Spatial Linkages, Concentration, Agglomeration Issues

• Agglomeration and Economic Development: Import Substitution vs Trade Liberalisation - This paper analyses a model of economic development in which international differences in industrial structure and income are caused by the agglomeration of industry in a subset of countries. Economic development may not be a gradual process of convergence by all countries, but instead involve countries moving sequentially from the group of poor countries to the group of rich countries. The role of trade policy in promoting industrialisation is studied. While both import substitution and unilateral trade liberalisation may be "successful" in attracting industry, they attract different sectors and welfare levels are higher under trade liberalisation.
• The Geography of Multi-speed Europe - Our paper looks at this question from the point of view of location of economic activities. Our objective is to use the tools of the new geography, in order to describe the possible impact of a multi-speed approach to integration on the location choice of industries and therefore on the long term geography of economic activities in Europe. We use a three-country model where two identical rich countries decide to integrate their economies and leave a third, poorer, country temporarily outside. The questions we ask are the following: if the concentration of economic activities in the core of Europe is a concern to policy makers, will a multi-speed approach help alleviate this problem or will it exacerbate it? Is the transition period, during which the poor country is excluded from the integrated area, necessary to avert massive relocation to the rich core until the income gap has sufficiently decreased? Or, on the contrary, will this transition period increase the risk of agglomeration in the rich countries of the core? The answers to these questions are important because they partially determine whether the integration of the outside countries (in particular the CEECs) should be conditioned on a decrease of the income gap or whether the imposition of such condition is perverse because the imposed transition period will generate agglomeration in the core, income divergence and therefore the indefinite postponement of complete integration.
• 'Synching' or Sinking: Trajectories and Strategies in Global Software Outsourcing Relationships - To increase the value and reduce the costs and risks of global software outsourcing, clients and developers are 'synching': building congruence along six identified 'COCPIT' dimensions (Coordination/control systems, Objectives and values, Capabilities, Processes, Information, and Technology). Case studies from a longitudinal research project identify practical synching strategies used by North American and European clients in their dealings with Indian sub-contractors. However, the cases also identify the limits to synching across physical and cultural distance. These limits - and the shocks to synching that occur over time ­ must be recognised and addressed if global software outsourcing is to succeed.
• Linkages, Multinationals, and Industrial Development - We survey the literature on the effect of multinational firms on the industrial development of host countries. We discuss how the concept of linkages developed by Hirschman (1958) has recently been formalized by Rodríguez-Clare (1996a), Markusen and Venables (1999), and Matouschek and Venables (1999). The recent modeling achievements are timely: the impact of flows of foreign direct investment to developing countries has become of heightened policy importance as these flows have increased rapidly during the past decade. We also discuss how empirical work on the magnitude of linkages could be fruitfully updated based on the recent theories. With a solid method of modeling in hand, empirical researchers can now address the effects of multinational activity on host economies with a sharper focus. We expect the resurgence of work in this area to continue to flourish.
• UNDP Port of Spain - Employment in Manufacturing Sector - The fundamental solution to poverty in Trinidad and Tobago is the creation of productive employment. It is in this context of employment generation and the consequent poverty-alleviating significance that the nature and evolution of linkages between manufacturing and other sectors of the economy are examined.
• Geographic Concentration and Political Mobilization: The Spatial Determinants of Collective Action in Trade Politics - Are geographically concentrated industries more politically active? From studies of Silicon Valley effects to corporate alliances and regional economic development, the spatial proximity of firms is argued to shed light on some of the most enduring puzzles in business and economics.
• Geographic Concentration In U.S. Manufacturing: Evidence From The U.S. Auto Supplier Industry - This paper investigates the issue of geographic concentration for the auto supplier industry by means of a large plant-level data set representing information for the year 1997.
• Entropy Based Measurement Of Geographic Concentration In U.S. Hog Production - Geographic concentration in the U.S. hog industry from 1982 to 1995 is investigated using an entropy based measure. Results indicate that geographic concentration is occurring to the greatest degree in Kansas, Missouri, and North Carolina. Hog production is also increasing in North Carolina, indicating the potential for increased environmental problems.
• Geographic Concentration as a Dynamic Process - The degree of geographic concentration of individual manufacturing industries in the U.S. has declined only slightly in the last twenty years. At the same time, new plant births, plant expansions, contractions and closures have shifted large quantities of employment across plants, firms, and locations. This paper uses data from the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Research Database to examine how relatively stable levels of geographic concentration emerge from this dynamic process.
• Agglomeration & Localization Literature

Go to Web Links Page

Go to UWO Geography Home Page