A New Algorithm for the Single Source Weber Problem with Limited Distances

The single source Weber problem with limited distances (SSWPLD) is a continuous optimization problem in location theory. The SSWPLD algorithms proposed so far are based on the enumeration of all regions of [Formula: see text] defined by a given set of n intersecting circumferences. Early algorithms require [Formula: see text] time for the enumeration, but they were recently shown to be incorrect in case of degenerate intersections, that is, when three or more circumferences pass through the same intersection point. This problem was fixed by a modified enumeration algorithm with complexity [Formula: see text], based on the construction of neighborhoods of degenerate intersection points. In this paper, it is shown that the complexity for correctly dealing with degenerate intersections can be reduced to [Formula: see text] so that existing enumeration algorithms can be fixed without increasing their [Formula: see text] time complexity, which is due to some preliminary computations unrelated to intersection degeneracy. Furthermore, a new algorithm for enumerating all regions to solve the SSWPLD is described: its worst-case time complexity is [Formula: see text]. The new algorithm also guarantees that the regions are enumerated only once.

Fringe or Not Fringe? Strategies for Localizing Supported Accommodation in a Post‐Deinstitutional Era

Finding suitable locations for supported accommodations is crucial both for the wellbeing of individuals with psychiatric disabilities (PD) and to achieve the objectives of the mental health care reform in order to create opportunities for social inclusion. This article explores municipal strategies for localizing supported accommodations for people with PD. In a multiple case study, interviews with 20 municipal civil servants from social services and urban planning were conducted. Three strategies were identified and further analyzed with a public location theory approach: (1) re‐use, i.e., using existing facilities for a new purpose, (2) fill‐in, i.e., infilling new purpose‐built facilities in existing neighborhoods, and (3) insert, i.e., inserting new premises or facilities as part of a new development. The article shows that the “re‐use” strategy was employed primarily for pragmatic reasons, but also because re‐using former care facilities was found to cause less conflicts, as residents were supposedly used to neighbors with special needs. When the “fill‐in” and “insert” strategies were employed, new accommodations were more often located on the outskirts of neighborhoods. This was a way to balance potential conflicts between residents in ordinary housing and residents in supported accommodations, but also to meet alleged viewpoints of service users’ need for a quiet and secluded accommodation. Furthermore, ideas associated with social services’ view of social inclusion and urban planning’s notion of “tricky” tenants significantly influenced localization strategies. Finally, this article is also a call for more empirical research on the decision‐making processes, use of strategies (intended or not) and spatial outcomes, when localizing supported accommodation for people with PD and other groups in need of support and service.

Spatial Shopping Behavior in a Multi-Channel Environment: A Discrete Choice Model Approach

Spatial impacts of online shopping are discussed frequently in retail geography. Here, online shopping is mostly regarded as a central driver of competition for physical retailing and its locations, such as town centers or malls. Due to its high popularity, cross-channel shopping is sometimes considered to be a support for physical retailing. However, traditional retail location theory does not consider shopping channels other than in-store shopping. Furthermore, although online shopping is far too important to be neglected in examining consumer spatial shopping behavior, there is an obvious lack in the previous literature towards incorporating multi- and cross-channel shopping into store choice models. The present study aims to identify the main drivers of store choice on the basis that both in-store and online shopping alternatives are available, as well as the opportunity for cross-channel shopping. Taking into account previous literature on both physical store choice and multi-channel shopping, hypotheses on the impact of different shopping transaction costs (such as travel time, delivery charges, or uncertainty with respect to the stores' assortment) were derived. Based on a representative consumer survey, real past shopping decisions in three retail sectors (groceries, consumer electronics [CE], and furniture) were collected. The econometric analysis of empirical store choices was performed using a nested logit model which includes both physical and online stores. The results confirm several assumptions of classical retail location theory as well as previous findings from single-firm studies and stated choice experiments on multi-channel shopping behavior. Travel time to physical stores reduces consumer utility and store choice probability, respectively. Consumer sensitivity towards travel time decreases with decreasing purchase frequency of the desired goods. Delivery charges also decrease the likelihood of choosing a store. The impact of cross-channel integration on store choice (assuming the reduction of consumer transaction costs) is considerably lower than expected and differs between retail sectors. While furniture retailers profit from enabling cross-channel shopping, there is no such competitive advantage found for grocery and CE retailers. The positive effect of assortment on condition of diminishing marginal utility is confirmed for grocery stores and CE stores, but not for furniture stores. From a theoretical perspective, this study shows that multi- and cross-channel shopping behavior does not contradict the main thoughts of classical retail location theory. From a practical perspective, the study is a contribution as store choice models play a significant role in both business location planning and governmental land use planning.

