Industrial development

Clusters in the Caribbean: Understanding their Characteristics, Defining Policies for their Development

Clusters in the Caribbean: Understanding their Characteristics, Defining Policies for their Development

Clusters in the Caribbean: Understanding their Characteristics, Defining Policies for their Development

With Elisa Giuliani, I have published a IADB Discussion Paper discussing clusters in the Caribbean. A desk review of 32 clusters distributed across the Caribbean identifying three groups of clusters are identified: rising, innovative, and sluggish.

The working paper is available here

La promozione del settore privato nei paesi in via di sviluppo: un approccio di mercato

L’Industria, 21(2): 345-385

The article is in collaboration with Laura Viganò.

The aim is to elaborate a framework for analysing policies and instruments adopted by international cooperation to promote the development of the private sector in developing countries. First of all, the paper presents a brief overview of donors’ dominant approach in the past two decades and then an analysis of the most recent trends in this field. Both concerning non financial and financial services to the firms, there is a wide consensus on the need of strenghtening local supply institutions, promoting their sustainability and effectiveness. Donors should sustain on the supply side, the development of a well functioning and transparent market for services, avoiding interventions which generates long term distortions and on the demand side should help firms in identifying their needs and the best way to satisfy them within the market.

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The internal heterogeneity in industrial districts in Italy, Brazil and Mexico

Regional Studies, 33(2): 97-108

The paper is written in collaboration with Hubert Schmitz.

Industrial districts have attracted the attention of development economists in the search for new models of industrial development. Many case studies have shown that clustering helps local enterprises to overcome growth constraints and compete in distant markets. However, empirical studies also reveal shortcomings of the industrial district model. This paper shows that, within the districts, there is enormous heterogeneity by size and performance. Even though clustering firms feed on each other, they vary a great deal in the strategies they employ and the growth they achieve. This internal heterogeneity is investigated for three cases: the shoe industries in Italy, Brazil and Mexico.

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External economies and cooperation in industrial districts: a comparison of Italy and Mexico

External economies and cooperation in industrial districts: a comparison of Italy and Mexico

This book was published by McMillan and also translated in Persian.

The success of industrial districts in Europe has attracted the interest of development economists in their search for new industrial development models. This study explores the extent to which the industrial district ‘model’ explains the realities of four footwear clusters in Italy, the ‘land’ of districts, and in Mexico, a less developed country. Empirical investigation confirms that there are gains from clustering; however, differences have also been identified in the intensity and quality of collective effects between the realities studied and the ‘model’. Those differences are attributed to disparities in the external environments, to heterogeneity of economic actors, and to the adoption of a dynamic approach to interpret cluster growth trajectories.

Enterprise clusters and networks as sources of cooperation and technology diffusion for small firms in developing countries

Enterprise clusters and networks as sources of cooperation and technology diffusion for small firms in developing countries

Published by Frank Cass

Edited with Meine Pieter van Dijk

This is a collection of articles on industrial districts in developing countries. It analyses the functions and advantages of clusters and networks for small enterprises in developing countries. In the opening chapter the editors describe different types of clusters and networks and compare the diverse forms of external economies and co-operation effects derived from them. Taking a multidiscplinary approach, they point out it is trust that is the social basis for positive effects of clustering and networking, which are often sources of co-operation and technology diffusion for small enterprises in developing countries.

Read the book here