Title: Social environment and industrial clusters: the effects on public investment distribution

Authors: Fakhraddin Maroofi, Shirzad Khsepehr

Addresses: Department of Management, University of Kurdistan, Pasdaran Avenue, Sanandaj, Iran. ' IRIB, Kurdistan Center, Jamejam Avenue, Sanandaj, Iran

Abstract: Using balance sheet data from a sample of 6,996 public firms in the manufacturing industry, we analyse the distribution of public investments in Iran at a very detailed geographical level, i.e., the provincial level, a region which comprises an urban area and the limited geographical area surrounding it. In this paper, we test the impact that unplanned economies and social capital have on the distribution of public investments. While the findings regarding the social variables are mixed, the important role played by unplanned economies is confirmed. Our analysis shows that investments by people are attracted by those areas that combine industrial cluster characteristics with an unplanned economy.

Keywords: unplanned economies; social environment; industrial clusters; public investments; investment distribution; balance sheets; public companies; manufacturing industry; Iran; urban areas; social capital; mixed variables; Kurdistan; business performance; performance management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPM.2010.038233

International Journal of Business Performance Management, 2010 Vol.12 No.2, pp.123 - 135

Published online: 24 Jan 2011 *

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