Seoul Capital Area Research Articles

2346-PUB: Clinical Characteristics of SGLT2 Inhibitor User in Type 2 Diabetes with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease or Heart Failure in a Real-World Setting

The treatment approach to type 2 diabetes (T2D) should begin with an assessment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) should be considered in T2D with established ASCVD or heart failure (HF). In this study, we analyzed the prescription patterns of ant-diabetic treatment in T2D with ASCVD or HF in real-world clinical practice. During 1-year period (2018), we reviewed 1553 consecutive T2D patients with ASCVD or HF visiting an endocrinology outpatient clinic from four teaching hospitals in Seoul Capital Area after excluding patients aged ≥85 years or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≤30 ml/min/1.73m2. Mean age was 65 years, duration of diabetes 11 years, and duration of ASCVD 7 years; HbA1C 7.5%, eGFR 80 ml/min/1.73m2, and body mass index (BMI) 25.6 kg/m2. ASCVD characteristics were stroke 27%, coronary artery disease (CAD) 59%, stroke+CAD 5%, peripheral arterial occlusive disease 1%, and heart failure 8%. Over four years, the initiation of SGLT2i has increased (2015=9% vs. 2018=42%). Compared with SGLT2i non-users (80%, n=1249), SGLT2i users (20%, n=304) tended to be younger (60 vs. 67) and with significantly lower stroke (16% vs. 30%). They also had higher BMI (27 vs. 25), worse HbA1C levels (8.1 vs. 7.4), and higher eGFR (88 vs. 78). Non-users with HbA1C 8 ∼9% (n=245) who might be eligible for switching to SGLT2i showed a longer duration of diabetes (14 vs. 11 years) or ASCVD (7.4 vs. 6.5 years) compared to users. The most common prescription pattern in non-users was triple oral glucose-lowering drugs (OGLD) followed by dual OGLD while in users, dual OGLD followed by triple OGLD. Interestingly, 0.5% were on GLP-1RA in this study. In contrast to clinical guidelines, a small proportion of T2D with ASCVD or HF is currently treated with SGLT2i in real-world clinical practice. The limiting factors for failing to initiate SGLT2i are age, stoke, eGFR, and clinical inertia. Disclosure S. Jeong: None. I. Park: None. S. Lee: None. D. Shin: None. K. Kim: None.

Potential of Urban Land Use by Autonomous Vehicles: Analyzing Land Use Potential in Seoul Capital Area of Korea

This paper simulates land use changes at a point in time when autonomous vehicles are widespread. If autonomous vehicles become the main means of transportation in the future, people can pass their time on the road by reading, eating, and interacting with friends. People will no longer have the burden of having to drive, and this will change people's perception of travel time. In addition, this will have an impact on people's choice of residence. Previous studies have already argued that if autonomous vehicles become commonplace, the city will become suburbanized. However, previous studies have not presented specific models or figures about such future cities. Therefore, this paper seeks to suggest specific models of land use change when autonomous vehicles are dominant through the cellular automata method. For land use, residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, social, public, and green areas are considered, and accessibility, land price, accessibility to green spaces, and neighborhood effects are selected as land use change factors. Simulations based on the scenarios presented in this paper by Heinrichs show two representative results. First, most agricultural areas will decrease, and residential and commercial areas in Gyeonggi province will expand. Second, most land usage will change to residential land use, and only the central commercial area in Seoul will remain. This result can serve as a guideline for urban planning when autonomous vehicles become the main means of transportation. Furthermore, this paper could be helpful for the development of regulations and policy enforcement around autonomous vehicles.

Impact of climate change on the persistent turbidity issue of a large dam reservoir in the temperate monsoon region

Long-term discharge of turbid water from reservoirs after flood events is a major socioenvironmental problem in many countries, including Korea. This study used a suite of mathematical models to simulate the fate of turbidity flows in the Soyanggang Reservoir in Korea, an important source of drinking water for the Seoul Capital Area, in response to extreme floods based on the Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 climate scenario. It evaluated the effectiveness of the selective withdrawal facility (SWF), installed recently in the Soyanggang Reservoir to control persistent turbidity. Extreme floods with a maximum daily inflow rate greater than the historical maximum observed in 2006 were projected to occur four times in this century. The fate and transport of turbidity flows were highly influenced by both the thermal stability of the reservoir and the season in which the flood event occurred. Thus, SWF operations should consider the timing of extreme events (i.e., the imminence of the autumn turnover) to mitigate the impact of high turbidity on the water supply and downstream ecosystem. It was found to be ineffective under extreme events if these occurred in two consecutive years. Current reservoir operations, which rely heavily on the SWF, are likely to be inadequate to overcome the negative effects of extreme-turbidity events on reliably providing safe water supplies. Coping with the worst event expected to occur in the future would require additional countermeasures such as bypassing high-turbidity water.

