The Winner's Choice: Sustainable Economic Strategies for Successful 21st Century Regions

Throughout the second half of the 20th Century, urbanization, new technologies, rapid labor-saving productivity growth in primary industries, and improved highways combined to create large-scale rural-urban functionally integrated regions. These forces have raised the stakes for regions in their pursuit of economic development and growth, making successful regional policy even more important. Changes to the governance structures consistent with the increased interdependence within broad rural-urban regions will improve the region's competitiveness; adopting fad-based approaches and policies aimed at “picking winners” will be less fruitful. Going forward, continuing globalization and environmental sustainability have the potential to fundamentally reshape relative regional attractiveness.Regional Policy, Rural Development

Determinants of non-farm labour participation rates among farmers in Australia

In recent decades, non‐farm employment has become prevalent and an important source of income for Australian farm families. However, models identifying the relative significance of the socioeconomic variables influencing non‐farm employment participation rates have never been estimated in Australia. In this paper, a bivariate probit model of non‐farm employment participation rates was estimated, using information from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resource Economics (ABARE) 1994–1995 surveys. It was found that the participation decision of the farm operator and spouse is likely to be jointly determined, that non‐farm employment participation increased at a declining rate with age among farmers and that university education enhances the participation rates particularly among spouses. Participation rates were also higher among spouses with lower other income and with no dependent children.Farm Management,

Arthropod diversity and pest dynamics in various production input levels and cropping system strategies

Non-Peer ReviewedEconomic viability and soil degradation are major issues facing farmers in the grassland ecozone of the Northern Great Plains. Crop diversification, reduced fallow and reduced inputs are being promoted in an effort to address these issues. A systems approach is applied as the experimental framework with which to monitor and assess alternate input and cropping strategies. The design, data collection and evaluation are based on the collaborative efforts of crop, pest, economic and soil scientists. This paper highlights the role of arthropods (insects, spiders, mites) in the assessment of farming systems. Arthropods are the most diverse group of organisms in most ecosystems. Many species, including beneficial and pest species, are well-suited to characterizing the ecosystems that they inhabit. Ecosystem-based, arthropod baselines are viewed by the authors as an integral component in evaluating farming systems

Integrated management of crop pests–abundance of wheat midge and its parasite in different management systems

Non-Peer ReviewedPopulations of wheat midge larvae and parasite larvae were assessed in six management systems at Kernen Farm near Saskatoon in 1997-1999. Ten soil cores were collected from each plot in mid May and late June. Emergence cages were placed in wheat plots in 1997 and canola plots in 1998-2000 to monitor emergence of adult wheat midge and parasite. Wheat plots were inspected in the evening to estimate numbers of wheat midge during heading and anthesis. In 1997, wheat midge populations exceeded one midge per 4-5 wheat heads during heading and were controlled with chlorpyrifos. Adult populations were below the economic threshold in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Results showed that emergence of adult wheat midge and parasites differed in management systems. Emergence of each species was 1.4-2.0 times higher in early-seeded systems than in late-seeded systems and 1.5-2.0 times higher in zero-till systems than in tilled systems. Late-seeded management systems with high tillage had the lowest emergence of adult wheat midge and parasite. Wheat production on the same land for two consecutive years should be discouraged in zero-till systems to deter buildup of wheat midge populations. Emergence of adult wheat midge and female wheat midge varied greatly from year to year. Emergence was 4-10 days earlier in 1997 and 1998 than in 1999 or 2000. In 1997-2000, dates for 10%, 50% and 90% emergence were July 10, July 19 and July 25, respectively. Degree-day requirements for 10%, 50% and 90% emergence of adult wheat midge were similar with air temperatures (706, 811, and 894 degree-days, respectively) and soil temperatures at 2.5cm depth (706, 817 and 906 degree-days, respectively). Accumulated degree days, based on AES air temperatures or hourly soil temperatures at 2.5cm and 5.0cm depths, provided a reliable method of evaluating emergence of adult wheat midge

Effective density of Aquadag and fullerene soot black carbon reference materials used for SP2 calibration

