Regional economics represents a framework within which the spatial character of economic

systems may be understood. We seek to identify the factors governing the distribution of
economic activity over space and to recognize that as this distribution changes, there will be
important consequences for individuals and for communities. OBJECTIVES: 1. Individual and
Social Welfare Criteria 2. Regional Economic Growth as a Goal 3. Regional Objectives In a
National Setting 4. National High-Employment Policy and Regional Economic Adjustment. 5.
Efficiency, Equity, and Structural Unemployment 6. Helping Regions and Helping People. 7.
Regional Rivalry and the National Interest. Importance: Globally,
successful economies are organized on a regional basis. This is not different in Indiana.
Regional economic strategies and growth goes hand-in-hand with wealth. It starts with the
aligning of assets to support economic development initiatives and projects. Talent: quality,
Taxes, Utilities, Regulatory, Quality of Place, Strategy, Infrastructure, Incentives. As time
has moved forward, regional economies have surpassed national and state level strategies in
terms of importance and impact. Regional economies offer the best environment for idea
experimentation in terms of economic development.
Regional inequality: regional inequality is used to refer to differences in the quality of life,
wealth and living standards of people living and/working in different places.
Causes of Regional Imbalances or Disparities: Historical Factors: Geographical Factors:
Locational Advantage: Inadequacy of Economic Overheads: Failure of Planning Mechanism:
Lack of Growth of Ancillary Industries in Backward Divisions: Lack of Motivation on the Part of
Backward Divisions: Political Instability. How do you reduce regional inequality? 1.
Identification of the Backward Areas and Allocation of funds:2. Need for Investments in
Backward Areas:3. Good Governance: 4. Political Will. 5. Incentives:-(a) Central Government
Incentives: Income Tax concession, Tax Holiday, (b) Local Government Incentives 6. Promoting
New Financial Institution in Backward Region:7. Setting Up of Regional Boards 8. Growth
Corridors comprised of education zones, agricultural zones and industrial 9. Strict restrictions on
usage of productive agricultural land.
Regional development: is a broad term but can be seen as a general effort to reduce regional
disparities by supporting (employment and wealth-generating) economic activities in regions.
7 Proven Planning Techniques for Better Projects: 1. Critical path analysis 2. Brainstorming
3. work breakdown structure 4. Gantt chart 5. Causes and effect diagram 6. PERT(Program
evaluation and review technique) 7.SMART(Specific, Measurable, attainable, relevant, and time
bound) Goals. Planning techniques: 1. strategic planning 2. action planning 3 tactical
planning 4. operational planning 5. assumption based planning 6. contingency planning.
Identifying Barriers to Planning: Inability to plan or inadequate planning/ Lack of commitment
to the planning process / Inferior information/ Focusing on the present at the expense of the
future/ Too much reliance on the organization's planning department. / Concentrating on
controllable variables How to solve 5 common resource planning problems 1.
Automate data entry tasks 2. Consolidate and integrate your software systems 3. Improve
departmental communication 4. Implement software to improve workload management 5.
Employ cloud resource planning tools to enable effective sharing and communication of key
information.
Refugees; Socio-economic impacts on host communities: Microeconomic impact: 1.
Impact of price changes on poverty 2. Impact of wage changes on poverty 3. Impacts on
vulnerability. Meso-economic impacts 1. Impacts on land and agricultural production 2.
Impacts on fishing and related activities 3. Impacts on the environment. Macroeconomic
impacts: 1. impacts on public service and public goods delivery 2. Impacts on governance 3.
Impacts on solid waste management and water, sanitation and hygiene 4. Impacts on housing
5. Impacts on roads 6. Impacts on business infrastructure 7. Impacts on health services.
Objectives of Location Choice: 1. Style of operation 2.Demographics 3.Foot traffic 4.
Accessibility and parking 5. Competition 6. Proximity to other businesses and services 7.Image
and history of the site 8. Ordinances 9. The building's infrastructure 10. Utilities and other costs.
________
Location Choice for the First Time or New Organisations: 1. Identification of region 2.
