Geographical Concentration of Soviet Industries: A Comparative Analysis

D. Kofanov and Tatiana Mikhailova ()
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D. Kofanov: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

Journal of the New Economic Association, 2015, vol. 28, issue 4, 112-141

Abstract: This paper analyzes the geographical concentration of manufacturing industries in Russia before the beginning of transition. We calculate Duranton- Overman (Duranton, Overman, 2005) indices of localization and dispersion for 4-digit US SIC 1987 industries of civilian manufacturing in the RSFSR in 1989. Comparative analysis reveals that industries in the RSFSR were less localized than in geographically compact countries of Western Europe. On the other hand, compared to another country with large territory and low population density - Canada, industries in RSFSR exhibit similar overall degree of geographical dispersion. Compared to Canada, Russia has less localization in the technologically sophisticated industries. Such pattern of industrial localization suggests that the Soviet planning system could account for the benefits of localization near inputs or near consumers, but could not internalize the knowledge spillover externalities, that are especially important for the technologically advanced industries.

Keywords: USSR; economic geography; concentration; manufacturing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L11 L60 P25 P31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nea:journl:y:2015:i:28:p:112-141

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