Books in the New Frontiers in Regional Scie series

The purpose of this book is to discuss the relationship between information and distribution, with special reference to the role of the merchant in a market economy under conditions of risk and uncertainty. By working with simple models of the market economy and conducting a sequence of comparative analyses, the authors shed new light on an important yet rather neglected area in economics. In a historical perspective, the merchants of Ohmi, the former name of Shiga Prefecture in western Japan, are known to have put great faith in the principles of Sampo Yoshi or the all-around advantages of trading. It is hoped that the results presented in this book will provide some solid ground for such an old principle that can be seen in a new light. Applications to regional and many related problems are also discussed here. A distribution system is broadly defined as the systematic mechanisms and structures that regulate business operations, and its function is to maximize corporate value. Some of the following functions have previously been identified as distinguishing features of the Japanese distribution system compared with distribution systems in Europe and the United States: not only transactions, transportation, and storage, but also information, risk-bearing functions, and other characteristics. This book provides an overview of the distribution system in Japan, including changes that its practice have undergone and its current state; identifies current problems; and considers how these problems should be addressed.

This volume spotlights some of the most important economic issues confronting today's emerging developing countries. The topics studied in the book include the importance of productivity to economic growth, international trade and its relationship to productivity; immigration and brain drain; pollution havens, climate change, and the carbon tax; the effectiveness of foreign aid, the efficiency of education, and governance. Written by some of the most respected scholars in their respective fields, the individual chapters apply both economic theory and the most current empirical tools in rigorous but accessible exposition. Researchers can find value in the modeling and empirical techniques that can be applied to other countries and datasets. Policy makers can benefit from the intellectual foundation on which decisions on important issues can be based; and students of international trade, economic development, and environmental economics can gain knowledge of different country settings that give context to their fields of study.

This book focuses solely on the issues of agriculture and forest productivity analysis with advanced modeling approaches to bring solutions to food-insecure regions of South and Southeast Asia. Advanced modeling tools and their use in regional planning provide an outstanding opportunity to contribute toward food production and environments. In this book, leading-edge research methodologies related to remote sensing and geospatial variability of soil, water, and regional agricultural production indicators and their applications are introduced together-a unique feature of the book is the domain of regional policy perspectives and allied fields. In regional policy planning, agriculture and forestry have a key role in food security and environmental conservation that depends on the geo-spatial variability of these factors.  Over the years, nature and climate have determined the variability of soil type, soil quality, geographical deviation for habitat, water quality, water sources, urban influences, population growth, carbon stock levels, and water resources with rain-fed or irrigated land use practices.  In addition, human nutritional values and dietary habits have brought cultural adaptation of either mono- or multi-cropping patterns in the region.To encompass all these above mentioned factors and classify regional variability for policy planning, satellite remote sensing and geographical information systems have the immense potential to increase agricultural and forest productivity to ensure the resilience of its sustainability. Therefore, the 13 chapters presented in this book introduce modeling techniques using the signatures of vegetation and water indices, land use and land change dynamics, climatic, and socioeconomic criteria through spatial, temporal, and statistical analysis. As well, remote sensing and in-depth GIS analysis are integrated with machine and deep learning algorithms to address natural uncertainties such as flash floods, droughts, and cyclones in agricultural production management.

This book covers many aspects of innovation theory, evolutionary economics, economic geography, and simulation models. It is one of the first books to comprehensively and systematically focus on the evolution of regional innovation based on provincial experience in emerging economics, including stylized facts, theoretical explanation, and simulation. The book is devoted to a pioneering process-based regional innovation matrix used for classifying a regional innovation model, which is illustrated by real-world cases and data analyses. The topics addressed here include path dependency, lock-in, routines, variations, selectivity, regional gap, innovation progress, agglomeration, and innovation efficiency. The simulation methods describing the dynamics of regional innovation evaluation on economics are developed as well. The primary objective of this work is to provide a tractable and useful regional governance tool for researchers and policy makers in regional science, human geography, and related disciplines. The book is highly recommended to readers who seek more insight into the continuous development of China or regional development gaps.