Local functional specialisation

This study builds on recent research on the functional division of labour and adapts an approach from the management literature to examine the functional economic specialisation of local economies. We introduce a measure of local functional specialisation that spans private sector activities and accounts for services without imposing a conventional manufacturing framework. Evidence from Sweden suggests that analysing local functional specialisation provides a promising lens for understanding how local economies position themselves within today’s vertically disintegrated and spatially fragmented systems of value creation. To support further research, we make available matrices that map occupations into functional categories.