Industrial specialization and economic performance: A case of Czech microregions

Abstract

An influential body of literature suggests that economic diversity rather than specialization fuels the economic performance of regions and nations. The authors argue that this hypothesis has no universal applicability and that a more differentiated view is needed. In particular, historical specificity of the local environment and structural characteristics of regional economies should be taken into account. They focus on the effects of industrial specialization on economic performance and the vulnerability of Central European post-communist regions, namely Czech microregions with less than 200,000 inhabitants. They examine whether the economic performance and vulnerability of these regions is fuelled rather by industrial specialization or diversity when controlling for other potential determinants of regional economic performance. Their findings show that the dependence of Czech regions on manufacturing correlates with higher economic performance but also with higher regional vulnerability. In addition, industrial specialization within manufacturing was found to be instrumental for the economic performance of regions with high dependence on manufacturing. With a decreasing share of employment in manufacturing, industrial diversity rather than specialization becomes more valuable for the economic performance of Czech regions.

Localised capabilities as an intermediating factor in the transition from an old to a new development path: The case of post-socialist industrial towns

“…It confirms that the post-socialist transition did not consist of rapid and total displacement of the old system by a new system, as sometimes simplistically portrayed in early neo-liberal interpretations. Rather it was comprised of complex processes of change, once earlier structures formed in the socialist and pre-socialist periods had become transformed: therefore, such a transition cannot be understood without a broader historical perspective, as these are structures of long-duration (Domański, 2011;Sýkora and Bouzarovski, 2012;Ženka et al, 2015;Květoň and Blažek, 2018). It seems that these complex patterns of change are valid at national, regional and local scales.…”

Unravelling urban advantages - A meta-analysis of agglomeration economies

“…Many models use sector fixed effects (see, e.g., Cunningham et al, 2016;Faberman and Freedman, 2016). Others control for sectoral shares (see, e.g., Ženka et al, 2015;Paredes, 2015). We adopt a broad definition, coding "yes" where models control for broad sectoral categories, such as the proportion of workers in service or manufacturing industries.…”

Regional specializationand geographic concentration: experiences from Slovak industry

“…Following many authors (Hallet 2000, Midelfart Knarvik et al 2003, Beaudry & Schiffauerova 2009, Ženka et al 2015, several points can be emphasized: The present paper will focus further on the transformation processes of Slovak industry between 1997 and 2007. The concepts used include geographic concentration and regional specialization applicable to spatial distribution, intensity and industrial activity structure.…”