The Influence of the Market Potential of Industrial Agglomeration in Kyushu on Corporate Activities and Port Utilization Panel Data Analysis during the Inbound Rise Period (Japanese)

Since 2003, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan using cruise ships and low-cost carriers (LCCs) has been increasing due to the promotion of inbound tourism In particular, the number of international cruise ships calling from East Asia was increasing at major ports in Kyushu until 2019. With the exception of Hakata and Nagasaki Port, most of the ports visited by cruise ships have been re-purposed from containers or bulk ports to accommodate cruise ships. And charter buses have been used to connect sightseeing spots and central areas from those ports of call. These ports were originally opened for import and export for the manufacturing industry. It can be assumed that these ports were related to the trend of locating industrial clusters in Kyushu. As the leading industry shifts from manufacturing to tourism, the formation of industrial clusters, which has also been implemented since the early 2000s, has led to the promotion of innovation and the strengthening of agglomeration. However, is not the formation of industrial clusters contributing to port utilization? Based on this research question, this paper focuses on ports that cruise ships visit more frequently and the manufacturing industries located in the hinterland in the Kyushu region. First, we measured the market potential (MP) based on the transportation costs of manufacturing between prefectures. Second, we investigated how MP affects corporate productivity and wages. Third, we investigated how MP and port systems affected logistics. Estimation results show that MP contributes to productivity and wages in the manufacturing industry, and that MP and the scale of investment of port facilities contribute to logistics.