Evaluating the Diversifying Market for and Viability of Rural Tourism Activity in Japan

This paper evaluated diversified rural tourism activities from the perspectives of economic viability and endogenous utilization of rural resources and investigated labour productivity. First, we presented a conceptual framework on how to evaluate economic viability and the endogenous mobilization of rural resources. Second, we empirically evaluated economic viability, the supply shift effect of endogenous utilization of rural resources and labour productivity with regard to rural tourism. The main findings are as follows. First, examination of the three main activities, i.e. accommodation, restaurant operation and direct selling of farm products, showed that both full-time and part-time labour input contribute more effectively to better sales than such labour for farm experience services, which means that these activities are viable whereas other activities that provide farming experience services did not yet clearly show evidence of a viable farm business. Second, we could not confirm the supply shift effect of endogenous innovative use of rural resources. Overall, it was evaluated that rural tourism in this country is undersupplied at a social optimal level. In the long run, institutional conditions for market formation and management skills for endogenous innovation in utilization of rural resources should be more intensely developed as a part of rural resource management policy.rural tourism, rural resources, farm diversification, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Evaluating Multifunctional Activities as Rural Institution in Japan

The relationship between multifunctionality and the roles of rural communities has not been discussed fully although the connection between the two is an essential issue in the rural policy arena. Pursuing this issue, this paper considers that multifunctional hamlet activities are generated as institutional joint products within the hamlet. Also evaluated is the connection between multifunctional activities and institutional hamlet conditions under the Japanese direct payment program for less favored areas. Results of conceptual considerations and empirical evaluations reveal that specific multifunctional hamlet activities depend on hamlet conditions; those on the least favorable level tend to perform land preservation activities while those under the most favorable conditions tend to undertake recreational activity. Hamlets participating in forming landscape fall in the middle. Thus, firstly, institutional jointness is not constant but variable depending on hamlet conditions. Consequently, programs to enhance multifunctionality should respect hamlet conditions that represent different levels of institutional jointness of multifunctional activity rather than treat multifunctionality as a single concept. Secondly, for diversification, it would be effective to organize hamlet activities based on an open and wider human network rather than the traditional closed one in rural communities.multifunctionality, rural community, institution, jointness, diversification, human resources, direct payment, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Q19, R0, Z13, Q18,

Evaluating Household Leisure Behaviour of Rural Tourism in Japan

Understanding the demand profile of rural tourism is a necessary condition for the successful diversification of any rural economy. Although descriptive analyses have been conducted on this issue, a more generalised framework is required that allows us to explore economic analyses. This paper evaluates the leisure behaviour of households that have a preference for rural tourism in Japan. First, we give conceptual consideration to the notion that leisure behaviour should be regarded as a form of a home production and explain that households that undertake rural tourism have undergone an upward shift in the home production function to realise a higher utility level. We propose that a preference for rural recreation causes this shift by improving the efficiency of the home production of leisure. Second, as an actual behaviour of rural tourism, the characteristics of visitors to pick-your-own farms were statistically tested using data from a nationwide survey on tourism. Finally, the rural preference function was estimated. The results revealed that the profile of households showing a preference for rural tourism demonstrated both up-market and niche market characteristics, which mirrored findings in European countries emphasizing the importance of a higher academic background, stronger orientation towards outdoor recreation, and greater discrimination with respect to the quality of services and goods received. Preference for rural recreation can be enhanced through the provision of authentic, high quality service and goods and the preservation of the rural environment. Therefore, there will be an increased demand for a farm policy that integrates both agricultural and rural measures.rural tourism, home production, service goods, rural infrastructure, leisure behaviour, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Magnetostatic wave analog of integer quantum Hall state in patterned magnetic films

A magnetostatic spin wave analog of integer quantum Hall (IQH) state is proposed in realistic patterned ferromagnetic thin films. Due to magnetic shape anisotropy, magnetic moments in a thin film lie within the plane, while all spin-wave excitations are fully gapped. Under an out-of-plane magnetic field, the film acquires a finite magnetization, where some of the gapped magnons become significantly softened near a saturation field. It is shown that, owing to a spin-orbit locking nature of the magnetic dipolar interaction, these soft spin-wave volume-mode bands become chiral volume-mode bands with finite topological Chern integers. A bulk-edge correspondence in IQH physics suggests that such volume-mode bands are accompanied by a chiral magnetostatic spin-wave edge mode. The existence of the edge mode is justified both by micromagnetic simulations and by band calculations based on a linearized Landau-Lifshitz equation. Employing intuitive physical arguments, we introduce proper tight-binding models for these soft volume-mode bands. Based on the tight-binding models, we further discuss possible applications to other systems such as magnetic ultrathin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA).Comment: 20 pages, 12 figure

Hedonic Pricing Evaluation on Agritourism Activity in Italy: Local Culture-based or Facility-based?

This paper focused on how and what diversified activities influence the price level of agritourism. A hypothesis that contrasts two directions was examined: facility-based and local culture-based activities. First, from the conceptual consideration, we defined that agritourism based on local cultural resources can internalize positive externalities, which are accompanied by local cultural resources, into income, unlike facility-based activity that has no connection with local cultural resources. Second, the results of estimations from the price determinant ordered logit model clarified that owning a swimming pool was the most common and influential factor in enhancing the price level while regional diversity was observed in terms of local cultural resource-based activities such as restaurants, world heritage sites and DOC wines. These findings indicate that hardware-based evolution is more effective in the short term than evolution based on software aspects. Nevertheless, this hardware-based evolution of agritourism is implicitly based on the assumption of continuously growing demand and sufficient financial capability for the fixed investment. When growth in demand becomes stagnant, facility installation can be a heavy burden on operators. Consequently, for the sustainable development of agritourism it will be necessary to harness locality to create a balance between facility-based services and local culture-based services.agritourism, local cultural heritage, hedonic pricing, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Labor and Human Capital,