Industrial clusters and economic integration : theoretic concepts and an application to the European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg

"Economic integration typically goes along with disintegration of production through outsourcing and offshoring (Feenstra 1998). As horizontal and vertical links between firms become more and more pronounced, value chains within regions are increasingly organized by production and innovation clusters. On the basis of a literature overview, we argue that in a world of economic integration clusters can be expected to play a prominent role. Therefore clusters can also be seen as a key element in the European Metropolitan Region concept. Within such an economic space, localisation economies according to the 'Marshallian trinity' (knowledge spillovers, input sharing and labour market pooling (Rosenthal/Strange 2003)) can be realized. The paper builds on a comprehensive company survey for the core of the European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg that includes customer-supplier relationships and various forms of cooperation. As indicated by numerous empirical studies, the characteristics of clusters differ substantially. In order to overcome the fuzziness of the concept we suggest a bottom-up methodology of cluster identification using a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators. Given that many kinds of barriers to interregional and international trade are becoming less and less important and transport cost are falling, modern production clusters tend to have a higher geographical extension than traditional ones. We therefore raise the question of whether clustering is relevant for economic integration on the regional, national and supra-national level." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Stadtregion, regionales Cluster, Standort, Industrieregion, Regionalökonomie, zwischenbetriebliche Kooperation, Zulieferer, Wirtschaftsstruktur, regionales Netzwerk, Nürnberg, Oberfranken, Mittelfranken, Franken, Bayern

Intra-regional economic integration. the identification and analysis of clusters in Eastern Bavaria and Central Franconia

As many establishments are embedded in regional economic structures, their competitive advantages also depend on local conditions. In many regions, these are shaped by regional clusters. Hence, for more than two decades, clusters have attracted a great deal of attention from regional economics and regional economic policy. Which role can clusters play in the progressing integration of markets and the international division of labour that accompanies it? What drives intra-regional cooperation between establishments? And do establishments that position themselves in clusters differ from others in terms of survival rates and employment growth? These are the questions author addresses using the example of two economic areas in Bavaria, based on data from the cluster-oriented regional information system CORIS.Die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Betrieben hängt aufgrund ihrer möglichen Einbettung in die regionalen Wirtschaftsstrukturen auch von den lokalen Bedingungen ab. Deswegen stehen Wirtschaftscluster bereits seit geraumer Zeit im Fokus der regionalökonomischen Forschung und der regionalen Wirtschaftspolitik. Wie können regionale Cluster identifiziert werden? Welche Rolle spielen Cluster im internationalen Standortwettbewerb? Von welchen Faktoren hängt die Kooperation zwischen Betrieben innerhalb eines Clusters ab? Und welche Auswirkungen auf Überlebenswahrscheinlichkeit und Beschäftigtenwachstum hat es, wenn sich Betriebe in Clustern positionieren? Diesen und anderen Fragen geht die Autorin - gestützt auf Daten aus dem regionalen Informationssystem CORIS - am Beispiel der Wirtschaftsregionen Nürnberg und Ostbayern nach

Industrial clusters and economic integration: theoretic concepts and an application to the European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg

