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In this paper a desertification risk index (DRI) based on the integration of climatic data and the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), obtained from National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration advance very high‐resolution radiometer (NOAA‐AVHRR) images, is discussed at the light of the aridity index and some eco‐physiological parameters. The good correlation between DRI, the aridity index and the eco‐physiological parameters suggests that DRI could be useful to measure the desertification risk. One advantage of DRI is that, with the help of a geographic information system (GIS), DRI maps can be easily obtained in short time and at relatively low costs.

To investigate whether the desertification risk index (DRI) which was originally developed for the coastal area of Turkey in a previous work, could be used as an effective desertification indicator in other Mediterranean areas such as the Lebanon.

The calculation of the DRI is based on the use of climatic factors and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). As a result, climatic data were obtained and spatial interpolation techniques were applied to derive temperature and precipitation maps within a GIS environment while the NDVI was derived from satellite imagery. Spatial models were employed in order to produce the DRI map of Lebanon. Geographical analysis and standard statistical techniques were employed to investigate the relationships between: desertification risk and two topographic factors, namely, elevation and distance from the sea and desertification risk and the type of land cover. The accuracy of the index was assessed by comparison with recently published official maps and documents.

The paper demonstrates the efficiency of a desertification index to identify areas at risk. The DRI map proved to be accurate when compared to the map of desertification prone areas recently produced by the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture. The areas with the highest degree of desertification risk are located in the North‐Eastern part of the country, in the area of the Bekaa Valley. This is in agreement with the reports of the United Nations Convention for combating desertification. A strong correlation was found between desertification risk and distance from the sea (the larger the distance the higher the risk) while shrubland appears to be the land cover type with the highest risk of desertification.

This research work demonstrates how satellite imagery and modern spatial analysis techniques could provide an essential alternative to traditional methods.

The purpose of this paper is to valorize the contribution of the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) method in the evaluation of the prevention measures of forest fires.

The suggested approach is based on the economic analysis of the forest fires’ risks using the CBA which has become inevitable in risk analysis’ domain.

The suggested approach shows the interest of the CBA method in the sense that each reduction measure of the forest fires’ risk eliminates the potential damages and, therefore, it is likely to generate benefits for the company in terms of avoided damages on the territory that is concerned by these measures.

It consists in comparing on time, the benefit generated by a reduction measure of a forest fires’ risk and its implementation cost. This comparison gives an important focus on the economic relevance of such a reduction measure of forest fires’ risk.

The question is to highlight the importance of both: the investment in terms of forest fires and the allocation of this investment on various preventive measures of forest fires.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an application of spatial decision support system tools (SDSS) for assessing management option to reduce the nitrogen load from agricultural sources. The SDSS has been developed within a case study for the drainage basin of the Grado and Marano Lagoon (N‐E Italy). Design/methodology/approach – The problem is at least partially solvable replacing some actual cash crops with alternative crops requiring lower nitrogen input but which are economically profitable. The decision support was designed with two components: a non‐spatial one (DSS) to support the choice among alternative crops (within different scenarios), and a spatial one (SDSS) to analyse and evaluate the spatial distribution of the cash crops finding suitable areas for the alternative crops. Findings – The use of alternative crops for reducing nitrogen loads to the Grado and Marano lagoon waters seems feasible and appropriate. A mosaic of poplar, grassland and cash crop areas in these areas of the pollution risk is the best alternative both in terms of total nitrogen reduction and in terms of farmers' income. Research limitations/implications – The paper proposes a SDSS to implement alternative crops in an area where the cash crops constitute a very strong consolidated agricultural system. The feasibility of the alternatives is dependent on the willingness of farmers to participate in the research and then to exploit its results. The availability of data only at municipal level limited the research, thus imposing a spatial resolution constraint. Originality/value – It is so far the first attempt, in Friuli Venezia Giulia region, to develop a spatial decision support system to mitigate the pollution of a lagoon from agricultural sources by trying to find suitable alternatives to well consolidated agricultural practices. It also constitutes a model that can be applied in similar contexts by coupling ecological and economic considerations.

Drought stress can be considered as a dominant factor contributing to degradation of Mediterranean drylands. Therefore, there is a strong need to monitoring the level of water stress suffered by vegetation in the view of relating it to desertification risk of selected areas. In the present paper, some techniques for measuring and quantifying plant water stress are briefly reviewed and the advantages of using the pressure chamber technique to measure leaf water potential (Ψ_L) are highlighted. A new index (water stress impact on vegetation (WSIV)), based on the integral of the diurnal changes of Ψ_L, is proposed and its effectiveness for quantifying the amount of water stress suffered by vegetation is discussed on the basis of measurements performed in degraded areas of Turkey and Lebanon. The usefulness of WSIV as an ecophysiological tool for assessing the desertification risk of Mediterranean drylands is also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse aspects of technological change in rice agriculture, related to adoption of the Green Revolution (GR) in Indonesia. Rice production is selected in this study because it plays an important role in the development of Indonesian economy. Particular attention is paid to the use of agrochemicals that has potentials of contaminating the environment.

