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Mapping a nation of regional clusters

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      A cluster is a regional concentration of related industries that arise out of the various types of linkages or externalities that span across industries in a particular location. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions are designed to enable systemic comparison across regions. View and compare clusters across the U.S.

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      A region is broadly defined as a county, economic area (EA), metro/micropolitan statistical area (MSA), or state. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions use the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis defined economic areas. View and compare regions across the U.S.

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      The Community of Practice enables practitioners to share Resources, post Blogs, and find partner Organizations. View and contribute content of interest to the cluster based economic development community.

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The Economic Performance of Regions

by Michael E. Porter, Regional Studies November 15, 2013

This paper examines the regional economic performance, composition of regional economies, and role of clusters in the U.S. economy from 1990 to 2000. 

The performance of regional economies varies markedly in terms of wage, wage growth, employment growth and patenting rate. Based on distribution of economic activity across geography, the paper classifies U.S. industries into traded, local, and resource-dependent categories. Traded industries account for only about one-third of employment, but register much higher wages and rates of innovation and influence local wages. 

The performance of regional economies is strongly influenced by the strength of local clusters and the vitality and plurality of innovation. Regional wage differences are dominated by the relative performance of the clusters in a region, while the particular mix of clusters is a secondary factor.

Image: Antoine Revey

PDF icon The_Economic_Performance_of_Regions.pdf
Academic Research
Source: 
U.S. Cluster Mapping
Organization: 
Harvard Business School, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness
Author: 
Michael E. Porter
Publication/Specific Source: 
Regional Studies
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Copyright © 2018 President and Fellows of Harvard College.
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The U.S. Cluster Mapping Project is led by Professor Michael E. Porter at the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School.

This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration.