Regional Specialization Research Articles

ЕКСПОРТ СІЛЬСЬКОГОСПОДАРСЬКОЇ ПРОДУКЦІЇ В УМОВАХ ВІЙНИ: РЕГІОНАЛЬНІ АСПЕКТИ

Introduction. Agriculture is one of the important export-oriented sectors of the economy of Ukraine. In the conditions of constant structural changes in the economy under the influence of economic and political instability, it is expedient to investigate the place of agricultural products in commodity exports of Ukraine, as well as in the formation of the export potential of the regions. It is urgent to identify the regional peculiarities of the export of agricultural products, to determine the specialization of the regions. The purpose of the article. The purpose of the study is to analyze the regional structure of agricultural exports, to determine the place of agriculture in the commodity exports of the regions, to point out the changes in the export structure caused by the full-scale war. Metods. The conducted research was based on the analysis of statistical data on export volumes in Ukraine and in the regions. Conclusions about regional aspects of export of agricultural products are made on the basis of data systematization, scientific abstraction and methods of comparative analysis. Results. The current trends in the export of agricultural products of Ukraine were studied. The share of regions in the formation of commodity exports of agricultural products of Ukraine has been established. The changes in the export structure (in terms of main product groups and subgroups) that took place under the influence of a full-scale war were determined. The share of agricultural products in the formation of the commodity structure of the regions' exports has been determined, and the export specialization of the regions (within agricultural products) has been determined. The main exporters, problems and promising directions of export development in the regions are indicated. It has been established that in certain regions of Ukraine, agricultural export plays a key role in the formation of the region's export potential. Conclusions. Based on the results of the conducted research, conclusions were made about the specialization of regions by types of agricultural products, the peculiarities and changes in trends regarding the export of agricultural products in the regions were indicated.

The Resilience of the Apparel Supply Chain During Covid-19: A Review

The supply chain plays a vital role in global trade and economic development. This paper reviews the research on the resilience of the apparel supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic and concludes with four key findings. First, prior to the pandemic, the supply chain operated within a complex global framework characterized by clear regional specialization, but it revealed vulnerabilities due to over-reliance on specific regions, lack of transparency, and inadequate inventory systems. Second, academic focus on efficiency often overlooked disaster preparedness, leaving industries ill-equipped for crises. Third, during the pandemic, the supply chain encountered significant disruptions, including factory closures, fragmented supply routes, and distribution challenges that affected production levels. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) faced heightened difficulties, while larger brands had to adapt. Fourth, resilience during this period led to transformative changes, with swifter responses and an increased reliance on strategies aimed at enhancing supply chain flexibility. Finally, future research must focus on developing predictive disruption models, integrating digital technologies for smarter supply chains, and promoting sustainable practices that align with environmental and ethical standards. By fostering these initiatives, a more resilient and sustainable apparel supply chain can be established, better equipping the industry to face future uncertainties while achieving economic, environmental, and social benefits.

Functional brain activations correlated with association strength and prediction error during novel symbol–speech sound learning

Abstract Efficient learning of letters–speech sound associations results in the specialization of visual and audiovisual brain regions, which is crucial for the development of proficient reading skills. However, the brain dynamics underlying this learning process remain poorly understood, and the involvement of learning and performance monitoring networks remains underexplored. Here we applied two mutually dependent feedback learning tasks in which novel symbol–speech sound associations were learned by 39 healthy adults. We employed functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) along with a reinforcement learning drift diffusion model to characterize trial-by-trial learning in behavior and brain. The model-based analysis showed that posterior–occipital activations during stimulus processing were positively modulated by trial-wise learning, as indicated by the increase in association strength between audiovisual pairs. Prediction errors, describing the update mechanism to learn from feedback across trials, modulated activations in several mid-frontal, striatal, and cingulate regions. Both tasks yielded similar patterns of results, despite differences in their relative difficulty. This study elucidates the processes involved in audiovisual learning that contribute to rapid visual specialization within a single experimental session and delineates a set of coactivated regions involved in learning from feedback. Our paradigm provides a framework to advance our understanding of the neurobiology of learning and reading development.

Efficiency Analysis of Regional Specialized Industry Support Programs Using DEA and Optimal Model Study

Efficiency Analysis of Regional Specialized Industry Support Programs Using DEA and Optimal Model Study

Basement membranes’ role in immune cell recruitment to the central nervous system

Basement membranes form part of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which is the structural basis for all tissue. Basement membranes are cell-adherent sheets found between cells and vascular endothelia, including those of the central nervous system (CNS). There is exceptional regional specialisation of these structures, both in tissue organisation and regulation of tissue-specific cellular processes. Due to their location, basement membranes perform a key role in immune cell trafficking and therefore are important in inflammatory processes causing or resulting from CNS disease and injury. This review will describe basement membranes in detail, with special focus on the brain. We will cover how genetic changes drive brain pathology, describe basement membranes’ role in immune cell recruitment and how they respond to various brain diseases. Understanding how basement membranes form the junction between the immune and central nervous systems will be a major advance in understanding brain disease.

