Specialization and Concentration Pattern of Labor in the East Coast Southern Subregion and Some Empirical Effect on Economic Performance
Abstract
This paper investigates patterns of the externalities related to regional and sectoral concentration in Southern Thailand. It focuses on the East Coast subregion and Nakhon Si Thammarat province. It also estimates how these externalities can enhance economic performance.
Data for the paper need to be observed from 15 major sectors. Specialization and concentration index present by Location Quotient, Herfindahl index, and Krugman Dissimilation index. Panel data from 2001-2018 were used to assess for the estimation model.
The results show that the service and trade sectors are important, as indicated by the average GPP, changes of GPP, average percentage change, and output per worker in both the province and subregion. The province exhibits a strong concentration in its industry and service/trade sectors, while the subregion is concentrated in the agricultural sector. These results reveal a relative consistency between the Location Quotient, Herfindahl index, and Krugman Dissimilation index. This model estimation presents the significance of capital and labor. However, the limitation of the data that we rely on spans only a short period may the changes in specialization and concentration limit the paper to make definitive about their effects. We suggest a more approach for future research that might involve using quasi-experimental methods or expanding the scope of dependent variables beyond GPP. The policymaker has to still investigate and classify each province and provincial cluster economy in terms of agglomeration economies and externalities in comprehensive all dimensions.
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