Agglomeration, Industrial Districts and Industry Clusters: Foundations of the 20th Century Literature
By Brett Anitra Gilbert, Rutgers University, USA, bagilbert@business.rutgers.edu
Abstract
Since Alfred Marshall's acknowledgement of industry concentration within particular regions, a host of studies have emerged that shed light on the phenomena of agglomerations, industrial districts and industry clusters. This monograph overviews the foundation laid by this body of work. It highlights the academic voices that contribute to this strand of research, the geographic regions and industries of focus, as well as the overall themes that have been examined. These topics are discussed for studies published in the 20th Century literature, and are highlighted by decade so that the contributions of each decade of work are understood over time. The monograph concludes with a reflection on how this body of work extends Alfred Marshall's early thoughts on industry concentration.
Agglomeration, Industrial Districts and Industry Clusters: Foundations of the 20th Century Literature
Agglomeration, Industrial Districts and Industry Clusters focuses on the foundations laid by the early research on agglomerations, industrial districts, and industry clusters that was published in the 20th century. The sections that follow review the literature on agglomerations, industrial districts and industry clusters beginning with an introductory overview of Marshall's (1920) and other significant works in Section 1. Section 2 proceeds with an overview of themes in the literature, the geographic regions, and commonly researched industries. Sections 3 through 6 explore the themes that emerged across the decades. The monograph concludes with reflections on the body of literature that emerged during the 20th century in Section 7.