Self‐Relatedness or Cross‐Relatedness: The Co‐Evolution of Industries and Occupations Among Chinese Cities

AbstractExisting research on regional diversification primarily focuses on relatedness within industries or occupations, whilst neglecting the cross‐effects between the two. This study first formalizes the concepts of self‐ and cross‐relatedness and then establishes a two‐layer network framework to approach the interaction between industries and occupations. Then, based on China's export and occupation data, both occupation and industry are incorporated as the endogenous factors in explaining regional diversification among 264 prefectural‐level cities in China. The empirical evidence suggests that both self‐ and cross‐relatedness are significantly associated with new regional specializations in the co‐evolution of industries and occupations. More importantly, the roles of self‐relatedness are more significant in small‐sized cities, while the association between cross‐relatedness and industry–occupation co‐evolution is more prominent in large cities.

Формування моделі міжнародних економічних відносин у контексті попередньої траєкторії розвитку національного господарства України

In the conditions of war and post-war reconstruction, Ukraine’s further integration into the world economy and trade-economic cooperation with the EU, the USA, and other developed countries is a priority task. However, the Soviet economic heritage in the form of the extensive elements and forms of economic management continues to create obstacles to building a competitive model of foreign trade cooperation. And overcoming these obstacles is impossible without rethinking and evaluating the historical experience. The research’s aim is to summarize the determinants and structural-institutional characteristics of the model of Ukrainian international economic relations shaped within the Soviet economic system. The theoretical basis of the research includes the concepts of dependent development and the «track effect», which allow assessing the influence of the Soviet legacy on the modern economic processes. The research methodology is based on the systemic approach, and problem-logical, comparative, institutional, and statistical analysis. The author defines the institutional and structural characteristics of the Ukrainian model of international economic relations shaped within the Soviet economic space and outside it. These include the republic's lack of autonomy regarding foreign trade and its subordination to the state system of centralized export-import planning; absence of closed production and technological cycles within one republic and deepening of all-Union trade and economic integration; production specialization of regions according to the central interests; the dominance of trade with other socialist countries and the so-called countries of non-capitalist orientation; a high share of barter operations and compensatory cooperation aimed at strengthening the so-called socialist integration; and an active application of the policy of customs and trade protectionism in relation to countries with a market economy. It is confirmed that the place of Ukraine's economy in the Soviet Union’s division of labor and the system of foreign economic relations was determined by the republic’s political and economic dependence on the center and its subordination to the Soviet concept of building an all-Union economic space. This largely limited Ukraine's opportunities in the formation and implementation of its own strategies of foreign economic interaction and led to an inertial pursuit in the fairway of the post-Union political entities and economic agreements after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the first decades of Ukraine's state independence.

To the issue of regional specialization and stimulation of investment activity in the context of ensuring economic security

Relevance. Ensuring the economic security of the Russian Federation as a strategic goal of state policy to achieve national priorities creates conditions for high rates of economic growth and improving the quality of life of the population. In this aspect, it is necessary and appropriate to search for optimal and effective tools, ways and methods that contribute to the socio-economic development of regions, one of which is economic specialization, which allows to maximize the efficiency of using the available potential and competitive advantages.The purpose of the study is to substantiate the effectiveness of industrial-agricultural specialization of the region in order to ensure economic security by conducting a comparative assessment of the dynamics of development of the CFA regions with different types of economic specialization for 2017-2021.Objectives: to consider theoretical aspects of economic specialization of regions, to analyze the structure of gross regional product of the CFD regions, grouping by type of specialization, to assess the dynamics of growth indices of gross regional product, investment in fixed capital, average per capita cash income of the population for 2017-2021.Methodology. Within the framework of the conducted research the authors use general scientific methods: scientific abstraction, analysis and synthesis, generalization of scientific practice, deduction, induction, economic and statistical analysis, comparison, summary, grouping.Results. The conducted research allowed to form and highlight the following scientific results: to substantiate the effectiveness of industrial-agricultural specialization in order to ensure economic security, to formulate the conditions necessary for the transition to industrial-agricultural specialization, to identify the advantages of this type of specialization over others.Conclusions. Regions with industrial-agricultural specialization are characterized by higher growth rates of gross regional product, investment in fixed capital and average per capita income of the population. Also, the regions with industrial-agricultural specialization retain positive dynamics of development in crisis conditions: it is the regions with this specialization that demonstrated positive dynamics in the growth of gross regional product and investment in fixed capital at the end of 2020.

