Using firm-level data from China's two recent censuses (Industry Census 1995 and Economic Census 2004) and a new measure of clustering (industry proximity), we show that China's rapid industrialization is marked by increased clustering. A higher degree of clustering is further shown to be associated with greater export growth and higher total factor productivity. We also find supporting evidence that clustering helps ease the credit constraints facing many small and medium enterprises through two mechanisms: (1) within a cluster, finer division of labor lowers the capital barriers to entry and (2) closer proximity makes the provision of trade credit among firms easier. Since both mechanisms reduce the need for external financing, a larger number of firms--and thus greater competition--emerge within clusters, which helps explain the higher levels of exports and total factor productivity. This cluster-based industrialization model fit particularly well with China's comparative advantage during its initial stage of takeoff, which was marked by scarcity of capital and an inefficient financial system. Hence our findings may be helpful to other developing countries with similar factor endowment patterns that are considering cluster-based development strategies.

This is an open access book. 2022 International Conference on Mathematical Statistics and Economic Analysis(MSEA 2022) will be held in Dalian, China from May 27 to 29, 2022. Based on probability theory, mathematical statistics studies the statistical regularity of a large number of random phenomena, and infers and forecasts the whole. Economic development is very important to people's life and the country. Through data statistics and analysis, we can quickly understand the law of economic development. This conference combines mathematical statistics and economic analysis for the first time to explore the relationship between them, so as to provide a platform for experts and scholars in the field of mathematical statistics and economic analysis to exchange and discuss.

This book examines an indigenous Africa-centric business model practised by the Igbos of south-eastern Nigeria for decades. The unique framework and rules of operation, collectively referred to as the Igbo-Traditional Business School (I-TBS) in this book, is underpinned by the ‘Igba-boi’ apprenticeship.

Industrialization supported by industrial hubs has been widely associated with structural transformation and catch-up. But while the direct economic benefits of industrial hubs are significant, their value lies first and foremost in their contribution as incubators of industrialization, production and technological capability, and innovation. The Oxford Handbook of Industrial Hubs and Economic Development adopts an interdisciplinary approach to examine the conceptual underpinnings, review empirical evidence of regions and economies, and extract pertinent lessons for policy reasearchers and practitioners on the key drivers of success and failure for industrial hubs. This Handbook illustrates the diverse and complex nature of industrial hubs and shows how they promote industrialization, economic structural transformation, and technological catch-up. It explores the implications of emerging issues and trends such as environmental protection and sustainability, technological advancement, shifts in the global economy, and urbanization.

The international fragmentation of economic activities – from research and design to production and marketing – described through the lens of the global value chain (GVC) approach impacts the structure and performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) agglomerated in economic clusters. The consolidation of GVCs ruled by global lead firms and the recession of 2008-09 exacerbated the pressures on cluster actors that based their competitive advantage on local systems, spurring an increasing heterogeneity, both across and within clusters, that is still overlooked in the literature. Drawing on detailed studies of different industries and countries, Local Clusters in Global Value Chains shows the co-evolutionary trajectories of clusters and GVCs, and the role of firms and their strategies in organizing manufacturing and innovation activities in the context of ongoing technological shifts. The book explores the tension between place-based variables and global drivers of change, and the possibility for territories containing such clusters to prosper in the new global scenario. By adopting insights from the GVC framework and management studies, the book discusses how the internationalization strategies of firms create opportunities as well as constraints for adaptive upgrading in clusters. This book is of interest to both researchers and policy-makers who are interested in the dynamic sources of competitive advantage in the global economy.

More than 630 million Chinese have escaped poverty since the 1980s, reducing the fraction remaining from 82 to 10 percent of the population. This astonishing decline in poverty, the largest in history, coincided with the rapid growth of a private enterprise economy. Yet private enterprise in China emerged in spite of impediments set up by the Chinese government. How did private enterprise overcome these initial obstacles to become the engine of China’s economic miracle? Where did capitalism come from? Studying over 700 manufacturing firms in the Yangzi region, Victor Nee and Sonja Opper argue that China’s private enterprise economy bubbled up from below. Through trial and error, entrepreneurs devised institutional innovations that enabled them to decouple from the established economic order to start up and grow small, private manufacturing firms. Barriers to entry motivated them to build their own networks of suppliers and distributors, and to develop competitive advantage in self-organized industrial clusters. Close-knit groups of like-minded people participated in the emergence of private enterprise by offering financing and establishing reliable business norms. This rapidly growing private enterprise economy diffused throughout the coastal regions of China and, passing through a series of tipping points, eroded the market share of state-owned firms. Only after this fledgling economy emerged as a dynamic engine of economic growth, wealth creation, and manufacturing jobs did the political elite legitimize it as a way to jump-start China’s market society. Today, this private enterprise economy is one of the greatest success stories in the history of capitalism.

Clusters – the geographic concentration of specialized firms that are working in similar or related activities and are interdependent – have played an important role in the industrial development of many countries, including in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. A large part of these successes can be explained by the ability of clusters to build on existing strengths of local communities, such as social capital and abundant labor, to overcome common constraints to economic expansion, such as weak financial markets and institutions. Realizing the potential for cluster-based development and the long history of clusters in the country, the Egyptian Government has made cluster-based industrialization a key pillar of Egypt’s sustainable development strategy to 2030. The timing for a cluster-based industrial development model for Egypt seems favorable as macroeconomic reforms in recent years have made Egypt’s economy more competitive and the country’s young labor force provides a comparative advantage for labor-intensive sectors. The objectives of this paper are to take stock of existing clusters in Egypt; to identify a set of promising “organic” clusters; and to make high-level recommendations for the further expansion of agribusiness and handicrafts clusters based on an innovative analysis of economic census data, a review of previous cluster studies in Egypt, and information obtained from expert interviews and a stakeholder workshop. Our findings suggest focusing cluster development efforts on Upper Egypt, which has a comparative advantage in several sectors, especially in labor-intensive sectors. However, the current cluster density in Upper Egypt is low, particularly in rural areas. Expanding the number and density of clusters there will likely require improvements in infrastructure, institutions, and services. The most promising clusters identified through the analysis include medical and aromatic plants, sugarcane, and tomatoes in the agribusiness sector; ready-made garments and carpets in the handicrafts sector, and furniture. These are all promising organic clusters based on their high market demand, export potential, labor intensity, and historical roots. We develop several recommendations for the agribusiness and the handicrafts sectors, especially highlighting the important facilitating role that local governments should play in cluster-based development by providing necessary basic public goods and services. In-depth case studies for specific, promising clusters should follow to help local governments and entrepreneurs to fully harness the unique opportunities that clusters can provide for local industrial development and job creation in Egypt.

This volume is the result of the 2012 International Economic Association's series of roundtables on the theme of Industrial Policy. The first, 'New Thinking on Industrial Policy,' was hosted by the World Bank in Washington, D.C, and the second, 'New Thinking on Industrial Policy: Implications for Africa,' was held in Pretoria, South Africa.