Antecedents of business location decisions: the case of aspiring immigrant opportunity entrepreneurs

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate aspiring immigrant opportunity (AIO) entrepreneurs' start-up location decisions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used conjoint analysis to explore 1,264 location decisions nested within 79 highly educated, first-generation AIO entrepreneurs.FindingsThe authors found that although government support positively influences business location decisions, network support decreases the perceived benefits of government support for AIO entrepreneurs. Furthermore, locations with high costs of doing business are unattractive to AIO entrepreneurs, but financial capital access through ethnic and nonethnic sources in these locations enhances the appeal of high-cost locations.Research limitations/implicationsThe generalizability of the findings to AIO entrepreneurs should be considered with caution. Future research should longitudinally examine immigrant opportunity entrepreneurs' location decisions and their implications for their start-up and community-level performance outcomes. The authors also encourage replication of the study.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study have implications for AIO entrepreneurs who intend to make start-up location decisions. Also, government policymakers can use the findings of this study to better attract AIO entrepreneurs to different locations.Originality/valueBy integrating ethnic enclave theory and location theory, this research contributes to theory and practice about immigrant opportunity entrepreneurs' start-up location decisions which are currently underexplored in the immigrant entrepreneurship literature.

Economic benefits and the geographic aspect of business behaviour

PurposeWhile existing research confirms that hazardous locations increase fear and decrease entrepreneurial intentions, there is only limited knowledge on why and how business managers decide to invest in flood-prone areas to create economic benefits. The purpose of this paper is to employ location and protection motivation theories as complementary lenses for this investigation.Design/methodology/approachData were purposively collected from ten businesses. Then, using MAXQDA 2018 software programme for qualitative data, a systematic content analysis was carried out to draw empirical insights from the selected cases.FindingsConsistent with both location and protection motivation theories, research findings show that strategic location, proximity to supporting and related businesses, availability of public goods, lack of alternative locations and proximity to social services are the key drivers related to location decisions. Furthermore, the economic benefits gained from flood-prone areas overshadow the adverse impact of floods, compelling business managers to apply structural and non-structural strategies to overcome flood risks.Originality/valueThis is a pioneering phenomenon-based research contributing to the understanding of the geographic aspect of business behaviour by explaining why and how business managers decide to invest in flood-prone instead of safer areas. It differs from previous studies by building on the overlooked complementarities between location theory and protection motivation theory in explaining the economic benefits accruing from flood-prone areas. Finally, the study calls for business managers and policy advisers to safely align the use of flood-prone areas with income-generating activities.

THE EMERGENCE OF GEOGRAPHICAL ECONOMICS: AT THE CONTESTED BOUNDARIES OF ECONOMICS, GEOGRAPHY, AND REGIONAL SCIENCE

We explore disciplinary boundary-making in geographical economics or “the new economic geography” with attention to the approaches taken by, and attempts at communication among, scholars with primary affiliations in economics, geography, and regional science. The Dixit-Stiglitz general equilibrium approach to monopolistic competition and increasing returns was applied to agglomeration and location by Paul Krugman, who had previously pioneered the “new trade theory” building on the Dixit-Stiglitz model, and, independently and slightly earlier, by Masahisa Fujita and his student Heshem Abdel-Rahman, starting from regional science, a tradition with its own departments, doctorates, conferences, and journals distinct from economics and geography. Economic geography, as studied by geographers, had already taken a quantitative and theoretical turn in the 1960s, reviving an earlier tradition of German location theory overshadowed within geography after World War II by areal differentiation. Another strand of economic geography pursued by geographers was influenced by economic theory but by non-neoclassical Marxian and Sraffian economics. Debates between these scholars raised questions whether these analyses were multidisciplinary, drawing on distinct disciplines, or crossed disciplinary boundaries (as when geographical economics in the style of economists is undertaken in geography departments) or transcends disciplinary boundaries, or involved the emergence of a new discipline.

Exploring the Relationship between Transportation Infrastructure and Regional Economic Growth Using Losch’s Location Theory

There are some knowledge gaps regarding the relationship between transportation infrastructure and economic development, especially about economic impacts that occur due to implementation of infrastructure in a given region, albeit various studies have addressed the issue. This paper aims to identify variables that affect economic development in order to contribute to the development of a theoretical model that could explain the relationship between transportation infrastructure and economic development. The theoretical model is satisfactory because it begins by analyzing the actions generated by the transportation infrastructure. Moreover, the model is based on the Location Theory considering the economic development and taking into account variables such as transportation costs, gain, product value, consumption, competition between companies and lastly monopoly. Finally, an econometric procedure, Spatial Panel Auto Regressive Vector Model (PVAR), was used to evaluate the relationship between economic development and investments in transportation infrastructure.