Choice of a site within a region 3. Dimensional analysis. In Case of Location Choice for
Existing Organisation: 1.Plant manufacturing distinct products. 2. Manufacturing plant
supplying to specific market area 3. Plant divided on the basis of the process or stages in
manufacturing. 4.Plants emphasizing flexibility. 5. Expansion of the facilities at the existing site
6. Relocation of the facilities. In Case of Global Location:
Tangible Reasons: Reaching the customer. Intangible Reasons: Customer-related Reasons,
Organisational Learning-related Reasons, other strategic reasons. General
Locational Factors: CONTROLLABLE FACTORS: 1. Proximity to markets 2. Supply of raw
material 3. Transportation facilities 4. Infrastructure availability 5. Labour and wages 6. External
economies of scale 7. Capital. UNCONTROLLABLE FACTORS: 1.Government policy 2.
Climatic conditions 3. Supporting industries and services 4. Community and labour attitudes 5.
Community infrastructure and amenity. Specific Locational Factors for Manufacturing
Organisation: DOMINANT FACTORS: 1. Favourable labour climate. 2. Proximity to markets 3.
Quality of life 4. Proximity to suppliers and resources 5. Utilities, taxes, and real estate costs.
SECONDARY FACTORS. Specific
Locational Factors for Service Organisation: DOMINANT FACTORS: 1. Proximity to
customers 2. Transportation costs and proximity to markets 3. location of competitors.
SECONDARY FACTORS.
What's A Region? A region, in the most basic sense, is an area with certain characteristics that
set it apart from other areas. These characteristics have distinct qualities about them, such as
climate, size, or populations. A formal region is a specific area that is defined by economics,
physical properties, culture or government. A formal region is also known as a uniform region as
it shares one or more physical or cultural features. Functional Region: A region that is
specifically divided or located for a function is called a functional region. Perceptual Region
(Vernacular Region): A perceptual region is also referred to as a vernacular region. Vernacular
regions may refer to the different ways that people communicate with one another, while
perceptual regions often refer to feelings/beliefs about a region held by people.
Difference between Formal and Functional Regions: 1. Often concrete and physical in
nature// Specific to one area 2. Has specific boundaries that set them apart from other regions
in the world// Areas organized around a node or focal point. (like a university, airport, or a radio
Station) 3. Homogeneous areas or habitats inhabited by social groups, societies, or nations //
Often a metropolitan area that consists of a major city and lots of smaller towns or cities that
surround it. 4. Organized and represented by small systems or part systems// The region is tied
to the central point by transportation or communication systems or economic or functional
associations 5. Based on facts and knowledge of an area; like population and temperature//
Many people live in one town and work in another because they are part of the same functional
region 6. Has clear cut, political boundaries// Functions and works together as part of an
economic and social system 7. Characterized by a common human property like language,
religion, nationality, political identity culture, common physical or property, climate, land form
and vegetation// The purpose of functional locations is to study the structure and functions of
community within some spaces. 8. Defined by common political identity, political units - where
all people are subject to same laws and government// Defined by a set of activities, connections
or interactions 9. Examples for formal regions: Chinatown (San Francisco, CA) Chinatown - (big
cities in USA) - Chinese people, restaurants, stores// Examples include newspaper circulation
area, Commuter traffic patterns, Subway systems in NYC, Boston, etc., Highway systems, Los
Angeles Metropolitan Area.
Types of Regions on the Basis of Stages of Economic Development: 1.Developed /
Development Regions 2) Backward Regions 3) Neutral Regions/ Intermediate Regions. Types
of Regions Based on the Activity Status Analysis :1)Mineral regions 2) Manufacturing
Regions and Congested Regions 3) Cultural Regions. Regions in Regional Economics: 1)
Homogenous Region (Formal,Functional,Vernacular) 2) Polarized/Nodal/Heterogeneous /
Functional Regions 3) Planning Regions Types of Regions in
Multi-Level Planning Perspective :1) Macro Region 2) Meso Region 3) Micro Region 4) Micro-
Minor Region
Dualism is a concept which represents the existence and persistence of increasing divergences
between rich and poor both at world level and at country levels.
Factors of International Dualism: (1) The DCs have a power to control and manipulate world
resources and commodity markets to their advantage (2) The foreign investment activities by
MNCs.(3) The privileged access of rich nations to scarce raw material. (iv) The export of
unsuitable and inappropriate science and technology. (v) The transfer of out-dated and
irrelevant systems of education to societies where education is considered as a key component
in the process of development. (vi) Dumping policies pursued by the rich countries which
discourage industrialization efforts of UDCs. (vii) The harmful international trade theories and
policies which have confined the UDCs to export just primary products. (viii) The harmful aid
policies pursued by donors which help in perpetuating the international dualistic economic
structures. (ix) The creation of elites in poor countries who are influenced by the external ideas.
