Differentiation and Synergies in Rural Tourism: Estimation and Simulation of the Israeli Market

This article applies a discrete-choice equilibrium model with product differentiation to study the rural tourism industry in Israel and to jointly estimate the effect of lodging and farm characteristics on consumer preferences and firms' costs. The model accounts for heterogeneity in tastes and technologies and allows for unobservable product characteristics. We find evidence for technological synergy in the joint production of agricultural goods and rural tourism services, but none in the demand. The differentiation in the industry is the major contributor to the price-cost margin, which averages 62%. An additional minor cause is government regulations, which restrict supply. Simulation results demonstrate the growth potential of the industry and show that the government can play an important role in catalyzing growth via investment subsidization, deregulation of supply and information distribution. Copyright 2008, Oxford University Press.

Low-Income Dynamics in Canadian Communities: A Place-Based Approach

Canadian poverty rates have persisted at disappointingly high levels despite almost 15 years of continuous economic growth. The problem is exacerbated by some communities and neighborhoods having exceedingly high poverty, including very high rates for vulnerable demographic groups, such as aboriginals and recent immigrants. We investigate low-income rates (poverty rates) for 2,400 Canadian "communities" over the 1981-2001 period. By focusing on communities, we fill a void in the related Canadian literature, which tends to focus on individuals, case studies, or more aggregate measures, such as provinces. Our approach allows us to assess the role of place-based policies. Particular attention is given to communities with differing shares of aboriginal Canadians and recent immigrants. One novel feature is our analysis of both "short-term" and "long-term" causes of differential community poverty rates. The results suggest that community low-income rates are more affected by initial economic conditions in the short term, with certain demographic factors becoming relatively more important in the long run. Copyright (c) 2008 Blackwell Publishing.