The role of localised, recombinant and anticipated technological change in European regions

ABSTRACT How regions develop and evolve along their productive and technological path is a central question for scholars and policymakers. From an evolutionary perspective, regions are likely to create and develop new technologies closer to their pre-existing specialisation. In this study, we map the regional European technological knowledge space and investigate regional specialisation's pattern and evolution in the most innovative EU regions. More specifically, we map the technological trajectories of 198 EU regions from 1986 to 2010 using data on 121 patent sectors at the NUTS2 level for the 11 most innovative European countries, including Switzerland and Norway. We maintain that the evolution of technological specialisation depends on three main factors: (i) localised technological change/technological relatedness, (ii) knowledge recombination of related and unrelated technologies, and (iii) regions’ capability of anticipating future technological change in related sectors. Results based on panel-ordered response models, which also account for spatial and technological spillovers, show that the probability of reaching higher states of technological specialisation is mainly driven by localised technological change and anticipated future technological relatedness. In contrast, recombinant innovation contributes to a lower extent.

Methodological basis for identifying promising industries of business specialization in Russian regions while developing digital technologies

A methodological approach has been developed to identify promising sectors of business specialization in the Russian regions in order to develop specific types of digital technologies in them. The approach implementation has been evaluated in several stages. At the first stage, the leading regions have been identified in terms of growth rates of indicators characterizing the use of digital technologies in organizations for the period from 2020 to 2022. At the second stage, business specialization industries groups have been revealed in which the digital technologies development is the highest priority. It became possible thanks to the identification of “transition” groups of industries by the level of digitalization. The leading regions in terms of the use of digital technologies in organizations depending on the growth rate of the level of their dissemination have been identified. Priority sectors of business specialization have been revealed by the share of organizations using digital technologies. In particular, it has been found that wholesale and retail trade, as well as the information technology industry have the potential for the spread of technologies for collecting, processing, and analyzing big data. The manufacturing industry, wholesale and retail trade, and information technologies have the potential to spread digital platforms.

Territorial Production and Resource Structures of Asian Russia: Assessment, Typology, and Zoning

This article examines the territorial production and resource structures in the territory of Asian Russia, which include natural, economic, and social elements. The objective of this study is to assess, typologize, and zone the territorial production–resource structures. The methodological framework of this study is based on calculating an integral development indicator for the regions of Asian Russia, represented by an Adjusted Net Savings index. This index reflects regional wealth according to the World Bank’s expanded concept of national wealth, which includes three types of capital: “reproducible”, “natural”, and “human”. The study also involves a larger typology of the regions, classifying them based on the predominance of these capital forms through the Analytic Hierarchy Process and the triangular illustration method. Regional clustering within the study area was also conducted through the k-means method using Statistica 12 software. Accordingly, adjusted net savings and sectoral contributions to gross regional product were calculated for the regions in this area. A relationship between regional specialization and the level of genuine savings was identified, forming the basis for the grouping of regions. A total of three groups were distinguished: regions with negative, moderate, and the highest levels of genuine savings within the macroregion. A larger typology using dominant, predominant, and complex functions was also developed. Using data on natural, physical, and human capital in Asian Russia, its regions were clustered, resulting in the identification of five clusters. The territory was then zoned based on the clustering results. A total of eight zones were identified, reflecting the size and balance of the three types of capital (human, physical capital, and productive natural), with regions grouped according to their cluster membership and territorial proximity. The findings can help identify pathways for more sustainable development of this territory amidst evolving natural, economic, social, and geopolitical conditions.

Transportation infrastructure, comparative advantage, and regional specialization: Evidence from China’s high-speed railway network

Using the quasi-natural experiment of China’s high-speed railway (HSR), this paper investigates the impact of transportation infrastructure on regional specialization, focusing on the differential effects on sectors with varying degrees of comparative advantages. Constructing a multi-region and multi-sector spatial economic model that includes Ricardian comparative advantage, we find that the reduction in trade costs leads to increases in market access but also intensifies local market competition, disproportionately benefiting sectors with comparative advantages. Empirical analysis of prefecture-level data from 2006 to 2016 reveals that HSR connection positively impacts industries with comparative advantages, but has negative impacts on industries without comparative advantages. This research introduces a new mechanism by which transportation infrastructure influences regional specialization: it disproportionately benefits industries with initial comparative advantages, thereby accelerating their growth relative to industries without comparative advantages. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to optimize industrial structure planning in HSR-connected cities. Specifically, policymakers should consider both the reliance on HSR transportation and initial comparative advantages when planning industrial structures.

