Formation, Economic Impacts, and Transformation of Industrial Cluster in Resource-based Cities - A Parallel Case Study of Yichun and Pittsburgh
(2024) EKHK18 20241Department of Economic History
- Abstract
- In the past decade, we have witnessed the rise of China's New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market, the expansion of NEVs has emphasized China's dependency on lithium resources, which reshaped the fortunes of Yichun, Jiangxi- a city with the name "the Lithium City of Asia." Along with Yichun's current prosperity under China's NEV market development, the question of how its Lithium-Battery New Energy (LBNE) cluster formed and shaped its economic developments and whether such clusters are resilient to economic shocks from a decline in demand and economic transitions has emerged. Historically, Pittsburgh has also developed a cluster within steelmaking, and its subsequent transition to a new economy while preserving its old strengths from the previous... (More)
- In the past decade, we have witnessed the rise of China's New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market, the expansion of NEVs has emphasized China's dependency on lithium resources, which reshaped the fortunes of Yichun, Jiangxi- a city with the name "the Lithium City of Asia." Along with Yichun's current prosperity under China's NEV market development, the question of how its Lithium-Battery New Energy (LBNE) cluster formed and shaped its economic developments and whether such clusters are resilient to economic shocks from a decline in demand and economic transitions has emerged. Historically, Pittsburgh has also developed a cluster within steelmaking, and its subsequent transition to a new economy while preserving its old strengths from the previous cluster has become a paradigm for us to study such economic dynamics.
This paper is conducted using a case study approach, qualitative data from previous studies and news articles are collected for analysis based on discussion and pattern-matching. By doing so, this paper approaches a bilateral aim: First, to evaluate whether Yichun's LBNE cluster contains all the necessities to fully benefit its economic development. Then, considering an economic transition and the sustaining of previous cluster strengths, does Yichun yet have all the capabilities to create new economic opportunities while building shock resilience for its LBNE cluster? To answer this question, the historical case of Pittsburgh has been taken into the study as a parallel to Yichun, which shows a path to achieve these factors that Yichun can potentially adopt.
This study suggests the role of a cluster's structure and dynamics in shaping its economic performance and then shows also how a resource-based city such as Yichun should take factors such as education institutions, innovation, and a well-educated and sustainable labor force into account to build resilience for its cluster to maintain. Among the results, I find that Yichun's LBNE/NEV cluster is not yet fully effective, and combined with the necessary conditions for economic transformation and building resilience, this paper emphasizes the role of factors such as higher education institutions in Yichun's developments. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9164502
- author
- Zhao, Kevin Weichu LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- EKHK18 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9164502
- date added to LUP
- 2024-07-03 07:06:56
- date last changed
- 2024-07-03 07:06:56
@misc{9164502,
abstract = {{In the past decade, we have witnessed the rise of China's New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market, the expansion of NEVs has emphasized China's dependency on lithium resources, which reshaped the fortunes of Yichun, Jiangxi- a city with the name "the Lithium City of Asia." Along with Yichun's current prosperity under China's NEV market development, the question of how its Lithium-Battery New Energy (LBNE) cluster formed and shaped its economic developments and whether such clusters are resilient to economic shocks from a decline in demand and economic transitions has emerged. Historically, Pittsburgh has also developed a cluster within steelmaking, and its subsequent transition to a new economy while preserving its old strengths from the previous cluster has become a paradigm for us to study such economic dynamics.
This paper is conducted using a case study approach, qualitative data from previous studies and news articles are collected for analysis based on discussion and pattern-matching. By doing so, this paper approaches a bilateral aim: First, to evaluate whether Yichun's LBNE cluster contains all the necessities to fully benefit its economic development. Then, considering an economic transition and the sustaining of previous cluster strengths, does Yichun yet have all the capabilities to create new economic opportunities while building shock resilience for its LBNE cluster? To answer this question, the historical case of Pittsburgh has been taken into the study as a parallel to Yichun, which shows a path to achieve these factors that Yichun can potentially adopt.
This study suggests the role of a cluster's structure and dynamics in shaping its economic performance and then shows also how a resource-based city such as Yichun should take factors such as education institutions, innovation, and a well-educated and sustainable labor force into account to build resilience for its cluster to maintain. Among the results, I find that Yichun's LBNE/NEV cluster is not yet fully effective, and combined with the necessary conditions for economic transformation and building resilience, this paper emphasizes the role of factors such as higher education institutions in Yichun's developments.}},
author = {{Zhao, Kevin Weichu}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Formation, Economic Impacts, and Transformation of Industrial Cluster in Resource-based Cities - A Parallel Case Study of Yichun and Pittsburgh}},
year = {{2024}},
}