Industrial Dynamics and Regional Structural Change : Geographical Perspectives on Economic Evolution
(2009) In Meddelande från Lunds universitets geografiska institution. Avhandlingar- Abstract
- This thesis investigates the process of economic transformation taking place in Sweden since the mid 1970s. Especially, it is concerned with how and why benefits that firms and industries draw from regional co-location with other actors (agglomeration externalities) vary over stages of economic transformation. Drawing on recent findings within the fields of evolutionary economics and evolutionary economic geography, the thesis has a cumulative design, where three different theoretical frameworks are used to structure the research.
First, building on the Technology Shift model, the industry (sector) level of structural change in Sweden from the 1970s is analyzed. Using uniquely detailed longitudinal time series on manufacturing... (More) - This thesis investigates the process of economic transformation taking place in Sweden since the mid 1970s. Especially, it is concerned with how and why benefits that firms and industries draw from regional co-location with other actors (agglomeration externalities) vary over stages of economic transformation. Drawing on recent findings within the fields of evolutionary economics and evolutionary economic geography, the thesis has a cumulative design, where three different theoretical frameworks are used to structure the research.
First, building on the Technology Shift model, the industry (sector) level of structural change in Sweden from the 1970s is analyzed. Using uniquely detailed longitudinal time series on manufacturing and producer service industries, a growth taxonomy of all industries belonging to the manufacturing related sector of the Swedish economy is created. Findings indicate that the spectacular growth of the Swedish manufacturing industries during the transformation phase of the technology shift has been primarily concentrated within a few industries under strong, arguably technology-related, transformation pressures. Moreover, the investigations show that the manufacturing related industries are in total as important as ever to the Swedish economy. We also map the regional patterns of this structural change process and find that the regional divergence process that characterized the Swedish economy during the 1990s was primarily fuelled by the strong growth of the leading industries in the Stockholm region. Other industries show very stabile relative location patterns.
Second, using the longitudinal time series with panel data estimations, we investigate how different kinds of agglomeration externalities impact industry performance over different stages of the industry life cycle. Overall, young industries tend to benefit from being located in diverse economic environments with a highly skilled work force. Mature industries, on the other hand, tend to thrive more in specialized low-cost locations.
Third, we investigate if the impacts of agglomeration externalities on plant survival vary over the production stages of plants. The findings indicate that diverse environments are beneficial to the survival of plants in early stages of their life. Moreover, the results suggest that rather than focusing on the benefits of pure specialization in a region, research should consider the value of a large presence of technologically related industries. The new way we use to measure this "relatedness" between industries opens up to a variety of research questions.
In sum, the results of the thesis emphasise the value of applying long-term theoretical perspectives to the study of regional economic transformation and agglomeration externalities. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract
I avhandlingen undersöks den ekonomiska omvandlingsprocess som skett i Sverige sedan mitten av 1970-talet. Av speciellt intresse är hur och varför de fördelar som företag och branscher åtnjuter på grund av samlokalisering med andra ekonomiska aktörer (så kallade agglomerationsexternaliteter) varierar över olika faser av ekonomisk omvandling. Avhandlingen baserar sig på de framsteg som gjorts inom evolutionär ekonomisk teori på senare år, och tre olika teoretiska ramverk används för att strukturera avhandlingens olika undersökningsdelar.
För det första undersöks strukturell förändring på branschnivå in Sverige från 1970-talet utifrån en ekonomhistorisk teknikskiftesmodell. Från unik longitudinell data... (More) - Popular Abstract
I avhandlingen undersöks den ekonomiska omvandlingsprocess som skett i Sverige sedan mitten av 1970-talet. Av speciellt intresse är hur och varför de fördelar som företag och branscher åtnjuter på grund av samlokalisering med andra ekonomiska aktörer (så kallade agglomerationsexternaliteter) varierar över olika faser av ekonomisk omvandling. Avhandlingen baserar sig på de framsteg som gjorts inom evolutionär ekonomisk teori på senare år, och tre olika teoretiska ramverk används för att strukturera avhandlingens olika undersökningsdelar.
För det första undersöks strukturell förändring på branschnivå in Sverige från 1970-talet utifrån en ekonomhistorisk teknikskiftesmodell. Från unik longitudinell data utformas en tillväxttaxonomi för de svenska branscher som tillhör den ”tillverkningsrelaterade” ekonomin. Resultaten indikerar att omvandlingsfasens starka tillväxt framför allt har varit koncentrerad till ett fåtal branscher under starka teknologiska omvandlingstryck. Dessutom visar resultaten att de industrirelaterade sektorerna i svensk ekonomi är minst lika betydelsefulla i slutet av undersökningsperioden som i dess början. Vi kartlägger också omvandlingens regionala mönster, och vi finner att den regionala divergensprocess som kännetecknar svensk ekonomi sedan 1990-talet framför allt drivs av ett fåtal branschers starka tillväxt i stockholmsregionen. De flesta övriga branscher uppvisar mycket stabila relativa lokaliseringsmönster.