The Influence of Regional Specialization in Agriculture on Farmers’ Pest Control Behaviors Based on a Dual Examination of Control Strategies and Control Costs

The pest control behaviors of agricultural producers are crucial not only for effectively managing pests and diseases but also for ensuring the sustainable development of agricultural production and the environment. Regional specialization in agriculture, as a typical method to optimize planting structure, influences farmers’ control behaviors through dual mechanisms. However, existing research has largely overlooked this issue. This paper systematically examines the influence and mechanisms of agricultural regional specialization on farmers’ pest control strategies and costs. Using village tracking research data and farmer data from the Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Jilin provinces of China over 15 years, the study employs fixed-effects models and the instrumental variable method to provide empirical evidence. The research results indicate that by reducing biological diversity, which exacerbates the occurrence and damage of pests and diseases, and increasing the homogeneity of cropping structures, the development of regional specialization in agriculture prompts farmers to shift their control strategy from “ex post treatment” to “ex ante prevention” and has increased the control costs. The policy implication is that farmers should be encouraged to practice moderate crop rotation in rapidly increasing regional specialization. Additionally, strengthening real-time monitoring of pest and disease dynamics is essential to guide farmers in early prevention and timely control.

Sectoral specialization and productivity in European metropolitan regions: empirical insights and policy implications

This article presents new empirical insights into European metropolitan regions, addressing a gap in the existing literature by examining the sectoral specialization and its impact on the productivity growth of metropolitan regions. The lack of evidence for European metropolitan regions contrasts with the empirical evidence for U.S. metropolitan regions, highlighting a significant research gap. By employing panel-regression analysis and leveraging unique regional data encompassing European metropolitan regions from 2000 to 2020, the authors unveil a multitude of significant findings. Key findings are that higher income countries (EU-15) tend to experience greater benefits from sectoral specialization in metropolitan regions compared to Eastern European regions (EU-NMS), suggesting that generalizing conclusions for EU-27 may be misleading. The study reveals a productivity gap resulting from sectoral specialization between metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions: Results suggest a higher concentration of specialized sectors in metropolitan regions. Policy implications are highlighted within the discussion on the framework of smart specialization in the context of metropolitan regions.

Regional specialization: From the geography of industries to the geography of jobs

AbstractOur analysis begins with an empirical investigation of how employment concentration in industries and occupations across regions of the United States has changed over time and how regional specialization has changed. Results show that industry concentration and specialization indices have fallen, while occupation concentration and specialization indices have risen. Using this background as motivation, we develop a model in which the comparative advantage of regions lies in their productivity of supplying functions such as law, finance, advertising and engineering, to multiple sectors. Productivity differences specific to region functions shape the location decisions of industries that use multiple functions and hence determine patterns of regional specialization both in functions and in sectors. A key parameter is the cost of sourcing functions from a different region (fragmentation costs), and we show that a fall in this cost mimics the data: sector concentration and regional specialization fall and function concentration and specialization rise. At high fragmentation costs, regional comparative advantage in sectors determines general equilibrium analogous to a Heckscher–Ohlin model (HO). At low fragmentation costs, comparative advantage in functions drives an equilibrium that has little resemblance to a HO world.

DIVERSITY OF CONDITIONS AND COMPANY-TOWNS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

In the socio-economic and spatial development of any country, single-industry towns and conceptual approaches to the formation of models for their development and state support occupy a special place. These phenomena depend on a wide range of factors related both to the peculiarities of the allocation of natural resources and the resulting economic specialization of regions, the location of various strategically important production facilities for the country, and the legal norms adopted in the state that define its administrative and territorial structure and ensure territorial integrity. The purpose of the research. The article examines the identification of possible links between the conditions of functioning of single-industry towns, on the one hand, and options for their development strategies. Results. As a result of the conducted research, a theoretical typology of the situations in which domestic single-industry towns are located was developed and proposed. The role of large corporations, whose divisions are the city-forming enterprises of single-industry towns, in the development and implementation of strategies for their development in modern conditions is analyzed. The content of the problems of the development of single-industry towns, the solution of which does not require a change in legislation, is established and discussed. Special attention to the development of single-industry towns is also due to the fact that, being significantly dependent on the economic condition of the city-forming enterprise, single-industry towns often turn out to be centers of socio-political tension in the event of an unstable economic situation, a decrease in the competitiveness of the enterprise with subsequent reduction (closure) of production, restructuring of the company and the emergence of problems in local (regional) labor markets.