The paper uses an econometric model to investigate the impact of different technologies and policies related to rice production. Production function technology that enables non-neutrality of input use is the underlying concept of this paper. Types of land and transformation in policies related to rice production were accounted for to determine biased technological change. National-wide data were compiled from the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics.

The results show that rice agriculture underwent technological progress with biased technological change. The technological change was capital- and labour-saving, and agrochemical-augmenting. Production system in wetland led to technological change less capital- and labour-intensive, whilst the GR led to technological change more labour-saving and more agrochemical-augmenting.

This study only pays attention to environmentally detrimental inputs as a cause of externalities. This is a not full representation of real environmental consequences. In some studies on environmental degradation associated with intensive agricultural practices, however, there are other factors that can degrade the environment, such as soil erosion and soil compaction resulting from certain agricultural practices, and deforestation resulting from agricultural expansion. These are also important environmental impacts. The author expects that these factors are interesting and challenging subjects to be modelled in future research on sustainability of agricultural productivity growth, both theoretically and empirically.

Increase in use of agrochemicals was strongly GR linked. Moving from the GR towards more environmentally friendly policy was a wise step to reach sustainable rice production. After the GR, an act that removed pesticide subsidies and disseminated environmentally friendly technology, called integrated pest management was able to reduce the intensity of agrochemical use in rice agriculture. Further actions to support environmentally friendly policy could be the use of bio-agents such as bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides. Enhancing farmers’ knowledge on the environmental issues and engaging farmers as a part of agro-ecosystem would synergise the actions.

This study uses the concept of biased technological change, estimated econometrically using national-level data. The production function used in this analysis enables non-neutrality of agrochemical use. When the result significantly shows the agrochemical-augmenting technological change, it is a convincing evidence, not just by accident, that the GR really led to environmental problem.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of macroeconomic condition and real estate price trend on the amount of residential loan.

The paper using a sample of 16 European Countries for the time period 2007–2015 evaluates the impact of change in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth and the inflation rate on the amount of residential loans. The analysis is performed by using a vector autoregressive (VAR) and generalized VAR approach for the full sample and for each country considered.

For a short-term horizon, shocks to mortgages, the house price index (HPI) and the GDP have a positive effect on the GDP, a shock to the amount of mortgages has a positive effect on the mortgage supply and a shock to the GDP has a negative effect on HPI. The main results for the long-term horizon are that a GDP shock has a positive and persistent effect on the amount of mortgages, a shock to HPI has a negative and persistent effect on mortgages and a shock to the amount of mortgages seems to have no persistent effect on the GDP or the HPI. Moreover, the analysis shows that a spillover risk among countries exists and a GDP shock in a European area has an effect on the GDP, real estate prices and residential mortgages in almost all European countries.

Results obtained show that both macroeconomic and housing prices shocks matter for the real estate lending and the effect are different in the short- and in the medium–long-term horizon. Results are also different country by country and they are affected by the level of financial development of the country.

The paper studies a lending crisis period and evaluates for the European market the impact of shock on macro-variables for mortgages focusing the attention for the first time only on residential mortgages.

This study illustrates the economic and financial dynamics of the sector, analysing the evolution of the main ratios of profitability and financial structure of 1,559 Italian real estate companies divided into the three macro-regions: North, Centre and South, in the period 2011–2020. In this way, it is also possible to verify the responsiveness to the 2020 pandemic crisis.

The analysis uses descriptive statistics tools and the ANOVA method of analysis of variance, supplemented by the Tukey–Kramer test, to identify significant differences between the three Italian macro-regions.

The study shows the increase in profitability after the 2008 crisis, despite its reverberation in the years 2012–2013. The financial structure of companies improved almost everywhere. The pandemic had modest effects on performance.

In the future, other indices should be considered to gain a more comprehensive view. This is a quantitative study based on financial statements data that neglects other important economic and social factors.

Public policies could use this study for better interventions to support the sector. In addition, internal management can compare their company's performance with the industry average to identify possible improvements.

The research analyses an economic field that employs a large number of people, especially when considering the construction and real estate services covered by this analysis.

The study contributes to the literature by providing a quantitative analysis of industry dynamics, with comparative information that can be deduced from financial statements over the years.

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.