Rising Powers and Regional Orders: China's Strategy and Cross-Strait Relations

The neo-Gramscian approach has become popular within academic debates to theorize processes of global neoliberal convergence. But, it has also been challenged in the context of the ever more pronounced regionalizing tendencies of the current multipolar global order. This is especially so with the rise of China which introduces an alternative logic to regional social order formation processes from a typical neoliberal capitalist social order convergence. This paper argues, however, that a Gramscian approach can precisely account for such regional social order formation processes through the concept of regional historical blocs. This is demonstrated through a case study of the social order shaping effects that a Cross-Strait historical bloc forged between China's ‘contender state’-wielding elite bureaucracy and Taiwan's ascendant social forces has had on fostering Taiwan's internationalization toward China. This illustrates that, in addition to a broader global social order convergence process, a neo-Gramscian approach is equally useful to explain similarly defined regional social order convergence.     

TESTING FOR CONVERGENCE OF THE EU REGIONAL ECONOMIES

We examine changes in the economic performance of Western European regional economies, in particular, the degree of convergence in their economic performance (as measured by the growth of GDP per capita) since the mid 1970s when the larger European Union was established. Although results of simple model specifications suggest convergence has occurred, a more completely specified model, which includes structural variables, county dummies and an EM dummy, shows no significant convergence across the European Union's regions in the 1980s.     

Reconsidering Explanations for Regional Convergence in Voter Registration and Turnout in the United States, 1956–20001

In the United States, voter turnout rates have been declining for the last 4 decades; however, this pattern differs substantially by region. Southern states have actually seen a fairly dramatic increase in turnout since the 1950s and currently the South and non‐South have almost identical rates of voter registration and turnout. Using a series of Heckman probit models, which examine voting as a two‐step process of registering and casting a vote, we systematically investigate differences in rates of registering and voting across regions and test explanations for regional convergence over time. Using data from the American National Election Studies (1956–2000), we find that regional convergence in voter registration is primarily due to the removal of formal and informal barriers to registration and voting in the South and declining efforts to mobilize potential voters in the non‐South. In addition, we find some fairly distinct differences in which predictors are important to each stage of the voting process; for example, race is a better predictor of registering to vote than voting. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these results.     

面向未来经济发展的典型区域发展模式再比较

基于发展经济学框架对苏南模式、温州模式和珠三角模式进行再比较,该三种模式在供求导向、关键制约要素的获得渠道、企业家群体、企业目标和生产组织方式方面均存在较大不同。通过区分固化的区域发展模式和动态的区域发展,可以发现区域经济发展始终伴随着对固化模式的突破和保留,模式发源地的经济发展会出现更多的趋同。其他地方不能简单套用这三种发展模式,要根据现实情况组合三种模式的不同特征以求更好发展。     

COMMUNITY, MOVEMENT, ORGANIZATION:

This article integrates resource mobilization and collective identity perspectives to show how understanding the degree of convergence of identities between a movement organization, its broader social movement, and the community in which it is located aids our analysis of social movement dynamics. The first part develops a model of identity convergence. The second part analyzes how identity convergence and divergence interacted with the movement resource base and affected the trajectory of the East Toledo neighborhood movement—a movement that changed over time from a protest movement to a development movement.     

Convergence in the OECD: Transitional Dynamics or Narrowing Steady-State Differences?

In this article we show that the picture emerging from models that allow for generalized parameter heterogeneity in convergence equations changes our view of the convergence process within the OECD. Estimation methods that allow for non- or partial heterogeneity stress the importance of transitional dynamics. Thus the observed reduction in the dispersion of per capita income is mostly explained by transitional dynamics. When generalized parameter heterogeneity is allowed for, we find that the observed narrowing of incomes has little bearing on transitional dynamics. Convergence in this case happens because the long-run features of these countries are becoming increasingly similar.     

DISCONTINUITY OF OUTPUT CONVERGENCE WITHIN THE UNITED STATES: WHY HAS THE COURSE CHANGED?

Has the progress of output convergence changed within the United States? This article examines the output convergence among U.S. states for the last five decades by making several improvements over the extant literature. By applying a battery of convergence tests designed to capture nonlinear transitional dynamics to real output per worker data (i.e., nominal values deflated by state‐level price), we find that output convergence has not been a feature of the continental United States since the 1970s. Instead, output convergence has proceeded among four subgroups within which constituent states have certain characteristics in common. Our regression analysis suggests that state‐level characteristics related to technology and human capital play a crucial role in accounting for the formation and composition of convergence clubs, in agreement with the recent theoretical models of growth and development (e.g., Aghion et al. 2009; Gennaioli et al. 2013b). The level of technology, proxied by patents, turns out to be a consistently significant determinant even after controlling for endogeneity, suggesting that frictions in the diffusion of technology and human capital may have led to clustering of states with different levels of productivity. Our results therefore cast doubt on the common view that diffusion of knowledge and technology across state borders is frictionless. (JEL O47, O51)     

