Territorial Reproduction and Transformation in a Local Labor Market; The Animated Film Workers of Los Angeles

Abstract

The paper opens with a brief account of the economic and technical characteristics of the animated film industry, The specifications of a questionnaire survey of the animated film workers of Los Angeles are outlined, and some initial statistical summaries highlighted. The geographical outlines of the local labor market for animated film workers are described, An attempt is then made to analyze the observed spatial patterns by means of standard gravity-entropy equations, It is demonstrated that there is a trade-off between commuting distances and wage rates in this labor market. The relations between labor turnover, employment, and location are examined, and it is hypothesized that there is a positive correlation between high turnover rates and the geographical agglomeration of employment places. The politico-geographical consequences of these manifold relations are examined. It is indicated that animated film studios are in practice engaging in strategies of the redeployment of production capabilities and this is leading to a marked transformation of the local labor market. In the final section of the paper an attempt is made to distill the lessons of the analysis in terms of a suggested theory of territorial reproduction and transformation.