Presenter: Litao Zhong, PhD
Abstract
This paper aims to explore the interplay between industrial diversity and economic development in the U.S. counties. Among other popularly used measures, we employ an underused measure, the Hachman Index, to gauge the degree of industrial diversity in our models. In order to capture the impact of industrial diversity to the local community, we estimate the relationship of various diversity measures to four traditional socio-economic indicators: per capita personal income growth, gross domestic product per worker, income inequality ratio, and poverty rate. Statistical results suggest that industrial diversity, which is measured by the Hachman Index, is significantly related to four socio-economic indicators. Industrial diversity can positively contribute to regional per capita personal income growth and mitigate income inequality and poverty stress, however, it is negatively related to gross domestic product per worker. The other two industrial diversity measures, cluster diversity and cluster growth, show mixed results. Most of the other control variables, human capital and business profile variables, also display significant and positive impact to regional economic development.
Biographical Statement
Dr. Litao Zhong is Associate Professor of Economics and Finance at Indiana University East. He received his PhD in Economics from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His teaching interests include principles of macro/microeconomics, money and banking, environmental economics, international trade, and international finance. His research interests include regional economic development, international economics, and online pedagogy. He is a member of the American Economic Association and the Midwest Economic Association.
