Abstract
We analyze the spatio-temporal agglomeration dynamics that occurred in the Italian manufacturing industry during the recent period of the Great Recession. To study this phenomenon, we employ three different statistical methods—namely, Ellison and Glaeser’s index of industrial geographic concentration, the spatial K-function, and the space–time K-function—, and rely on a large sample of geo-referenced, single-plant manufacturing firms observed over the period 2007–2012. First, we demonstrate that different statistical techniques can lead to (very) different results. Second, we find that most Italian manufacturing sectors experienced spatial dispersion processes during the period of the Great Recession. Finally, we show that space–time dispersion processes occurred at small spatial distances and short time horizon, although we do not detect statistically significant space–time interactions.
Highlights
The spatial agglomeration of economic activities is a key feature of the economic geography of many countries, regions, and clusters (Porter 1990)
We find that most Italian manufacturing sectors experienced spatial dispersion processes during the period of the Great Recession
The aim of this paper is to investigate the agglomeration dynamics that has characterized the Italian manufacturing industry during the period of the Great Recession
Summary
The spatial agglomeration of economic activities is a key feature of the economic geography of many countries, regions, and clusters (Porter 1990). Both the rate at which firms’ birth and death take place and their spatial location can have effects on the geographic concentration of economic activities, and on the intensity of clustering processes (Devereux et al 2004) This implies that spatial agglomeration cannot be investigated as a static phenomenon, given its intrinsic dynamic nature, such that the temporal dimension of agglomeration—the so-called time clustering—cannot be ignored.
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