Technological Change and Geographical Reallocation of Labour: On the Role of Leading Industries

Abstract

Martynovich M. and Lundquist K.-J. Technological change and geographical reallocation of labour: on the role of leading industries, Regional Studies. This paper analyses inter-regional labour reallocation in Sweden over the period 1985–2008 and assesses the effects of technology-induced structural change on the ability of regions to attract and retain workers. The findings suggest that (1) the regional presence of leading industries associated with technological change has a significant effect; (2) the importance of leading industries is of dynamic character as various functional groups of leading industries play different roles at different stages of the technology-induced transformation process; and (3) while manufacturing branches act as a stabilizing factor, i.e. helping regions to retain workers, service industries drive labour reallocation in terms of attracting workers to regions.

Martynovich M. and Lundquist K.-J. 技术变革与劳动的地理再配置：先导产业的角色，区域研究。本文分析瑞典在1985年至2008年期间的跨区域劳动再配置，并评估由技术引导的结构变迁，对于区域吸引并留住劳工之能力的影响。研究结果显示：（1）与技术变革有关的先导产业存在于区域中，具有显着的效应；（2）先导产业的重要性，具有强而有力的特徵，因先导产业的各种功能团体，在技术引导的转变过程的不同阶段中，扮演不同的角色；以及 (3)当製造部门作为稳定的因素时，例如协助区域留住劳工，服务业则是在吸引劳工至该区域方面，驱动劳动的再配置。

Martynovich M. et Lundquist K.-J. La mutation technologique et la redistribution géographique du travail: à propos des industries phares, Regional Studies. Cet article cherche à analyser la redistribution interrégionale du travail pour la période allant de 1985 à 2008 et évalue l'impact de la mutation structurelle stimulée par la technologie sur la capacité des régions à recruter et à maintenir des travailleurs. Les résultats suggèrent que (1) la présence dans la région des industries phares associées à la mutation technologique a un impact non-négligeable; (2) l'importance des industries phares s'avère dynamique parce que divers groupes fonctionnels jouent des rôles différents à diverses étapes du processus de transformation qui est stimulé par la technologie; et (3) alors que les établissements industriels servent de facteur de stabilisation, à savoir en aidant les régions à maintenir l'emploi, les industries des services déterminent la redistribution du travail en termes de l'attrait des travailleurs vers les régions.

Martynovich M. und Lundquist K.-J. Technischer Wandel und geografische Neuverteilung von Arbeitsplätzen: die Rolle der führenden Branchen, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag untersuchen wir die interregionale Neuverteilung von Arbeitsplätzen in Schweden im Zeitraum von 1985 bis 2008 und die Auswirkungen des technisch bedingten Strukturwandels auf die Fähigkeit von Regionen zur Anwerbung und Beibehaltung von Arbeitskräften. Aus den Ergebnissen geht hervor, dass (1) die regionale Präsenz von führenden mit dem technischen Wandel verknüpften Branchen eine signifikante Auswirkung hat; (2) die Bedeutung der führenden Branchen einen dynamischen Charakter aufweist, da verschiedene Funktionsgruppen der führenden Branchen in den verschiedenen Phasen des technisch bedingten Veränderungsprozesses unterschiedliche Rollen spielen; und (3) während produzierende Branchen als stabilisierender Faktor wirken, d. h. Regionen bei der Beibehaltung von Arbeitskräften unterstützen, Dienstleistungsbranchen die Neuverteilung von Arbeitskräften vorantreiben, indem sie Arbeitnehmer in Regionen anziehen.

Martynovich M. y Lundquist K.-J. Cambio tecnológico y reasignación geográfica del trabajo: el papel de las industrias líderes, Regional Studies. En este artículo analizamos la reasignación laboral interregional en Suecia entre 1985 y 2008 y evaluamos los efectos del cambio estructural inducido por la tecnología en la capacidad de las regiones de atraer y mantener a los trabajadores. Los resultados indican que (1) la presencia regional de industrias líderes asociadas al cambio tecnológico tiene un efecto significativo; (2) la importancia de las industrias líderes tiene un carácter dinámico porque diferentes grupos funcionales de las industrias líderes desempeñan papeles diferentes en distintos estadios del proceso de transformación inducido por la tecnología; y (3) mientras las ramas manufactureras actúan como un factor estabilizador, es decir, ayudan a las regiones a conservar trabajadores, las industrias de servicios impulsan la reasignación laboral atrayendo a los trabajadores a las regiones.

• Technological change
• Industrial restructuring
• Adjustment
• Labour reallocation
• Leading industries
• Sweden

• 技术变革
• 产业再结构
• 调节
• 劳动再配置
• 先导产业
• 瑞典

• Mutation technologique
• Restructuration industrielle
• Ajustement
• Redistribution du travail
• Industries phares
• Suède

• Technischer Wandel
• Branchenumstrukturierung
• Anpassung
• Neuverteilung von Arbeitsplätzen
• Führende Branchen
• Schweden

• Cambio tecnológico
• Reestructuración industrial
• Ajuste
• Reasignación laboral
• Industrias líderes
• Suecia

JEL classifications:

• J61
• N14
• O33
• R11

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers, whose comments and suggestions made helped greatly to improve the quality of the paper. Besides, they are grateful for the constructive advice and critical comments made on earlier versions of this paper by Martin Henning, Frank Neffke, Lars-Olof Olander and David Rigby. The paper also benefited from fruitful discussions conducted at the Geography of Innovation Conference held in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on 23–25 January 2014; and at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers held in Tampa, Florida, USA, on 8–12 April 2014. The usual disclaimer applies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2015.1052062

ORCID

Mikhail Martynovich http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0776-480X

Notes

1. Sensitivity checks were performed by considering individuals aged 16–64 (to exclude those in retirement age) and 20–64 (to exclude those in the ‘career shopping’ stage of their lives and/or are likely to relocate with their parents). As estimations based on these samples produced the same output, the broadest sample was included in the final version of the paper.

2. Where $N_t=E_{jt}+E_{jt-1}/2$, where $E_{jt}$ is employment in region j at time t.

3. CARS was preferred as a measure of concentration to the more conventional Hirschman–Herfindahl index (HHI) since the latter tends to overemphasize the presence of highly concentrated industries. As the Swedish regional system includes some highly specialized regions (e.g., small regions in northern parts of the country, where up to 70% of employment is concentrated in one industry), using the HHI might have induced estimation bias for those regions.

4. Using a demographic criterion for differentiating between levels of the regional hierarchy is motivated by findings in the literature demonstrating that regional size is an important predictor of regional development (Eriksson and Hansen, 2013). In the case of this paper, it also appeared that regional population is highly correlated with patterns of industry penetration across regions. That is, the lower a region is in the regional hierarchy, the fewer industries tend to be represented.

5. The outstanding growth rate for micro-regions (21.75% on average over 1985–98) can be explained by the low base effect because in 1985 there were only 23 employees in motive services at this level of the regional hierarchy.