Entrepreneurship and economic development in cities

Policy makers have identified the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic development. Yet, little is known about how this relationship varies over time in cities with different market sizes. This study examines the link between entrepreneurship and economic development using a panel of 127 European cities between 1994 and 2009. We found that the immediate economic development impact of new firm start-ups is positive for both small-/medium-size cities and large cities. The relationship is U-shaped for large cities, with the indirect effect taking 7 years, but the indirect effect does not occur in small-/medium-size cities. We offer useful information for policy makers, practitioners, and scholars.

Entrepreneurship and cities: evidence from the post-communist world

While attributing urban success to more abundant supply of entrepreneurship, more recent studies on entrepreneurship have shifted their focus to examining cross-city variation in entrepreneurial activity. Despite a growing number of spatial-oriented studies of entrepreneurship worldwide to our best knowledge no empirical evidence exists on the determinants of cross-city variation in entrepreneurship in the context of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) states. Estrin and Mickiewicz (2010) show that transition economies generally exhibit lower rates of entrepreneurship than observed in most developed and developing market economies. This difference is even more pronounced for the FSU compared to Central and Eastern Europe. This paper investigates variation in entrepreneurial activity across FSU cities, attempting to bridge the city-level gap in spatial-oriented empirical research.

Entrepreneurial activity across European cities

The importance of entrepreneurship as a driving force in the economic development has been widely recognised. Respectively, a growing number of empirical studies have focused on explaining variation in entrepreneurial activity at various spatial levels with the majority of them taking either a cross-country perspective or looking at the inter-regional differences. More recent studies on entrepreneurship have shifted their focus to examining cross-city variation in entrepreneurship. However, overall, given limited city-level data availability, scarce work has been undertaken so far on cross-city entrepreneurship within the spatially oriented entrepreneurship research. Furthermore, to our best knowledge, no empirical studies exist on entrepreneurship in European cities and our paper aims to fill this gap

Should healthy eating programmes incorporate interaction with foods in different sensory modalities? A review of the evidence

Commercial interventions seeking to promote fruit and vegetable consumption by encouraging preschool- and school-aged children to engage with foods with ‘all their senses’ are increasing in number. We review the efficacy of such sensory interaction programmes and consider the components of these that are likely to encourage food acceptance. Repeated exposure to a food's flavour has robust empirical support in terms of its potential to increase food intake. However, children are naturally reluctant to taste new or disliked foods, and parents often struggle to provide sufficient taste opportunities for these foods to be adopted into the child's diet. We therefore explore whether prior exposure to a new food's non-taste sensory properties, such as its smell, sound, appearance or texture, might facilitate the food's introduction into the child's diet, by providing the child with an opportunity to become partially familiar with the food without invoking the distress associated with tasting it. We review the literature pertaining to the benefits associated with exposure to foods through each of the five sensory modalities in turn. We conclude by calling for further research into the potential for familiarisation with the visual, olfactory, somaesthetic and auditory properties of foods to enhance children's willingness to consume a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Intersections of Jane Jacobs’ conditions for diversity and low-carbon urban systems: a look at four global cities

Countless cities are rapidly developing across the globe, pressing the need for clear urban planning and design recommendations geared towards sustainability. This article examines the intersections of Jane Jacobs’ four conditions for diversity with low-carbon and low-energy use urban systems in four cities around the world: Lyon (France), Chicago (United-States), Kolkata (India), and Singapore (Singapore). After reviewing Jacobs’ four conditions for diversity, we introduce the four cities and describe their historical development context. We then present a framework to study the cities along three dimensions: population and density, infrastructure development/use, and climate and landscape. These cities differ in many respects and their analysis is instructive for many other cities around the globe. Jacobs’ conditions are present in all of them, manifested in different ways and to varying degrees. Overall we find that the adoption of Jacobs' conditions seems to align well with concepts of low-carbon urban systems, with their focus on walkability, transit-oriented design, and more efficient land use (i.e., smaller unit sizes). Transportation sector emissions seems to demonstrate a stronger influence from the presence of Jacobs' conditions, while the link was less pronounced in the building sector. Kolkata, a low-income, developing world city, seems to possess many of Jacobs' conditions, while exhibiting low per capita emissions - maintaining both of these during its economic expansion will take careful consideration. Greenhouse gas mitigation, however, is inherently an in situ problem and the first task must therefore be to gain local knowledge of an area before developing strategies to lower its carbon footprint.

