Mitsuhiko Kataoka

Interregional Interdependence and Regional Economic Growth: An Interregional Input‐Output Analysis of the Kyushu Region

The main objective of this paper is to examine the effects of the changes in economic conditions and government policies on the output growth of the Kyushu region between 1965 and 1990. This study uses the extended growth†factor decomposition method based on a three†region Japanese interregional input†output system consisting of Kyushu, Kanto, and the rest of Japan. The growth pattern of Kyushu changed noticeably over the period. The primary drivers of growth changed from the expansion of final demand within Kyushu to direct and indirect effects from outside Kyushu. This unambiguously indicates that Kyushu has facilitated interregional and international interdependence. The emergence of the processing and assembling sector, together with the construction of new networks of trunk railway lines, expressways, and communications, promoted closer interregional industrial linkages between Kyushu, Kanto, and the rest of Japan. In addition, the offshore transfer of production from Kyushu to Southeast Asia after the Plaza Accord Agreement strengthened Kyushu’s international industrial linkages.

Spatial Dimensions of Expenditure Inequality and the Role of Education in Indonesia: An Analysis of the 2008-2010 Susenas Panel Data

Based on 2008-2010 Susenas panel data, this study analyzes expenditure inequality in Indonesia from spatial perspectives by using several inequality decomposition methods: decomposition of the Theil indices by population subgroups; decomposition of the Gini coefficient by expenditure components; and the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition. In the Theil decomposition, this study employs not only the conventional approach but also an alternative approach proposed by Elbers and others (2008). Our results show that a substantial portion of expenditure inequality is attributed to inequalities within urban and rural sectors. According to the alternative approach, however, the contribution of between-sector inequality increases conspicuously, suggesting that there are notable differences in the distribution of per capita household expenditures between the urban and rural sectors. Educational differences appear to have played an important role in urban inequality as well as urban-rural disparity. For both urban and rural households, expenditures on non-food items, including expenditure on education, serve to have increased total inequality.