IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/anresc/v74y2025i2d10.1007_s00168-025-01383-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regional economic resilience and long-term employment growth: decomposing structural transitions in South Korean metropolitan areas

Author

Listed:
  • Jihan Park

    (Pusan National University)

  • Donghyun Kim

    (Pusan National University)

Abstract

This study investigates the factors driving regional structural transformation and long-term growth, focusing on seven metropolitan areas of the South Korea from 1996 to 2016, a period that saw two global economic shocks. Using the Census on Establishments database from Statistics Korea, we employ four-way multifactor partitioning across regions, industries, genders, and decent jobs. Findings show that long-term regional employment growth and adaptation process are primarily driven by region effects rather than the industrial structure. Industry mix matters more for short-term shock responses, with sector-specific sensitivities. Gender and decent-job effects have limited influence on long-term growth but revealed distinct structural responses across different shock periods. Our findings underscore the importance of distinguishing between short-term resilience and adaptation strategies, with institutional foundations playing a central role in sustainable regional development. They also highlight the structural role of gender and decent jobs in adaptive resilience, suggesting a need to improve women's job quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Jihan Park & Donghyun Kim, 2025. "Regional economic resilience and long-term employment growth: decomposing structural transitions in South Korean metropolitan areas," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 74(2), pages 1-29, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:74:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s00168-025-01383-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s00168-025-01383-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00168-025-01383-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00168-025-01383-5?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hirokatsu Asano & Takahiro Ito & Daiji Kawaguchi, 2013. "Why Has the Fraction of Nonstandard Workers Increased? A Case Study of Japan," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 60(4), pages 360-389, September.
    2. Roberta Capello & Giovanni Perucca, 2017. "Industrial restructuring in CEE regions: determinants of regional growth in the accession and in the crisis period," Journal of Baltic Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(3), pages 309-329, July.
    3. Ron Boschma, 2015. "Towards an Evolutionary Perspective on Regional Resilience," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(5), pages 733-751, May.
    4. Anastasios Kitsos & Paul Bishop, 2018. "Economic resilience in Great Britain: the crisis impact and its determining factors for local authority districts," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 60(2), pages 329-347, March.
    5. Ron Martin & Peter Sunley & Ben Gardiner & Peter Tyler, 2016. "How Regions React to Recessions: Resilience and the Role of Economic Structure," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 561-585, April.
    6. Robert Fairlie & Frank M. Fossen, 2022. "The early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business sales," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1853-1864, April.
    7. Titan Alon & Sena Coskun & Matthias Doepke & David Koll & Michèle Tertilt, 2022. "From Mancession to Shecession: Women’s Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 83-151.
    8. Tiago Cavalcanti & José Tavares, 2016. "The Output Cost of Gender Discrimination: A Model‐based Macroeconomics Estimate," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(590), pages 109-134, February.
    9. Ron Martin & Peter Sunley, 2015. "On the notion of regional economic resilience: conceptualization and explanation," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 1-42.
    10. Alessandra Faggian & Roberta Gemmiti & Timothy Jaquet & Isabella Santini, 2018. "Regional economic resilience: the experience of the Italian local labor systems," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 60(2), pages 393-410, March.
    11. Sara Meerow & Joshua P. Newell, 2015. "Resilience and Complexity: A Bibliometric Review and Prospects for Industrial Ecology," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 19(2), pages 236-251, April.
    12. Yooil Bae & Jefferey M. Sellers, 2007. "Globalization, the Developmental State and the Politics of Urban Growth in Korea: A Multilevel Analysis," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 543-560, September.
    13. Ron Martin, 2012. "Regional economic resilience, hysteresis and recessionary shocks," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 1-32, January.
    14. Andr�s Rodr�guez-Pose, 2013. "Do Institutions Matter for Regional Development?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(7), pages 1034-1047, July.
    15. Lim, Joseph Y., 2000. "The Effects of the East Asian Crisis on the Employment of Women and Men: The Philippine Case," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 1285-1306, July.
    16. Kerwin Kofi Charles & Erik Hurst & Mariel Schwartz, 2019. "The Transformation of Manufacturing and the Decline in US Employment," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(1), pages 307-372.
    17. Annamaria Bianchi & Silvia Biffignandi, 2018. "Employment Growth by Firm Size During the Recent Crisis in Italy: A Multifactor Partitioning Analysis," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 314-338, June.
    18. Sara Davies, 2011. "Regional resilience in the 2008--2010 downturn: comparative evidence from European countries," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 4(3), pages 369-382.
    19. 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.
    20. Deok Ryong Yoon, 2011. "The Korean Economic Adjustment to the World Financial Crisis," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 10(1), pages 106-127, Winter/Sp.
