail to accept or repay charges for MDF projects. The best hope for improving MDFs lies in relating these funds closer to local people's preferences. Means to this end include: involving neighborhood associations and households in project selection; relying on project revenues rather than transfers as the main guarantee and source for loan repayment; using commercial financial institutions to underwrite, disburse, and collect loans; and hiring community development staff at the MDF.

The regional geography of u.s. business services growth, 1977–1987: evidence and policy implications

Abstract: Regional analysts and policy makers have long struggled with problems arising from the uneven development of industrial systems. Most efforts have focused on manufacturing even though the business services sector continues to gain importance as a source of employment. This paper provides rigorous analyses of the regional organization of business services employment growth in the United States and discusses some implications of regionalism for the development of industrial policy. The analyses use chi-square goodness-of-fit tests and spatial statistics to examine regional structure. State-level employment data in ten business service industries for two periods, 1977–1982 and 1982–1987, are used in the analyses. The results show that although employment growth varies across the United States, it does not exhibit consistent regional organization. Instead, growth is organized more around metropolitan complexes. The lack of regional organization suggests that industrial policy should focus on the urban concentration of growth, telecommunications infrastructure and urban-rural linkages.

Services, trade, and regional structural change in canada 1974 ‐ 1984

Abstract: Interest in the extent to which services are traded interregionally and internationally, as well as the role of services as a basic industry, has heightened over the past decade. Analysis of these questions has been hampered, however, by the fact that conventional data sources such as income and product accounts or employment records do not identify transactions between sectors or patterns of trade on a commodity basis. This study uses a series of commodity-by-industry input-output models for the Canadian provinces which do permit an analysis of interregional and international trade on a commodity basis. We are also able to identify the importance of commodity exports on a direct-plus-embodied basis as well as the more conventional direct basis. Our analysis indicates that service exports to the Rest of the World was the fastest growing demand category between 1974 and 1984, followed by exports to Other Provinces. We also conclude that the conventional method of identifying exports, on a direct basis only, understates the amount of services exported as well as the contribution of services to the regional growth process.

INFORMAL HOUSING IN A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE: On Squatting, Culture, and Development in a Latin American and a Middle Eastern Context

Abstract: The basis of this paper is the proposition that the development of squatter communities and informal housing varies throughout developing regions. Squatter developments follow distinct patterns and develop unique characteristics which are affected by regional cultural variables. The paper presents a framework for investigating how different cultural practices affect the nature of squatter development. It first presents a brief overview of prevailing trends of thought regarding the formation of and response to informal housing development. Its principal argument then emerges from a cross-cultural comparison of cases of informal development in the Arab Middle East and Latin America. The comparison shows that there is no all-encompassing model for processes of formation and maturation of squatter settlements. For example, while informal developments in the Middle East have a clearly depoliticized and unobtrusive character, in Latin America such settlements are rarely isolated, maintaining ties to either ruling or opposition political parties. Further analysis elaborates on the definition of culture and its importance as a variable. The argument is made that the purely political/economic circumstances of squatter populations cannot be considered without regard for the cultural contexts in which these are embedded. Finally, the paper critiques the generalized pattern that has emerged to describe the evaluation of informal housing developments in the Third World, despite the key mediating role played by culture. It concludes that a culturally grounded approach may broaden the horizons for housing acquisition by the urban poor.

Infrastructure and regional development in pakistan

Abstract: Despite considerable concern by the government, deep regional disparities remain a persistent and troubling feature of Pakistan's economy. Although stark inter-provincial differences have received the most attention, both policy-makers and research scholars also need to address profound intra-provincial inequalities. Using factor analysis, this paper examines the relationship between investments in “hard” infrastructural development and inter-provincial and intra-provincial disparities in Pakistan. Overall, the paper argues that a very close association exists in Pakistan between regional infrastructure endowment and broad levels of socio-economic development. Specifically, data indicate the striking importance of transport within and across regions. The analysis investigates the importance of differing types of transport infrastructure for regional development. The paper concludes with policy recommendations concerning levels, types and mix of hard infrastructural investments that might provide policy-makers with the best opportunity for alleviating income disparities.

THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF EXPORTS IN DETERMINING LEVELS OF REGIONAL OUTPUT AND INCOME: A Model and Empirical Evidence from Kenya

Abstract: Exports have long been assumed by many to be the most important variable in driving regional growth, although factors such as government expenditure, investment demand, and remittances, among others, have also been recognized as significant. In addition, supply-side constraints to the promotion of regional growth and development have recently received increased attention in the literature. This paper evaluates the relative importance of exports, investment demand, and remittances, as well as supply-constrained agricultural production, in determining levels of regional output, value added, and household income in a single region in Kenya. The analysis is based on a mixed endogenous/ exogenous model derived from a social accounting matrix (SAM) which allows for incorporation of both demand and supply-side considerations. The paper finds that exports are, in fact, the most important factor in explaining regional output and wage income in the region studied, although not overwhelmingly so. In addition, the analysis demonstrates the importance of supply-constrained agricultural production as a determinant of income at the household level.

Location of high technology industries and regional development – the israeli case

Abstract: This paper reviews and empirically examines the effectiveness of the Israeli government's declared policy to induce the location of high technology industries in developing regions The first section of the paper reviews the literature on high technology industry location The second section presents the findings from the analyses of a sample of 53 high technology Israeli firms in regard to their critical locational determinants The findings corroborate the results reported in other similar studies High technology industries, primarily those engaged in research and development, appear to favor the large urban concentrations, where agglomeration economies, large pools of skilled workers and high quality educational and cultural facilities exist High technology firms which choose to locate in peripheral regions engage primarily in production activities and employ larger proportions of unskilled and semi-skilled labor The average size of these firms is greater than their counterparts, firms located in and around urban concentrations

A time series analysis of annual passenger demand for the state railway of thailand

Abstract: This paper presents a time series regression model to estimate annual passenger demand for the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The model was developed for a time period of 15 years (1974–1988), incorporating such variables as the country's gross domestic product (GDP), SRT passenger fares, competing intercity bus fares, and a dummy variable of the Fifth National Five Year Plan advocating a railway-favored modal shift policy. This simple but useful model analysis estimated the demand elasticities as: 0.907 with respect to real GDP; -0.970 with respect to real SRT fare; and 0.808 with respect to real bus fare. Remarkable manufacturing-oriented economic development of Thailand in recent years played an important part in recent SRT demand increases. As the relatively high own and cross fare elasticity estimates imply, the SRT is concerned about demand loss to competing intercity bus services, and has thus been keeping fare levels low. The model analysis also estimated a demand gain of 12.3% due to the modal shift policy during the Fifth Plan period, suggesting effectiveness of the policy.