주택담보대출 원리금 부담가능구간 추정 및 시뮬레이션 연구*

The burden of households’ mortgage payment will continue to rise, considering the recent increase in household debt and the possibility of interest rate rise. The purpose of the study is to estimate the acceptable range of mortgage payment using the Price Sensitive Measurement (PSM) and to simulate the size of households that are burdened by mortgage payment as interest rates change. To apply PSM to mortgage payment, a survey was carried out and interest rates simulation was performed to identify future risks. The results of analysis and their implications are as follows. First, as a result of PSM analysis, it was found that all regions showed the same acceptable range of mortgage payment, but different reasonable payment levels. In particular, local metropolitan cities showed moderate payment levels and high sensitivity. Second, there were more households feeling burdened by the repayment of the principal and interest in the Seoul Capital Area than local metropolitan cities. Third, the simulation showed that a further 3%p increase in interest rates would lead to a significant increase in overburdened households. Although this study has limitations in the scope and scale of spatial coverage, it is meaningful in that it empirically analyzes the acceptable range of mortgage payment and the possible interest payment risk.

Impact of urbanization on spring and autumn phenology of deciduous trees in the Seoul Capital Area, South Korea.

Urbanization exerts anthropogenic forcing that affects regional climate and ecosystems. With increasing levels of urbanization associated with urban population growth in the near future, understanding of the impact of urbanization on terrestrial ecosystems is important for predicting future environmental changes. This study evaluates the impact of urbanization on spring and autumn phenology by addressing the relationship between population density and phenology at nine stations in the Seoul Capital Area (SCA), South Korea during 1991-2010. We analyze the spring budburst dates for the six species (Prunus mume, Forsythia koreana, Rhododendron mucronulatum, Prunus yedoensis, Prunus persica, and Prunus pyrifolia) and the leaf coloring date for the two species (Ginkgo biloba and Acer palmatum). Regardless of species, the density of the urban population shows significant negative (positive) relationships with spring (autumn) phenology. In the SCA, urban population increases are related to earlier spring budburst up to 13days and delayed leaf coloring up to 15days. The most apparent spring budburst sensitivity is observed in Prunus mume, whereas the most dominant autumn leaf coloring sensitivity is observed in Acer palmatum. The relationship between population density and phenology is supported by the difference in nocturnal temperatures between stations which varies with the population density. Our results suggest that, in addition to global warming, future population growth should be considered in ecosystem assessments of human-induced environmental changes.

Development of Heavy Rain Damage Prediction Model Using Machine Learning Based on Big Data

Prediction models of heavy rain damage using machine learning based on big data were developed for the Seoul Capital Area in the Republic of Korea. We used data on the occurrence of heavy rain damage from 1994 to 2015 as dependent variables and weather big data as explanatory variables. The model was developed by applying machine learning techniques such as decision trees, bagging, random forests, and boosting. As a result of evaluating the prediction performance of each model, the AUC value of the boosting model using meteorological data from the past 1 to 4 days was the highest at 95.87% and was selected as the final model. By using the prediction model developed in this study to predict the occurrence of heavy rain damage for each administrative region, we can greatly reduce the damage through proactive disaster management.

