Relations among Clusters in Six Chinese City Regions

Despite the considerable number of papers that have discussed industrial clusters, it is surprising that there is little research evidence on relations among clusters. This article collects longitudinal data on three low-tech and two high-tech industrial clusters in six cities in the dynamic Pearl River Delta of the People's Republic of China. The findings provide empirical support to both the Marshall–Arrow–Romer model, which argues for the importance of homogeneous (specialized) clusters and the Jacobs model, which argues for the importance of heterogeneous (diversified) clusters. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous clusters in the same region influence one another's cluster size and economic output.     

Relations among Clusters

Abstract

Many papers on economic geography have analysed industrial clusters, but few have addressed the relations among clusters. This paper discusses three types of relations among clusters to better understand why they occur and the roles that human resources, capital, knowledge and markets play in such relations. It provides theoretical ideas, empirical illustrations and suggestions for future research on the relations among clusters in a globalized economy.