Agglomeration Advantages Research Articles

Internal versus external agglomeration advantages in investment location choice: The role of global cities’ international connectivity

Global location choices for foreign direct investments by MNCs aim to benefit both from the advantages of collocation with other activities of the firm (internal agglomeration) and the advantages of proximity to local industry clusters of similar activities (external agglomeration). We submit that there are important trade-offs between internal and external agglomeration because internal knowledge transfer associated with collocation of various value-chain activities of the MNC is confronted with greater risk of knowledge spillovers to rival firms if there is a substantial local cluster. Moreover, we argue that the international connectivity of a location reduces the importance of local agglomeration as a driver of investment location decisions because connectivity allows the MNC to reap benefits from agglomeration at a distance through the (temporary) transfer of people and knowledge. Connectivity changes the trade-offs between internal and external agglomeration because it enhances the spatial reach of internal agglomeration more than external agglomeration. The influence of connectivity is greater for service-related value-chain activities than for production-related activities. We find support for these hypotheses in an analysis of 38,873 greenfield cross-border investment decisions across diverse value-chain activities and industries in 71 global cities, 2008–2016.

How downtown multifunctionality is packaged is a key to its success

In the large downtowns in the US, the adaption rates and impacts of remote work have been strong and sparked efforts to make these districts far more multifunctional, especially by adding lots of new housing. While comparable city centres in Western Europe have not seen remote work have similar impacts on office occupancy, multifunctionalism has long been heralded as a factor that makes them strong. For example, it underpins their two key competitive advantages of dense agglomeration and the generation of many multipurpose trips. While multifunctionalism is a familiar concept and is often mentioned in relevant publications, there is amazingly little written about it theoretically, and little to no empirical research done on it. I took on that topic in a recent paper in which I noted that how downtown multifunctionality is ‘packaged’ in the physical containers in which the venues of these functions are activated, and how they physically relate to each other, are very often the key factors in determining whether efforts to make a downtown more multifunctional will succeed. I also argued that a function must have very magnetic destinations active in these containers. This paper focuses just on the topic of packaging functions and is an expansion of my prior analysis that covers much new ground.

Theoretical principles of the study of agglomeration factors of the investment attractiveness of communities

Understanding the specifics of agglomeration factors is not just an academic exercise, but a crucial step towards forming an attractive investment climate in communities. In the face of globalization and intensified interregional competition, this understanding is paramount. Theoretical comprehension of these processes is not a mere intellectual pursuit, but a necessary tool to identify and analyze the mechanisms through which agglomeration influences investment activity and the economic efficiency of communities. This, in turn, will provide practical recommendations for optimizing management decisions at the local and regional levels of government. The importance of this research is further underscored by the need for local communities to adapt to changing external conditions, identify potential growth points, and form development strategies based on internal innovative resources and agglomeration advantages. The aim of this article is to analyze the theoretical foundations of studying the agglomeration factors of the investment attractiveness of territorial communities, with a clear focus on its practical implications. The article analyzes the theoretical aspects of the interaction between agglomeration phenomena and investment activity, considering the impact of scale, level of concentration, and specialization of production processes on regional economic development. Theoretical approaches to analyzing agglomeration factors are proposed, investigating their impact on economic development and the ability to mobilize investment resources within a specific territorial unit. The development of infrastructure capabilities, initiation of innovative clusters, and support for entrepreneurial activities serve as the main directions for enhancing the investment attractiveness of agglomerations. However, it's important to note that the process of creating urban agglomerations is not a simple task. It's a long-term endeavor that provokes debates and represents a significant level of complexity. It is determined that thanks to the agglomeration effect, regional development becomes more logical, focusing on a variety of economic activities in territories optimal for their implementation. Analyzing the level of development of urban agglomerations allows for a more targeted approach to planning their further development strategies, but it's a task that requires a deep understanding of the complex dynamics at play. Keywords: investment attractiveness, socio-economic development, agglomerations, agglomeration factors, territorial communities.

How does Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry agglomeration affect carbon emission efficiency? Evidence from China.