Self-Configuring (1 + 1)-Evolutionary Algorithm for the Continuous p-Median Problem with Agglomerative Mutation

The continuous p-median problem (CPMP) is one of the most popular and widely used models in location theory that minimizes the sum of distances from known demand points to the sought points called centers or medians. This NP-hard location problem is also useful for clustering (automatic grouping). In this case, sought points are considered as cluster centers. Unlike similar k-means model, p-median clustering is less sensitive to noisy data and appearance of the outliers (separately located demand points that do not belong to any cluster). Local search algorithms including Variable Neighborhood Search as well as evolutionary algorithms demonstrate rather precise results. Various algorithms based on the use of greedy agglomerative procedures are capable of obtaining very accurate results that are difficult to improve on with other methods. The computational complexity of such procedures limits their use for large problems, although computations on massively parallel systems significantly expand their capabilities. In addition, the efficiency of agglomerative procedures is highly dependent on the setting of their parameters. For the majority of practically important p-median problems, one can choose a very efficient algorithm based on the agglomerative procedures. However, the parameters of such algorithms, which ensure their high efficiency, are difficult to predict. We introduce the concept of the AGGLr neighborhood based on the application of the agglomerative procedure, and investigate the search efficiency in such a neighborhood depending on its parameter r. Using the similarities between local search algorithms and (1 + 1)-evolutionary algorithms, as well as the ability of the latter to adapt their search parameters, we propose a new algorithm based on a greedy agglomerative procedure with the automatically tuned parameter r. Our new algorithm does not require preliminary tuning of the parameter r of the agglomerative procedure, adjusting this parameter online, thus representing a more versatile computational tool. The advantages of the new algorithm are shown experimentally on problems with a data volume of up to 2,000,000 demand points.

POLA KONSENTRASI SPASIAL INDUSTRI KECIL MENENGAH DI PROVINSI NUSA TENGGARA BARAT

Location Theory gives systematic analysis framework of selecting location of economic adn social activities. Chosing of the right location thrifts reduce the transportation and production cost that drives efficient in production and marketing. The impact of efficiency is the higest profit and concentration of economic activities. There are many factor afecting the concentration of economic activities, such as wages, man power sources and productivity. Based on Concentration Ratio analysis that Small-medium industries cosentrated in Mataram City and Central Lombok distric. Based on concentration Index of Man power shows that the concentration of man power are in Sumbawa district, North Lombok, Central Lombok, Bima City, Bima district and West Lombok district. Based on those result that concentration spatial of Small-Medium Industries in each district of West Nusa Tenggara are not equal . Based on Regresioan analysis with Randomeffect Model that concentration of small-medium industries in West Nusa Tenggara siginificanly corelated with amount of man power and productivity, neither than wages.

Strategic priorities for managing spatial inequalities in the socio-economic development of the Russian regions

With the growing need to ensure the security and sustainability of the national economy’s long-term development under unstable macroeconomic conditions, it is of special relevance to comprehend the inequalities being formed in the socioeconomic space of Russia and its regions. The paper aims to explore the trajectories of the socio-economic space’s inequality at the macro- and meso-levels in the Russian Federation, as well as to determine the strategic priorities for managing interregional differentiation. The study presents an integrated approach based on the primacy of the interconnection and interdependence typical of spatial imbalances. The approach implies the assessment of the dynamics of three groups of indicators that characterize the differences in economic and social development of the Russian regions. Scientific ideas about regional and spatial economics, as well as location theory and strategic management constitute the methodological framework of the research. In the study, dialectical, cause-effect and statistical methods are used. We prove that economic and social spaces in Russia often have opposite development priorities, which hampers the effectiveness of government policy. This requires adjusting the strategic management of spatial imbalances aimed at increasing the efficiency of public administration mechanisms and methods, and improving the consistency of development indicators of the country and its regions with long-term socio-economic goals. Having assessed the problems of regulation of the socio-economic development inequalities and performed a discourse analysis of relevant documents, the article develops the key thrusts for improving the system of strategic planning in Russia. The findings add to the development of a scientifically based approach to implementing strategic management of spatial inequalities in the socio-economic development of Russia and its regions.