A comparison of greenhouse gas emissions in the residential sector of major Canadian cities

One of the most significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada is the buildings sector, with over 30% of national energy end-use occurring in buildings. Energy use must be addressed to reduce emissions from the buildings sector, as nearly 70% of all Canada’s energy used in the residential sector comes from fossil sources. An analysis of GHG emissions from the existing residential building stock for the year 2010 has been conducted for six Canadian cities with different climates and development histories: Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. Variation across these cities is seen in their 2010 GHG emissions, due to climate, characteristics of the building stock, and energy conversion technologies, with Halifax having the highest per capita emissions at 5.55 tCO2e/capita and Montreal having the lowest at 0.32 tCO2e/capita. The importance of the provincial electricity grid’s carbon intensity is emphasized, along with era of construction, occupancy, floor area, and climate. Approaches to achieving deep emissions reductions include innovative retrofit financing and city level residential energy conservation by-laws; each region should seek location-appropriate measures to reduce energy demand within its residential housing stock, as well as associated GHG emissions.

Scenarios of technology adoption towards low-carbon cities

Technological change has often been presented as a readily accepted means by which long-term greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions can be achieved. Cities are the future centers of economic growth, with the global population becoming predominantly urban; hence, increases or reductions of GHG emissions are tied to their energy strategies. This research examines the likelihood of a developed world city (the Greater Toronto Area) achieving an 80% reduction in GHG emissions through policy-enabled technological change. Emissions are examined from 3 major sources: light duty passenger vehicles, residential buildings and commercial/institutional buildings. Logistic diffusion curves are applied for the adoption of alternative vehicle technologies, building retrofits and high performance new building construction. This research devises high, low and business-as-usual estimates of future technological adoption and finds that even aggressive scenarios are not sufficient to achieve an 80% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050. This further highlights the challenges faced in maintaining a relatively stable climate. Urban policy makers must consider that the longer the lag before this transition occurs, the greater the share of GHG emissions mitigation that must addressed through behavioural change in order to meet the 2050 target, which likely poses greater political challenges.

Greenhouse gas emission scenario modeling for cities using the PURGE model

Cities globally are in the midst of taking action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. After the vital step of emissions quantification, strategies must be developed to detail how emissions reductions targets will be achieved. The Pathways to Urban Reductions in Greenhouse Gas Emissions (PURGE) model allows the estimation of emissions from four pertinent urban sectors: electricity generation, buildings, private transportation, and waste. Additionally, the carbon storage from urban and regional forests is modeled. An emissions scenario is examined for a case study of the greater Toronto, Ontario, Canada, area using data on current technology stocks and government projections for stock change. The scenario presented suggests that even with some aggressive targets for technological adoption (especially in the transportation sector), it will be difficult to achieve the less ambitious 2050 emissions reduction goals of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is largely attributable to the long life of the building stock and limitations of current retrofit practices. Additionally, demand reduction (through transportation mode shifting and building occupant behavior) will be an important component of future emissions cuts.

Cities reducing their greenhouse gas emissions

The study asks how well are cities doing in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Data from six cities with repeat GHG emission inventories for the period 2004–2009 is examined: Berlin, Boston, Greater Toronto, London, New York City and Seattle. All of the cities are reducing their per capita GHG emissions, primarily through changes to stationary combustion. On average the cities are reducing per capita emissions by 0.27 t CO2e/capita per year; this is about the same average rate as the cities nation states, although the cities are reducing emissions faster in percentage terms.

Interaction between BMI and APOE genotype is associated with changes in the plasma long-chain-PUFA response to a fish-oil supplement in healthy participants

BACKGROUND: Carriers of the apolipoprotein E ɛ4 (APOE4) allele are lower responders to a docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplement than are noncarriers. This effect could be exacerbated in overweight individuals because DHA metabolism changes according to body mass index (BMI; in kg/m²). OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the plasma fatty acid (FA) response to a DHA-rich supplement in APOE4 carriers and noncarriers consuming a high-saturated fat diet (HSF diet) and, in addition, evaluated whether being overweight changed this response. DESIGN: This study was part of the SATgenɛ trial. Forty-one APOE4 carriers and 41 noncarriers were prospectively recruited and consumed an HSF diet for 8-wk followed by 8 wk of consumption of an HSF diet with the addition of DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (HSF + DHA diet; 3.45 g DHA/d and 0.5 g EPA/d). Fasting plasma samples were collected at the end of each intervention diet. Plasma total lipids (TLs) were separated into free FAs, neutral lipids (NLs), and phospholipids by using solid-phase extraction, and FA profiles in each lipid class were quantified by using gas chromatography. RESULTS: Because the plasma FA response to the HSF + DHA diet was correlated with BMI in APOE4 carriers but not in noncarriers, the following 2 groups were formed according to the BMI median: low BMI (<25.5) and high BMI (≥25.5). In response to the HSF + DHA diet, there were significant BMI × genotype interactions for changes in plasma concentrations of arachidonic acid and DHA in phospholipids and TLs and of EPA in NLs and TLs (P ≤ 0.05). APOE4 carriers were lower plasma responders to the DHA supplement than were noncarriers but only in the high-BMI group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that apolipoprotein E genotype and BMI may be important variables that determine the plasma long-chain PUFA response to dietary fat manipulation. APOE4 carriers with BMI ≥25.5 may need higher intakes of DHA for cardiovascular or other health benefits than do noncarriers