Urbanisation and land use transition in a second-tier city: The emergence of small factories in Gimpo, South Korea

This research incorporates tenets of growth regime theory through the case of Gimpo, a Seoul-dependent second-tier city. To put second-tier cities in a context that includes the concept of Korean and East Asian nuances, we suggest conceptualising the development of a growth regime theory through a dialogue that considers the departure from an agreement with the Western paradigm and path dependence of developmental states. The development of Gimpo has been heavily constrained by the central government’s control of the overwhelming growth of the Seoul Capital Area. Since the 1990s, however, the deregulation of the area has driven the creation of thousands of small factories. Based on in-depth interviews, a focus group, archives, and site visits, the research demonstrates, first, that the central government and the city government have wavered between remaining interventionist and taking a neoliberal approach. The state allowed industrialisation of Seoul’s suburban cities, and the city government attempted to attract businesses into planned industrial parks but ended up allowing even more dispersed small factories. Second, the growth regime has emerged, including city government, real estate agencies, village leaders, landowners, entrepreneurs, and migrant-supporting organisations. They drove the development of the small factories by responding to policies and the influx of migrant workers. The village leaders, eejangs, who are both elected leaders and landowners, played a critical role by turning into developers and entrepreneurial mediators and persuading landowners to accommodate factories on their agricultural land. By examining the interaction between the urban growth regime and urban hierarchy, this research contributes to the debate on urban growth and development in various contexts.

오피스 부동산 공급량과 공실률 간 관계 분석 - 수도권 지역을 대상으로 -

While economic feasibility analysis is very important to the business of new office supply, there have been insufficient robust studies on benefit estimation methods. This paper intends to investigate the relationships among the major variables of vacancy rate, new supply and rent, in the office market of Seoul Capital Area. If a new supply had significant effects on vacancy rate or rent, it would be necessary to adjust the economic benefit of a relevant project, with the effects in mind. To identify relationships among the variables, panel data were generated by using data from the Korea Appraisal Board’s Commercial Real Estate Rental Trend Survey and ShinYoung Asset’s the Office Scope. And a fixed effects model and an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model were employed for analysis. The results of analysis show that correlations between office rent and new supply and between new supply and vacancy rate are not very great at the level of the whole Seoul Capital Area. This implies that new supply in the office market creates new economic benefit, rather than substituting for the existing rental facilities.

“자라”의 브랜드 속성과 브랜드 태도가 “자라 홈” 제품에 대한 소비자의 구매의도에 미치는 영향-수도권에 거주하는 20-40대의 한국 여성소비자를 중심으로-

“자라”의 브랜드 속성과 브랜드 태도가 “자라 홈” 제품에 대한 소비자의 구매의도에 미치는 영향-수도권에 거주하는 20-40대의 한국 여성소비자를 중심으로-

An Analysis of Relationship between Asking Price and Transaction Price – Focusing on Apartment Market in the Seoul Capital Area

본 연구에서는 실거래가와 매도호가의 관계를 통계모형을 이용하여 실증적으로 분석하고 있다. 분석 결과는 다음과 같이 정리할 수 있다. 첫째, 매도호가와 실거래가가 서로 영향을 주고받는 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 실거래가가 매도호가에 미치는 영향력보다 매도호가가 실거래가에 미치는 영향력이 크게 나타났다. 둘째, 매도호가의 경우는 실거래가보다 매도호가 자신의 과거값이 미치는 영향이 더 크게 나타나는 반면, 실거래가는 매도호가 영향력이 실거래가의 과거값보다 더 크게 나타났다. 셋째, 매도호가와 실거래가의 한 단위 상승은 각각 상대 가격을 상승시키는 반면, 자기 자신의 가격은 시간에 따라 낮추는 효과를 가 진다. 실증분석의 결과는 매도호가와 실거래가가 서로 영향을 주고받으면서 각각 독립적인 작동논리를 가진다는 점을 보여준다.This paper analyzes the relationship between asking prices and the transaction prices by employing panel vector autoregressive model and dynamic panel model. The main results of the empirical analysis are as follows. First, the movements of asking prices and transaction prices affect each other. However, the effects of asking prices on the transaction prices are more stronger than the opposite effects. Second, asking prices in the past have a greater impacts on the current asking prices than the effects of current transaction prices. Third, the rising of asking prices or transaction prices precedes the rising of each other prices respectively and its own future price’s sinking. These results imply that although asking prices is partially affected by transaction prices, asking prices have its own independent operating logic.

