IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/growch/v37y2006i3p362-395.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Growth and Location of Economic Activity: The Spatial Dynamics of Industries in Canada 1971–2001

Author

Listed:
  • MARIO POLÈSE
  • RICHARD SHEARMUR

Abstract

ABSTRACT A growing literature has accumulated that points to the stability of industrial location patterns. Can this be reconciled with spatial dynamics? This article starts with the premise that demonstrable regularities exist in the manner in which individual industries locate (and relocate) over space. For Canada, spatial distributions of employment are examined for seventy‐one industries over a thirty‐year period (1971–2001). Industry data is organized by “synthetic regions” based on urban size and distance criteria. “Typical” location patterns are identified for industry groupings. Industrial spatial concentrations are then compared over time using correlation analysis, showing a high degree of stability. Stable industrial location patterns are not, the article finds, incompatible with differential regional growth. Five spatial processes are identified, driving change. The chief driving force is the propensity of dynamic industries to start up in large metro areas, setting off a process of diffusion (for services) and crowding out (for manufacturing), offset by the centralizing impact of greater consumer mobility and falling transport costs. These changes do not, however, significantly alter the relative spatial distribution of most industries over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Mario Polèse & Richard Shearmur, 2006. "Growth and Location of Economic Activity: The Spatial Dynamics of Industries in Canada 1971–2001," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 362-395, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:37:y:2006:i:3:p:362-395
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2257.2006.00328.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2257.2006.00328.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1468-2257.2006.00328.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Jan Eeckhout, 2004. "Gibrat's Law for (All) Cities," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(5), pages 1429-1451, December.
    3. Gregory K. Ingram, 1998. "Patterns of Metropolitan Development: What Have We Learned?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 35(7), pages 1019-1035, June.
    4. Sharma, Shalini, 2003. "Persistence and stability in city growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 300-320, March.
    5. N. A. Phelps & R. J. Fallon & C. L. Williams, 2001. "Small Firms, Borrowed Size and the Urban-Rural Shift," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(7), pages 613-624.
    6. Rosen, Kenneth T. & Resnick, Mitchel, 1980. "The size distribution of cities: An examination of the Pareto law and primacy," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 165-186, September.
    7. J. Vernon Henderson, Zmarak Shalizi, and Anthony J. Venables, 2001. "Geography and development," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 81-105, January.
    8. Edward L. Glaeser & Glenn Ellison, 1999. "The Geographic Concentration of Industry: Does Natural Advantage Explain Agglomeration?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 311-316, May.
    9. Paul Krugman, 1991. "History versus Expectations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 651-667.
    10. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    11. Gaspar, Jess & Glaeser, Edward L., 1998. "Information Technology and the Future of Cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 136-156, January.
    12. Steven Brakman & Harry Garretsen & Marc Schramm, 2004. "The strategic bombing of German cities during World War II and its impact on city growth," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 201-218, April.
    13. Gerald Carlino & Satyajit Chatterjee, 2002. "Employment Deconcentration: A New Perspective on America’s Postwar Urban Evolution," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 445-475, August.
    14. Eaton, Jonathan & Eckstein, Zvi, 1997. "Cities and growth: Theory and evidence from France and Japan," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4-5), pages 443-474, August.
    15. Edward L. Glaeser, 1998. "Are Cities Dying?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 139-160, Spring.
    16. Robert E. Lucas, Jr., 2001. "Externalities and Cities," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 4(2), pages 245-274, April.
    17. Klaus Desmet & Marcel Fafchamps, 2005. "Changes in the spatial concentration of employment across US counties: a sectoral analysis 1972--2000," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 261-284, June.
    18. Sukkoo Kim, 1995. "Expansion of Markets and the Geographic Distribution of Economic Activities: The Trends in U. S. Regional Manufacturing Structure, 1860–1987," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 881-908.
    19. Nicholas Crafts & Abay Mulatu, 2005. "What explains the location of industry in Britain, 1871–1931?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(4), pages 499-518, August.
    20. Ron Martin & Peter Sunley, 1998. "Slow Convergence? The New Endogenous Growth Theory and Regional Development," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 74(3), pages 201-227, July.
