Assessment of Industrial Interdependence in the Southern Region of Bangladesh: A Functional Regionalization-Based Analysis Towards a Comprehensive Development in the Economy

Abstract

Despite the growing progression of regional economic integration as a driving factor for national development, the spatial dynamics of industrial interdependence in Bangladesh's southern coastal zone remain insufficiently theorized and empirically underexplored. The research addresses this gap by examining the functional correlation, dependable characteristics, and structural linkages among industries across four strategically significant districts (Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, and Narail) through an integrated spatial-analytical framework. Employing a composite weighted index for formal regionalization alongside Reilly's Law of Retail Gravitation, the research delineates influence areas (IA) and unserved areas (UA) at the upazila level to assess intra-regional economic reach and service accessibility differentials. Input-output interdependence is contextualized within a GIS-based spatial representation, while Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) and Moran's I statistic are applied to detect local clustering patterns, spatial outliers, and distributional asymmetries in industrial concentration. The findings reveal considerable spatial heterogeneity: Koyra (Khulna) and Shyamnagar (Satkhira) exhibit the highest influence areas, whereas Daulatpur registers the lowest, reflecting structural deficits in transport connectivity and economic infrastructure. At the district level, Narail records the lowest unserved area share (0.96%), attributable in part to its favourable positioning along the Padma Bridge corridor. LISA analysis identifies the absence of significant high-high clusters, indicating a fragmented rather than cohesive pattern of industrial development, with Khulna emerging as a high-influence, high-unserved-area outlier characterized by disproportionately low industrial concentration relative to its functional importance. These spatial imbalances are further explained through a multi-factor analysis encompassing transport networks, vocational infrastructure, agricultural land use, and market density. The research concludes that targeted policy interventions, including upazila-scale industrial decentralization, infrastructure investment, and skills development, are necessary to foster inter-regional industrial interdependence and mitigate spatial disparities in southern Bangladesh.