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The article focuses on the U.S. Congress has increased support for economic development policies that incorporate a regional innovation systems (RIS) approach. It mentions RIS approach seeks to develop an ecosystem that fosters linkages between organizations so that a region may increase jobs attract investment. It also mentions federal support for RIS and restructure places and regional economies that have been impacted by globalization and international trade.

Recent decades have seen advances in using econometric methods to produce more timely and higher-frequency estimates of economic activity at the national level, enabling better tracking of the economy in real time. These advances have not generally been replicated at the sub-national level, likely because of the empirical challenges that nowcasting at a regional level presents, notably, the short time series of available data, changes in data frequency over time, and the hierarchical structure of the data. This paper develops a mixed-frequency Bayesian VAR model to address common features of the regional nowcasting context, using an application to regional productivity in the UK. We evaluate the contribution that different features of our model provide to the accuracy of point and density nowcasts, in particular the role of hierarchical aggregation constraints. We show that these aggregation constraints, imposed in stochastic form, play a key role in delivering improved regional nowcasts; they prove to be more important than adding region-specific predictors when the equivalent national data are known, but not when this aggregate is unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the use of location quotients, a measure of regional business activity relative to the national benchmark, as an indicator of sectoral agglomeration in small cities and towns, and as a measure of industry specialization that might impact the number of new business startups in these places. Using establishment-level data on businesses located in Maine, our findings suggest that the addition of one "hypothetical" establishment in very small towns leads to a dramatic change in the magnitude of the region-industry location quotient. At population sizes of about 4,100 or more people, however, location quotients are reasonably stable. Regression results from an analysis of the relationship between new business activity and regional industry specialization show that the effect of location quotients on business startups switches from "inelastic" to "elastic" at a population size cutoff of about 2,600 residents. Overall, our findings suggest that researchers and practitioners should exercise caution when using location quotients to study small regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rudebush et al (2015a, b) and the Bureau of Economic Analysis find the presence of residual seasonality in the official estimates of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP). Directly seasonally adjusting official seasonally adjusted GDP, which we refer to as double seasonal adjustment, could revise the first quarter growth in the past several years upward by an average of about 1.5 percentage points. The presence of residual seasonality can significantly distort current analysis of national and regional economies. In this paper we look more closely at the U.S. GDP data and study the quality of the seasonal adjustment when it is applied to data that has already been indirectly seasonally adjusted. We find that double seasonal adjustment can lead to estimates that are of moderate quality. While the optimal method would be to directly seasonally adjust the aggregate not seasonally adjusted data, if this is not possible, double seasonally adjusted data would likely lead to better estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do corporate tax increases destroy jobs? And do corporate tax cuts boost employment? Answering these questions has proved empirically challenging. We propose an identification strategy that exploits variation in corporate income tax rates across U.S. states. Comparing contiguous counties straddling state borders over the period 1970 to 2010, we find that increases in corporate tax rates lead to significant reductions in employment and income. We find little evidence that corporate tax cuts boost economic activity, unless implemented during recessions when they lead to significant increases in employment and income. Our spatial-discontinuity approach permits a causal interpretation of these findings by both establishing a plausible counterfactual and overcoming biases resulting from the fact that tax changes are often prompted by changes in economic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes scenarios as to the development of the regional and global energy market from 2015 to 2030. The projections are based on common energy factors such as energy resource endowment, macroeconomic trends, resource ownership rights and competitive structure of the energy industry. The scenarios focus on the U.S., Middle East, China and Russia-European Union and the impact of the interplay of regional political and economic variables to the global scenario.

The article provides information on the foreign relations of Uzbekistan as of 2012 including the country's international economic relations, regional economic assumptions and regional relations.

The article provides information on the foreign relations of Jordan as of 2012 including the country's international economic relations and policy, regional economic assumptions and military ties.

The article provides information on the foreign relations of Belize as of 2012 including the country's international economic relations and policy, regional economic assumptions, and military ties.

The article provides information on the foreign relations of Cyprus as of 2012 including the country's international economic relations and policy, regional economic assumptions, and territorial and constitutional settlement.

The article provides information on the foreign relations of the Republic of Congo as of 2012 including the country's international economic relations and policy, regional economic assumptions, and diplomatic relations.

