The Evolution of Core-Periphery Structure in East Asia

Abstract

In this chapter, we introduce the perspective of new economic geography (NEG) to the analysis of regional integration in East Asia. Economic development of East Asian countries has been often discussed based on the analogy of the ‘flying-geese’ pattern, related to the trickle-down effect of industrialization from advanced countries to less developed countries, leading to a spatial dispersion. From this perspective, locations of economic activities are determined by a comparison of production cost. The rapid catch-up of China in the 1990s has changed this characterization substantially. It is not only the seemingly unlimited cheap labour but also the quickly growing middle-class consumer market that attracts business as well as all kinds of activities in China. The orderly designed ‘flying-geese’ type of regional division of labour no longer applies as in the traditional form.