Cocoa flavanol intake improves endothelial function and Framingham Risk Score in healthy men and women: a randomised, controlled, double-masked trial: the Flaviola Health Study

Cocoa flavanol (CF) intake improves endothelial function in patients with cardiovascular risk factors and disease. We investigated the effects of CF on surrogate markers of cardiovascular health in low risk, healthy, middle-aged individuals without history, signs or symptoms of CVD. In a 1-month, open-label, one-armed pilot study, bi-daily ingestion of 450 mg of CF led to a time-dependent increase in endothelial function (measured as flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD)) that plateaued after 2 weeks. Subsequently, in a randomised, controlled, double-masked, parallel-group dietary intervention trial (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01799005), 100 healthy, middle-aged (35–60 years) men and women consumed either the CF-containing drink (450 mg) or a nutrient-matched CF-free control bi-daily for 1 month. The primary end point was FMD. Secondary end points included plasma lipids and blood pressure, thus enabling the calculation of Framingham Risk Scores and pulse wave velocity. At 1 month, CF increased FMD over control by 1·2 % (95 % CI 1·0, 1·4 %). CF decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 4·4 mmHg (95 % CI 7·9, 0·9 mmHg) and 3·9 mmHg (95 % CI 6·7, 0·9 mmHg), pulse wave velocity by 0·4 m/s (95 % CI 0·8, 0·04 m/s), total cholesterol by 0·20 mmol/l (95 % CI 0·39, 0·01 mmol/l) and LDL-cholesterol by 0·17 mmol/l (95 % CI 0·32, 0·02 mmol/l), whereas HDL-cholesterol increased by 0·10 mmol/l (95 % CI 0·04, 0·17 mmol/l). By applying the Framingham Risk Score, CF predicted a significant lowering of 10-year risk for CHD, myocardial infarction, CVD, death from CHD and CVD. In healthy individuals, regular CF intake improved accredited cardiovascular surrogates of cardiovascular risk, demonstrating that dietary flavanols have the potential to maintain cardiovascular health even in low-risk subjects.

Resting-state functional connectivity following a single dose treatment with CB1 neutral antagonist tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCv) in healthy volunteers

BACKGROUND: The cannabinoid cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) neutral antagonist tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCv) has been suggested as a possible treatment for obesity, but without the depressogenic side-effects of inverse antagonists such as Rimonabant. However, how THCv might affect the resting state functional connectivity of the human brain is as yet unknown. METHOD: We examined the effects of a single 10mg oral dose of THCv and placebo in 20 healthy volunteers in a randomized, within-subject, double-blind design. Using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging and seed-based connectivity analyses, we selected the amygdala, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) as regions of interest. Mood and subjective experience were also measured before and after drug administration using self-report scales. RESULTS: Our results revealed, as expected, no significant differences in the subjective experience with a single dose of THCv. However, we found reduced resting state functional connectivity between the amygdala seed region and the default mode network and increased resting state functional connectivity between the amygdala seed region and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and between the dmPFC seed region and the inferior frontal gyrus/medial frontal gyrus. We also found a positive correlation under placebo for the amygdala-precuneus connectivity with the body mass index, although this correlation was not apparent under THCv. CONCLUSION: Our findings are the first to show that treatment with the CB1 neutral antagonist THCv decreases resting state functional connectivity in the default mode network and increases connectivity in the cognitive control network and dorsal visual stream network. This effect profile suggests possible therapeutic activity of THCv for obesity, where functional connectivity has been found to be altered in these regions.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems in cities: establishing the framework conditions

This study focuses on regional entrepreneurial ecosystems and offers a complex model of start-ups, Regional Entrepreneurship and Development Index (REDI) and six domains of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (culture, formal institutions, infrastructure and amenities, IT, Melting Pot and demand). Altogether they capture the contextual features of socioeconomic, institutional and information environment in cities. To explain variations in entrepreneurship in a cross-section of 70 European cities, we utilize exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling for regional systems of entrepreneurship using individual perception surveys by Eurostat and the REDI. This study supports policymakers and scholars in development of new policies conducive to regional systems of innovation and entrepreneurship and serves as a basis for future research on urban entrepreneurial ecosystems.