Localized Spillovers in the Polish Food Industry: The Role of FDI in the Development Process?

Abstract

Jensen C. (2004) Localized spillovers in the Polish food industry: the role of FDI in the development process?, Reg. Studies 38, 535–550. The paper aims to investigate whether there are spillovers and agglomeration effects in the Polish food industry. This part of the research focuses on horizontal or inter-industry types of spillovers assuming that they may be multidirectional and could be based on any kind of community related to geography, industry affiliation and ownership. In the transition countries that have opened up to foreign direct investment very recently, ownership can be an important determinant of the firm’s embeddedness in both local and global networks. The study confirms the relevance of all three types of ‘community’ factors bur raises concerns that foreign investors appear to share their own ‘glocal’ networks, while spillovers among domestic firms are confined to their own and also to highly localized producer communities. An F-test on the appropriateness of pooling confirms the idea that regional policy may have increased the likelihood of segregation.