    21. D C Knudsen & R Barff, 1991. "Shift-Share Analysis as a Linear Model," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 23(3), pages 421-431, March.
    22. repec:rre:publsh:v:33:y:2003:i:1:p:104-20 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Gavin A. Wood & John B. Parr, 2005. "Transaction Costs, Agglomeration Economies, and Industrial Location," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 1-15, February.
    24. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    25. Guy Dumais & Glenn Ellison & Edward L. Glaeser, 2002. "Geographic Concentration As A Dynamic Process," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 193-204, May.
    26. Ioannides, Yannis M. & Overman, Henry G., 2003. "Zipf's law for cities: an empirical examination," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 127-137, March.
    27. N.A. Phelps, 2004. "Clusters, Dispersion and the Spaces in Between: For an Economic Geography of the Banal," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(5-6), pages 971-989, May.
    28. Stephen Fothergill & Graham Gudgin, 1979. "In Defence of Shift-Share," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 16(3), pages 309-319, October.
    29. Donald R. Davis & David E. Weinstein, 2002. "Bones, Bombs, and Break Points: The Geography of Economic Activity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1269-1289, December.
    30. John B Parr, 2002. "Agglomeration Economies: Ambiguities and Confusions," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(4), pages 717-731, April.
    31. Edgar S. Dunn, 1960. "A Statistical And Analytical Technique For Regional Analysis," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 97-112, January.
    32. Mark Brown, 2005. "Renewing Canada's Manufacturing Economy: A Regional Comparison, 1973‐1996," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 220-243, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cutrini, Eleonora & Mendez, Carlos, 2023. "Convergence clubs and spatial structural change in the European Union," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 167-181.
    2. Eloy Solis & Kayvan Karimi & Irene Garcia & Inmaculada Mohino, 2022. "Knowledge Economy Clustering at the Intrametropolitan Level: Evidence from Madrid," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 1268-1299, June.
    3. Brunow, Stephan & Hammer, Andrea & McCann, Philip, 2017. "Innovation and location in German knowledge intensive business service firms," IAB-Discussion Paper 201722, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    4. Boris Portnov & Ben Reiser & Moshe Schwartz, 2012. "Does Gibrat’s law for cities hold when location counts?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 48(1), pages 151-178, February.
    5. Evert J Meijers & Martijn J Burger, 2017. "Stretching the concept of ‘borrowed size’," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(1), pages 269-291, January.
    6. José Amorós & Christian Felzensztein & Eli Gimmon, 2013. "Entrepreneurial opportunities in peripheral versus core regions in Chile," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 119-139, January.
    7. Christian Felzensztein & Eli Gimmon & Claudio Aqueveque, 2013. "Entrepreneurship at the Periphery: Exploring Framework Conditions in Core and Peripheral Locations," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(4), pages 815-835, July.
    8. Boris A. PORTNOV, 2012. "Does The Choice Of Geographic Units Matter For The Validation Of Gibrat'S Law?," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 36, pages 79-106.
    9. Mario Polèse, 2012. "The Arts and Local Economic Development: Can a Strong Arts Presence Uplift Local Economies? A Study of 135 Canadian Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(8), pages 1811-1835, June.
    10. Zheng, Qing Yuan & Law, Teik Hua & Wong, Shaw Voon & Ng, Choy Peng, 2024. "Relative improvements between roads and railways and economic performance: A panel data analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 87-96.
    11. Boris A. Portnov & Moshe Schwartz, 2009. "Urban Clusters As Growth Foci," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 287-310, May.
    12. Boris A. Portnov, 2011. "The Change of Support Problem (COSP) and its Implications for Urban Analysis: Some Evidence from a Study of the European Urban System," ERSA conference papers ersa10p106, European Regional Science Association.
    13. Mario Polése & Fernando Rubiera-Morollon, 2011. "On the Difficulty of Comparing the Spatial Distribution of Service Industries Across Nations: Contrasting Spain and Canada. Preliminary results," ERSA conference papers ersa10p303, European Regional Science Association.