    21. Baerlocher, Diogo & Parente, Stephen L. & Rios-Neto, Eduardo, 2021. "Female Labor Force Participation and economic growth: Accounting for the gender bonus," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    22. Bernard Fingleton & Harry Garretsen & Ron Martin, 2012. "Recessionary Shocks And Regional Employment: Evidence On The Resilience Of U.K. Regions," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 109-133, February.
    23. Fabian Geelhoedt & Vicente Royuela & David Castells-Quintana, 2021. "Inequality and Employment Resilience: An Analysis of Spanish Municipalities during the Great Recession," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 44(1), pages 113-141, January.
    24. Shawn Banasick & Robert Hanham, 2008. "Regional Decline of Manufacturing Employment in Japan during an Era of Prolonged Stagnation," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 489-503.
    25. Xiaohui Hu & Robert Hassink, 2017. "Exploring adaptation and adaptability in uneven economic resilience: a tale of two Chinese mining regions," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 10(3), pages 527-541.
    26. Lucinda David, 2018. "Agency and resilience in the time of regional economic crisis," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(5), pages 1041-1059, May.
    27. Seoyoung Yu & Donghyun Kim, 2021. "Changes in Regional Economic Resilience after the 2008 Global Economic Crisis: The Case of Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-14, October.
    28. Karl-Johan Lundquist & Lars-Olof Olander & Martin Svensson Henning, 2008. "Producer services: growth and roles in long-term economic development," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 463-477, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Martini, Barbara, 2020. "Resilience and economic structure. Are they related?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 62-91.
    2. 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.
    3. Luciana Lazzeretti & Stefania Oliva & Niccolò Innocenti, 2019. "Exploring the role of industrial structure for regional economic resilience," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1917, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised May 2019.
    4. Giuseppe Terzo, 2021. "Social capital, social economy and economic resilience of Italian provinces," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(5), pages 1113-1135, October.
    5. Pontarollo, Nicola & Serpieri, Carolina, 2020. "A composite policy tool to measure territorial resilience capacity," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    6. Suat Tuysuz & Tüzin Baycan & Fatih Altuğ, 2022. "Economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Turkey: analysis of vulnerability and resilience of regions and diversely affected economic sectors," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 1133-1158, October.
    7. Andrés Maroto Sánchez & Juan Ramón Cuadrado-Roura, 2024. "Sectoral–regional resilience and productive specialization: a comparison among the last three crises," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 73(1), pages 61-86, June.
    8. Kurikka, Heli & Grillitsch, Markus, 2020. "Resilience in the periphery: What an agency perspective can bring to the table," Papers in Innovation Studies 2020/7, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    9. Liangang Li & Pingyu Zhang & Chengxin Wang, 2022. "What Affects the Economic Resilience of China’s Yellow River Basin Amid Economic Crisis—From the Perspective of Spatial Heterogeneity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-20, July.
    10. Yannis Psycharis & Anastasia Panori & Dimitrios Athanasopoulos, 2022. "Public Investment and Regional Resilience: Empirical Evidence from the Greek Regions," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 113(1), pages 57-79, February.
    11. Marianne Sensier & Elvira Uyarra, 2020. "Investigating the Governance Mechanisms that Sustain Regional Economic Resilience and Inclusive Growth," Economics Discussion Paper Series 2005, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    12. Paulo Henrique Cezaro Eberhardt & Adelar Fochezatto, 2024. "Regional Resilience and the Asymmetric Effects of the 2008 Crisis in Brazil: A Survival Model Analysis," Networks and Spatial Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 743-762, September.
    13. Filippo Di Pietro & Patrizio Lecca & Simone Salotti, 2021. "Regional economic resilience in the European Union: a numerical general equilibrium analysis," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 287-312, July.
    14. Liangang Li & Shuoya Liu & Chen Li & Pingyu Zhang & Kevin Lo, 2022. "What Matters for Regional Economic Resilience Amid Multi Shock Situations: Structural or Agency? Evidence from Resource-Based Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, May.
    15. Jan Ženka & Marcela Chreneková & Lucie Kokešová & Veronika Svetlíková, 2021. "Industrial Structure and Economic Resilience of Non-Metropolitan Regions: An Empirical Base for the Smart Specialization Policies," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, December.
    16. Silvia Rocchetta & Andrea Mina & Changjun Lee & Dieter F Kogler, 2022. "Technological knowledge spaces and the resilience of European regions," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 27-51.
    17. Di Tommaso, Marco R. & Prodi, Elena & Pollio, Chiara & Barbieri, Elisa, 2023. "Conceptualizing and measuring “industry resilience”: Composite indicators for postshock industrial policy decision-making," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    18. Liping Liao & Minzhe Du & Jie Huang, 2022. "The Effect of Urban Resilience on Residents’ Subjective Happiness: Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, October.
    19. Xin Mai & Roger C. K. Chan, 2020. "Detecting the intellectual pathway of resilience thinking in urban and regional studies: A critical reflection on resilience literature," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 876-889, September.
    20. Kaiming Cheng & Xinyu Wang & Shucheng Liu & Yanjie Zhuang, 2024. "Spatial differences and dynamic evolution of economic resilience: from the perspective of China’s eight comprehensive economic zones," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1-33, April.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

    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:spr:anresc:v:74:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s00168-025-01383-5. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.