Spatial structure in a shift-share decomposition: new results for the Italian industrial districts case

Abstract

In a previous work, a spatial shift-share model was proposed. That model took into account both the activity information of the territory and the legal status of the enterprises working inside it. The model presented, which had a twofold form, developed and came together into a unique formulation. The present proposal is able to suitably catch the neighborhood’s effect on the variation of an economical variable measured on the examined territory. This paper does not intend to repropose the aspects regarding the theoretical evolution of the first model. Instead, the principal goal is to make a comparison ceteris paribus between the results obtained with the new model and those reached through the application of the previous one, so to highlight the role of the association between the two factors included inside the decomposition. Italian industrial districts represent the economical context for this application since each model proposed is applicable to each district case without modifying the theoretical structure which is related, to the neighborhood definition. The application proposed here focuses on data on the chair industrial district located in the border region Friuli Venezia Giulia, with reference to the entire period 2000–2004.