    14. Mario Polèse & Fernando Rubiera-Morollón, 2013. "On the Difficulty of Comparing the Spatial Distribution of Service Industries Across Nations: Contrasting Spain and Canada," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Juan R. Cuadrado-Roura (ed.), Service Industries and Regions, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 365-386, Springer.
    15. Gordon Mulligan & Mark Partridge & John Carruthers, 2012. "Central place theory and its reemergence in regional science," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 48(2), pages 405-431, April.
    16. Luis Enrique Santiago, 2020. "The industries of the future in Mexico: Local and non‐local effects in the localization of “knowledge‐intensive services”," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 584-606, June.
    17. Rosés, Joan R. & Minns, Chris, 2018. "Power to the Periphery? The failure of Regional Convergence in Canada, 1890-2006," CEPR Discussion Papers 12803, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mario Polèse, 2005. "Cities and National Economic Growth: A Reappraisal," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(8), pages 1429-1451, July.
    2. Gabaix, Xavier & Ioannides, Yannis M., 2004. "The evolution of city size distributions," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 53, pages 2341-2378, Elsevier.
    3. Stephen J. Redding, 2013. "Economic Geography: A Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Daniel Bernhofen & Rod Falvey & David Greenaway & Udo Kreickemeier (ed.), Palgrave Handbook of International Trade, chapter 16, pages 497-531, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Rubiera-Morollón, Fernando & Fernández-Vázquez , Esteban & Aponte-Jaramillo, Elizabeth, 2012. "Estimation and analysis of labor productivity in Spanish cities," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 22, pages 129-151.
    5. Zhihong Chen & Shihe Fu & Dayong Zhang, 2013. "Searching for the Parallel Growth of Cities in China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(10), pages 2118-2135, August.
    6. Mario Polèse & Jonathan Denis-Jacob, 2010. "Changes at the Top: A Cross-country Examination over the 20th Century of the Rise (and Fall) in Rank of the Top Cities in National Urban Hierarchies," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(9), pages 1843-1860, August.
    7. Edward L. Glaeser & Joshua D. Gottlieb, 2009. "The Wealth of Cities: Agglomeration Economies and Spatial Equilibrium in the United States," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(4), pages 983-1028, December.
    8. Cuberes David, 2009. "A Model of Sequential City Growth," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-41, May.
    9. J. Vernon Henderson, 2003. "Urbanization and Economic Development," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 4(2), pages 275-341, November.
    10. Bosker, Maarten & Brakman, Steven & Garretsen, Harry & Schramm, Marc, 2008. "A century of shocks: The evolution of the German city size distribution 1925-1999," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 330-347, July.
    11. Duranton, Gilles & Puga, Diego, 2014. "The Growth of Cities," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 5, pages 781-853, Elsevier.
    12. Koen Frenken & Frank G. van Oort & Thijs Verburg & Ron A. Boschma, 2004. "Variety and regional economic growth in the Netherlands," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 0502, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Dec 2004.
    13. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    14. Rafael Gonz�lez-Val & Luis Lanaspa, 2016. "Patterns in US Urban Growth, 1790-2000," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 289-309, February.
    15. Fabien Candau, 2008. "Entrepreneurs' Location Choice And Public Policies: A Survey Of The New Economic Geography," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 909-952, December.
    16. Hanlon, W.Walker & Heblich, Stephan, 2022. "History and urban economics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    17. Breinlich, Holger & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P. & Temple, Jonathan R.W., 2014. "Regional Growth and Regional Decline," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 4, pages 683-779, Elsevier.
    18. Stef Proost & Jacques-François Thisse, 2019. "What Can Be Learned from Spatial Economics?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 57(3), pages 575-643, September.
    19. Guy Michaels & Ferdinand Rauch & Stephen J. Redding, 2012. "Urbanization and Structural Transformation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(2), pages 535-586.
    20. Ho Yeon KIM & Petra de Jong & Jan Rouwendal & Aleid Brouwer, 2012. "Shrinking population and the urban hierarchy [Housing preferences and attribute importance among Dutch older adults: a conjoint choice experiment]," ERSA conference papers ersa12p350, European Regional Science Association.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:37:y:2006:i:3:p:362-395. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0017-4815 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.