Month: June 2015

PROVINCIAL CLUSTERING IN THE SOUTH OF THAILAND: CONCEPTUAL AND EMPIRICAL

Kiatkajon CHAIRAT
Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Corresponding author: Kiatkajon Chairat Tel: +6681 870 0219
kiatkajon2111@gmail.com

Sumalee SANTIPOLVUT
Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Supachart SUKHAROMANA
Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Abstract
This paper aims to determine the cluster of 14 provinces in the Southern part of Thailand. We formulated 24 indicators for provincial clustering based on three major concepts: spatial, functional, and micro-foundational. Factor analysis shows that 10 of these indicators significantly determine provincial clustering. Cluster analysis obviously categorises 14 provinces into five cases of three to seven provincial clusters. In each case, the formation of groups is determined using the proximity criteria. Discrimination analysis helps to classify the most appropriate form, and in each case shows that clusters three and four are appropriate for provincial clustering.

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TRADE OPENNESS, URBAN CONCENTRATION AND CITY-SIZE GROWTH IN TURKEY

Hasan ENGIN DURAN
Assistant Professor of Economics, Izmir Institute of Technology,
City and Regional Planning Department,
Corresponding Author, Adress: Izmir Yüksek Teknoloji Enstitüsü, Gülbahçe Köyü, Izmir-Turkey,
Tel: +902327507004
enginduran@iyte.edu.tr

Sevim PELIN ÖZKAN
Research Assistant, Izmir Institute of Technology, City and Regional Planning Department,
Adress: Izmir Yüksek Teknoloji Enstitüsü, Gülbahçe Köyü, Izmir-Turkey
pelinozkan@iyte.edu.tr

Abstract
Aim of the present study is to investigate two important issues on urban concentration in Turkey. First, we investigate whether population tend to have an uneven distribution across cities between 1965-2012, second, we analyze the determinants of city-size growth by relating it to the process of trade liberalization and to a range of other socio-economic and geographical factors. In terms of methodology, we employ various cross sectional and spatial econometric tools to implement our analysis. Our results indicate three major conclusions: First, urban concentration tends to increase recently, leading to an unevenly growing cities and creating urban giants (i.e. Istanbul). Second, trade liberalization is shown to intensify this process since metropolitan areas, which are more open to trade, tend to grow faster than others. Third, specialization of cities in industrial activities (i.e. manufacturing) and economies of agglomeration are likely to reinforce the spatial concentration of population around larger cities.

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FISCAL ACTIVISM IN EUROPEAN REGIONS: EVIDENCE ON FISCAL RULES BEFORE AND AFTER THE EURO

Georgios KARRAS
Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago,
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607 7121
gkarras@uic.edu

Abstract
The introduction of the euro has been followed by noticeable fiscal divergence between the core and the periphery economies. This paper investigates the basic properties of fiscal policy in Europe and asks whether these properties are affected by euro membership. The empirical findings suggest that fiscal policy has been decisively countercyclical and generally sustainable. Adopting the euro raises the average country member’s primary deficit by about 0.5% of GDP within a year and the effect accumulates to 1.76% of GDP ten years later, but these dynamic responses are far more pronounced in the periphery economies than in the core.

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