Change and stability in shopping tourist destination networks: The case of Seoul in Korea

Abstract Despite the importance of shopping tourists in tourism destinations, the examination of the movements of this lucrative segment is insufficient. This study aims to analyze attractions networks in the Seoul Capital Area that are selected by shopping tourists, as well as to identify whether their attraction networks are stable or dynamic. Specifically, the centralities and the spatial structure of 28 attractions were identified to examine the features of the changing attraction networks. The Gini coefficients of centralities were measured to detect the inequality of link distribution. It was investigated whether networks follow a power law each year to detect the changes in destination networks. Finally, changing networks were visualized through link reduction modules featuring improved readability. The results of this study are as follows: (1) this study reveals shopping tourists' attraction preference through centrality analysis. The attractions that shopping tourists visited encompass both shopping and non-shopping areas; (2) Sinchon/Hongik University and Namsan Hanok Village were identified as increasingly popular attractions for shopping tourists; (3) Gini coefficients of degree distribution for shopping tourists' attraction networks were higher over the three-year period compared with those of general tourists, indicating that the former choose tourist attractions in a homogeneous manner; and (4) Attraction networks followed the power law in 2013 but not in 2014 and 2015.

방한 외래 쇼핑 관광객의 관광지 네트워크 분석 : 2014년 서울ㆍ경인지역 관광목적지를 중심으로

Despite the importance of movement in tourism, the empirical studies into tourists’ mobility have been rather scarce due to the labor-intensive nature and time-consuming process of analysis. This paper aims to investigate the spatial characteristics of attractions networks formed by international shopping tourists’ movement in Korea by using social network analysis methods. First, we examined degree, closeness, betweenness and eigenvector centrality of 28 attraction nodes in Seoul Capital area based on the secondary data collected from 2014 International Visitor Survey. Secondly, we conducted link reduction procedures for attractions networks by using Net Miner 4.0. The centrality analysis showed that Palaces, Insadong, Namsan/N seoul tower and Myeong-dong recorded a high level of degree and eigenvector centrality compared with other attractions. Moreover, the results of link reduction procedures revealed that the top 5% of the most visited attractions networks include Palaces, Namsan N tower, Myeongdong, Namdaemun market, Dondaemun market, Cheonggyecheon and Garosu-gil street. Furthermore, the core and periphery areas were visualized within attractions networks. The theoretical and practical implications were discussed based on the analysis of attractions networks.

AC Transmission Emulation Control Strategies for the BTB VSC HVDC System in the Metropolitan Area of Seoul

In the Korean power system, growing power loads have recently created the problems of voltage instability and fault current in the Seoul Capital Area (SCA). Accordingly, the back-to-back (BTB) voltage source converter (VSC) high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) system is emerging to resolve such problems with grid segmentation. However, non-convergence problems occur in this metropolitan area, due to the large change of power flow in some contingencies. Therefore, this paper proposes two kinds of AC transmission emulation control (ATEC) strategies to improve the metropolitan transient stability, and to resolve the non-convergence problem. The proposed ATEC strategies are able to mitigate possible overloading of adjacent AC transmission, and maintain power balance between metropolitan regions. The first ATEC strategy uses a monitoring system that permits the reverse power flow of AC transmission, and thus effectively improves the grid stability based on the power transfer equation. The second ATEC strategy emulates AC transmission with DC link capacitors in a permissible DC-link voltage range according to angle difference, and securely improves the gird stability, without requiring grid operator schedule decisions. This paper compares two kinds of ATEC schemes: it demonstrates the first ATEC strategy with specific fault scenario with PSS/E (Power Transmission System Planning Software), and evaluates the second ATEC strategy with internal controller performance with PSCAD/EMTDC (Power System Electromagnetic Transients Simulation Software).

Anthropogenic rare earth elements and their spatial distributions in the Han River, South Korea

