http://hdl.handle.net/10027/7837 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:21:18 GMT 2013-05-23T00:21:18Z http://hdl.handle.net/10027/8422 Regional industrial structure and agglomeration economies: An analysis of productivity in three manufacturing industries Drucker, Joshua; Feser, Edward We investigate whether a more concentrated regional industrial structure - the dominance of a few large firms in a given industry in a region - limits agglomeration economies and ultimately diminishes the economic performance of firms in that industry, especially small ones. In an application to three industries using establishment-level production functions and a combination of confidential and publicly available data sources, we find a consistently negative and substantial direct productivity effect associated with regional industrial structure concentration and only mixed and relatively weak evidence that agglomeration economies are a mediating factor in that effect. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Regional Science and Urban Economics. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Regional Science and Urban Economics, [Vol 42, Issue 1-2, Jan 2012] DOI:10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2011.04.006 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10027/8422 2012-01-01T06:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10027/8329 Measuring and Assessing Perceptions of Success in a Transit Agency's Stakeholder Involvement Program Mattingly, Meghan; Sriraj, P. S,; Welch, Eric W.; Bhojraj, Barbara Stakeholder involvement is often a legally required activity for transit agencies. Optimally this process begins at the earliest stages of any given project and involves two-way communication and interaction that can be reflected in the resulting plans or project designs. Despite federal statutes and regulations mandating meaningful public input for federal capital funding consideration, approaches to fulfill these mandates successfully remain difficult, and stakeholder involvement practices often fail to have a deep impact on planning outcomes. A gap often exists between implementation plans and the satisfaction of stakeholders. Guided by prior research and applying cognitive mapping methods, this study uses a rail line reconstruction project of the Chicago Transit Authority in Illinois as a case study to systematically understand the gap in expectations and interpretations of success among stakeholders. Findings identify four important categories of goal nonalignment that act as barriers to optimal interaction that can lead to mistrust. Conclusions identify potential solutions for bridging the gaps. Post print version of article may differ from published version. The definitive version is available through the National Academy of Sciences at DOI: 10.3141/2174-13 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10027/8329 2010-01-01T06:00:00Z