Description
Book SynopsisThis important book takes a critical view on regional industry clusters, in particular their identification and formation, and the policies which help create and support them.
The distinguished international contributors comprehensively discuss the theoretical and empirical issues concerning clusters and cluster policy from a regional economic perspective. Based on a broad range of methods, the authors derive results about the existence and structure of regional industrial clusters and assess their contribution to the development of regions. As a whole, the book examines the hyperbole that often surrounds clusters by employing sound scientific evidence and rigorous analysis.
Academics and advanced students of regional science, regional economics and economic geography will find the academic discussion of spatial concentrations of economic activities to be of much interest. Policymakers will also appreciate the critical approach taken towards the currently fashionable cluster policy.
Trade Review'. . . this book will be of greatest interest to empirical researchers who wish to stay up-to-date with the recent work from both sides of the Atlantic. The blend of methods, empirics, and policy will also be of value to researchers that are interested in understanding the policy context of their research.' -- Henry Renski, Review of Regional Studies
Table of ContentsContents: 1. The Starting Point Uwe Blien and Gunther Maier 2. Innovation Dynamics and the Structure and Evolution of Industrial Clusters Simona Iammarino and Philip McCann 3. First Steps Towards a Critical Appraisal of Clusters André Torre 4. A Network Based Approach Towards Industry Clustering Juan C. Duque and Sergio J. Rey 5. Industry-specific Spatial Agglomerations in Germany Thomas Brenner 6. Sectoral Concentration, Business Networks and Innovative Competences in East Germany – An Empirical Approach to Identify Economic Clusters Martin T.W. Rosenfeld, Peter Franz and Gerhard Heimpold 7. Clusters and the Spatial Structure of Wages in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil): A Multilevel Approach Leonardo Monteiro Monasterio 8. Measuring Specialisation and Concentration in Regional Clusters – An Empirical Analysis for Eastern Bavaria Joachim Möller and Nicole Litzel 9. Inter-Firm Relations and Economic Clustering in the Dutch Randstad Region Frank G. van Oort, Martijn J. Burger and Otto Raspe 10. The Contribution of New and Young Firms to the Economic Development of Clusters in Germany: Comparative Analysis of a Growing, a Mature and a Declining Cluster Anne Otto and Stefan Köhler 11. On Building Clusters versus Leveraging Synergies in the Design of Innovation Policy for Developing Economies Edward Feser 12. Geographic Concentration of Sectors in the German Economy: Some Unpleasant Macroeconomic Evidence for Regional Cluster Policy Björn Alecke, Christoph Alsleben, Frank Scharr and Gerhard Untiedt 13. Clusters and Networks. . . Their Spell Has By No Means Been Broken! Martin Wrobel 14. Cluster Approaches to Local Economic Development: Conceptual Remarks and Case Studies from Lower Saxony, Germany Matthias Kiese Index
