Search results for "Regional development"
showing 10 items of 144 documents
Suitability of blends from virgin and reprocessed polylactide: performance and energy valorization kinetics
2018
[EN] A blending strategy of virgin and reprocessed polylactide may be postulated as an alternative to reduce the material cost at industrial level, and as a valorisation route to plastic waste management of production scraps. The performance of blends prepared from virgin polylactide and polylactide mechanically reprocessed up to two cycles (PLA-V/R) was assessed in terms of thermo-oxidative stability, morphology, viscoelasticity and thermal kinetics for energetic valorisation. PLA-V/R blends showed appropriate thermo-oxidative stability. The amorphous nature of polylactide was preserved after blending. The viscoelastic properties showed an increment of the mechanical blend effectiveness, w…
Coherence of Work Based Learning and Regional Development in Latvia
2014
Integration of young people into the labour market is an issue of a high priority. The youth unemployment problem has explicit links to the vocational education and training (VET) system. Since 2009 there is an ongoing reform in the Latvian VET system. In this respect also the role of local governments increases. The paper addresses the issue of introducing innovative approaches in the Latvian VET system. The aim of the study is to estimate the overall readiness of public administrations to implement VET reforms within regional economic development in the context of the EU and national strategic priorities.
Beyond the Obvious
2015
There is a general tendency amongst policy and certain academic circles to assume that universities are simple strategic actors capable and willing to respond to a well-articulated set of regional demands. In reality, however, universities are extremely complex organizations that operate in highly institutionalized environments and are susceptible to regulative shifts, resource dependencies, and fluctuations in student numbers. Understanding universities' contributions—and capacities to contribute—to regional development and innovation requires understanding these internal dynamics and how they interact with external environmental agents. Based on a comparative study across various national…
The Role of Innovation in Sustainable Regional Development
2020
Innovation–it is a term that we use for decades, but true meaning of this term changes also for decades, according to dynamic environment we are living in. There is now beginning of the4thindustrial revolution and what has been said in World Economic forum, issues are not about technologies anymore, they are about society. Innovation and entrepreneurship in regions is one of essential tools, in added value creation in economics and in development in national level. It is very important to encourage creativity, new ways of thinking and continuous process of learning of individuals. Aim of the current paper is to investigate development of application of innovations evaluated internationally …
Advancing the treatment of human agency in the analysis of regional economic development: Illustrated with three Norwegian cases
2021
Human agency has become a core topic in economic geography complementing traditional, structural approaches to explain regional development. This paper contributes firstly with a discussion of the theoretical and conceptual relationships between the agency of individuals, organizations, and systems. Secondly, it proposes a novel analytical framework for studying how human agency, combined with external changes affects regional economic development, and how regional structural preconditions and external changes explain the activation of change agency. Thirdly, the relevance of the framework is examined through comparative studies of about 20 years of industrial development in three Norwegian…
Assessing eco-efficiency: A metafrontier directional distance function approach using life cycle analysis
2017
Sustainability analysis requires a joint assessment of environmental, social and economic aspects of production processes. Here we propose the use of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), a metafrontier (MF) directional distance function (DDF) approach, and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), to assess technological and managerial differences in eco-efficiency between production systems. We use LCA to compute six environmental and health impacts associated with the production processes of nearly 200 Spanish citrus farms belonging to organic and conventional farming systems. DEA is then employed to obtain joint economic-environmental farm's scores that we refer to as eco-efficiency. DDF allows us to deter…
Urban-rural Interactions in Latvia
2010
Policies and plans for rural areas tend to start by assuming that they are separate and distinctive from urban areas, and that this distinctiveness is more important than any of their other characteristics. Laila Kule argues that this introduces an unwelcome hierarchy in regional development priorities, and shows how Latvia has attempted to build on connectivity rather than difference in urban-rural development.
Innovation and R&D spillover effects in Spanish regions: A spatial approach
2007
Abstract This paper analyses the spatial patterns of innovation, its regional interdependencies and evolution, as well as its role in determining local innovation in Spanish regions. Results indicate the suitability of a trade-based regional proximity when considering spatial spillovers in innovation. In this context, not only local capacity is relevant in determining domestic innovation, but also spatial innovation spillovers, which result mainly from efforts in both higher education and public administration. Moreover, a minimum level of regional development is required to improve the effectiveness of R&D policies. Therefore, it is necessary for R&D policies to act in combination with oth…
Railroad integration and uneven development on the European periphery, 1870-1910
2021
This study explores the relationship between railroad integration and regional development on the European periphery between 1870 and 1910, based on a regional dataset including 291 spatial units. Railroad integration is proxied by railroad density, while per capita GDP is used as an indicator of economic development. The period under study is of particular relevance as it has been associated with the second wave of railroad construction in Europe and also coincides with the industrialization of most of the continent. Overall, we found that railroads had a significant and positive impact on the growth of per capita GDP across Europe. The magnitude of this relationship appears to be relative…
A Place-Based Approach in EU Regional Development and Its Application in Latvia
2014
Abstract The EU’s regional development policy is gradually moving from the redaction of regional disparities towards regional development growth. The role and involvement of regional and local authorities in regional development policy is increasing. Global changes and challenges call for a growing need to develop more efficient regional development policy instruments that would result in growth and increased quality> of life. Place-based approach is a strategic approach aimed at the development of territorial resources. The aim of this research is to evaluate the role of place-based approach in regional development, to identify and assess the main elements and opportunities brought …