Economics Of Clusters

Clusters policies have become a key focus for policy makers in recent years. This book looks at the development of clusters of economic activity and their importance in shaping industrial and public policy. It examines the success and failures of policy in France and extrapolates its findings to the rest of the world.

This volume shows that in today’s globalized world, clusters are an important factor in explaining the different growth rates of firms, cities and regions. Drawing on the expertise of an international contributor team, it covers topics such as clusters and small and medium-sized enterprise competitiveness, innovation and science parks, clusters and multinationals, and information and communication technology clusters. It reveals great diversity in terms of the origin of clusters, the organizational relationships at play, and the characteristics of the firms involved. Taking lessons from a rich variety of literature and empirical cases, the book provides valuable insights for regional development and industrial policy. Economic Clusters and Globalization will be of interest to scholars and policymakers in economic geography, regional studies, entrepreneurship and international business.

When we talk about clusters, it's the fabulous destiny of Silicon Valley that first comes to mind – the place where entrepreneurs and policymakers alike flock. But do we really understand the complex mechanics of these clusters? What tools can economics and other related disciplines use to analyze their performance? When it comes to spending taxpayer money to support cluster development, do benefits actually exceed costs? This book provides a synthesis of cluster theory and presents methodologies to analyze their structure and performance. It also contains insights into how to renew regional innovation policy. The French edition of this volume was granted Best Book in Economics 2016 by The French Association of Economics (AFSE)

This important new book takes a critical view on regional industry clusters, in particular their identification and formation, and the policies which help create and support them.

This detailed book explores and provides insights into the development and transformation of various clusters, economies and industrial sectors in East and Southeast Asia. The authors study a number of important issues including the role of information and communication technology in economic growth, an emerging biomedical cluster in South Korea, an industrial agglomeration of Taiwanese electronics firms in China, and different sectorial and regional growth models in China. They also investigate the increasing relevance of cluster policies and the need to understand them in the context of the institutional and structural transition of newly industrializing East Asian economies. The book moves on to study the technology intensity of FDI in Vietnam and the implications for economic growth and emerging clusters, as well as the origin and characteristics of foreign technology transfer in a Chinese aircraft industry cluster. Clusters and Economic Growth in Asia will greatly appeal to academics, researchers, politicians, policy planners and industrial specialists, as well as those with a specific interest in clusters and economic growth in Asian economies.

Examining the role of the much-vaunted concepts of regional clusters in the prosperity and economic expansion of countries, this work looks at the different experiences of industrial districts and high-tech regions such as Silicon Valley, Boston's biotech region, and Hsinchu-Taipei.

Karlsson has assembled a strong mix of papers that collectively provide a good sense of some of the latest research in the field. Edward Feser, Review of Regional Studies This is a book every regional scientist and spatial analyst should have on their bookshelf. Like most Handbook type publications it provides depth and breadth on the basics of the industrial clustering concept. However, unlike most of these type of collections, it goes beyond the foundation material to identify and speculate on questions that are emerging on the research frontiers such as at the intersection of cluster theory and agglomeration processes, knowledge spillovers and technology transfer not to mention the obvious link to economic development theory, policy and practice. Roger R. Stough, George Mason University, US This eclectic volume presents a host of methods to describe tendencies for the joint location of economic agents in space. And it illustrates useful applications of these concepts in diverse fields financial services, culture, tourism, and industry, to name just a few. John M. Quigley, University of California, US Clusters have increasingly dominated local and regional development policies in recent decades and the growing intellectual and political interest for clusters and clustering is the prime motivation for this Handbook. Charlie Karlsson unites leading experts to present a thorough overview of economic cluster research. Topics explored include agglomeration and cluster theory, methods for analysing clusters, clustering in different spatial contexts and clustering in service industries. Encompassing the developed economies of Europe and North America, the Handbook provides a basis for improving cluster policy formulation, interpretation and analyses. This comprehensive overview of research on economic clusters will be of interest to scholars and PhD students in (regional) economics, economic geography, regional planning and management as well as practitioners and policymakers at the national, regional and local levels involved in cluster formation and cluster management.

Innovation is the motor of economic change. Over the last fifteen years, researches in innovation processes have emphasised the systemic features of innovation. Whilst innovation system analysis traditionally takes a static institutional approach, cluster analysis focuses on interaction and the dynamics of technology and innovation. First, the volume gives an overview of the different levels of analysis from which the innovation behaviour of firms has been observed in the past. The book then presents a distinct cluster approach as a useful and innovative tool to analyse the configuration and dynamics of networks of actors involved in innovative processes. This approach emphasises the possibilities of enhancing cluster benefits by introducing virtual links between cluster actors. Empirical evidence is provided for the automotive components and the telecommunication industries. By restricting the discussion to Germany and Italy, the authors are able to explore the role that national innovation systems play as a framework in which clusters operate.