지역투자 실태와 투자환경 개선방안

Regional Investment Conditions and Improvement Plan

The investment to Gross Regional Domestic Production(GRDP) ratio has declined from 12 percent in the sixth business cycle(1993～1998) to 9.3 percent in the eighth business cycle(2002～2006). Also, as equipment investment has been concentrated more in regions such as Gyeonggi-Province, Gyeongbuk-Province, and Chungnam-Province, there is concern of regional development and growth disparity. Therefore, the components of the regional investment climate is analyzed in this paper and further the strategies how to accelerate regional investment is discussed. First, regional investment environment is classified into four groups and ten sub-categories. The four groups are input conditions, industrial agglomerations, infrastructure conditions, and policy conditions of regional government. According to a survey of 3,651 firms, input conditions are the most important component of four groups. Also physical infrastructure, human resources, agglomeration of related industries, and market conditions are important sub-categories in investment and location decisions by firms. The priority in the decision criteria, however, depends on the industry and size of firms. Hence, it is necessary to carefully approach any improvements in the regional investment climate. Secondly, short and long term strategies are discussed for regional investment environment. In the short run, the improvement in incentives and streamlined procedures are very effective. On the other hand, to facilitate regional investment in a more fundamental way over the long run, deregulation of the investment climate and nurturing of specified industrial clusters are recommended. Above all, region- oriented strategies are needed for key improvements of the investment environment in each region.