Internal and external motivation in phonetic change: Dialect levelling outcomes for an English vowel shift

This article is a contribution to the debate about the primacy of internal versus external factors in language change ( Farrar and Jones 2002 ; Thomason and Kaufman 1988 ). Taking Labov's Principles of Vowel Shifting ( Labov 1994 ) as representing internal factors, we examine a vowel shift in Ashford, south‐east of London. F1 and F2 measurements of the short vowels suggest a classic chain shift, largely following Labov's Principles II and III (though Labov's assumption that London short front vowels are rising is shown to be wrong). However, corresponding data from Reading, west of London, evidence no signs of a chain shift. The two datasets show identical targets for the changes in each town. Thus, there has been convergence between the two short vowel systems – from different starting points. We argue that a dialect contact model is more explanatory than internal factors in this case of regional dialect levelling in the south‐east of England.     

Upgrading,uneven development,and jobs in the North American apparel industry

In this article we examine the developmental consequences of globalization at multiple scales, using a commodity chains framework to investigate the case of the North American apparel industry. In the first section we outline the apparel commodity chain and offer a brief typology of its lead firms. In the second section we discuss the concept of industrial upgrading and describe several main export roles in the global apparel industry. In the third section we focus on the regional dynamics resulting from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). We contrast the Mexican experience with that of countries in the Caribbean Basin to show the impact of distinct trade policies on export‐oriented development. We argue that NAFTA is creating upgrading opportunities for some Mexican firms to move from the low value‐added export‐oriented assembly (or maquila) model to full‐package production. In the fourth section we explore the unevenness of upgrading dynamics through a comparison of two blue jeans manufacturing clusters in the United States and Mexico: El Paso and Torreon. Our conclusions about upgrading and uneven development in the North American apparel industry emphasize the importance of local, national and regional institutional contexts in shaping inter‐firm networks and their development impact.     

Regional Infrastructure and Convergence: Growth Implications in a Spatial Framework

In this paper we contribute to the debate on convergence, by presenting an overview of the catch up process of the European regions between 1995 and 2006, focusing on both absolute and conditional β convergence. Our focus is on the role of infrastructure stocks in shaping the growth and convergence process between EU regions and to what extent the spatial dimension of the data affects results. We also explicitly examine the link between infrastructure evolution and regional economic growth with a spatial panel data approach. Our results confirm an ongoing convergence process at the EU regional level, and assess the important role of transport and telecommunication infrastructure, with traditional and spatial estimation techniques. We also confirm, in a panel setting, the strong positive correlation between transport and TLC indicators and GDP growth at the regional level.     

EMU and the dynamics of regional per capita income inequality in Europe

This paper analyzes the evolution of per capita income inequality among 197 European regions between 1977 and 2003, and seeks evidence of the relationship between the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and interregional income inequality. The conclusion is that overall interregional income inequality has decreased since 1977, owing to a decrease in between-country inequality. The panel analysis conducted in this paper suggests that the adoption of the common currency has, thus far, exacerbated regional inequality in poorer EU countries, while it has not significantly affected regional inequality within richer countries. Inequality in less advanced countries has also increased with the establishment of the convergence criteria and with the implementation of the Single Market.     

Land use dynamics and ecological transition: the case of South Florida

This study examines the process of land use change in South Florida. Through this discussion, a conceptual model of ecological transition is developed and presented. The model is built on the general principles of neoclassical economic theories of land rent, behavioral models of resource use, and an historical geographic account of environmental change. Central to the paper is the specification of the theoretical link between demographics, market and service demands, land use, and ecological change. This study focuses on the nature and drivers of environmental change that has occurred in South Florida since 1900. The region studied includes the southern Florida Everglades and the surrounding area. The analysis determines that massive land useland cover has taken place in the region, particularly since the end of World War II. These landscape changes are conceptualized by a model that links regional demand for both agricultural and residential land through the agency of hierarchical forces. In this model, landscape evolution and natural areas encroachment are articulated as a dynamic process in which the regime of interaction between human systems and land use changes. Three main time periods for regional ecological transition are defined: (1) frontier closure (2) articulation of a system of cities with coupled agricultural hinterlands serving national and international markets. Differing land use change dynamics are identified as specific to each time period.     

Modelling free social spaces and the diffusion of social mobilization

Free social spaces have long been emphasized in the social movement literature. Under names such as safe spaces, social havens, and counterpublics, they have been characterized as protective shelters against prevailing hegemonic ideologies and as hubs for the diffusion of ideas and ideologies. However, the vast literature on these spaces has predominantly focused on internal dynamics and processes, thus neglecting how they relate to the diffusion of collective mobilization. Inspired by formal modeling in collective action research, we develop a network model to investigate how the structural properties of free social spaces impact the diffusion of collective mobilization. Our results show that the assumption of clustering is enough for structural effects to emerge, and that clustering furthermore interacts synergistically with political deviance. This indicates that it is not only internal dynamics that play a role in the relevance of free social spaces for collective action. Our approach also illustrates how formal modeling can deepen our understanding of diffusion processes in collective mobilizations through analysis of emergent structural effects.     

