This study conducts a meta-analysis of empirical studies that have measured the spatial scale of industrial clustering. Two types of scales are examined: the peak scale (at which cluster effects are maximized) and the maximum reach (beyond which cluster effects are undetectable). We find that the scale varies significantly by the unit of analysis, industry sector, country of study, and the sources of cluster effects examined (e.g., knowledge spillovers, localization, and urbanization). Planners and policy makers should tailor the geographies embodied in cluster strategies to match the specific local needs and circumstances.
AharonsonB. S.BaumJ. A. C.FeldmanM. P.2007. “Desperately Seeking Spillovers? Increasing Returns, Industrial Organization and the Location of New Entrants in Geographic and Technological Space.” Industrial and Corporate Change16 (1): 89–130. doi: 10.1093/icc/dtl034.
2.
AlbertJ. M.CasanovaM. R.OrtsV.2012. “Spatial Location Patterns of Spanish Manufacturing Firms.” Papers in Regional Science91 (1): 107–36. doi: 10.1111/j.1435-5957.2011.00375.x.
3.
AnderssonM.KlaessonJ.LarssonJ. P.2016. “How Local Are Spatial Density Externalities? Neighbourhood Effects in Agglomeration Economies.” Regional Studies50 (6): 1082–95. doi: 10.1080/00343404.2014.968119.
4.
Arauzo-CarodJ. M.Manjón-AntolínM.2012. “(Optimal) Spatial Aggregation in the Determinants of Industrial Location.” Small Business Economics39 (3): 645–58. doi: 10.1007/s11187-011-9335-6.
5.
ArimotoY.NakajimaK.OkazakiT.2014. “Sources of Productivity Improvement in Industrial Clusters: The Case of the Prewar Japanese Silk-reeling Industry.” Regional Science and Urban Economics46 (1): 27–41. doi: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2014.02.004.
AustrianZ.2000. “Cluster Case Studies: The Marriage of Quantitative and Qualitative Information for Action.” Economic Development Quarterly14 (1): 97–110. doi:10.1177/089124240001400110.
8.
BaptistaR.SwannP.1998. “Do Firms in Clusters Innovate More?” Research Policy27 (5): 525–40. doi: 10.1016/S0048-7333(98)00065-1.
9.
BarletM.BriantA.CrussonL.2013. “Location Patterns of Service Industries in France: A Distance-based Approach.” Regional Science and Urban Economics43 (2): 338–51. doi: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2012.08.004.
10.
BeaudryC.BreschiS.2003. “Are Firms in Clusters Really More Innovative?” Economics of Innovation and New Technology12 (4): 325–42. doi: 10.1080/10438590290020197.
11.
BeaudryC.SchiffauerovaA.2009. “Who’s Right, Marshall or Jacobs? The Localization versus Urbanization Debate.” Research Policy38 (2): 318–37. doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2008.11.010.
12.
BehrensK.BougnaT.2015. “An Anatomy of the Geographical Concentration of Canadian Manufacturing Industries.” Regional Science and Urban Economics51 (September): 47–69. doi: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2015.01.002.
13.
BrownW. M.Dar-BrodeurA.TweedleJ.2020. “Firm Networks, Borders and Regional Economic Integration.” Journal of Regional Science60 (2): 374–95.
BurgerM. J.Van OortF.Van der KnaapB.2007. “A Treatise on the Geographical Scale of Agglomeration Externalities and the MAUP.” Scienze Regionali9:19–40.
CarlinoG.KerrW. R.2015. “Agglomeration and Innovation.” In Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edited by DurantonGillesHendersonJ. VernonStrangeWilliam, Volume 5 (pp. 349–404). Elsevier: Amsterdam, the Netherlandsdoi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-59517-1.00006-4.
de GrootH. L. F.PootJ.SmitM. J.2016. “Which Agglomeration Externalities Matter Most and Why?” Journal of Economic Surveys30 (4): 756–82. doi: 10.1111/joes.12112.
20.
DekleR.EatonJ.1999. “Agglomeration and Land Rents: Evidence from the Prefectures.” Journal of Urban Economics46 (2): 200–14. doi: 10.1006/juec.1998.2118.
21.
