The role of cultural amenities in cities for employment growth of industrial clusters: evidence from a panel VAR model

Abstract

ABSTRACT Industrial clusters are critical economic drivers of city growth, and this study suggests strategies for increasing employment in clusters experiencing a lack of employees. Cities have an important role in industrial clusters because they serve employees’ needs that industrial districts cannot provide for, yet this relationship has not received sufficient attention. Therefore, this study investigates the interrelationships between clusters and their city settlement characteristics, and specifically how the latter characteristics influence one another to lead to cluster employment growth. This study expands on ideas about the role of cultural amenities for industrial clusters that lack sufficient accessibility. It uses panel vector autoregressive methodology to investigate 706 industrial clusters and their 160 cities in South Korea over 10 consecutive years. Cultural amenities can act as a starting point linked to cluster employment growth, prompting the building of other amenities. They also influence the influx of additional facilities to cities, with their overall quality upgraded, resulting in regions with rich amenities. Highlights The impact of amenities on employment in industrial clusters is examined A panel vector autoregressive model is employed for the analysis Cultural amenities in cities attract workers to industrial clusters Cultural amenities lead to an increase in education, commerce, and services amenities Cultural amenities in industrial development plans improve the economic and social benefits