36 research outputs found
Individual-city-centered networks for cities\u27 self-sustainability : Lesson from the Great East Japan Earthquake
Increase of Foreign Direct Investment under the Economic Liberalization in India and its Implications for the National Spatial Structure
India launched a series of progressive economic liberalization policies to overcome the structural defects that had caused the economic crisis in 1991. With these policy changes, foreign direct investment (FDI) into India has increased rapidly since 1992. This paper examines the characteristics of spatial distribution of the FDI and analyzes its implications for the Indian urban system. The paper includes the following findings: 1 )FDI into India after the economic liberalization has been concentrated in the eight largest metropolitan areas: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Ahmadabad. In particular, the bulk of the FDI has gone to Delhi and Mumbai. 2 )Mumbai is the largest city in terms of agglomeration of domestic major companies. However, Mumbai is inferior to Delhi in terms of the amount of FDI received. This trend was repeatedly recognized in the distribution of FDI from the major investing countries. This finding indicates that Delhi has increasingly elevated its status in the hierarchy of economic centers due to the increase of FDI. That is, Delhi seems to have increased its centrality in economic activities in addition to being the national center of political and administrative activities. 3 )In South India, Bangalore is generally viewed as the second economic center after Chennai. However, Bangalore already receives as much FDI as Chennai. Like Delhi, Bangalore has elevated its status in the Indian urban system due to FDI. 4 )The Kolkata metropolitan area has the second largest population after Mumbai. However, the amount of FDI in Kolkata is smaller than in Hyderabad whose population is less than half that of Kolkata. This finding indicates that Kolkata has decreased its status in the hierarchy of economic centers due to the distribution of FDI in the country. 5 )We conducted questionnaire surveys for Japanese and American-affiliated companies in order to examine factors influencing the location of the companies. Five factors were recognized as the main impo
Location Pattern of Sales Branches of Large Companies in India and its Relationship to the Hierarchical Differentiation of Cities
In 1991, India launched a series of progressive economic liberalization policies called ""The New Economic Policy."" Since 1993, the annual rate of economic growth in India has maintained a consistent growth rate of around 6%. The number of companies that have formed nation-wide networks of sales branches in India has increased. Based on Japan's experience, the establishment of nationwide networks of branches and related sales offices by large companies involved in mass production operations will promote the hierarchical differentiation of cities. This paper will discuss future trends in the hierarchical differentiation of cities in India, based on the analysis of the location patterns of branches in the sales networks of large companies. The location patterns of branches in sales networks of the following eleven companies were investigated: three automobile manufacturers (two Japanese and one South Korean), one motorcycle manufacturer (Japanese), four home appliance manufacturers (one Japanese and two South Korean companies and one Indian), one copy machine manufacturer (Japanese), one soap and detergent manufacturer (Indian) and one tea manufacturer (British). Research revealed the following: 1 ) Seven of the eleven companies provided information on the locations of branches in India. Although the specific numbers differed, all seven companies have established branches in the four widely recognized regions of India: northern, southern, western and eastern. In northern India branches are located in Delhi, Mumbai in the western part, and Kolkata in the eastern part. These branches are generally called regional offices. In southern India, most companies have branches located in Chennai, but there are also some in Bangalore, suggesting that in the future these two cities may compete for new branches. There are also state branches administered by regional offices; further expansion of sales networks will probably increase the centrality of the cities in which state branches are located. 2 ) The location pattern o