"Wirtschaftliche Integration geht typischerweise einher mit einer Desintegration des Produktionsprozesses durch Outsourcing und Offshoring (Feenstra 1998). Horizontale und vertikale Verbindungen zwischen Unternehmen werden stärker, so dass die regionalen Wertschöpfungsketten zunehmend als Produktions- oder Innovationscluster organisiert sind. Basierend auf einem Literaturüberblick legen wir dar, dass Cluster im Zuge der wirtschaftlichen Integration eine wichtige Rolle spielen können. Aus diesem Grund bilden Cluster auch den Schlüssel für das Konzept der Europäischen Metropolregion. In einem derartigen Wirtschaftsraum können sich Lokalisationseffekte entsprechend von "Marshalls Dreifaltigkeit" ergeben (Weitergabe von Wissen, Herausbilden einer spezialisierten Arbeitnehmerschaft und Verfügbarkeit spezieller Vor- und Zwischenprodukte (Rosenthal/Strange 2003)). Das Papier baut auf einer umfassenden Unternehmensbefragung im Kern der Europäischen Metropolregion Nürnberg auf, die auch Kunden-Lieferanten-Beziehungen und verschiedene Arten von Kooperationen umfasst. Zahlreiche empirische Studien zeigen, dass sich Charakteristika von Clustern stark unterscheiden. Um dieser Unschärfe entgegenzuwirken schlagen wir eine Bottom-Up-Methode zur Clusteridentifikation vor, die auf verschiedenen qualitative und quantitative Indikatoren aufbaut. Nachdem verschiedenste Schranken für interregionalen und internationalen Handel abgebaut werden und Transportkosten fallen, haben moderne produktionsgeprägte Cluster oftmals eine größere geographische Ausdehnung als traditionelle. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellen wir die Frage, ob Cluster für regionale, nationale und internationale Integration relevant sind." (Autorenreferat)"Economic integration typically goes along with disintegration of production through outsourcing and offshoring (Feenstra 1998). As horizontal and vertical links between firms become more and more pronounced, value chains within regions are increasingly organized by production and innovation clusters. On the basis of a literature overview, we argue that in a world of economic integration clusters can be expected to play a prominent role. Therefore clusters can also be seen as a key element in the European Metropolitan Region concept. Within such an economic space, localisation economies according to the "Marshallian trinity" (knowledge spillovers, input sharing and labour market pooling (Rosenthal/Strange 2003)) can be realized. The paper builds on a comprehensive company survey for the core of the European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg that includes customer-supplier relationships and various forms of cooperation. As indicated by numerous empirical studies, the characteristics of clusters differ substantially. In order to overcome the fuzziness of the concept we suggest a bottom-up methodology of cluster identification using a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators. Given that many kinds of barriers to interregional and international trade are becoming less and less important and transport cost are falling, modern production clusters tend to have a higher geographical extension than traditional ones. We therefore raise the question of whether clustering is relevant for economic integration on the regional, national and supra-national level." (author´s abstract

Does embeddedness in clusters enhance firm survival and growth? An establishment-level analysis using CORIS data

<p>Does embeddedness in clusters enhance firm survival and growth? An establishment-level analysis using CORIS data. <i>Regional Studies</i>. The effects of clusters on firm survival and firm growth are the basis of an extensive literature that has produced mixed evidence. In this paper an analysis is performed by using an evaluation design based on a control group approach. This is possible by exploiting a database that connects an establishment-reported indicator for embeddedness in clusters with highly reliable longitudinal establishment data. Survival analysis (2001–10) shows that openness towards what the regional value-added chains can offer reduces failure risk by roughly one-third. In addition, embeddedness in clusters has raised 10-year growth of establishments by 16.6% on average.</p

Schwerpunktthemen der EALE-Konferenz Eine Zusammenfassung

Der Beitrag enthaelt die Zusammenfassungen einiger ausgewaehlter Referate der EALE-Konferenz 1999 in Regensburg. Die Vortraege beschaeftigen sich mit folgenden Themen: Arbeitsmarkteffekte des Strukturwandels; Informationstechnologie und Arbeitsmarkt; Analysen von Arbeitsmarktvorgaengen mit Betriebs- und Firmendaten; Regionale Arbeitsmaerkte; Evaluation arbeitsmarktpolitischer Massnahmen. (IAB)SIGLEAvailable from IAB-90-1EG0-110000 BM 389 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Unit nonresponse at the firm level: a cross-border analysis using the IAB-ReLOC data

Abstract The labour market effects of foreign direct investments (FDI) are a topic of constant interest. However, research progress is hindered as most datasets applied in research on this topic suffer from selectivity with respect to firm size. To overcome this deficiency a unique dataset that covers the total population of German firms with FDI in the Czech Republic and their Czech affiliates has been created: the IAB-ReLOC data. Based on this dataset, two points of high relevance are addressed in this paper. First, by presenting the generation process of this unique dataset the paper wants to provide guidance for similar cross-border data compilation projects and for researchers working with the data. Second, new insights on unit nonresponse in a firm-level survey are revealed. Based on multi-level logit models, the influence of firm and interviewer characteristics and of FDI features on survey participation is analysed. The main result is that apart from firm size and interviewer involvement, the response behaviour is related to the distance to the German-Czech border and to the strength of the cross-border relationship. What concerns the two latter characteristics, differences between German and Czech firms are identified