An integrated model of traffic, geography and economy in the Internet

Modeling Internet growth is important both for understanding the current network and to predict and improve its future. To date, Internet models have typically attempted to explain a subset of the following characteristics: network structure, traffic flow, geography, and economy. In this paper we present a discrete, agent-based model, that integrates all of them. We show that the model generates networks with topologies, dynamics, and (more speculatively) spatial distributions that are similar to the Internet

Network effects and total economic impact in transport appraisal

It is claimed that transport infrastructure projects have network effects which are not taken into account in the appraisal of these projects. This paper reviews the concept of network effects, relates this to transport appraisal practice, and links to the concept of ‘total economic impact’. The limitations of transport modelling and appraisal in estimating total economic impact are reviewed. Good quality appraisals should be capable of picking up relevant network effects in the transport market, but the state of the art remains limited on the linkages between transport and the wider economy

Air passenger transport and regional development : cause and effect in Europe

This article scrutinizes the mutual and complex causal relationship between air passenger transport and regional development in the European NUTS2-regions with heterogeneous Granger causality analysis between 2002 and 2011. Employment is used as a relatively robust and measurable indicator of a region's development and employment in the services sector and in the manufacturing sector is treated separately to discern basic sectoral variances. The proposed methodology allows investigating (i) if air transport in the European regions causally influences employment, (ii) if employment also leads to higher transport levels, and (iii) regional variations in this causal relationship. The results show that both directions of causality occur among the European urban regions, albeit very geographically fragmented. This indicates that air passenger transport is a necessary part of, but not sufficient condition for generating regional development. The more abundant relationships for employment in the services sector confirm the sensitivity of the services industry to air passenger transport

How to Assess Advantages of Economic-Geographical Position for Russian Regions

The category of economic-geographical position (EGP) was formalized based on a review of the scientific literature. The developed method of international and interregional EGP potential assessment was based on the use of gravity models; it can further be widely used in regional studies to explore the benefits of the spatial location of objects (countries, regions, cities, etc.). These calculations for Russia’s regions showed significant spatial differentiation. The maximum potential of interregional EGP potential have the regions located near Moscow and St. Petersburg agglomerations, the potential decreases uniformly to the east. The maximum international EGP potential concentrated in regions on the coast of the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Sea of Japan. The potential of the Kaliningrad region 5.6 times higher than it is for the Tyva Republic. In addition, it was revealed a significant increase in the total EGP potential in the 2000s, and its shift to the southern regions of the Far East due to the growth of the Asia-Paci c economies. The results were also used to identify connections between the EGP potential and indicators of socio-economic development. It was found that favourable EGP is one of the factors for GRP growth, investment, foreign trade, migration growth and spread of new technologies. Formalizing EGP as a category allows using it to predict the spatial changes in the socio-economic development of Russia

The development of river-based intermodal transport: the case of Ukraine

It should be noted that the (inland waterway transport) IWT in Ukraine currently is in its infancy in comparison with other land based transport means (rail and road) and with other countries that possess navigable rivers. This paper is an extension of the research initiated by Grushevska and Notteboom (2015) where the concepts of intermediacy and centrality were introduced in order to assess the role of Ukraine in the global and regional transport networks. The list of key obstacles for Ukraine’s intermediacy function included IWT related barriers such as: (i) deficient inland waterway infrastructure, (ii) high IWT costs (fees for bridges, locks etc.) and (iii) pilotage charges. To date the transportation to/from ports is mainly fulfilled by road or by rail based multimodal transport solutions. We present the unutilized potential of Ukrainian IWT that needs to be efficiently exploited for the benefit of the national economy and national transport system. This study intends to enrich the limited academic research on IWT systems in a transition stage, as exemplified by the case of Ukraine

City networks in cyberspace and time : using Google hyperlinks to measure global economic and environmental crises

Geographers and social scientists have long been interested in ranking and classifying the cities of the world. The cutting edge of this research is characterized by a recognition of the crucial importance of information and, specifically, ICTs to cities’ positions in the current Knowledge Economy. This chapter builds on recent “cyberspace” analyses of the global urban system by arguing for, and demonstrating empirically, the value of Web search engine data as a means of understanding cities as situated within, and constituted by, flows of digital information. To this end, we show how the Google search engine can be used to specify a dynamic, informational classification of North American cities based on both the production and the consumption of Web information about two prominent current issues global in scope: the global financial crisis, and global climate change

Approaching delivery as a service

This paper explores the new logistics business model of Delivery as a Service, a concept aiming at a more efficient, fast and customer-oriented practice, linking IT solution development, urban logistics operations, supply chain efficiency and new business models. Delivery as a Service (DaaS) is defined as a service-oriented delivery and business processes in line with customer expectations and needs in the on-demand economy. The approach of this paper is an industry report based on evidence collected in multiple exploratory European projects integrating ambitious and strategic findings on Internet of Things, urban planning, consolidation centres, transport optimisation, and clean vehicle use. It contributes to a future scenario of urban logistics business models

Eastern Enlargement of the EU: Bulgaria and Romania’s Accession- Geo-economic and Geopolitical Implications for the Balkans

The project’s aim is to look beyond the journalistic flash stories and the repetitive high pathos analysis of EU's Balkan Enlargement and explore in depth the geopolitical implications of such an important development. In other words, this thesis looks at two major questions, and namely, what are the geopolitical and geo-economic consequences for the Balkans, arising from Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the EU and in a broader context what are the geo-economic and geopolitical changes that are shaping in the Balkans in the first decade of the 21st century? To answer these broader questions the research concentrates on series of other closely related, but narrowly focused questions, namely: How the EU policies of inclusion and exclusion in the Balkans could contribute to severe economic, political and cultural ghettoization of the Balkans in short to mid term perspective? What are the Geo-economic and Geopolitical Perspectives for the integrated Eastern component? (Bulgaria and Romania) Pathways from the West Periphery or Western Periphery Paths: Options for the Excluded Component? (Bosnia& Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia & Montenegro, Macedonia) Are we currently observing grandeur changes and the emergence of Bulgaria and Romania as a region with a new very important geopolitical value due to the concurrence of major developments? How can these two countries capitalize on their advanced Euro-Atlantic integration stage and lobby for a more engaged EU policy towards the whole region and specifically the West Balkans? The first section of the first chapter gives the historical framework of Balkan economic relations and the evolution from historical confrontation to cooperation.In the next section I explore the recent geopolitical developments and namely the emerging East-West split , running through the heart of the Balkan peninsula, with its east part in the final stages of EU integration (Bulgaria and Romania) and the ‘Wild West’ of the Balkans with no prospective of mid to long-term EU integration. The second chapter explores the geo-economic implications of Bulgaria and Romania’s EU accession for the region. The third chapter explores the major geo-political changes that are currently shaping the Balkans and more narrowly the geo-political implications of Bulgaria and Romania’s EU accession to the region.eu enlargement; eu accession; european union; bulgaria; romania; eastern enlargement; geopolitics; geo-economics; political economy; balkans