Cluster-Based Economic Development: A Key to Regional Competitiveness

摘要

Drawing on case studies of 17 initiatives and more than a decade of state andlocal experience in regional economic development, this report describes a framework for regional growth based on the recognitin that healthy regional economies are composed of industry clusters and their supporting economic infrastructure. Industry clusters consist of agglomerations of competing and collabrating industries in a region networking into horizontal and vertical relationships involving strong common buyer-supplier linkages and relying on a shared foundation of specialized economic institutions. Because they are built around core export-oriented firms, industry clusters bring new wealth into a region and help drive the region's economic growth. Because no two regions face identical challenges in adapting to economic change, economic development leaders must seek an approach that is adaptable to the political, economic, and social circumstances of their region. The cluster framework can be a valuable tool for effective economic change because it is (1) market driven, (2) inclusive, (3) collaborative, (4) strategic, and (5) value-creating. Thus, the cluster-based approach can elevate economic development from an often compartmentalized and isolated activity that focuses on just one project at a time to an integrative and enduring process.