China's Pharmaceutical Industry: Typologies and Characteristics

This paper uses aggregate and firm level data to examine the characteristics of the Chinese pharmaceutical industry in general and its geographical agglomeration in particular. It addresses the following research questions: 1) Are there geographical agglomerations in China’s pharmaceutical industry? 2) What are the specific features of these industrial clusters1 and can they be classified in a typology? and 3) What is the role of FDI in the cluster formation, development and upgrading of Chinese pharmaceutical industry? [Paper submitted for International Seminar on Knowledge Based Industries, Employment and Global Competitiveness Organised by Forum for Global Knowldege Sharing, India International Centre, Delhi, October 6-7, 2007.]