The article provides information on the foreign relations of Senegal as of 2011 including the country's international economic relations and policy, regional economic assumptions and President Doubleday Wade 's support to the Africa Union.

Chapter 3 of the book "Global Employment Trends 2011 is presented. It focuses on the regional economic and labor market developments. Most of the total increase in global unemployment between 2007 and 2010 occurred in the developed economies and European Union region. As reported, the regional outlook for 2011 is slightly better, but unemployment remains at elevated levels.

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The article presents the economic performance from 2008 to 2009 of Netherlands. It notes that the estimation of gross domestic product (GDP) performance in the third quarter of 2009 suggests slight recovery of economy after the decline of four consecutive quarters. Meanwhile, it mentions that the labour market reacts slowly on the economic downturn compare to other regional economies.

Describes the state of foreign trade and payments in China as of June 2005. Protectionism invited by China's surging textile exports; Issue of exchange rate policy; Maintenance of rapid export growth; Benefits provided by the trade boom to the regional economies; Hope of underpinning payment surplus through a revaluation of the renminbi.

This paper examines financial centers and the geography of capital flows. In empirical work on bilateral portfolio capital flows, a common assumption is that the countries the flows are attributed to are also the countries of the security's issuer, seller, or ultimate buyer. By estimating United States investors' holdings of debt and equities in over 40 countries and, for the same countries, foreign investors' holdings of U.S. debt and equities, a comparison of the authors' estimates with data from benchmark surveys offers insight into U.S. data on international debt and equity transactions. The analysis indicates that the data do not track the location of U.S. investment or the location of investors in U.S. assets very well due to the U.S. portfolio flow data collection system being designed to measure cross-border transactions with the majority of the flows being attributed to financial centers. By aggregating the country-level estimates, the authors find that U.S. data accurately portray net inflows into U.S. equities and net outflows into foreign bonds. This working paper can be found at the United States Federal Reserve Board's International Finance Discussion Papers. You can access it by going to http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/ifdp/.

Examines international economic integration and regional cooperation in the Baltic States in the 190s. Impact of trade liberalization; Potential benefits of economic integration with the European Union; Terms of the Baltic Free-Trade Agreement; History of regional economic development in the Baltic Rim.

Examines the regional problems and policies related to the economic performance of Slovakia. Overview of the regional unemployment rate in the country; Disparities of regional economic performance; Mobility of workers in Slovak regions.

The authors present evidence that the law of one price (LOOP) holds more for country pairs that are within geographic regions than for country pairs that are not. These findings are established using disaggregated consumer price data from 23 countries. The authors find that failures of LOOP are closely related to nominal exchange rate variability, such as a link to sticky nominal prices. They also find that distance can explain failures of LOOP. Integrated marketing and distribution systems within regions cause LOOP to hold more intraregionally. The authors study a model of marketing and distribution to illustrate this belief. This working paper can be found at the US Federal Reserve Board's International Finance Discussion Papers. You can access this by going to

The article presents an outlook for sovereign risk ratings for Latin American and Caribbean countries for the fourth quarter of 2011. It notes that Chile faces a low risk of credit event, while Venezuela faces the most risk. It also notes the lack of divergence in spreads in other major regional economies. The sovereign risk rating score of Peru has been upgraded from 66 to 71 due to positive signs on its fiscal and monetary policy front. It cites Barbados as an overrated sovereign by agencies.

The article reports on the economic policy developments in Bulgaria as of February 2011. Following a significant monthly deficit of 384.7 million Bulgarian lev in October 2010, the country recorded a budgetary surplus of 36.5 million Bulgarian lev. The country has used 15.5% of the 6.7 billion euros of European Union (EU) structural funds available to it for 2007-2013 but the government plans to increase absorption to 20% by the end of 2011.

The checking-deposit index soared to 87.1, a record high, from 66.1 in October, while the index for certificates of deposit, and other savings instruments rose to 46.8 from 38.7 in October. The farmland and ranchland-price index rose to 52.1 from 46.8 in October. The November farmland and ranchland-price index climbed to 56.1 from 50.8 in October. [Extracted from the article]

Since then, the U.S. economyhas, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), expanded by 8.2%, but federal spending advanced by 9.3%, and tax collections actually grew by 3.4% despite the tax cut. Goss says a higher federal debt will ultimately be paid for by those currently under 50 years of age via either plummeting federal spending, soaring higher taxes, higher inflation, or higher interest rates. [Extracted from the article]

Assesses political developments among island states in the Pacific Area as of June 2005. Initiatives of island states to strengthen regional cooperation and economic development; Competition between China and Taiwan for political influence in the region; Measures undertaken to detect illegal fishing; Protest registered by the states under the Pacific Island Forum against the shipping of nuclear waste.

