Skip to main content

Theories of Agglomeration: Critical Analysis from a Policy Perspective

  • Chapter
The Industrial Policy Revolution I

Part of the book series: International Economic Association Series ((IEA))

Abstract

Science fiction and fantasy writer Vera Nazarian famously observed that “luck is not as random as you think. Before that lottery ticket won the jackpot someone had to buy it.” Many economic theorists have neglected that wisdom and mistakenly reduced the existence of clusters (defined as geographical concentrations of interconnected companies with close supply links, specialist suppliers, service providers, and related industries and institutions) to an almost banal phenomenon that randomly occurs whenever private firms gather by accident in someplace, start trading together, and eventually realize that it is more profitable even for competitors to stick together in a specific location. Clusters have thus been viewed merely as byproducts of economic development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aghion, P. (2009) Some Thoughts on Industrial Policy and Growth. Working Paper No. 2009–09 (Paris: OFCE-Sciences Po).

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrow, K.J. (1962) “The Economic Implications of Learning by Doing,” Review of Economic Studies, vol. 29, pp. 155–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chenggang, X. (2011) “The Fundamental Institutions of China’s Reforms and Development,” Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 1076–1151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • David, P.A. (1985) “,” The American Economic Review, vol. 75, no. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Ninety-Seventh Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association. (1985), pp. 332–337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faroie, T. (2011) Special Economie Zones in Africa: Comparing Performance and Learning from Global Experiences (Washington, D.C.: World Bank).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • FIAS (2008) Special Economic Zones: Performance, Lessons Learned, and Implications for zone Development (Washington, DC: IFC-World Bank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Griliches, Z., 1979. “Issues in Assessing the Contribution of R&D to Productivity Growth,” Bell Journal of Economics, vol. 10, pp. 92–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, A. and Rodriguez-Clare, A. (2010) “Trade, Foreign Investment, and Industrial Policy for Developing Countries” in D. Rodrik (ed.) Handbook of Economic Growth, vol. 5 (Amsterdam: North-Holland), pp. 4039–4213.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Imbs, J., and Wacziarg, R. (2003) “Stages of Diversification,” American Economic Review, vol. 93, no. 1, 63–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, P. (2008) “The Increasing Returns Revolution in Trade and Geography,” Nobel Prize Lecture, Oslo, December 8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, P. (1994) Peddling Prosperity: Economic Sense and Nonsense in the Age of Diminished Expectations (New York: W.W. Norton and Co.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, P.R. (1995) “Increasing Returns, Imperfect Competition, and the Positive Theory of International Trade,” in G.M. Grossman and K. Rogoff (eds), Handbook of International Economics, vol. 3 (Amsterdam: North-Holland).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, J.Y. (2012a) New Structural Economics: A Framework for Rethinking Development and Policy (Washington, DC: World Bank).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, J.Y. (2012b) The Quest for Prosperity: How Developing Countries Can Take Off (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, J.Y. and Monga, C. (2011) “Growth Identification and Facilitation: The Role of the State in the Dynamics of Structural Change,” Development Policy Review, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 259–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyn, G., and Rodriguez-Clare, A. (2011) “Marshallian Externalities, Comparative Advantage, and International Trade,” mimeo, University of California Berkeley. Available online at http://emlab.berkeley.edu/~arodeml/Papers/LR_Marshallian_ Externarities_Trade.pdf.

  • Marshall, A. (1890) Principles of Economics (London: Macmillan).

    Google Scholar 

  • Monga, C. (2011) Cluster-Based Industrial Parks. A Practical Framework for Action, Policy Research Working Paper no. 5900, December (Washington, DC: World Bank).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, C.J. and Siegel, D.S. (1999) “Scale Economies and Industry Agglomeration Externalities: A Dynamic Cost Function Approach,” American Economic Review, vol. 89, pp. 272–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Clare, A. (2005) Clusters and Comparative Advantage: Implications for Industrial Policy, Working Paper no. 523 (Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J.E. (2001) Information and the Change in the Paradigm in Economics, Nobel Prize Lecture, December 8.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2009) World Development Report: Reshaping Economic Geography (Washington, DC: World Bank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X. (2012) “Clusters as an Instrument for Industrial Policy: The Case of China,” Paper presented at the International Economic Association (IEA) — World Bank Roundtable “New Thinking in Industrial Policy” at the World Bank, May.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2013 International Economic Association

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Monga, C. (2013). Theories of Agglomeration: Critical Analysis from a Policy Perspective. In: Stiglitz, J.E., Lin, J.Y. (eds) The Industrial Policy Revolution I. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137335173_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics