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Although there is increasing consensus that the presence of clusters enhances economic outcomes, there is little consensus on whether there is a case for policy intervention, as there can be pros (if government efforts are used to upgrade a region's competitiveness by supporting existing agglomerations) and cons (if governments attempt to create agglomeration artificially).

The academic article analyses two basic approaches in the development of cluster initiatives in the formation of cluster policy: top-down and bottom-up approach. The analysis also points to the diversity of national approaches in terms of policy clusters, but in the same time at some common trends. The research highlights that the development of cluster policy is still at an early stage in most...

This document presents a study of cluster initiatives: what they do, how they operate, how they perform. The document provides a comprehensive overview of cluster iniatives across a large set of countries. It is an update of a previous version of the report developed 10 years ago. The analysis is based on data from 356 cluster organizations in 50 countries world-wide, primarily in OECD countries...

The central question of the paper is how can cluster-based economic policy help countries - in this case, Sweden - succeed in global competition. Three steps are taken to answer this: lessons learned from academic research; conclusions drawn from the ongoing cluster debate; implications for Sweden.

The paper first reviews the main arguments underpinning cluster policy. It subsequently focuses on a number of recent experiences in supporting clusters across the OECD, and further highlights the challenges associated with the evaluation of these initiatives and available evidence on their outcomes. It then focuses on the evidence of a number of programmes (16) that are selected for closer...

The paper introduces the concept of clusters: which types exist, how they work, which benefits they provide. It then explains the role governments can play in creating them, before turning to how clusters may be created by practitioners: which organisation and legal model, and which approaches. It also collects 20 best practices steps to proceed.

The handbook provides a practical handbook for policy makers to design and succesfully implement cluster policies and programmes. The report moves forward in the field of the development, improvement and fine-tuning of cluster policies and cluster programmes. It reflects the common state-of-the-art thinking of a large number of policy makers and experienced European cluster programme owners.

The online article provides a brief introduction to clusters. It provides a definition of clusters, as well as a typology. The article further identifies a number of cluster-based economic development strategies

https://icma.org/articles/cluster-based-economic-development-strategies

The report provides an overview of cluster initiatives and organisations across Europe. Building on the results of a survey, the report prvodies an overview of the characteristics of clusters. The report further sets out how clusters can help to overcome innovation gaps, establish networks, and facilitate exchange among companies. It further sketches out the main elements of cluster policy.

Despite their popularity and rapid proliferation and development, local cluster policies have met mixed results. This paper argues that an important reason for the limited success can be found in the way policies have been grafted onto a particular policy rationale, namely of “cluster building”. Responding to this critique, authors propose an alternative rationale, that of “policy leverage”, and a...