Abstract
This chapter examines the spatial patterns of profitability in Japanese manufacturing according to the size of the firm from 1985 to 2006. The study period captures the ‘‘bubble economy’’ of the late 1980s, the economic downturn and restructuring of the 1990s, and the economic expansion of the early 2000s. The Theil index of inequality and LISA cluster maps are used to identify trends in average profitability for six firm size categories. The results show that average profitability tends to decline along with firm size, and that instability in average profitability for larger size firms tended to be a major contribution to changes in total inequality. For much of the study period contributions from larger firms to inequality between the firm size categories was decreasing while their contributions to regional inequality were increasing. The analysis also suggests that there is substantial variation in average profitability trends for prefectures in the core manufacturing region.
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Banasick, S. (2009). GIS and Spatio-temporal Trends in Inequality: Tracking Profitability According to Firm Size in Japanese Manufacturing, 1985–2006. In: Gatrell, J.D., Jensen, R.R. (eds) Planning and Socioeconomic Applications. Geotechnologies and the Environment, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9642-6_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9642-6_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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