Resilience as an industrial policy objective: an application to the industrial districts of the valencian region

Authors

  • Antonio Fuster Olivares Universidad de Alicante

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/IREP.2.2.19349

Abstract

In the most recent Since the financial and economic crisis of 2008 and the current health and economic crisis, concept of resilience has been increasingly included in economic analysis and economic policy proposals. Following this trend, the aim of this work is to apply the concept of resilience to the analysis of the evolution of industrial and advanced services sectors in the Valencian Region during the Great Recession. The analysis is based on the classification of local labour markets as industrial districts. Resilience is defined here as the ability of a system to cope with the consequences of an external shock. At the same time, resilience as a new and accurate reference for the industrial policy is also proposed. Therefore, the estimation of resilience could be useful to evaluate the effectiveness of measures designed to improve resistance to adverse shocks.

Industrial districts are analysed here because their relevance for the Valencian Region as areas with a long industrial and manufacturing tradition. In addition, the concept of industrial district is based on its dynamism; so, it allows the study of resilience during the last economic crisis, starting in 2008. Thus, the aim is to analyse the resilience shown by local labour systems of the Valencian Region distinguishing those that are industrial districts. In this context, benefits associated with agglomeration economies and entrepreneurial relationships should improve the resistance of industrial districts to cope with the negative effects of external shocks. Particularly, in terms of production level recovery as employment takes longer to recover. The findings of this study could be useful to point to resilience as a main industrial policy objective. Thus, policy measures could be designed with the aim of increasing resilience of productive sectors in the event of future shocks. 

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Published

2020-12-24

How to Cite

Fuster Olivares, A. (2020). Resilience as an industrial policy objective: an application to the industrial districts of the valencian region. International Review of Economic Policy-Revista Internacional De Política Económica, 2(2), 21–45. https://doi.org/10.7203/IREP.2.2.19349
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