Firm Size and Regional Linkages. A Typology of Manufacturing Establishments in Southern Spain

Abstract

Regions with different levels of development are characterized by different enterprise compositions according to firm size and regional productive linkages. Using these two variables and two additional ones -the technological level and the position in the value chain-, the composition of the industrial sector in any region can be studied. In this respect, a new theoretical enterprise typology is proposed in this paper as a powerful analytical tool. Furthermore, an empirical work is carried out using a data set from the survey done to estimate the regional input-output table of Andalusia, a backward region in southern Spain. Thus, the theoretical enterprise typology is applied to the industry in Andalusia, so that some strengths and weaknesses of the regional economy are identified.