Extending the Regional Analysis Toolkit

Abstract

The performance of industries in local communities is affected by a wide range of factors including the emergence of global value chains. Three analytical techniques, along with a classification model, were utilized in this paper to provide better insight into the changes occurring in economic regions across Canada. Based on employment estimates from the 1996 to 2012 period, industries within regions were analyzed using location quotients, traditional shift-share and multi-factor partitioning techniques. The performance of industries within each economic region was also classified in accordance with the Carvalho Classification System. The results revealed that different analytical techniques each provided different views of the change occurring in specific economic regions. While the results are descriptive in nature and should be supplemented with local community input, utilizing a variety of analytical techniques can provide valuable background information when building development strategies. In a new era of global production networks, it is particularly important to have greater insight into the competitive advantages that reside in local communities.

Keywords: regional analysis, shift-share, multi-factor partitioning, location quotients, global value chains