Climate policies and skill-biased employment dynamics: Evidence from EU countries

The political acceptability of climate policies is undermined by job-killing arguments, especially for the least-skilled workers. However, evidence of the distributional impacts for different workers remains scant. We examine the associations between climate policies, proxied by energy prices, and workforce skills for 14 European countries and 15 industrial sectors over the period 1995–2011. Using a shift-share instrumental variable estimator and controlling for the influence of automation and globalization, we find that climate policies have been skill biased against manual workers and have favoured technicians. The long-term change in energy prices accounted for between 9.2% and 17.5% (resp. 4.2% and 8.0%) of the increase (resp. decrease) in the share of technicians (resp. manual workers).     

An exploratory study on perceptions of seismic risk and mitigation in two districts of Istanbul

Istanbul is one of the world's cities most vulnerable to seismic events. According to seismologists, the probability of a severe earthquake in the next 30 years is approximately 40 per cent. Following an outline of the seismicity of this vital Turkish city and a summary of current seismic risks and mitigation studies, this paper presents the results of a survey conducted in two districts of Istanbul, Avcilar and Bakirkoy. The survey comprised some 60 questions on the seismic risk perceptions of individuals and requested basic personal data, such as on age, education level, employment type, financial income, and gender. Despite various differences among the survey population, such as academic background and level of financial income, responses were surprisingly similar, especially in terms of having no plan for a safer house. The data may help those planning mitigation programmes and public awareness campaigns on preparedness and particularly mitigation in highly vulnerable regions.     

Social sustainability and neighbourhood design: an investigation of residents' satisfaction in Delhi

Social and environmental goals are often mutually reinforcing. Urban forms may encourage social sustainability as well as social inclusion or may have the potential to create areas of crime and social exclusion. The issues of relationship between sustainable development and urban form have given birth to new paradigms of design approach such as new urbanism, the compact city and the eco-city. This paper examines the impact of urban form on social sustainability at the neighbourhood level. It seeks to better understand the relationship between urban form and social sustainability by comparing three neighbourhoods with dissimilar urban forms in Delhi, India. Household surveys and observation surveys in these three neighbourhoods were conducted, and it was found that the urban form of a neighbourhood plays a very important role in creating a socially sustainable residential neighbourhood. The study established that social interactions within the communities are higher when dwelling units are placed around the public realm or common open space. The study demonstrated that provision of high quality and well-located open space at the precinct level, mixed land use and good accessibility to the public realm and social infrastructure play an important role in increasing the social sustainability of the neighbourhood.     

Equilibrium Prices in a Vertically Coordinated Fishery

Competition among processing firms is analyzed in a fishery that is managed under a total allowable catch constraint. Firms compete first in the ex-vessel market for round fish and then in the downstream consumer market. Nash equilibrium prices are characterized at each stage of the vertical market. When the number of processors is sufficiently large, equilibrium prices are approximately Walrasian. The ex-vessel price is close to the processor marginal valuation of the round fish and the consumer price clears the total quantity of processed fish. Implications for market structure, conduct and performance, and fisheries management policy are drawn.     

Sustainable development as a policy guide: an application to affordable housing in island communities

This article uses sustainability as a lens through which to examine affordable housing policies in geographically-isolated island communities, with the intent of assessing the utility of using sustainable development as a guide to policy decision-making. Focusing on the case of Key West, Florida, the article points to the conflicts that must be reconciled to achieve true sustainability. The study applies criteria to identify policy solutions for the provision and retention of affordable housing in island communities, and at the same time provides an application of the sustainable development concept as a policy guide. Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Cost-benefit analysis of water-reuse projects for environmental purposes: a case study for Spanish wastewater treatment plants

Water reuse is an emerging and promising non-conventional water resource. Feasibility studies are essential tools in the decision making process for the implementation of water-reuse projects. However, the methods used to assess economic feasibility tend to focus on internal costs, while external impacts are relegated to unsubstantiated statements about the advantages of water reuse. Using the concept of shadow prices for undesirable outputs of water reclamation, the current study developed a theoretical methodology to assess internal and external economic impacts. The proposed methodological approach is applied to 13 wastewater treatment plants in the Valencia region of Spain that reuse effluent for environmental purposes. Internal benefit analyses indicated that only a proportion of projects were economically viable, while when external benefits are incorporated all projects were economically viable. In conclusion, the economic feasibility assessments of water-reuse projects should quantitatively evaluate economic, environmental and resource availability.     

Housing anxiety and multiple geographies in post-tsunami Sri Lanka

Tsunami intervention has been an extraordinary and unprecedented relief and recovery operation. This article underlines the complexities posed by shelter and housing intervention in post-tsunami Sri Lanka, revealing a pragmatic, reductionist approach to shelter and housing reconstruction in a contested and fragmented environment. Competition, housing anxiety and buffer zone implementation have resulted in compulsory villagisation inland, stirring feelings of discrimination and tension, and becoming major obstacles to equitable rebuilding of houses and livelihoods. A new tsunami geography has been imposed on an already vulnerable conflict-based geography, in which shelter has been conceived as a mono-dimensional artefact. An analysis of the process and outcomes of temporary and permanent post-tsunami housing programmes yields information about the extent to which shelter policies and programmes serve not only physical needs but 'higher order' objectives for a comprehensive and sustainable recovery plan.     

中国资源型城市土地财政对经济增长的影响——基于住房价格的中介作用

以资源型城市为研究对象,理论分析土地财政对经济增长的影响以及住房价格的中介作用,构建面板数据随机效应模型。选取土地和房地产市场发育比较完善的111个资源型城市,基于2011—2019年的面板数据,分类型检验资源型城市住房价格对土地财政影响经济增长的中介效应。研究结果表明：（1）土地财政显著正向影响资源型城市的经济增长和住房价格,但是影响程度存在一定差异性。再生型城市的影响系数最大,成熟型城市的影响系数最小。这种差异性与城市的资源保障能力相关。（2）资源型城市总体和成熟型城市住房价格对土地财政影响经济增长存在显著的部分中介效应,而再生型城市、成长型城市和衰退型城市住房价格对土地财政影响经济增长的中介效应不显著。     

Building safety in humanitarian programmes that support post-disaster shelter self-recovery: an evidence review

The humanitarian sector is increasingly aware of the role that good quality evidence plays in the underpinning of effective and accountable practice. This review addresses the need for reliable evidence by evaluating current knowledge about the intersection of two key outcome targets of post-disaster shelter response: supporting shelter self-recovery and building back safer. Evidence about post-disaster shelter programmes that aim to improve hazard resistance while supporting shelter self-recovery has been systematically analysed and evaluated. Technical support, especially training in safer construction techniques, was found to be a central programme feature, but the impact of this and other programme attributes on building safety was largely not ascertainable. Programme reports and studies lack sufficient detail, especially on the hazard resistance of repaired houses. Accounts of shelter programmes need to include more reliable reporting of key activities and assessment of outcomes, in order to contribute to the growing evidence base in this field.     

Inclusively walkable: exploring the equity of walkable housing in the San Francisco Bay Area

This study evaluates the inclusiveness of walkable housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Using a series of regression models that control for an array of factors, this study finds that blacks are more likely to live in less walkable areas, a factor which could result in increased societal costs. These models suggest that this factor may mask other highly collinear factors including income, education, and social networks. This phenomenon is explored with qualitative interviews that reinforce this finding and illustrate the many push and pull factors that influence housing choice. These findings are then used to develop potential hypotheses as to why minorities may be living in less walkable locations and to propose policy solutions that could be used to encourage more inclusive walkable housing.