Analysing industrial growth in various cities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

This article investigates the industrial success of various cities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It assesses the hypothesis that knowledge spillovers are supportive of industrial growth at the city level. Theories of economic city growth suggest that cities are engines of knowledge spillovers, whi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences 2018-01, Vol.11 (1), p.1-12
Main Authors: Kleynhans, Ewert P.J., Coetzee, Clive E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cities
city growth
city-industries
Competition
Competitive advantage
competitiveness
diversity
Economic activity
economic geography
Economic growth
Economic models
Economic theory
Efficiency
Equilibrium
externalities
Externality
Geography
Human capital
Industrial development
industrial growth
Innovations
Knowledge
Localization
Political economy
Productivity
Technological change
urban economics
Urbanization
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Summary:This article investigates the industrial success of various cities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It assesses the hypothesis that knowledge spillovers are supportive of industrial growth at the city level. Theories of economic city growth suggest that cities are engines of knowledge spillovers, which are essential to generate growth. This study utilised data on the growth of industries in cities in KwaZulu-Natal between 1996 and 2015. The study initially found that industries develop better in environments characterised by less concentration and more city diversity, which gave evidence of Jacobs’ externalities. However, after controlling for industryspecific and city-specific characteristics, the results changed significantly. No evidence was found for concentration effects (Marshall/Arrow/Romer-externalities) and less diversity supports city-industry growth (evidence against Jacobs’ externalities).
ISSN:1995-7076
2312-2803
DOI:10.4102/jef.v11i1.184