Regional Studies

Coe, Neil M.; Lai, Karen P. Y.; Wójcik, Dariusz

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2014.886772pmid: N/A

Coe N. M., Lai K. P. Y. and Wójcik D. Integrating finance into global production networks, Regional Studies. While successful in its aim of ‘globalizing’ regional development, the global production network (GPN) approach has thus far paid less attention to the role of finance in the dynamics of the global economy and regional development. This lacuna is significant as finance is arguably even more globalized and networked than production. To address this gap the paper distils the concept of the global financial network (GFN) from financial geography and related scholarship, with advanced business services, world cities and offshore jurisdictions at the core. Interactions between the GPN and the GFN are discussed, focusing on the financing and financializing of GPNs and the co-evolution of globalization and financialization. Integrating finance into GPN research entails more than a simple extension of the approach; it would also enrich it conceptually, and enable it methodologically and empirically.

Fold, Niels

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2014.901498pmid: N/A

Fold N. Value chain dynamics, settlement trajectories and regional development, Regional Studies. Global value chain (GVC) analysis has little to say about the interaction between regions and global chain dynamics. However, recent calls to address broader development issues have resulted in efforts to incorporate a spatial dimension in GVC analysis. Addressing this issue, the paper argues that GVC analysis needs to be combined with the examination of livelihoods at settlement level. Livelihood diversification – or lack thereof – indicates particular settlement trajectories that constitute regional development pathways. It is also suggested that the understanding of how regions are shaped by value chain dynamics will improve by adding elements from global production network (GPN) theory to the combined methodology, namely by an examination of territorial embeddedness and value (creation, enhancement, capture, distribution) at settlement level.

Barrientos, Stephanie

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2013.878799pmid: N/A

Barrientos S. Gendered global production networks: analysis of cocoa–chocolate sourcing, Regional Studies. Gendered global production network analysis builds on global value chain and feminist political economy. It explores the interaction between commercial value chains and societal norms in which gendered patterns of consumption and production are embedded across diverse societies. The cocoa–chocolate value chain is examined linking Europe and cocoa-growing regions in Ghana and India. Women consumers ascribe to ‘quality’ chocolate, yet women's contribution to quality cocoa production is poorly remunerated, enhancing value capture by chocolate companies. Contested gendered power asymmetries and societal ‘re-embedding’ could potentially contribute to economic and social upgrading of women farmers and workers, enhancing future quality cocoa sourcing.

Dawson, Chris; Henley, Andrew; Latreille, Paul

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2012.697140pmid: N/A

Dawson C., Henley A. and Latreille P. Individual motives for choosing self-employment in the UK: does region matter?, Regional Studies. Regional entrepreneurship policy is often framed in terms of spatial shortcomings in entrepreneurial culture. However, differences in why individuals choose self-employment may reflect structure rather than culture. This paper investigates UK data for 1999–2001 on the reported motives for choosing self-employment. After controlling for individual characteristics and industrial structure, some regional differences persist. These are largely for men and are quantitatively small. Northern Ireland stands out, reflecting the different composition of its self-employed. Conclusions for the emphasis of regional policy and further research are discussed.

Koh, Hyun-Ju; Riedel, Nadine

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2012.677024pmid: N/A

Koh H.-J. and Riedel N. Assessing the localization pattern of German manufacturing and service industries: a distance-based approach, Regional Studies. This paper assesses the agglomeration pattern of four-digit industries in Germany using a rich data set on the population of German firms. To identify geographical agglomeration, the distance-based approach of Duranton and Overman of 2005 is followed. It is found that the location pattern of 71% of the manufacturing industries departs from randomness in the sense that plants exhibit significant geographical localization. In line with previous studies for the United Kingdom and France, the analysis suggests that especially traditional manufacturing industries exhibit strong localization patterns. Moreover, it is found that geographical localization is not restricted to the manufacturing sector, but that it plays an equally important role for service industries.

Lerbs, Oliver W.; Oberst, Christian A.