Astrocyte regional specialization is shaped by postnatal development.

Astrocytes are an abundant class of glial cells with critical roles in neural circuit assembly and function. Though many studies have uncovered significant molecular distinctions between astrocytes from different brain regions, how this regionalization unfolds over development is not fully understood. We used single-nucleus RNA sequencing to characterize the molecular diversity of brain cells across six developmental stages and four brain regions in the mouse and marmoset brain. Our analysis of over 170,000 single astrocyte nuclei revealed striking regional heterogeneity among astrocytes, particularly between telencephalic and diencephalic regions, at all developmental time points surveyed in both species. At the stages sampled, most of the region patterning was private to astrocytes and not shared with neurons or other glial types. Though astrocytes were already regionally patterned in late embryonic stages, this region-specific astrocyte gene expression signature changed dramatically over postnatal development, and its composition suggests that regional astrocytes further specialize postnatally to support their local neuronal circuits. Comparing across species, we found divergence in the expression of astrocytic region- and age-differentially expressed genes and the timing of astrocyte maturation relative to birth between mouse and marmoset, as well as hundreds of species differentially expressed genes. Finally, we used expansion microscopy to show that astrocyte morphology is largely conserved across gray matter regions of prefrontal cortex, striatum, and thalamus in the mouse, despite substantial molecular divergence.

Regional specialization, polyploidy, and seminal fluid transcripts in the Drosophila female reproductive tract

Sexual reproduction requires the choreographed interaction of female cells and molecules with sperm and seminal fluid. In internally fertilizing animals, these interactions are managed by specialized tissues within the female reproductive tract (FRT), such as a uterus, glands, and sperm storage organs. However, female somatic reproductive tissues remain understudied, hindering insight into the molecular interactions that support fertility. Here, we report the identification, molecular characterization, and analysis of cell types throughout the somatic FRT in the premier Drosophila melanogaster model system. We find that the uterine epithelia is composed of 11 distinct cell types with well-delineated spatial domains, likely corresponding to functionally specialized surfaces that interact with gametes and reproductive fluids. Polyploidy is pervasive: More than half of lower reproductive tract cells are ≥4C. While seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) are typically thought of as male products that are transferred to females, we find that specialized cell types in the sperm storage organs heavily invest in expressing SFP genes. Rates of amino acid divergence between closely related species indicate heterogeneous evolutionary processes acting on male-limited versus female-expressed seminal fluid genes. Together, our results emphasize that more than 40% of annotated seminal fluid genes are better described as shared components of reproductive transcriptomes, which may function cooperatively to support spermatozoa. More broadly, our work provides the molecular foundation for improved technologies to catalyze the functional characterization of the FRT.

Demographic Change and Regional Specialisation: The Case of Greek NUTS II Regions

This paper investigates the impact of demographic changes on regional specialisation across Greek NUTS2 regions from 2001 to 2021. It explores the relationship between age-specific variations in the economically active population and gross value added (GVA) across different economic sectors. Using demographic and GVA data alongside spatial analysis techniques such as spatial regression models, median Local Moran’s I, and location quotient, the study identifies spatial autocorrelation patterns. Findings reveal strong correlations between the economically active population and GVA, highlighting demographic factors’ crucial role in regional economic performance. Over the period 2001 to 2021, the 15–24 and 25–34 age groups generally experienced declining growth rates in total, male, and female economically active populations, while the 45–54 and 55–64 age groups saw increases. Regions adjacent to those with higher economically active populations showed high–high clustering. Especially, Attiki and Kentriki Makedonia, the two metropolitan regions of Greece, influence neighbouring regions through economic spillover effects, fostering economic sector clustering and emphasising regional specialisation. These findings highlight the complex interplay between demographic shifts and regional economic outcomes, noting spatial disparities and the need for targeted policy interventions. The study provides empirical evidence demonstrating how demographic changes influence regional economic development across different regions.

Inward FDI and regional performance in Europe after the Great Recession

Abstract This paper looks at inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and regional labour productivity in the aftermath of the Great Recession, exploring two FDI-induced effects. The first effect is linked with a capacity of FDI per se to trigger short-term productivity gains in response to a global shock. The second effect is associated with the degree of industrial diversification of these investment flows. The results suggest that it is not the amount of foreign investment received per se that matters for productivity recovery but its composition. A low degree of FDI diversification helped regions to gain productivity after the shock. The effect is stronger in regions with an industrial profile concentrated in a limited number of sectors, particularly in services. FDI can support regional recovery, but in the short run, it does so by matching and reinforcing existing regional specialisation profiles and to the benefit of services-oriented regions.