The mass and effective density of black carbon (BC) particles generated from aqueous suspensions of Aquadag and fullerene soot was measured and parametrized as a function of their mobility diameter. The measurements were made by two independent research groups by operating a differential mobility analyser (DMA) in series with an aerosol particle mass analyser (APM) or a Couette centrifugal particle mass analyser (CPMA). Consistent and reproducible results were found in this study for different production lots of Aquadag, indicating that the effective density of these particles is a stable quantity and largely unaffected by differences in aerosol generation procedures and suspension treatments. The effective density of fullerene soot particles from one production lot was also found to be stable and independent of suspension treatments. Some differences to previous literature data were observed for both Aquadag and fullerene soot at larger particle diameters. Knowledge of the exact relationship between mobility diameter and particle mass is of great importance, as DMAs are commonly used to size-select particles from BC reference materials for calibration of single particle soot photometers (SP2), which quantitatively detect the BC mass in single particles

The Influence of Abiotic Factors on an Invasive Pest of Pulse Crops, Sitona lineatus

Pea leaf weevil, Sitona lineatus (L.), native to Europe and North Africa, has been introduced into many other countries around the world, including the USA and Canada. Adults are oligophagous pests on leguminaceous plants. Sitona lineatus was first recorded in Canada in 1997, near Lethbridge, Alberta. Since then, it has spread north in Alberta and west into Saskatchewan in 2007. Bioclimatic simulation models were used to predict the distribution and extent of establishment of S. lineatus in Canada based on its current geographic range, phenology, relative abundance, and empirical data. The study identified areas in Canada that are at risk for future establishment of S. lineatus and developed a better understanding of climate effects. Climate change projections (General Circulation Models) were then imposed on the bioclimatic model of S. lineatus. Bioclimatic model output varied for each of the three General Circulation Models. In terms of suitability for pest establishment (Ecoclimatic Index), the NCAR273 CCSM climate data resulted in the most significant shift northward

Regional entrepreneurship and innovation in Chile:a knowledge matching approach

This paper presents a model of regional innovation based on the matching of research and entrepreneurial skills. We provide a method of empirically testing the model using a dynamic knowledge matching (KM) function, which is applied to data on patent applications and new firms in Chilean municipalities for the period 2002-2008. The estimations confirm the explanatory power of the KM mechanism regarding the spatial variation of innovation in the country, a result that is largely robust to the consideration of other main hypotheses of regional innovation. This evidence warrants further consideration of the spatial dimension of innovation in the country. It also suggests that there are unexploited synergies to be had between support policies for innovation and support policies for entrepreneurship in the context of regional development initiatives

LOCATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP:INSIGHTS FROM A SPATIALLY-EXPLICIT OCCUPATIONAL CHOICE MODEL WITH AN APPLICATION TO CHILE

Occupational choice and heterogeneous managerial ability enter a spatial Dixit-Stiglitz setting, linking location, wages and regional entrepreneurship rates. Market potential has a positive partial effect and wages a negative partial effect on the regional supply of entrepreneurs, both balancing in equilibrium with endogenous wages. Market potential increases profits, but also the opportunity cost of entrepreneurship. In the long-run equilibrium with perfect mobility, the cut-off level of ability determining selection into entrepreneurship will be the same across regions; moreover, regional differences in entrepreneurship rates depend only in differences in average fixed costs of firms. An empirical application is provided for Chile

Measuring aerosol size distributions with the aerodynamic aerosol classifier

The Aerodynamic Aerosol Classifier (AAC) is a novel instrument that selects aerosol particles based on their relaxation time or aerodynamic diameter. Additional theory and characterization is required to allow the AAC to accurately measure an aerosol's aerodynamic size distribution by stepping whilst connected to a particle counter (such as a Condensation Particle Counter, CPC). To achieve this goal, this study characterized the AAC transfer function (from 32 nm to 3 μm) using tandem AACs and comparing the experimental results to the theoretical tandem deconvolution. These results show that the AAC transmission efficiency is 2.6 to 5.1 times higher than a combined Krypton-85 radioactive neutralizer and Differential Mobility Analyzer (DMA), as the AAC classifies particles independent of their charge state. However, the AAC transfer function is 1.3 to 1.9 times broader than predicted by theory. Using this characterized transfer function, the theory to measure an aerosol's aerodynamic size distribution using an AAC and particle counter was developed. The transfer function characterization and stepping deconvolution were validated by comparing the size distribution measured with an AAC-CPC system against parallel measurements taken with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), CPC and Electrical Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI). The effects of changing AAC classifier conditions on the particle selected were also investigated and found to be small (<1.5%) within its operating range