DelgadoM.PorterM. E.SternS.2010. “Clusters and Entrepreneurship.” Journal of Economic Geography10 (4): 495–518.
22.
DeltasG.De SilvaD. G.McCombR. P.2015. “Industrial Agglomeration and Spatial Persistence of Employment in Software Publishing.” Working Papers No. 85393182, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department, Lancaster, UK. doi: 10.3109/15368378209040332.
Di AddarioS.PatacchiniE.2008. “Wages and the City: Evidence from Italy.” Labour Economics15 (5): 1040–61. doi: 10.1016/j.labeco.2007.09.003.
25.
DruckerJ.2016. “Reconsidering the Regional Economic Development Impacts of Higher Education Institutions in the United States.” Regional Studies50:1185–202. doi: 10.1080/00343404.2014.986083.
26.
DruckerJ. M.2012. The spatial extent of agglomeration economies: Evidence from three US manufacturing industries. US Census Bureau Center for Economic Studies Paper. Available athttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1995507. Accessed April 28, 21.
27.
DruckerJ.FeserE.2012. “Regional Industrial Structure and Agglomeration Economies: An Analysis of Productivity in Three Manufacturing Industries.” Regional Science and Urban Economics42 (1–2): 1–14. doi: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2011.04.006.
28.
DurantonB. G.PugaD.2001. “Nursery Cities: Urban Diversity, Process Innovation, and the Life Cycle of Products.” American Economic Review91 (5): 1454–77.
29.
DurantonB. G.PugaD.2004. “Micro-foundations of Urban Agglomeration Economies.” In Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edited by HendersonJ. V.ThisseJ.-F., 2063–771. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: North Holland.
30.
EllisonG.GlaeserE. L.KerrW. R.2010. “What Causes Industry Agglomeration? Evidence from Coagglomeration Patterns.” American Economic Review100 (3): 1195–213.
31.
EwingR.HandyS.2009. “Measuring the Unmeasurable: Urban Design Qualities Related to Walkability.” Journal of Urban Design14 (1): 65–84. doi: 10.1080/13574800802451155.
32.
FallahB.PartridgeM.RickmanD. S.. 2014. “Geography and High-tech Employment Growth in U.S. Counties.” Journal of Economic Geography14 (4): 683–720.
33.
FangL.2015. “Do Clusters Encourage Innovation? A Meta-analysis.” Journal of Planning Literature30 (3): 239–60. doi: 10.1177/0885412215589848.
34.
FangL.2019. “Manufacturing Clusters and Firm Innovation.” Economic Development Quarterly33 (1): 6–18. doi: 10.1177/0891242418800770.
35.
FangL.2020. “Agglomeration and Innovation: Selection or True Effect?” Environment and Planning A52 (2): 423–48. doi: 10.1177/0308518X19868467.
36.
FeldmanM. P.1994. “Knowledge Complementarity and Innovation.” Small Business Economics6 (5): 363–72. doi: 10.1007/BF01065139.
37.
FeldmanM. P.AudretschD. B.1999. “Innovation in Cities: Science-based Diversity, Specialization and Localized Competition.” European Economic Review43:409–38. doi: 10.1016/S0014-2921(98)00047-6.
38.
FeserE. J.2002. “Tracing the sources of local external economies.” Urban Studies39 (13): 2485–2506. doi: 10.1080/0042098022000027077
FuS.RossS. L.2013. “Wage Premia in Employment Clusters: Agglomeration or Worker Heterogeneity?” Journal of Labor Economics31(2): 271–304.
41.
GertlerM. S.2003. “Tacit Knowledge and the Economic Geography of Context, or the Undefinable Tacitness of Being (There).” Journal of Economic Geography3:75–99.
42.
GittelmanM.2007. “Does Geography Matter for Science-based firms? Epistemic Communities and the Geography of Research and Patenting in Biotechnology.” Organization Science18 (4): 724–41.
GoldsteinH.DruckerJ.2006. “The Economic Development Impacts of Universities on Regions: Do Size and Distance Matter?” Economic Development Quarterly20 (1): 22–43. doi: 10.1177/0891242405283387.
45.