(x) The transfer of unsuitable methods of university training for unrealistic and often irrelevant
international professional standards, for instance the externally conceived degree requirements
for doctors, engineers, technicians and economists. (xi) The international brain-drain which has
encouraged the international mobility to the rich nations because of handsome salaries etc.
Factors affecting location of industries: 1. Regional factors or Primary causes of regional
distribution of industry. (Transportation costs, and Labour costs.) 2. Agglomerative and
degglomerative factors. Agglomerative factors make industries centralize at a particulars place.
Such factors may include banking and insurance facilities, external economies and the like.
Degglomerative factors are those which decentralize location of industries. Examples of such
factors are local taxes cost of land, residence, labour costs and transportation costs.
Role of Transportation Costs: 1. A one market (M), one raw material (R1) condition gives
rise to THREE situations. (i) Raw Material Available Everywhere: The best location in this
situation is the market, as that will simply eliminate the transportation costs for the
manufacturing unit. (ii) Raw Material Fixed, And Pure: The manufacturing unit, in this case,
should be located either at the market or at the source. (iii) Raw Material Fixed and Gross:
The best location will be at source.
2. One Market, two Raw Materials (R1, R2) condition gives rise to FOUR situations.
(1) Both R1 and R2 are found everywhere: here, the best location will be at the market, as in
that case, lowest transportation costs would prevail. (ii) R1 is fixed, R2 is found everywhere,
both are pure: the best location would be at the market, because theh, transportation charges
for R1 only will have to be paid. (3) Both Rland R2 are fixed and pure: the best location will be
at the market, because in that case lowest aggregate transportation charges will prevail. (iv)
Both R1 and R2 are fixed and gross: this is a complex situation, for which Weber introduced
the "locational triangle". Two raw materials-R1, and R2-and market (M) form the three modes of
this triangle. The transportation charges are a product of the cargo weight and the distance
carried by transportation. Thus, a pull is being exerted on the location by each of these three
modes. It is seen that the weight-losing manufacturing processes like iron smelting tend to be
located near the source of raw materials, while the weight-gaining ones like baking tend to be
located near the market (Fig. 1).
Role of Labour Costs: To determine the role of locational pattern of labour force on
manufacturing location, Weber's locational triangle is placed in concentric pattern of rising
transportation costs outwards from the centre (Fig. 1). It is assumed that the labour force is
dispersed outwards and the distance from the centre represents savings on account of labour
costs decrease and a point (L) comes where the savings on labour cost overcome the handicap
of rising transportation costs. This is a more profitable focation than 'F' which is the lowest
transportation cost location. According to Weber, labour is concentrated at some definite
places and different places have different labour cost. In order to save labour cost, the Industrial
plant may be relocated away from the point of the least transport cost. An industrialist considers
the possible savings in labour cost being greater than any possible additional costs involved, he
would be making a move from the point of least transport cost. Weber resolved this matter
through using isodapane method. Role of Agglomeration: The
coming together or agglomeration of industries offers cuts in production costs if two or more
industries operate in the same location
(Fig. 1). Weber visualized agglomeration
economies as an important secondary
factor. Agglomeration of industries occurs
when several industrial enterprises with
different industrial plants would mutually
concur to locate and operate at a clustered
spatial point closely. Agglomeration
economies denotes the savings of the
individual plants that result when they
operate at the same location. This saving
is the result of common use of such
activities as financial services, public
utilities, auxiliary industries etc. As more
and more enterprises cluster, linkage
increase and there is an increased flow of
goods between plants specialized labour
and savings because of purchasing of
materials in bulk and facilities of large-
scale marketing of finished products. Thus,
agglomeration economies can be obtained
when a firm produces items in mass or
when many firms cluster together in the
same location. Agglomeration economies exert significantly on the location of industrial plants.
Weber visualized agglomeration economies as a strong deviational force on the location of
minimum transport cost in the same way as is exerted by cheap and skilled labour locations.
CRITICISM: 1. Unrealistic Assumptions 2. Labour Centres Notion Defective 3. Ideas about
Fixed Points of Consumption 4. Vague Generalisations 5. Defective Method of Analysis 6.
Overburdened with Technical Considerations.