Rare earth elements (REE) consist of lanthanides (from La to Lu), together with yttrium and scandium, in which anthropogenic REE, such as gadolinium (Gd), lanthanum (La), and samarium (Sm), has emerged as micro-contaminants in natural waters in highly developed countries. Here, we collected water samples in the Han River (HR) and its tributaries flowing through Seoul Capital Area, the world's second largest metropolitan area in order to examine how and to what extent anthropogenic REE anomalies may occur. Water samples show higher light REE concentrations than heavy REE concentrations, while wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) samples display much higher heavy REE concentrations due to high Gd concentration. The PAAS-normalized REE patterns indicate that WWTP samples display the pronounced positive Gd anomalies, in which anthropogenic Gd from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnostic system occurs as a form of Gd complexation with either Cl− or SO42−. Due to the WWTP, both the HR and tributaries show also positive Gd anomalies and the anthropogenic Gd concentrations increase as a function of the distance from the Paldang dam. This result indicates a positive correlation between populaton, number of MRI instruments, and positive Gd anomaly. Similarly, positive La and Sm anomalies exist in the HR, indicating that the HR is also affected by their point sources. Based on the discharge rate and anthropogenic REE concentrations, their fluxes are estimated to be 952 ± 319 kg/yr, suggesting that this amount of fluxes could disturb REE distribution in the Yellow Sea, and pose harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems.

Relationships among fun, self-esteem, and happiness of tennis players

We examined the relationships among the factors of fun, self-esteem, and happiness with a group of 249 players from tennis clubs located in the Seoul capital area, South Korea. Results of analysis showed that fitness and acknowledgment increased positive self-esteem and decreased negative self-esteem. Sociability increased positive self-esteem and both interest and fitness increased happiness. Negative self-perception reduced happiness, but the relationship with positive self-esteem was not statistically significant. Finally, fitness, acknowledgement, and sociability were important antecedent variables that increased happiness through the mediator of self-esteem. We have provided useful information for busy people on how to lead a healthy and meaningful life by having fun and consistently participating in physical activities.

Influence of fossil-fuel power plant emissions on the surface fine particulate matter in the Seoul Capital Area, South Korea

ABSTRACTThe South Korean government plans to reduce region-wide annual PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm) concentrations in the Seoul Capital Area (SCA) from 2010 levels of 27 µg/m3 to 20 µg/m3 by 2024. At the same time, it is inevitable that emissions from fossil-fuel power plants will continue to increase if electricity generation expands and the generation portfolio remains the same in the future. To estimate incremental PM2.5 contributions due to projected electricity generation growth in South Korea, we utilized an ensemble forecasting member of the Integrated Multidimensional Air Quality System for Korea based on the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model. We performed sensitivity runs with across-the-board emission reductions for all fossil-fuel power plants in South Korea to estimate the contribution of PM2.5 from domestic fossil-fuel power plants. We estimated that fossil-fuel power plants are responsible for 2.4% of the annual PM2.5 national ambient air quality standard in the SCA as of 2010. Based on the electricity generation and the annual contribution of fossil-fuel power plants in 2010, we estimated that annual PM2.5 concentrations may increase by 0.2 µg/m3 per 100 TWhr due to additional electricity generation. With currently available information on future electricity demands, we estimated that the total future contribution of fossil-fuel power plants would be 0.87 µg/m3, which is 12.4% of the target reduction amount of the annual PM2.5 concentration by 2024. We also approximated that the number of premature deaths caused by existing fossil-fuel power plants would be 736 in 2024. Since the proximity of power plants to the SCA and the types of fuel used significantly impact this estimation, further studies are warranted on the impact of physical parameters of plants, such as location and stack height, on PM2.5 concentrations in the SCA due to each precursor.Implications: Improving air quality by reducing fine particle pollution is challenging when fossil-fuel-based electricity production is increasing. We show that an air quality forecasting system based on a photochemical model can be utilized to efficiently estimate PM2.5 contributions from and health impacts of domestic power plants. We derived PM2.5 concentrations per unit amount of electricity production from existing fossil-fuel power plants in South Korea. We assessed the health impacts of existing fossil-fuel power plants and the PM2.5 concentrations per unit electricity production to quantify the significance of existing and future fossil-fuel power plants with respect to the planned PM2.5 reduction target.

Ridership patterns at subway stations of Seoul capital area and characteristics of station influence area

An enormous amount of transit data, created when people use their transportation cards, is being used effectively as smart card-based fare payment systems are being widely implemented. In Korea, the transportation card was first introduced by the Seoul Special City government in 1996 on its local bus services and has been compatible with the metropolitan subway system since 2000. Public transit card data can be used for many studies including determining the flow of transit passengers, which makes it possible to establish effective land development and transportation policies at a national level. In this paper, we aim to identify the daily travel patterns of metropolitan subway passengers as they move through stations using clustering analysis and reveal the relationship between land cover and demographic factors by using regression analysis. The main functions are confirmed in accordance with the intended use of each station and classified into five types. Moreover, we identified the features and influencing factors of the station influence area utilizing demographic data and a land cover map. The results obtained by clustering and regression analysis showed the clear relationship between travel patterns and the other characteristics in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. The results of this study could be important for national development strategies and traffic planning.

