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This study concerns the optimal design of cycle tourist itineraries considering several classes of users. It builds upon a recent work which first introduced the problem of designing the most attractive itinerary for cycle tourists connecting a given origin to a given destination, subject to a budget and a time constraint. Starting from a network made of existing cycle-trails, gravel paths, and unsurfaced field roads, local administrators face the problem of selecting a budget-compliant set of edges to be reconditioned and turned into paved bike trails. Indeed, investing in enhancing cycle tourism infrastructures proved to be effective in fostering sustainable development but decision support tools are needed to support decision makers in optimizing scarce public resources spending. The key issue in this problem is the objective function, namely the route attractiveness. Each node and each edge of the network yields a reward each time it is traversed, related to the pleasure of cycling along it. Additional pleasure usually decreases when traversing the same edge or node one more time but it may still be positive. Therefore, the optimal route may contain cycles, which is a special feature of this problem. In previous studies attractiveness was computed on the basis of each point of interest located on the edges and at the nodes of the route, and the route maximizing total attractiveness was searched for. The focus was on the generalist cycle tourist, without thematic preferences. This study takes a more realistic view and proposes a model where different classes of cycle tourist are considered individually, each one with its own preferences, like the cultural oriented tourist, the gastronomic fan, or the one fond of wild life and nature. This new perspective yields a new network design problem in the field of vehicle routing problems with profits, generalizing the Orienteering Problem, that we call the multi-commodity orienteering problem with network design (MOP-ND): it consists of designing a set of itineraries, one for each user class, sharing the same origin and the same destination and potentially any edge of the network, so that each itinerary satisfies a maximum duration constraint and the cost of the whole infrastructure is budget compliant. The objective is to maximize the sum on all user classes of the attractiveness of the itinerary selected for that class. In this paper we provide a mathematical model for MOP-ND, test it on realistic data, and compare with the generalist model

Among the most effective actions to promote functional cycling, i.e., cycling as a mean of transport, infrastructure design and planning are major topics. Much less attention has been dedicated to the design and deployment of bikeways devoted to recreational cycling, despite the role of cycle routes in promoting cycle tourism, and the effectiveness of cycle tourism in fostering sustainable and environmentally friendly economic growth, in addition to encouraging healthy life styles. In this paper we contribute to fill this gap: we propose a quantitative based methodology for designing a cycle-tourist network infrastructure intended to provide local administrators with a quantitative based decision support tool to optimally exploit the scarce public funding devoted to the project deployment. We consider as a case study the data of the Trebon region, in South Bohemia. Given the local points of attractions and a set of potential links which can be turned into cycle pathways against a little investment in addition to a set of links already fit for cyclists, a network of cycle routes that interconnects a set of pre selected gates must be designed, so that the total link refurbishment cost is budget compliant and the attractiveness of cycle itineraries from gate to gate supported by the infrastructure is maximized.\ud \ud In previous studies we showed how to compute a resource-constrained optimal path from origin to destination, which maximizes a utility function related to the attractiveness of the arcs and nodes along the path. In a later work we generalized the problem to the case of multiple users with different utility functions that must share the same monetary budget. Building on these results, in this paper we propose a heuristic solution approach for the network design problem, where routes connecting several origin destination pairs have to be designed, yielding a connected infrastructure which allows for further itineraries. We exploit the ability of modern solvers to quickly find solutions to the single-pair single-user aforementioned case to generate a pool of promising paths from gate to gate, according to different preferences and constraints. In a second step, the network is built by solving a second combinatorial optimization problem which selects a path for each pair of gates from the pool, to yield a budget compliant connected infrastructure. Finally, a post optimization step deletes redundant links, if any.\ud \ud The solution approach is validated by an experimental campaign performed on realistic data for the Trebon zone, in Southern Bohemia

The paper reviews the state of the economic literature on the link between nancial development and growth. We rst examine the issue of measurement of nancial development and the debate on the direction of causality between nance and growth. Next, we extensively discuss the various channels through which the nancial sector can aect growth, including the increase in the eciency of capital allocation, the reduction in information costs, the improvement of risk management, and the support of innovation. The analysis is conducted referring both to the theoretical literature and to the most recent empirical ndings. We conclude by drawing lessons for the current debate on the reform of the nancial sector in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

This paper examines the importance of central bank communication in ensuring the effectiveness of monetary policy and in underpinning the credibility, accountability and legitimacy of independent central banks. It documents how communication has become a monetary policy tool in itself; one example of this being forward guidance, given its impact on inflation expectations, economic behaviour and inflation. The paper explains why and how consistent, clear and effective communication to expert and non-expert audiences is essential in an environment of an ever-increasing need by central banks to reach these audiences. Central banks must also meet the demand for more understandable information about policies and tools, while at the same time overcoming the challenge posed by the wider public's rational inattention. Since the European Central Bank was established, the communications landscape has changed dramatically and continues to evolve. This paper outlines how better communication, including greater engagement with the wider public, could help boost people's understanding of and trust in the Eurosystem.