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2012.685464pmid: N/A

Lerbs O. W. and Oberst C. A. Explaining the spatial variation in homeownership rates: results for German regions, Regional Studies. This paper employs cross-sectional data on ninety-six German regions to investigate the interregional variability of homeownership rates. Among the explanatory variables, the analysis includes important regional housing market indicators as well as regional socio-demographic composition, urbanization and labour market performance. An estimation strategy is chosen which accounts for different forms of spatial dependence between the regional units. It is found that regional differences in the relative price of owning versus renting and the affordability of owner-occupied housing play a key role in explaining why homeownership rates vary so substantially across the country. The results indicate significant neighbourhood effects for several variables.

Pijnenburg, Katharina; Kholodilin, Konstantin A.

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2012.697143pmid: N/A

Pijnenburg K. and Kholodilin K. A. Do regions with entrepreneurial neighbours perform better? A spatial econometric approach for German regions, Regional Studies. A Neoclassical production function is used to analyse the effects of knowledge spillovers via entrepreneurship on economic performance of 337 German districts. To take the spatial dependence structure of the data into account, a spatial Durbin model was estimated. The importance of the choice of the appropriate weight matrix is highlighted. Positive knowledge spillover effects via entrepreneurship and competitiveness – improving the effects of entrepreneurship capital within a certain region as well as between regions – are found. However, the significance of the spatial spillover effects largely depends on the choice of the weight matrix. This is seen as evidence that positive and negative spatial spillover effects of entrepreneurship capital cancel out.

Crocco, Marco; Faria-Silva, Fernanda; Paulo-Rezende, Luiz; Rodríguez-Fuentes, Carlos J.

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2012.697141pmid: N/A

Crocco M., Faria-Silva F., Paulo-Rezende L. and Rodríguez-Fuentes C. J. Banks and regional development: an empirical analysis on the determinants of credit availability in Brazilian regions, Regional Studies. This paper studies the influence that liquidity preference and bank lending strategies might have played in the determination of bank credit availability in Brazilian regions during the period 1999–2008. It puts forward the argument that in remoter and less developed regions, the liquidity preference of agents is higher and fluctuates along business cycles, reducing regional credit availability in downturns (due to both a contraction in supply and the demand for credit in remoter regions), and producing a more unstable pattern for credit availability alongside business cycles. Empirical evidence for the Brazilian regions during the period 1999–2008 is provided to support this view.

Abrate, Graziano; Erbetta, Fabrizio; Fraquelli, Giovanni; Vannoni, Davide

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2012.689425pmid: N/A

Abrate G., Erbetta F., Fraquelli G. and Vannoni D. The costs of disposal and recycling: an application to Italian municipal solid waste services, Regional Studies. The paper investigates the costs of waste disposal and recycling services by using a well-behaved Composite cost function model. The estimates on a unique sample of more than 500 Italian municipalities highlight that the refuse collection technology exhibits constant returns to scale as well as scope economies between disposal and recycling. As far as the size of the municipality increases, scope economies rise up to 20%, but they are accompanied by overall diseconomies of scale. The findings suggest that, on the one hand, joint management of disposal and recycling should be encouraged and, on the other hand, that strategies aimed at increasing the share of waste sent for recycling would not imply a considerable increase in total costs.

Lee, In Hyeock; Hong, Eunsuk; Sun, Laixiang

doi: 10.1080/00343404.2012.690067pmid: N/A

Lee I. H., Hong E. and Sun L. Inward foreign direct investment and domestic entrepreneurship: a regional analysis of new firm creation in Korea, Regional Studies. This paper assesses the intra- and inter-regional impacts of inward foreign direct investment on the decisions of establishing new firms in a given location by prospective local entrepreneurs, an important topic which has been largely neglected in the literature. Using a large firm-level dataset of 44 434 newly created small firms in 234 regions of South Korea in 2000–2004, the econometric estimations indicate that both intra- and inter-regional foreign direct investment spillovers influence entrepreneurs' decisions to situate new firms in a specific region, with inverted ‘U’-shaped curvilinear effects. The findings also suggest that the effect of regional foreign direct investment spillover on new firm creation is largely a localized phenomenon.