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Regional Economic Diversity and Regional Economic Stability: Research Results and Agenda

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  • J. C. Dissart

Abstract

This article on regional economic diversity addresses several issues: (1) theoretical foundations for arguments forwarding increased economic diversity as a development goal, (2) common empirical measures of economic diversity, and (3) empirical literature on economic diversity and its effect on regional economic stability. This examination of the literature suggests four main directions in which future research on regional economic diversity could go. First, it is shown that research on the relationship between economic diversity and regional income distribution is scarce yet critical. Second, recent research suggests that applications of input-output analysis hold the potential for integrative research on issues related to economic diversity. Third, an examination of the local economic development literature indicates that regional scientists could use the concept of “diversified specializations†to classify economic regions and evaluate clusters. Fourth, the literature on ecological diversity suggests additional ways to look at the issue of economic diversity-stability.

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  • J. C. Dissart, 2003. "Regional Economic Diversity and Regional Economic Stability: Research Results and Agenda," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 26(4), pages 423-446, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:26:y:2003:i:4:p:423-446
    DOI: 10.1177/0160017603259083
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    Cited by:

    1. Robert Lehmann, 2016. "Economic Growth and Business Cycle Forecasting at the Regional Level," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 65.
    2. Roberto Ezcurra, 2011. "Unemployment Volatility and Regional Specialization in the European Union," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(8), pages 1121-1137.
    3. Huong Dinh & Ben Freyens & Anne Daly & Yogi Vidyattama, 2017. "Measuring Community Economic Resilience in Australia: Estimates of Recent Levels and Trends," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(3), pages 1217-1236, July.
    4. Jing Chen, 2018. "Interpreting Economic Diversity as the Presence of Multiple Specializations," Working Papers Working Paper 2018-02, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University.
    5. Watson, Philip & Deller, Steven, 2017. "Economic diversity, unemployment and the Great Recession," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-11.
    6. Paweł Gajewski & Grzegorz Tchorek, 2017. "What drives export performance of firms in Eastern and Western Poland?," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(12), pages 2250-2271, December.
    7. Steven Deller & Philip Watson, 2016. "Spatial variations in the relationship between economic diversity and stability," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7), pages 520-525, May.
    8. repec:rre:publsh:v:40:y:2010:i:2:p:197-226 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Michael Stierle & Ulrike Stierle-von Schütz & Stijn Rocher, 2018. "How did Regional Economic Structures in the EU Change during the Economic Crisis?," European Economy - Discussion Papers 088, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    10. Steven C. Deller & Tessa Conroy & Philip Watson, 2017. "Women business owners: a source of stability during the great recession?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(56), pages 5686-5697, December.
    11. Marina Malkina, 2019. "How Change in Industry Mix Can Improve the Financial Performance of Regional Economies: Evidence from the Portfolio Approach," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 67(6), pages 1561-1575.
    12. Florian Noseleit, 2020. "The Role of Entry and Market Selection for the Dynamics of Regional Diversity and Specialization," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(1), pages 76-94, July.
    13. Marina Yurievna Malkina, 2018. "Instability of Financial Return of Regional Economies and Its Determinants," Spatial Economics=Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika, Economic Research Institute, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Khabarovsk, Russia), issue 3, pages 88-114.
    14. Jing Chen, 2017. "Geographical Scale, Industrial Diversity and Regional Economic Stability," Working Papers Working Paper 2017-03, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University.
    15. Linus Holtermann & Christian Hundt, 2018. "Hierarchically structured determinants and phase related patterns of economic resilience. An empirical case study for European regions," Working Papers on Innovation and Space 2018-02, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    16. Xin Mai & Roger C. K. Chan & Chaoqun Zhan, 2019. "Which Sectors Really Matter for a Resilient Chinese Economy? A Structural Decomposition Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-17, November.
    17. O'Connor, Sean & Doyle, Eleanor & Doran, Justin, 2018. "Diversity, employment growth and spatial spillovers amongst Irish regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 260-267.
    18. Liang, Jiaochen & Goetz, Stephan J., 2018. "Technology intensity and agglomeration economies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10), pages 1990-1995.
    19. Steven Deller & Philip Watson, 2016. "Did Regional Economic Diversity Influence The Effects Of The Great Recession?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(4), pages 1824-1838, October.
    20. Jing Chen, 2018. "Economic Diversity and Regional Economic Performance: A Methodological Concern from Model Uncertainty," Working Papers Working Paper 2018-05, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University.
    21. repec:elg:eechap:14395_12 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Elias Giannakis & Adriana Bruggeman, 2017. "Economic crisis and regional resilience: Evidence from Greece," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(3), pages 451-476, August.

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