Newsroom convergence models of China's Beijing Youth Daily and Denmark's Nordjyske

In the digital era, most media organizations are exploring their own models to introduce news convergence and to make it work and profitable. This paper makes a comparative analysis between two local/regional newspapers, China's Beijing Youth Daily (BYD) and Denmark's Nordjyske, on their newsroom convergence models. The author finds that BYD focuses on the newspaper-based model with a strategy of integrating the content of BYD and its subsidiary newspapers, and it promotes interactivity between newspapers and the web (internet and mobile phone). It maintains the traditional separate and cascade newsrooms with newspapers mainly supplying content to websites. By contrast, Nordjyske has applied a multimedia-based model implementing resource sharing, content sharing and cross-promotion via multiple platforms including TV, radio, print, and website. It uses matrix-organization in its newsrooms with reporters organized around news beats. At present, BYD is blocked by policy barriers that prohibit newspapers from running broadcasting services in China. When the market is further deregulated, there is possibility that BYD will follow Nordjyske's practice.     

The Narrowing Regional Gap in Church Attendance in the United States1

Abstract Students of the South have postulated that southern distinctiveness is eroding. Using General Social Survey data for 1972–1991, the convergence hypothesis is tested for regular church attendance. Regional convergence is found, but only for the rural South. Also, narrowing of regional differences in church attendance is especially pronounced among the young, indicating that the convergence is likely to continue. Despite these results, present church attendance levels remain significantly higher in the South than in the non South.     

Regional Proximity Factor: An Advantage or a Disadvantage for Development?

This paper will focus on the assumption that in the actual globalized system, the role of the State is completely changed due to the new global players that are emerging as international and regional organizations. In this context, the regional proximity factor has acquired great importance, as the three case studies will demonstrate. For this purpose, we will introduce some alternative variables to facilitate the use of economic, political and social tools. Then, we will compare countries’ performances at the global and regional level and their social, economic and political results, in order to improve the utilization of the regional proximity factor as a tool to analyze the international relations dynamics and the innovative national approach to the international opening     

Foreign Investments as the Main Determinant Growth Factor in Asian Countries and Regions

The paper considers the main drivers of Asian growth and connects them with three groups of analyses tracks. Foreign direct investments, as the elective factor incorporating the main trends and perspectives, both at economic and financial level and in the social and political framework. Second, the regional approach, resulting more and more as the key, crucial factor in developing openness and international competitiveness, at the appropriate scale of convergence and integration in the worldwide system, has been presented in its EU connections and in the Asian peculiarities. Finally, as a third area of analysis, the new theories of growth and the capabilities already achieved to measure phenomena that were still not affordable only twenty years ago. The final results of the foresight model for evaluating long-term growth and the associated applied elaborations by the Deutsche Bank Research have almost figured out the proximity to an alternative theoretical scientific and modelling ``corpus' for the existing growth studies, specifically considering the Asian and emerging countries' recent jump into a high rates trend development, with the focus on China and India. For all these three analyses, the paper underlines the relevance for Asia to consider the experiences and successful steps of the European ``efficient laboratory', in a process of real integration towards the union of economies, societies, currencies, and security policies that has been investigated from different points of view, with the aim to focus the possible partnership and the future cooperation.     

Economic convergence and life satisfaction in the European Union

The issue of convergence or divergence in the European Union (EU) is usually viewed from a macroeconomic perspective, using indicators such as the income per head, the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. Little attention has been paid to the possibility of an associated convergence in ‘well-being’ across countries. Since recent literature has shown that subjective well-being (life satisfaction, ‘happiness’) is significantly affected by macroeconomic variables, it is natural to ask not only whether or not subjective well-being converges, but also, whether, how and to what extent this process is linked to macroeconomic convergence. In this paper we use self-rated life satisfaction elicited in large scale surveys to address these questions. We find evidence of convergence of life satisfaction across the member states of the EU, which can be attributed to a considerable extent to the convergence in macroeconomic conditions. Among the various macroeconomic indicators, the convergence in inflation rates has played a major role for the convergence in life satisfaction.     

The dynamics of returns to education in Uganda: National and subnational trends

We assess empirically the changes in returns to education at the subnational level in Uganda using the Uganda National Household Surveys for 2002–3 and 2005–6. Our results indicate that average returns to schooling tended to converge across regions in the last decade. The overall trend in convergence of returns to schooling took place at all levels of educational attainment and this behaviour in returns to education is mostly driven by the dynamics of returns to schooling in urban areas. We analyse subnational convergence in returns to education and unveil deviant dynamics in Northern Uganda. We discuss the potential challenges to inclusive economic growth in Uganda which are implied by our results.