Abstract
The central question in this study concerns the way in which the state intervention is strong enough to reverse the tide of regional uneven development that has been intentionally created by the state. To answer the question, we conduct a case study of the Innovation Cities in South Korea. We use the K-means Cluster Analysis and a Two-way Analysis of Variance with well-defined three indices on regional economic competitiveness. The results reveal that the development of Innovation Cities does not have a desirable impact on converging the regional disparity between core and periphery regions. At best, the regional gap has not widened. The outcomes also imply that the trickle-down effects have not been observed during the time-period of study. The findings suggest that policymakers carefully consider diverse full-factors toward periphery regions with consideration of the regional heterogeneity rather than focusing on the homogeneous approach.
Highlights
Decades of research on regional economic development have demonstrated that, in many cases, the cumulative acquisition or deprivation of regional wealth, power, and capabilities has led to regional uneven development over a long period (Cojanu, 2008)
We use a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the Post-hoc comparison of least square means to determine if the categorization of regions and periods affects the average figures of the index
We use a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the Ward Hierarchical Cluster Analysis by using well-defined three indices on regional economic competitiveness
Summary
Decades of research on regional economic development have demonstrated that, in many cases, the cumulative acquisition or deprivation of regional wealth, power, and capabilities has led to regional uneven development over a long period (Cojanu, 2008). The administration intended to employ the growth center-oriented approaches; that is, the Innovation Cities can create innovation clusters in underdeveloped provinces (periphery regions) with interactive cooperation between firms, educational institutions, and research centers, and the clusters are expected to have a positive spillover effect on the periphery regions (Seo, 2009). In this context, this paper attempts to explore whether the development of Innovation Cities has been effective to distribute economic capabilities toward periphery regions and improve their regional competitiveness. This paper contributes to existing knowledge by presenting an interesting case study that show the effectiveness of the large new town development project to develop self-sufficient localization with regional economic competitiveness in periphery regions and reverse a self-reinforcing feedback structure through the state intervention
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