För det andra använder vi tekniker för analys av paneldata för att mäta hur olika typer av agglomerationsexternaliteter påverkar branschmässig utveckling under den industriella livscykeln. I generella drag tenderar unga industrier att dra nytta av lokalisering i diversifierade regionala miljöer med tillgång till en högt kompetent arbetskraftspool. Mogna branscher, å andra sidan, förefaller dra mer nytta av lokalisering i specialiserade lågkostnadsregioner.
För det tredje undersöker vi hur agglomerationsexternaliteter påverkar arbetsställens överlevnad under olika stadier av arbetsställens utveckling. Resultaten pekar på att diversifierade regionala miljöer är positiva för arbetsställens överlevnad i tidiga faser av deras levnad. Dessutom framhäver vi värdet av att analysera påverkan av en stark regional närvaro av teknologiskt relaterade branscher på arbetsställens överlevnad. Vi använder en ny metod, kallad ”Revealed Relatedness”, för att mäta detta. Denna nya metod öppnar för en lång rad av nya forskningsfrågor.
Sammantaget demonstrerar avhandlingen värdet av att analysera långa tidsperioder för att förklara hur regional utveckling sker, och hur regional utveckling är sammankopplad med ekonomisk omvandling på olika nivåer. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1288766
- author
- Henning, Martin LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Associate Professor Winther, Lars, Department of Geography and Geology, Section of Geography, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- organization
- publishing date
- 2009
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- agglomeration externalities, industrial dynamics, Regional system, structural change, Sweden, industry life cycle, technology shift
- in
- Meddelande från Lunds universitets geografiska institution. Avhandlingar
- issue
- 181
- pages
- 304 pages
- publisher
- Lund University
- defense location
- Sal 111, Geocentrum 1, Sölvegatan 10, Lund
- defense date
- 2009-02-27 10:15:00
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:59849111490
- ISSN
- 0346-6787
- ISBN
- 978-91-976521-5-5
- project
- Technology Shifts and Regional Development - Economic Transformation in Time and Space
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- aa6497bd-a687-46c1-93fe-1d8dcc3ed876 (old id 1288766)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 09:37:44
- date last changed
- 2022-01-29 18:48:43
@phdthesis{aa6497bd-a687-46c1-93fe-1d8dcc3ed876,
abstract = {{This thesis investigates the process of economic transformation taking place in Sweden since the mid 1970s. Especially, it is concerned with how and why benefits that firms and industries draw from regional co-location with other actors (agglomeration externalities) vary over stages of economic transformation. Drawing on recent findings within the fields of evolutionary economics and evolutionary economic geography, the thesis has a cumulative design, where three different theoretical frameworks are used to structure the research. <br/><br>
First, building on the Technology Shift model, the industry (sector) level of structural change in Sweden from the 1970s is analyzed. Using uniquely detailed longitudinal time series on manufacturing and producer service industries, a growth taxonomy of all industries belonging to the manufacturing related sector of the Swedish economy is created. Findings indicate that the spectacular growth of the Swedish manufacturing industries during the transformation phase of the technology shift has been primarily concentrated within a few industries under strong, arguably technology-related, transformation pressures. Moreover, the investigations show that the manufacturing related industries are in total as important as ever to the Swedish economy. We also map the regional patterns of this structural change process and find that the regional divergence process that characterized the Swedish economy during the 1990s was primarily fuelled by the strong growth of the leading industries in the Stockholm region. Other industries show very stabile relative location patterns.<br/><br>
Second, using the longitudinal time series with panel data estimations, we investigate how different kinds of agglomeration externalities impact industry performance over different stages of the industry life cycle. Overall, young industries tend to benefit from being located in diverse economic environments with a highly skilled work force. Mature industries, on the other hand, tend to thrive more in specialized low-cost locations.<br/><br>
Third, we investigate if the impacts of agglomeration externalities on plant survival vary over the production stages of plants. The findings indicate that diverse environments are beneficial to the survival of plants in early stages of their life. Moreover, the results suggest that rather than focusing on the benefits of pure specialization in a region, research should consider the value of a large presence of technologically related industries. The new way we use to measure this "relatedness" between industries opens up to a variety of research questions.<br/><br>
In sum, the results of the thesis emphasise the value of applying long-term theoretical perspectives to the study of regional economic transformation and agglomeration externalities.}},
author = {{Henning, Martin}},
isbn = {{978-91-976521-5-5}},
issn = {{0346-6787}},
keywords = {{agglomeration externalities; industrial dynamics; Regional system; structural change; Sweden; industry life cycle; technology shift}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{181}},
publisher = {{Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Meddelande från Lunds universitets geografiska institution. Avhandlingar}},
title = {{Industrial Dynamics and Regional Structural Change : Geographical Perspectives on Economic Evolution}},
year = {{2009}},
}