International Contributions to Understanding and Encouraging Cluster Formation

Whether it's called clusters or localization economies, the aggregation of firms in the same or closely related industries has captured the attention of many state and local tech-based economic development efforts. Understanding the phenomenon and formulating effective public policy to encourage or support clustering presents challenges for practitioners and researchers alike. 



In addition to works on the topic previously covered in the Digest and available in SSTI’s Bookstore (such as Michael Porter’s On Competition or Ross DeVol’s Blueprint for a High-Tech Cluster), localization economies also have captured the research interests of international researchers. For example, the Canadian Innovations Systems Research Network (ISRN) is in the process of conducting a five-year $2.5 million (Canadian) study to examine the impact and importance of cluster-driven innovation in Canada. According to the ISRN website, Innovation Systems and Economic Development: The Role of Local and Regional Clusters in Canada will “investigate how local networks of firms and supporting infrastructure of institutions, businesses and people in communities across Canada interact to spark economic growth.” The dynamics of 20 different clusters across five regions and in both rural and urban economies will be examined through the project. 



For the project, ISRN is holding conferences and workshops to review and discuss localization research conducted across the world. Several of the working papers presented at the 2001 ISRN annual meeting may be of interest to Digest readers, including: 

• The Elusive Concept of Localization Economies – Towards a Knowledge-based Theory of Spatial Clustering by Anders Malmberg and Peter Maskell 
• Local Clusters, Innovation Systems and Sustained Competitiveness by Lynn Mytelka and Fulvia Farinelli 
• Key Drivers of Foreign Firm’s Locational Choice: Knowledge Nodes, Cross-Cultural Differences and Investment Motivation by Cliff Wymbs 
• Regional Innovation Systems: The Integration of Local “Sticky” and Global “Ubiquitous” Knowledge by Bjorn T. Asheim and Arne Isaksen 

These papers, as well as several others, are available online at the ISRN website: 

http://www.utoronto.ca/isrn/working_papers.htm