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry takes on critical significance in promoting economic development and reducing carbon emissions. From the agglomeration perspective, how the ICT industry agglomeration affects carbon emission efficiency (CEE) in 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2020 is innovatively investigated. We measured CEE using a dynamic directional distance function-based DEA model. Then, based on the research hypotheses, the specific impact and transmission mechanism of ICT industrial agglomeration on CEE are revealed using a spatial Dubin model and a threshold panel model. The results show that: (1) the ICT industry agglomeration exerts a remarkable inverted "U-shaped" effect on CEE. This non-linear effect is significant in the eastern and central regions, but not in the western region. (2) ICT industry agglomeration can affect CEE in neighboring regions. The spatial spillover effect shows an inverted "U-shaped" in the central region, positive in the western region, and insignificant in the eastern region. (3) when green technology innovation exceeds the threshold value (4.948), ICT industry agglomeration positively affects CEE, and when energy structure exceeds the threshold value (0.389), their marginal effects are significantly negative. The threshold effect also shows regional heterogeneity. This research proposes policy recommendations focusing on accelerating the ICT industry transformation, leveraging the spillover and technological advantages of agglomeration, and enhancing regional cooperation.

Data-Driven Intelligent Platforms—Design of Self-Sovereign Data Trust Systems

Urban areas provide the seedbed conditions for a variety of agglomeration advantages, including incubator conditions for the ICT sector. This study aims to present the foundations for a data-driven digital architecture based on the notion of open access platform organisations (e.g., platform cities). The principles of coordinated multi-actor data handling and exchange mechanisms centre in particular on privacy and confidentiality regulations. These are highlighted and tested on the basis of the data exchange architecture in a particular Industry 4.0 sector, viz., the medical–pharmaceutical sector. To cope with these issues, self-sovereign data trust systems are designed and tested using an OpenDSU data environment. Several building blocks of this architecture are presented and assessed. The conclusion of this study is that OpenDSU technology offers promising departures for handling privacy-sensitive and confidential data exchange in open platform organisations, such as smart cities.

Which Industries Benefit More from the Agglomeration Effect?

This paper advances the literature on the relationship between geographical industry agglomeration and industry performance by revealing the industry variances in this relationship and by proposing industry characteristics that drive such variances. Using unique data of 28 consumer-facing industries over 1,496 commercial areas in Seoul, South Korea between 2014 and 2018, from which about half a million observations on the agglomeration–performance relationship was gathered, we found that such relationship is weakened in industries that provide high value products or tangible goods but is strengthened in industries that offer low value products or intangible services. Our findings enrich the industrial agglomeration literature by not only identifying those industries that benefit more from agglomeration but also providing a theoretical explanation on why these industries have more agglomeration advantages than others.

КЛЮЧЕВЫЕ ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКИЕ ПОДХОДЫ К ОБЪЯСНЕНИЮ СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОГО НЕРАВЕНСТВА ГОРОДОВ В ЗАРУБЕЖНЫХ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯХ

The article presents a structured review of foreign theoretical approaches to explaining the inequality of cities in terms of socio-economic development. The purpose of the article is to fill the lack of knowledge about these approaches in the Russian-language scientific literature, as well as to popularize their use in Russian urban studies. The article shows that the bulk of theories explaining the emergence and dynamics of inter-urban inequality have been developed only since the 1970s–90s. The evolution of theories of inter-urban inequality poorly corresponds with the general course of paradigm shift in geographical research: although there is an increase in attention to the consideration of human factors in later theoretical approaches (as in the humanistic paradigm in geography), they do not prevail over approaches based on economic theories and continue to develop along with the last ones. Several economic theoretical approaches of the XX century get a new reading in the studies of the 2000s and 2010s (the theory of allometric scaling of cities, the theory of agglomeration advantages, etc.). The newest theoretical approaches of the 2010s–20s, in comparison with ones of the 1990s–2000s, are characterized by a concentration of attention on a smaller number of more specific factors (for example, regulation of the housing market, the implementation of «smart city» elements), the assessment of which requires the expansion of the use of qualitative methods. There is no dominance of any of the invented theories – both old and new theories are used by foreign authors in modern studies of intercity inequality. The emergence of new approaches in the 2020s underlines that the theoretical framework of research in the field of inter-urban inequality still continues to develop.

Advantages of thermal industry cluster and application of particle swarm optimization model

This paper first analyzes that the waste heat before the flue gas of thermal power company enters the desulfurizationwer can be heated by the low pressure economizer, and then the heated condensate can be incorporated into the regenerative system, so as to recover the waste heat and improve the unit efficiency. In this paper, the possible lay-out scheme of the low pressure economizer in the thermal system is constructed firstly, and then the mathematical model of the equivalent enthalpy drop increment of the unit is established with the water partition coefficient as the independent variable. Particle swarm optimization and co-ordinate rotation are used to optimize the model, and the results show that particle swarm optimization is more effective in solving the problem. After the low pressure economizer is added to the unit, the heat consumption of the whole plant of the unit is reduced by 61.131, the unit efficiency is increased by 0.783%, and the coal consumption of the whole plant is reduced by 2.293. Finally, from the perspective of industrial agglomeration, industrial diversification and economic resilience, this paper analyzes the advantages of diversified agglomeration of thermal power companies.

