Mei-se Chien (p), Yen-Shin Cheng, Yu-Hsuan Chao

Shu-jung Chang Lee

This aim of this paper is to explore the impact of ICT growth and financial development on carbon emissions. The sample data covers 77 countries from 2000 to 2018.The measurement method adopts autoregression distributed lag bounding test (ARDL) model for empirical estimation. The empirical results of this paper are summarized as follows: First, no matter in the advanced or developing economies, financial market development can significantly decrease carbon dioxide emissions. Second, the effect of financial institution development on carbon dioxide emissions is positive in the developing economies, but the effect is insignificant in the advanced economies. Third, overall financial development causes negative effect on carbon dioxide emission in the advanced economies, but there is insignificant effect in the developing economies. Finally, no matter in the advanced or developing countries, high penetration rate of mobile phone significantly decreases carbon dioxide emissions, but high penetration rate of internet raises carbon dioxide emissions.

Bartosz Bartosiewicz (p), Szymon Marcinczak (p)

Mei-se Chien

The 2010s in Poland witnessed significant developments propelled by the influx of European funds, resulting in substantial public (particularly in infrastructure) and private sector investments. Despite temporary disruptions, the country experienced robust economic growth, with a remarkable 40% increase in GDP per capita during the analyzed period.

This economic upturn had far-reaching effects, including the stabilization of the labor market, marked by a three-fold decrease in unemployment and an upswing in employment among the working-age population. Additionally, there was a noticeable surge in entrepreneurship and innovation within the Polish economy. However, it is crucial to note that these advancements were not uniformly distributed but were concentrated in urban regions, which emerged as the primary beneficiaries of these transformative changes. The extent of these changes is distinctly reflected in the spatial structure of these urban areas.
The primary objective of our study is to discern contemporary patterns of change in the spatial structure resulting from the socio-economic processes in urban regions. In our previous research, we highlighted disparities between the developments in Polish urban regions during the political transformation period and those observed in Western European countries or the USA at the turn of the century (Bartosiewicz, Marcińczak 2022). Our current investigation aims to determine if a similar trend in the evolution of spatial structure in Polish urban regions persisted in the second decade of the 21st century, under free market conditions and comparable socio-economic processes, and to identify potential differences.
To explore this phenomenon, we employed the concept of polycentric urban development (PUD), analyzing changes in spatial structure across two dimensions: morphological and functional (Burger et al 2011). Utilizing NSP (National Census of Population and Housing) data from 2011 and 2021, containing information on work-places distribution and commuting we conducted the study on a defined set of 56 urban regions. Polycentricity measures (Bartosiewicz, Marcińczak 2020) were applied to assess and quantify the observed changes in the spatial structure, providing a comprehensive understanding of the evolving urban regions in Poland during this critical period.

Bartosiewicz, B., & Marcinczak, S., 2020, Investigating Polycentric Urban Regions: Different Measures–Different Results, Cities 105 (2020) 102855.
Bartosiewicz, B., & Marcinczak, S., 2022, Urban structure in transition: evidence from Poland, 1983–2011. Regional Studies, 1–12.
Burger, M. J., de Goei, B., Van der Laan, L., Huisman, F. J. 2011, Heterogeneous development of metropolitan spatial structure: Evidence from commuting patterns in English and Welsh city-regions, 1981–2001. Cities, 28(2), 160-170.

Pui Hang Wong (p)

Bartosz Bartosiewicz

Many empirical studies have shown that promoting local development is an effective strategy in countering insurgencies. It is argued that the right mix of coercion, ethnic strategy, and public goods provision win the hearts and minds of the local community and reduce the number of insurgent attacks. However, a common assumption behind previous evaluations is that insurgent attacks have a strong local root and they are unlikely to be reproduced in other areas. Violation of this spatial independence assumption, however, can potentially bias towards the positive results. Based on a spatial dynamic panel data model, this study finds evidence of spatial dependence in the case of insurgent attacks in Iraq. Furthermore, conditional on other hearts and minds strategies, the effects of local development projects vary considerably both in magnitude and direction, suggesting that some policy mixes between coercion and public goods provision can lead to spatial spillovers and are counterproductive.

Konstantin Reisner, David Castells-Quintana, Melanie Krause (p)

Pui Hang Wong

As the world urbanises rapidly, cities have grown substantially in the last decades. In
this paper, we study the important trade-off in the use of urban land that comes with urban
growth, namely between green areas and needed living and working space. We do so by
building a novel and unique panel dataset combining gridded data on population, area, built-
up area and volume, urban greenness, and nighttime lights (as a proxy for economic activity).
Our global sample covers over 1000 cities between 1985 and 2020. We identify key global
stylised facts as well as main differences across world regions. Relying on panel-data
econometric techniques, we provide estimates for the elasticity of economic activity, building
volume and greenness to population density, and explore heterogeneities across income
levels and different city sizes. Finally, we provide a stylized theoretical framework for the
dependence of optimal urban greenness on population growth.

Shu-jung Chang Lee (p), Chien Mei-Se, Hsu Hui-Chun

Melanie Krause

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of financial instability and technological innovation on environmental quality. The empirical model is based on the model of Nasreen et al.(2017) with technological innovation and economic policy uncertainty. The data sample covers annual data of 42 countries from 2001 to 2018. The methodology includes the Autoregression Distributed Lag Bounding Test , Granger causality analysis, and shock response analysis. The empirical results are as follows: First, higher financial instability in the developing countries will reduce carbon emissions, but it will increase carbon emissions in the developed countries. Second, no matter in developing or developed countries, increasing the number of patents will decrease carbon emissions. Third, higher per capita GDP in the developing countries will rise carbon emissions but the rising speed is decreasing, while higher per capita GDP in the developed countries will reduce carbon emissions but the reducing speed is increasing. Fourth, higher energy consumption will significantly cause higher carbon emissions in both the developing and developed countries. Finally, increasing economic policy uncertainty in the developing countries will lead to higher carbon emissions, but it will bring about lower carbon emissions in the developed countries.