Analysis of Industrial Diversification Level of Economic Development in Rural Areas Using Herfindahl Index and Two-Step Clustering

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Purpose: This paper explores the potential relationship between diversified industrial agglomeration and regional economic development in rural areas. It uses the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and a two-step cluster analysis method to conduct an empirical analysis of the rural areas of Chungcheongbuk.

Overall assessment: In general, this is a very good paper. It uses a sound methodology based on a general economic survey data of 2010 and 2015 provided by the Korean Bureau of Statistics. It is based on the theoretical background of specialized industrial agglomeration first proposed by Marshal (1920). The empirical results offer important policy implications regarding the promotion of economic development in rural areas.  

Author Response

Dear Reviewer

Thank you for considering the manuscript for publication in the Sustainability and in-depth review of the manuscript. 

In revised manuscript, we slightly revised the introduction and conclusions in order to emphasize the contribution of this paper in terms of important policy implications regarding the promotion of economic development in rural areas as you mentioned. 

We appreciate again your thoughtful comments, and look forward to hearing your reply.

 

Kind regards, on behalf of all co-authors,

Sanghyun Lee

Reviewer 2 Report

 

The paper concentrates on the important issue from the perspective of regions, municipalities and enterprises in regard to the industrial diversification level of economic development in rural areas and the possible relationship between industrial structure and economic development in rural areas in South Korea.

  

However, before publication the paper needs following improvements:

 1.     Motivation is weak. Authors could better define the research question and the aim of the paper. Moreover, they could better point out the existing gap in the literature.

2.     Introduction section: In this part please:

−      Define the main aim of paper.

−      Formulate scientific hypotheses or research questions. These must be supported by an appropriate review of theoretical sources in the first part and by results in the next part!

3.     Literature review and improvements in regard to literature background should be made. Examples of articles that may be useful for the authors identifying similar contributions and better show what is the specific contribution.

−      Lu, Y.; de Vries, W.T. A Discourse Analysis of 40 Years Rural Development in China. Sustainability 2022, 14, 5206.

−      Chiru, Gheorghe. (2021) The Development of Entrepreneurship in the Romanian Rural Area. Acta Universitatis Danubius: Oeconomica, 17(6), 307-316.

−      Lewandowska, A., Stopa, M., Inglot-Brzęk, E. (2021) Innovativeness and entrepreneurship: Socioeconomic remarks on regional development in peripheral regions. Economics and Sociology, 14(2), 222-235. doi: 10.14254/2071-789X.2021/14-2/12

−      Tianming, G.; Ivolga, A.; Erokhin, V. Sustainable Rural Development in Northern China: Caught in a Vice between Poverty, Urban Attractions, and Migration. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1467.

In my opinion these four references cannot be omitted.

 4.     Discussion and Conclusions should be better. The findings are not compared and contrasted with relevant literature. Linking theoretical considerations with empirical findings and providing some planning insights is critical in a journal with the scope of Sustainability.

5.     The limitations of the research should be given in the discussion or conclusions.

6.     Conclusions should be extended with the information on ideas for future research.

  

I hope that my comments are helpful to you as you continue your work on this project. Good luck!

Author Response

Dear Reviewer and Editor,

Thank you for considering the manuscript for publication in the Sustainability and in-depth review of the manuscript. 

In revised manuscript, we tried to apply all comments from reviewers and we extensively updated introduction and conclusion to improve its readability, especially for highlighting the novelty of the present work. 

In the revision notes, you will find a point-by-point reply to specific comments.

We appreciate again your thoughtful comments, and look forward to hearing your reply.

 

Kind regards, on behalf of all co-authors,

Sanghyun Lee

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx