THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AIR TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT. AN EMPIRICAL INQUIRY

Daniela- Luminița CONSTANTIN

Professor at the Department of Administration and Public Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies; Bucharest; Romania

danielaconstantin_2005@yahoo.com

Ana-Maria MARCU

Reseαrcher, Administration and Public Management, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies; Bucharest; Romania

marcuana19@stud.ase.ro

Abstract

Nowadays the development of the air transport infrastructure is acknowledged as an important driver of regional development, while the economic development processes impact the demand and volume of air transport as well. This paper investigates the complex relationship between air transport infrastructure and regional development proposing an empirical analysis for the case of Romania, whose relevance is supported by her unprecedented dynamism in the general European framework at the same time with the tendency of reducing regional disparities, the balanced geographical distribution of the airport network, and the country’s geo-strategical position in the new international force field. By applying an in-depth analysis which combines the examination of strategic documents with the interpretation of statistical data and semi-structured interviews, relevant findings are provided with regard to the significance of air transport infrastructure in a context described by diversity of regional development levels, accompanied by insights into the policy-making framework, with emphasis on the requirements to be met for proper responses to the need to reinforce the air transport sector and to integrate the national vision with the specific regional development aspects.

Keywords: air transport infrastructure, regional disparities, place-based approaches, resilience, integration

JEL classification: R11, R19, R42, R58

 pp. 61-80

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ARE THE REGIONS WITH MORE GENDER EQUALITY THE MORE RESILIENT ONES? AN ANALYSIS OF THE ITALIAN REGIONS

Barbara MARTINI

Researcher of Policy Economics, University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy)

barbara.martini@uniroma2.it

Marco PLATANIA

Researcher of Applied Economics, University of Catania (IT), Visiting Research Fellowship, University of Winchester (UK)

 marco.platania@unict.it

Abstract

The paper aims to investigate the relationship between gender equality and regional resilience. Literature, primarily regional literature, has shown limited interest in gender. Nevertheless, females and males are employed in different industries, so when a shock hits, it can have a different employment impact in terms of gender and, consequently, in terms of resilience. Regions are specialized in some industries. Regional specialization results from historical, cultural, natural endowments, and social elements. Also, the uneven distribution between females and males within industries involves social, cultural, and economic components. As a result, regional specialization determines an employment distribution that can be unequal regarding gender. This employment distribution is captured by the Dissimilarity Index, which measures the sum of the absolute difference in females’ and males’ distribution over occupations. Therefore, the dissimilarity index emerges as a consequence of regional specialization. This dissimilarity, in turn, could have an impact on resilience. Our results put several significant results forwards. First, there is a relationship between gender segregation and regional specialization. The higher the regional specialization in sectors where the females’ share is low, the higher the dissimilarity. Second, there was a positive relationship between resilience and gender equality from 2008 to 2013. The more gender equality regions are also the more resilient ones. Taking a sectoral occupation is not easy, including social values, cultural components, welfare, education, and soft skill. Policies should also address their efforts to enhance the welfare and social dimensions and break gender stereotypes.

Keywords: Gender, Regional specialization, Dissimilarity, Resilience, Italy

JEL classification: R10, R11, R19, O18

 pp. 71-94

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HOUSEHOLD IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC FROM A DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVE – A REVIEW

Bekhzod EGAMBERDIEV

PhD student, Agricultural Markets, Marketing and World Agricultural Trade (Agricultural Markets), Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale), Germany

egamberdiev@iamo.de

Abstract

In terms of the socio-economic crisis, the ravages of a pandemic shock indicate that people from developing countries are likely to be more vulnerable. The same direction of impact could be expected in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, both scale and speed of this pandemic differ from others in the past. Therefore, we can expect causes to be different from those of past crises. Although emerging studies are available, the existing literature offers no systematic analysis of household vulnerability in the prism of development economics. Especially the interlinkages of causes and the relative importance of effects and coping strategies are not yet summarized. Therefore, this study aims to provide a systemic assessment of household effects of COVID-19 and tries to identify casual effects of the consequences, to which it adds policy recommendations. The systematic analysis undertaken in this study is based on a cluster analysis of 150 articles and reports provided in international literature. This study shows that two distinct impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic concern food security and market imbalance, together with socio-economic consequences, which a large number of studies identify as the core of a pandemic. Similarly, risk mitigation strategies such as strengthening farm support, food system resilience, and social protection need to be particularly promoted under COVID-19 conditions. The study also identifies research gaps especially in particularities of health outcomes in different food systems and on different economic development levels.

Keywords: Food security, resilience, pandemic, income, poverty, inequality

JEL classification: Q10, Q11, Q13, Q18

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