This report examines the political, economic, and foreign policies undertaken by Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who came to power in late 2006. The report discusses U.S. policy and assistance and provides basic facts and biographical information. It may be updated. Related products include CRS Report RL33458, Central Asia: Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic conditions are best in the south, mainly because of its climatic advantages for agriculture, but also because the region has been largely peaceful and is well served by roads. [...]

Although poverty levels declined in the Pacific region in the 1990s, they increased on the Atlantic coast. Regional GDP figures are not available, but growth is likely to have been [...]

There are wide variations in income There are considerable disparities in prosperity between different regions of the EU, even within member states. The unemployment ratio between the 25 lowest- and [...]

The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 71.58, stronger by 14 paise from its previous close of 71.72 on Friday [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decentralisation Outside Antananarivo there is a widespread perception that the government is preoccupied with the needs of the capital, whose population is best placed to exert political pressure or stage [...]

The article presents an outlook for Asian equities for the fourth quarter of 2011. It expects a short-term technical rebound due to the oversold state of regional equity markets. It cites price movements on the MSCI Emerging Markets Asia Index. Also expected is subdued regional economic growth amid growing deflationary concerns. During the 2012-16 forecast period, the average growth of Vietnam is 7.2%.

The article presents an overview on Business Monitor International Ltd.'s (BMI) forecast concerning the capital flowing into Latin American countries which motivated an array of policy responses from regional authorities. It mentions several categories of policy responses including capital controls, currency appreciation and fiscal austerity. It cites that Brazil was the only regional economy that tried to block the capital from entering the country due to the impact of short-term investments.

The article presents a reprint of the article "Wales food park planned to offer production" by John Shepherd, which appeared on just-food.com website on November 24, 2016. It outlines the plan to develop a food park in Wales that developers say will create around 1,000 jobs and provide a major boost for the food industry and the regional economy. The investment of the site in renewable energy that could see the park produce and utilise power generated across the site itself is also tackled.

The article provides an overview of the foreign relations of San Marino with regards to its foreign policy, regional economic relations, and military ties.

The article assesses the dominance of Russia's energy industry in Europe. According to the Business Monitor International, by virtue of its massive energy reserves, Russia appears to be recouping some of its influence within the Near Abroad, and looks set to increase its energy dominance within the wider Europe region. Russia continues to seek to increase its regional dominance in the energy sector, with state-owned gas giant Gazprom currently trying to secure control over Uzbekistan's largest gas fields.

The article deals with the efforts of the Russian government to promote regional economic developments in 2006. Major regional inequalities have become apparent since Russia's break with communism. Based on a study in September 2005, Russia came second only to China in terms of income disparity among the economies surveyed.

Provides information on the creation of the Regional Development Agencies (RDA) in Turkey in 2004. Function of the RDA; Organizational structure; Assessment of the risks involved in management.

The article reports that evidence that the Chinese economy is slowing after almost two years of supercharged growth is increasing. Not only have Taiwanese companies invested more than 100 billion U.S. dollars in the mainland, but China (including Hong Kong) is now Taiwan's largest export market, accounting for 25 percent of its total exports. There is a much stronger correlation between growth in the US and demand for Taiwanese exports than between domestic demand in China and Taiwanese exports. This reflects the emergence of China as a reprocessing center for raw materials from the rest of Asia rather than the emergence of domestic demand in China as a source of regional economic growth.

Summarizes the similarities and differences in the national and regional policies of eastern Germany and the Mezzogiorno. Information on the evidence of regional disparities; Impact of regional differences in market access and factor endowments on labor productivity; Implication of the gap between production and income for the labor mobility of the regions.

Focuses on regional implications of Gulf War in Middle East. Threat to international peace and security from the U.S. allegation to Saddam Hussein's development of weapons; Concern on the increase of domestic tension; Anticipation of anti-U.S. protests from civilian casualties.