한국의 환경산업 현황 및 지역별 상대적 경쟁력 분석: 변이-할당 분석을 중심으로

Abstract

Throughout the past decade, the Korean government has initiated policies to stimulate growth in environmental industries. However, little research has been conducted to identify and measure the size and the trends that affect these industries. This study analyzes the regional growth of environmental industries based on the number of firms and employment growth from 2007 to 2012. Using employment data and employing a shift-share analysis, this study examines changes in the relative competitiveness of environmental industries by region(metropolitan cities and provinces), and by industry (manufacturing, construction, trade, and service industries). The results show that environmental industries experienced faster growth than other industries over the past 5 years. In particular, the environmental service sector showed a substantial growth rate. The analysis indicates that the relative competitiveness of environmental industries in local provinces rather than metropolitan cities has increased significantly since 2007. Environmental industries can thus be considered as a potential new economic base for economically-stagnant provinces in South Korea. In addition, the results show that each province is competitive in different environmental industries. This suggests that policy makers should pursue economic growth initiatives by identifying the environmental industries in their region with relatively high competitive potential.