Akifumi Kuchiki

Agglomeration of Exporting Firms in Industrial Zones in Northern Vietnam: Players and Institutions

This book, a collaborative effort by researchers from Japan, Italy and the USA, seeks to explore the reasons for industrial clustering in certain regions of Asia, Europe and North America. The studies presented illustrate real examples of industrial clusters, adding anecdotal evidence to the emerging theory of economic geography by exemplifying the centripetal and centrifugal forces that regulate the clustering process. The authors examine clusters in a diverse set of countries including China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the USA and Vietnam. Significantly, the book provides an interesting split between studies of IT and software-related industries, and more traditional sectors, such as steel and vehicle manufacturing.

Industrial Clusters, Upgrading and Innovation in East Asia

This lucid and informative book analyzes the problem of clusters in transition through studies of agglomerations at different stages of development in various East Asian countries.

The Flowchart Approach to Industrial Cluster Policy

Introduction A.Kuchiki & M.Tsuji Formation and Growth of Economic Agglomerations and Industrial Clusters: A Theoretical Framework from the Viewpoint of Spatial Economics M.Fujita The Flowchart Approach to Industrial Cluster Policy: Guangzhous Automobile Industry Cluster A.Kuchiki & H.Tsukada Industrial Clusters in the Austin Area: The Austin Technopolis Case Study J.Kabir Automobile Clusters in India: Evidence from Chennai and the National Capital Region A.Okada The Process and Factors of Industrial Cluster Formation: A Flowchart Approach to Industrial Cluster Policy in Japan K.Yoshida An Empirical Examination of the Flowchart Approach to Industrial Clustering: Case Study of Greater Bangkok, Thailand M.Tsuji, S.Miyahara & Y.Ueki The Evolution of the High-Tech Electronics Cluster in Guadalajara, Mexico Y.Hisamatsu Conclusion M.Tsuji & A.Kuchiki Appendix: Theory of a Flowchart Approach to Industrial Cluster Policy A.Kuchiki

A Flowchart Approach

Policy for forming industrial clusters — industrial cluster policy — plays an important role in the development of any region in East Asia. Such policy is followed not only in Japan by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry but also in most countries in the area, such as Malaysia and Singapore. Silicon Valley in the USA and Bangalore in India are well-known success stories of development in information technology. Agglomeration theory and cluster theory explain that an industrial cluster is effective in generating external economies and reducing transportation costs. But we need to be clear about what the required conditions are for forming a cluster, particularly when we are discussing the growth strategy for developing countries.

On the Sequence of Steps in Clustering Policy for Creating Spatial Advantages

This lucid and informative book analyzes the problem of clusters in transition through studies of agglomerations at different stages of development in various East Asian countries.

An Application of the Flowchart Approach to the Agro-Food-Processing Industry Cluster in East Asia: The Case of the Nacala Corridor Region in Mozambique

The model of an agro-food processing industry cluster presented by Kuchiki and Mizobe offers possibilities to compensate the input-output linkage and employment generation. The following four results are obtained. First, the average value of the summation of the effects in forward and backward linkages of the machinery industry is less than and almost the same as that of the food industry, though it has been recognized that agricultural clusters have limited impact of input-output linkage on the generation of employment opportunities. Second, a prototype model of a flowchart approach to the agro-food processing industry cluster is proposed to strengthen the input-output linkage between agriculture and food processing industries. Third, our research data on Mozambique shows that small investment in food processing industry in Nacala Corridor Region generated more employment opportunities than mega mineral mining firms in Mozambique did. Fourth, the agro-food processing cluster policy is formulated to enhance low agricultural incomes that are mainly caused by small-scale farmers and limited markets in African countries.

Railway-Led Formation of the Agriculture-Food-Tourism Industry Cluster: Escaping the Middle-Income Trap

The authors propose a strategy to develop the agriculture-food-tourism industry cluster by networking railway lines based on Japanese experiences of developing them in the private sector. Ichizo Kobayashi, the founder of Hankyu Corporation, developed a railway line and formed a railway-led agriculture-food-tourism industry cluster in Kansai, including the development of a residential town and creation of a local culture. Such railway-led clusters in Japan typically run about 300 km from the starting station to the ending station. The development of railway lines has fostered economic growth in Kansai in western Japan and Kanto in eastern Japan. Clustering in rural areas can result in both economic growth and narrower income gaps between the core region and the periphery.

Quantitative Analyses of the Economies of Sequence: The Impact of New Airport Construction on Tourism Industry Growth—A Case Study of Hong Kong and Singapore

The authors explore what role (the opening of) an international airport plays in the creation of tourism clusters and what impact it has on the economy, using Hong Kong and Singapore as case examples. The process of development of the international airports and tourism industry clusters in the two countries is reviewed, and the trend in average annual rates of increase in the number of tourists and tourism revenue as well as tin gross domestic product growth rate is surveyed. Using the Granger causality test, the authors carry out a statistical analysis of tourism revenue and economic growth (gross domestic product growth rate) in Hong Kong and Singapore to explain how the two are causally related.

Basic Concept and Summary

The Sustainable Development Goals set in 2015 by the United Nations are an attempt to foster innovation, although the main aim is to narrow the economic gap and protect the environment. Mega free trade agreements (FTAs) aimed at regional integration, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, not only seek to abolish import tariffs but also to network global value chains and set sustainable growth targets. As pointed out by Kuchiki (2008), Asia can be seen as the growth center of the world in the twenty-first century. However, most Asian countries now face difficulties in achieving active innovation. Industrial clusters were hoped to provide a solution to these difficulties but none has been found to date (see Kuchiki and Tsuji 2008).

Appendix: Introduction to an Application of Biology to the Formation of Segments in an Industrial Cluster

Kuchiki regards the formation process of an industrial cluster as a form of ontogenesis, analyses the formation process of segments of an industrial cluster and examines the sequence of the formation process. A segment is a part of the body that performs a specific function. Hox genes in genetic engineering play a leading role in forming the segments of an industrial cluster. Hox genes at the head of each segment are switches to initiate the formation of segments. The sequence of Hox genes determines the sequence of segment formation. There are economies of sequence in the ordering of Hox genes to form an industrial cluster. The first priority in industrial cluster policy should be given to nominating a master switch as a good leader.