HalpernL.MuraközyB.2007. “Does Distance Matter in Spillover?” Economics of Transition15 (4): 781–805. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0351.2007.00308.x.
46.
HamidiS.ZandiatashbarA.2019. “Does Urban Form Matter for Innovation Productivity? A National Multi-level Study of the Association between Neighbourhood Innovation Capacity and Urban Sprawl.” Urban Studies56(8): 1576-94.
47.
HanF.KeS.2016. “The Effects of Factor Proximity and Market Potential on Urban Manufacturing Output.” China Economic Review39:31–45. doi: 10.1016/j.chieco.2016.04.002.
48.
HaninkD. M.2006. “A Spatial Analysis of Sectoral Variations in Returns to External Scale.” Journal of Regional Science46 (5): 953–68.
49.
HausmanN.2012. “University Innovation, Local Economic Growth, and Entrepreneurship.” SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2097842.
50.
HooverE. M.1937. Location Theory and the Shoe and Leather Industries. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
51.
JacobsJ.1961. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage.
52.
JacobsJ.1969. The Economy of Cities. New York: Vintage.
53.
JaffeA. B.TrajtenbergM.HendersonR.1993. “Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics108 (3): 577–98.
54.
KolympirisC.KalaitzandonakesN.2013. “Geographic Scope of Proximity Effects among Small Life Sciences Firms.” Small Business Economics40 (4): 1059–86. doi: 10.1007/s11187-012-9441-0.
55.
KolympirisC.KalaitzandonakesN.MillerD.2011. “Spatial Collocation and Venture Capital in the US Biotechnology Industry.” Research Policy40 (9): 1188–99. doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2011.05.022.
56.
KolympirisC.KalaitzandonakesN.MillerD.2015. “Location Choice of Academic Entrepreneurs: Evidence from the US Biotechnology Industry.” Journal of Business Venturing30 (2): 227–54. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2014.02.002.
57.
KosterH. 2013. “Rocketing Rents: The Magnitude and Attenuation of Agglomeration Economies in the Commercial Property Market.” Working Paper. Accessed November 10, 2019. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/58531/.
58.
LinH. L.LiH. Y.YangC. H.2011. “Agglomeration and Productivity: Firm-level Evidence from China’s Textile Industry.” China Economic Review22 (3): 313–29. doi: 10.1016/j.chieco.2011.03.003.
59.
MaH.FangC.PangB.LiG.2014. “The Effect of Geographical Proximity on Scientific Cooperation among Chinese Cities from 1990 to 2010.” PLoS One9 (11): e111705. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111705.
60.
MarshallA.1890. Principles of Political Economy. London, UK: MacMillan.
61.
McHaleJ.AgrawalA.KapurD.2008. “How Do Spatial and Social Proximity Influence Knowledge Flows? Evidence from Patent Data.” Journal of Urban Economics64 (2): 258–69. doi: 10.1016/j.jue.2008.01.003.
62.
MehtaV.BossonJ. K.2010. “Third Places and the Social Life of Streets.” Environment and Behavior42 (6): 779–805. doi: 10.1177/0013916509344677.
63.
MeloP. C.GrahamD. J.NolandR. B.2009. “A Meta-analysis of Estimates of Urban Agglomeration Economies.” Regional Science and Urban Economics39 (3): 332–42. doi: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2008.12.002.
64.
MorenoR.PaciR.UsaiS.2006. “Innovation Clusters in the European Regions.” European Planning Studies14 (9): 1235–63. doi: 10.1080/09654310600933330.
65.
NeffkeF. M. H.HenningM.BoschmaR. A.LundquistK. J.OlanderL. O.2011. “The Dynamics of Agglomeration Externalities along the Life Cycle of Industries.” Regional Studies45 (1): 49–65.
66.
NelsonJ. P.KennedyP. E.2009. “The Use (and Abuse) of Meta-analysis in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: An Assessment.” Environmental and Resource Economics42 (3): 345–77. doi: 10.1007/s10640-008-9253-5.
67.
OhlinB.1933. Interregional and international trade. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
68.
OrlitzkyM.SchmidtF. L.RynesS. L.2003. “Corporate Social and Financial Performance: A Meta-analysis.” Organization Studies24 (3): 403–41. doi: 10.1177/0170840603024003910.