Does urban spatial structure affect labour income? – research based on 97 cities in China

The purpose of the research is that: In the context of China’s rapid urbanisation in recent 20 years, to discuss about how the spatial structure elements such as the size of city, density, pattern and so on influence the staff’s remuneration. Research method: Using American ‘Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’ night-time light data and Land- Scan population distribution data, three urban distance indicators are calculated to quantify the city geometric shape and urban sprawl indices are measured in order to illustrate the urban spatial structure. China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data from household surveys are also used to investigate how the city shape affects individual wages with method Instrument Variable (IV). When individual characteristics are controlled, we find that a larger population size and a higher density are conducive to higher labour incomes due to agglomeration advantages, while a ‘worse’ city shape is significantly correlated with lower wages, suggesting that the city shape influences urban agglomeration and the mechanisms through TFP of firms prevails. Further discussion shows that urban density matters less for those working in the secondary sector, while the adverse effect of poor urban geometry can be alleviated in cities with a lower density and in those with a larger extension of highways per capita.

How to make cities the home of people – a ‘soul and body’ analysis of urban attractiveness

Cities – and, in general, urban agglomerations – have in recent years become foci of social science research and policy interest. Prominent attention has been given to agglomeration advantages, mobility patterns, urban decay, inequity problems, residents’ quality of life, safety and crime, labour and housing markets, public amenities, and urban planning issues. Less attention however, has been paid to the basic question: what makes the city a ‘real’ and attractive city? This question prompts essentially a research challenge on the ‘raison d’etre’ of cities, in particular on the residential satisfaction and quality-of-life motives of urban inhabitants. The present paper aims to pinpoint attractiveness characteristics of cities based on perceptions of urban quality by residents and their affinity with city life. This paper offers a micro-based (individual) assessment of motives and appreciations of citizens, in terms of their love for the city. A typological distinction will be made between the ‘soul’ of the city (its spirit, history, cultural identity, ambiance, social capital, etc.) and the ‘body’ of the city (its built environment, infrastructure, public amenities, supply of housing, green areas, etc.). The empirical analysis – applied to the four largest cities in Sweden (Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmoe and Umea) – will be undertaken in two steps: (i) an exploratory statistical analysis of the findings from an extensive micro-based survey questionnaire among inhabitants in these four urban agglomerations; (ii) an explanatory evaluation of the individual appreciation scores using a regression approach. Our results show that the ‘City Love Index’ is a useful construct that can be decomposed into ‘soul’ and ‘body’ aspects of the city. Our multivariate regression analysis demonstrates clearly that both factors matter. More detailed results suggest that it is the perceptions regarding the city’s ‘walkability’ and ‘vibrancy’, both part of the ‘soul’ of the city, that have a significant influence on the City Love Index - for all cities studied.

Churning in Rural and Urban Retail Markets

Using data on the universe of taxable retail sales, retail firm start-ups, and retail firm exits in Iowa from 1992 through 2011, we test whether patterns of retail firm entry and exit are consistent with churning. Consistent with churning, the same factors that increase retail sales in a local market also increase new retail firm entry and either increase or do not affect retail firm exit. Evidence suggests that there is more churning in urban than in rural markets. Similar evidence is found using a sample of national firm entry and exit into local markets. If churning increases productivity growth, then the greater churning rate in urban markets is another source of agglomeration advantages in thick markets.

Evolution of spatial structure patterns of city networks in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from the perspective of corporate pledge linkage

AbstractThe pledge of stock rights is a method for measuring the external horizontal connections of enterprises, which is more suitable to represent the city network compared with the vertical connections of enterprises. Meanwhile, it is greatly significant to express the relationships of regional spaces. The paper characterizes and explores the evolution of urban spatial structure with complex network research methods to enrich the relevant works on city networks in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2011 to 2017. The results are as follows: First, from 2011 to 2017, the pledge of stock rights among cities was enhanced significantly, and the trend of the city networks' characteristics become strengthened and more complicated. Second, cities in the Yangtze River Delta have relatively high connection values, however, cities in the western area are holding peripheral positions within the city network. Third, due to the advantages of economic agglomeration and radiation, the provincial capital have become the core nodes in the city network. Fourth, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanjing have dominant positions within city networks in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Particularly, Shanghai, as one of the leading financial centers in China, has a growing influence on other cities and gradually evolved into a regional growth pole city and the first core city.