Fungal compositions and diversities on indoor surfaces with visible mold growths in residential buildings in the Seoul Capital Area of South Korea.

Indoor visible mold growths are known to be associated with allergies and respiratory illnesses. However, a question remains of their compositions and diversities. Using swab sampling and high-throughput DNA sequencing, this study analyzed taxonomic compositions and diversities of fungi on indoor surfaces laden with visible mold growths in residential apartments in South Korea. The sequencing results showed low species diversities with Shannon indices ranging from 0.14 to 2.29 (mean=1.11). Several allergy-related genera were detected on the same surface, where the most abundant Cladosporium with a mean relative abundance of 41% co-occurred with less abundant Aspergillus (0.094%), Rhodotorula (6.3%), Cryptococcus (3.7%), Alternaria (4.1%), and Crivellia (17%). β diversity analyses showed significant differences in the fungal communities between enclosed balconies and other indoor areas (P<0.05, ANOSIM), emphasizing a need to sample at multiple indoor locations when assessments are made for indoor visible mold growths. High-throughput sequencing is powerful in characterizing compositions and diversities of fungal communities. Future studies should examine the relationships between taxonomic compositions and diversities of indoor visible molds and health outcomes of allergies and respiratory illnesses in residential buildings.

Triazole Susceptibilities in Thermotolerant Fungal Isolates from Outdoor Air in the Seoul Capital Area in South Korea.

Emerging fungi resistant to triazoles are a concern because of the increased use of medical triazoles and exposure to agricultural triazoles. However, little is known about the levels of triazole susceptibility in outdoor airborne fungi making it difficult to assess the risks of inhalation exposure to airborne, antifungal-resistant fungi. This study examined triazole susceptibilities of the airborne thermotolerant fungi isolated from the ambient air of the Seoul Capital Area of South Korea. We used impactor air sampling with triazole-containing nutrient agar plates as the collection substrates to screen for airborne fungal isolates based on their triazole susceptibilities. This study estimated that 0.17% of all the culturable fungi belong to the pathogenic thermotolerant taxa, among which each isolate of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus tubingensis showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2 μg/mL or greater for itraconazole. Their concentration in air was 0.4 CFU/m3. Seven human pathogenic Paecilomyces variotii isolates had MICs of 32 μg/mL or greater and lower than 2 μg/mL for the agricultural fungicide tebuconazole and the medical triazole itraconazole, respectively. Though the concentration was low, our results confirm the presence of airborne fungi with high MICs for itraconazole in ambient air. Inhalation is an important exposure route because people inhale more than 10 m3 of air each day. Vigilance is preferred over monitoring for the emergence of triazole-resistant fungal pathogens in ambient outdoor air.

Agglomeration economies in knowledge production over the industry life cycle: evidence from the ICT industry in the Seoul Capital Area, South Korea

It is well acknowledged that agglomeration economies contribute to knowledge production, which is crucial in the current knowledge-based economy. The literature on evolutionary agglomeration stresses that the effects of agglomeration economies may vary depending on the industry life cycle. But much is not known about what sources of agglomeration economies play an important role in knowledge production at each stage of the life cycle: industrial localization versus diversification, and leadership by large firms versus competition among small firms. This study investigates knowledge production in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry in the capital area around Seoul, South Korea, to answer this question. A panel data set for the patent applications during the period of 2006–2011 is used to model knowledge production in terms of different sources of agglomeration economies. The results show that distinct patterns can be found depending on the industry life cycle. Leadership by large firms has positive effects on knowledge production during the growth stage (2006–2009), while its effects become insignificant during the maturity stage (2009–2011). This is in line with the expectations of evolutionary agglomeration theory. The effects of industrial diversity change from negative to insignificant as the ICT industry enters the maturity stage. In the meantime, competition always has positive effects, while localization always has no significant effects.