Spatial variations in the relationship between economic diversity and stability

Abstract

Using US county-level data, we explore how economic diversity influenced economic stability over the period of the Great Recession. We find that higher diversity is associated with greater stability, but there are distinct spatial patterns and the relationship does not hold for much of the central part of the US.

The Importance of Regional Export Development and a Specialised Local Supply Chain on the Development of Australia's Regions

“…Wren and Taylor (1999) found that all UK regions had increased in terms of their employment specialisation but that the regions tended to converge towards the national employment pattern. Deller and Watson (2016) attempted to provide an explanation for the variation in findings found in the literature. Deller and Watson (2016) attempted to provide an explanation for the variation in findings found in the literature.…”

“…Empirical analysis of regional employment specialisation and its impact on regional economies has been the subject of a number of studies world-wide (see for example Lilien, 1982;Wren & Taylor, 1999;Dissart, 2003;Izraeli & Murphy, 2003;Marelli, 2004;Shearmur & Pol ese, 2005;Belke & Heine, 2006;Mizuno et al, 2006;Robson, 2006Robson, , 2009Suedekum, 2006;Frenken et al, 2007;Deller & Watson, 2016) and a relatively smaller group of studies with a specific Australian orientation (see for example Bradley & Gans, 1998;Trendle, 2006;Beer & Clower, 2009;Dixon & Freebairn, 2009;Stimson et al, 2009 andHicks et al, 2014). Taken overall, the findings from these studies have lacked consistency.…”

“…Stimson et al (2009) found support for a link between employment specialisation in a region and in regional growth, though the effects could be variable. Deller and Watson (2016) attempted to provide an explanation for the variation in findings found in the literature. They suggested on the basis of their empirical work that differential results when testing for the impact of diversity may arise from data sets that exhibited substantial variation.…”

“…They suggested on the basis of their empirical work that differential results when testing for the impact of diversity may arise from data sets that exhibited substantial variation. Along with Deller and Watson (2016) a number of researchers have raised the issues of both data and method. Mack et al (2007), for example, considered a number of measurement issues.…”

Geographical scale, industrial diversity, and regional economic stability

“…The role of industrial diversity in regional economic development has been studied for a long time, with a recurrent interest in its relationship to regional economic stability (Conroy, ; Deller & Watson, ; Hong & Xiao, ; Jackson, ; Malizia & Ke, ; Trendle, ). This interest can be dated back as early as the Great Depression (McLaughlin, ; Tress, ), and it is hypothesized that the industrially diversified regions are associated with stable economic performance.…”