Energy periphery: Uneven development and the precarious geographies of low-carbon transition

The paper introduces the concept of energy periphery to interrogate place-based perspectives on the co-production of uneven geographical development, energy vulnerabilities and low carbon transitions. Energy periphery is defined as places that are systematically disadvantaged through the whole energy system due to their inferior position within the asymmetrical spatial distribution of economic, political and symbolic resources and capabilities. Within an energy periphery, energy-related factors are combined with other place-based conditions to subject their communities to a compound and circular effect of precarious energy experiences. The notion of energy periphery is underpinned by insights from the spatial justice, core-periphery and energy justice theories. Using the case of Wales, the paper demonstrates the multi-dimensional and multi-scalar character of energy peripheralisation, including political underrepresentation, the absence of economic agglomeration advantages, and dependence on off-grid fuels, energy inefficient homes and other ‘backward’ technologies and practices. Social and spatial contingencies of energy vulnerability factors are outlined. Contrary to common discourses, energy transition further disadvantages energy peripheries and reproduces a fragmented socio-spatial landscape. The study overall demonstrates the importance of considering energo-socio-spatial relationships to better understand uneven energy transitions and social change more generally.

Development Trend of Laser Technology Application in the Information Field Toward 2035

Laser technology has been widely used in the field of information since it was invented and has promoted the rapid development of information technology, which has become the main driving force for the development of information technology. “Strategic Research on China’s Laser Technology and Its Application in Information by 2035” is a key sub-project of the major consulting project “Strategic Research on China’s Laser Technology and Its Application by 2035” launched by the Chinese Academy of Engineering. It aims to conduct a comprehensive research on the application of laser technology in the information field and on the development of related industries in China; analyze the development trend of laser technology in the information field; and propose suggestions to promote the development of the field. This paper introduces the major application of several laser technologies—optical communication, laser display, optical storage, and optical sensing—in the information field, and analyzes the research and development status of laser technology, the major key technologies, and the development of related industries in China and abroad. To promote the laser technology application in the information field, we suggest that China should establish key research directions and promote the development of core technologies; build an industrial innovation platform to improve technological innovation; lay emphasis on intellectual property protection and strengthen the training of high-end talents; guide the cooperation of government, industry, education, and research to promote achievement transformation; increase policy support and guide the healthy development of the industry; exploit the advantages of industrial agglomeration to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises.

The study of spatial concentration in the hotel industry : Focusing on the US case

It has been commonly observed that the hotel industry is not randomly or equally distributed, but rather is developed with concentration in certain geographical areas. In order to find out the reasons why the hotel industry is concentrated in a certain area or space, and what the conditions and characteristics that determine those occurrences, this paper studied the spatial concentration of the hotel industry in the USA by focusing on the theory of agglomeration and external economic related to the hotel industry, and uses the STR Hotel Census Data in USA to lay a spatial econometric model to identify regional characteristics that shape these patterns. The results showed that the hotel industry was developed by locating itself in regions where it can enjoy agglomeration benefits (i.e. securing basic demand, recruiting a flexible and skilled labor force, and fitting to a related variety as an urbanization economy, reducing customers’ information search cost), and because the hotel industry are demand sensitive industry so they are bound to locate themselves in a region where they can minimize business risk in demand but maximize business opportunities derived from spatial agglomeration advantages. This study suggested some significant implications to local government planners and policy makers, and stakeholders’ property investment decision-makers, such as local environments are of greatly important factors as much as the importance of micro level locational environment for new hotel development because they can evaluate their potential and opportunities to develop hotel industry in terms of urbanization economy and localization economy etc.

Evaluation of Land Intensive Use in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone

Free trade zones represent an important system innovation space to realize economic agglomeration advantages with high-level openings. However, its evaluation of land intensive use has not received enough attention. The goal of this paper is to build a land use performance evaluation index system in line with the development trend of industrial economy and the characteristics of mixed land use in the free trade zones. An evaluation index system is constructed based on the three factors of land use status, land use efficiency and pilot free trade zone influence. Using the Delphi method and the entropy method, an empirical evaluation of the intensive land use level in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone is conducted. The results show the following: (1) integrating new indicators such as the free trade zone influence, social and ecological benefits into the evaluation index system show a characteristic and innovative land use evaluation; (2) in terms of the level of intensive land use, the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone has the highest intensity, followed by the Yangshan Free Trade Port Zone, and the Pudong Airport Comprehensive Free Trade Zone has the lowest intensity; and (3) development time, degree of land use, differences in leading functions, industrial land structures, and the diversification of employment structures are important factors that influence the differences in the levels of intensive land use in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. This study also expands the performance evaluation of industrial land to the performance evaluation of construction land and provides references for industrial transformation and urban renewal of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Three-solvent spherical crystallization method with a model drug: Clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate

A novel three-solvent spherical crystallization method for producing monodisperse spherical particles with potential use in industry has been presented in this work. By combining the advantages of quasi-emulsion solvent diffusion (QESD) and spherical agglomeration (SA) method, the new approach adds another solvent as diffusion agent which can form a partially miscible zone with good and poor solvents in their phase diagram, changing the diffusion driving force into the transformation of composition point of solvent system from immiscible to miscible region in phase diagram of solvents system. This study presents a detailed process and characterization of obtained spheres in terms of size distribution and morphologies by using clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate (CHS) as a model drug. The effects of process parameters on spheres size and morphology are also investigated experimentally. The results show that particles of defined size and morphology can be prepared precisely by tuning the process conditions. Furthermore, the morphologies exhibit a continuous structural transition from polycrystalline to single crystal. This approach overcomes the shortage of QESD requiring large amount of poor solvent, and also breaks through the main difficulty of selecting suitable bridging liquid of SA method. Although CHS is used as model drug, this method is easily generalized to other drugs.

Creative actors and historical–cultural assets in urban regions

ABSTRACTThis paper examines whether the distribution of creative actors (firms and employees) among Dutch urban agglomerations is related to historically shaped culture heritage assets (cultural amenities and historical monuments). The concept of a creative–cultural complex is introduced to explore the synergy between urban amenities with a high cultural heritage value and their magnet function for firms and people. The paper offers a concise overview of the creativity–cultural heritage nexus, provides an operational framing of the research, and describes briefly the relative growth of the creative sector in urban labour market regions in the Netherlands. It addresses the spatial–economic profile of creative actors in four large urban agglomerations (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht), which have a wealth of cultural assets. The findings show a concentration trend of creative actors in these agglomerations. We then test the general proposition that differences in these spatial concentration patterns are inter alia related to differences in the local presence of cultural amenities and historical monuments in Dutch municipalities, combined with other moderator variables (urban size and agglomeration advantages). We develop a conceptual model and employ a regression analysis to test a correlation between creative actors and historical–cultural amenities at a local level. The paper concludes that local historical–cultural heritage may function as a pull factor that is positively correlated with the local creative economy. This leads to important policy lessons on creative–cultural complexes.

Effects of Informal Contracts on Innovative Cooperation among Enterprises in Industrial Clusters: An Evolutionary Game Analysis

Industrial cluster theory has important guiding significance for regional industrial development and industrial agglomeration advantages. Cooperation among enterprises is the corner stone of industrial clusters. The purpose of the paper is to explore the effects of cluster informal contracts on cluster enterprises and the behavior of external partners. Based on the dynamic evolutionary game theory, this paper constructs a model, which incorporates several main factors influencing the innovative cooperation among local and external cluster enterprises. By calculating the replicator dynamics equations and analyzing the evolutionary stable strategies, this paper discusses the evolution process of cooperation strategies of enterprises in different situation. Furthermore, by using MATLAB software to simulate the model, this paper verifies the accuracy and reliability of the game model. Results show that, in addition to the formal market contract, effective implementations of cluster informal contracts can reduce opportunistic behavior in innovative cooperation among internal and external enterprises. Meanwhile, we should pay attention to strengthen the external innovative cooperation, increase severity of penalties, enhance the credit network externality, and avoid the relevant risks. The paper enriches our understanding about how informal contracts can help promote and cultivate good cooperative order in innovative cooperation of clusters.

Logistics Space: A Literature Review from the Sustainability Perspective

The acceleration of economic globalization and integration has led to a dramatic increase in the flow of goods worldwide and changes in the spatial location of logistics facilities. The location of logistics facilities affects not only the cost and efficiency of cargo transportation activities, but also the rational allocation of logistics resources. Recently, the two major perspectives of logistics space research—cluster (the concentration of logistics facilities and functions in geography) and sprawl (movement of facilities from the urban core to peripheral places) have received extensive attention from academia and policy makers. The evolution of logistics space is influenced by land prices, traffic accessibility, market demand, agglomeration advantages and government policies. The purpose of this study is to present a literature review of logistics space, including data sources, research methods as well as research theories, and to study the impact of logistics space from the perspective of sustainable development. The research results provide some reference for logistics space researchers and logistics facility planners, and play a role in formulating new logistics development strategies and promoting the sustainable development of logistics.