The aim of this paper is to draw attention to the role of local industrial networks in regional development processes. A one-region model is built with which to investigate the conditions under which local networks arise, distinguishing between spontaneous and supported networks. Taking into account the difference between incomplete and fully coordinated agreements among firms, I establish the values of parameters that allow for the rise of each type of network. Finally, I discuss the positive effects that local networks yield to the regional internal product, making them a reliable support for regional economic take-off.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AmitiM, 1999, “Specialisation patterns in Europe”Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv135573–594.
2.
ChipmanJ S, 1970, “External economies of scale and competitive equilibrium”Quarterly Journal of Economics84347–385.
3.
CookePMorganK, 1998The Associational Economy (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
4.
De PalmaADroesbekeJ JLefèvreC, 1991Modèles de diffusion en marketing [Models of diffusion in marketing] (Presses Universitaires de France, Paris).
5.
DixitA KStiglitzJ E, 1977, “Monopolistic competition and optimum product diversity”American Economic Review67297–308.
6.
FujitaMThisseJ F, 2002aEconomics of Agglomeration (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).
7.
FujitaMThisseJ F, 2002b, “Agglomeration and market interaction”, DP 2002–11, Centre for Operations Research and econometrics, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain la Neuve.
8.
FujitaMKrugmanPVenablesA, 1999The Spatial Economy: Cities, Regions and International Trade (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA).
9.
GordonICheshireP, 2001, “Locational advantage and lessons for territorial competition in Europe”, in Theories of Endogenous Regional Growth Eds JohanssonBKarlssonCStoughR (Springer, Berlin) pp 137–149.
10.
MansfieldE, 1961, “Technical change and the rate of imitation”Econometrica29741–766.
11.
MoucqueD, 2000, “A survey of socio-economic disparities between the regions of the EU”EIB Papers5(2) 13–24.
12.
OECD, 1996Network of Enterprises and Local Development: Competing and Co-operating in Local Productive Systems (OECD, Paris).
13.
SchmitzHMusyckB, 1994, “Industrial districts in Europe: Policy lessons for developing countries?”World Development22889–910.
14.
SoubeyranAThisseJ-F, 1999, “Learning by doing and the development of industrial districts”Journal of Urban Economics45156–176.
15.
Vernon HendersonJShaliziZVenablesA, 2001, “Geography and development”Journal of Economic Geography181–105.
16.
VivesX, 1990, “Trade association disclosure rules, incentives to share information and welfare”The Rand Journal of Economics21409–430.