69.
OvermanH. G.2003. “Can We Learn Anything from Economic Geography Proper? Henry G. Overman.” Journal of Economic Geography4 (5): 501–16.
70.
PackalenM.BhattacharyaJ.2015. Cities and ideas. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper. Accessed November 10, 2019. Available athttps://www.nber.org/papers/w20921.
71.
PartridgeM. D.RickmanD. S.2008. “Distance from Urban Agglomeration Economies and Rural Poverty.” Journal of Regional Science48 (2): 285–310. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9787.2008.00552.x.
72.
PorterM. E.1998. “Clusters and the New Economics of Competition.” Harvard Business Review76 (6): 77–90.
73.
RenskiH.2011. “External Economies of Localization, Urbanization and Industrial Diversity and New Firm Survival.” Papers in Regional Science90 (3): 473–502. doi: 10.1111/j.1435-5957.2010.00325.x.
74.
RigbyD. L.EssletzbichlerJ.2002. “Agglomeration Economies and Productivity Differences in US Cities.” Journal of Economic Geography2 (4): 407–32. doi: 10.1093/jeg/2.4.407.
75.
RosenthalS. S.StrangeW. C.2001. “The Determinants of Agglomeration.” Journal of Urban Economics50 (2): 191–229. doi: 10.1006/juec.2001.2230.
76.
RosenthalS. S.StrangeW. C.2003. “Geography, Industrial Organization, and Agglomeration.” Review of Economics and Statistics85 (2): 377–93. doi: 10.1162/003465303765299882.
77.
RosenthalS. S.StrangeW. C.2004. “Evidence on the Nature and Sources of Agglomeration Economies.” In Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edited by HendersonV. J.ThisseJ.-F., Vol. 4, 2119–71. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier.
78.
RosenthalS. S.StrangeW. C.2005. “The Geography of Entrepreneurship in the New York Metropolitan Area.” Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review11 (2): 29–54.
79.
RosenthalS. S.StrangeW. C.2008. “The Attenuation of Human Capital Spillovers.” Journal of Urban Economics64 (2): 373–89. doi: 10.1016/j.jue.2008.02.006.
80.
StanleyT. D.DoucouliagosH.GilesM.HeckemeyerJ. H.JohnstonR. J.LarocheP.NelsonJ. P.PaldamM.PootJ.PughG.RosenbergerR.2013. “Meta-analysis of Economics Research Reporting Guidelines.” Journal of Economic Surveys27 (2): 390–94.
81.
StevensM. R.2017. “Does Compact Development Make People Drive Less?”Journal of the American Planning Association83 (1): 7–18. doi: 10.1080/01944363.2016.1240044
82.
StorperM.VenablesA. J.2004. “Buzz: Face-to-face Contact and the Urban Economy Michael Storper and Anthony J. Venables.” Journal of Economic Geography4 (4): 351–70.
83.
Strøjer MadsenE.SmithV.Dilling-HansenM.2003. “Industrial Clusters, Firm Location and Productivity—Some Empirical Evidence for Danish Firms.” Working Papers 03-26, Department of Economics, Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.
84.
SuttonA. J.AbramsK. R.JonesD. R.JonesD. R.SheldonT. A.SongF.2000. Methods for Meta-analysis in Medical Research. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
85.
TorreA.2008. “On the Role Played by Temporary Geographical Proximity in Knowledge Transmission.” Regional Studies42 (6): 869–89.
WallstenS. J.2001. “An Empirical Test of Geographic Knowledge Spillovers Using Geographic Information Systems and Firm-level Data.” Regional Science and Urban Economics31 (5): 571–99. doi: 10.1016/S0166-0462(00)00074-0.
88.
WongD.2009. “The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP).” In The SAGE Handbook of Spatial Analysis, edited by FortheringhamA. StewardRogersonPeter A., 105–23. London: SAGE.
89.
WoodwardD.FigueiredoO.GuimarãesP.2006. “Beyond the Silicon Valley: University R&D and High-technology Location.” Journal of Urban Economics60 (1): 15–32. doi: 10.1016/j.jue.2006.01.002.
