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Agglomeration Potential: The Spatial Scale of Industry Linkages in the Southern California Economy

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  • RICHARD G. FUNDERBURG
  • MARLON G. BOARNET

Abstract

ABSTRACT Targeting industry clusters for economic development has become popular despite the lack of empirical evidence about the spatial scales over which various clusters agglomerate. This paper identifies twenty manufacturing industry clusters from a principal components analysis of interindustry patterns of trade and measures the spatial employment concentration of each cluster's plants within a polycentric framework. Two to eight centers of employment concentration are detected within the Southern California region for each set of trade linkages. Our spatial half‐life measure reveals that half of a cluster's employment in associated establishments is located within a typical range of eight to twelve kilometers (about 5–7.5 miles) to the nearest employment center or subcenter for the particular cluster. Furthermore, employment in seventeen of the twenty clusters is found to be more spatially concentrated than manufacturing employment as a whole, suggesting that geographic proximity is important to interindustry linkages in the Southern California economy. More important, the spatial concentration across industry clusters varies considerably within the metropolitan area, implying that economic development practitioners should consider local context and adapt industry cluster theories to the specific advantages and disadvantages of their immediate locality.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard G. Funderburg & Marlon G. Boarnet, 2008. "Agglomeration Potential: The Spatial Scale of Industry Linkages in the Southern California Economy," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 24-57, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:39:y:2008:i:1:p:24-57
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2257.2007.00404.x
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    1. Edward L. Glaeser & Matthew E. Kahn, 2001. "Decentralized Employment and the Transformation of the American City," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1912, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ajay Agarwal & Genevieve Giuliano & Christian Redfearn, 2012. "Strangers in our midst: the usefulness of exploring polycentricity," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 48(2), pages 433-450, April.
    2. Christos Kolympiris & Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes, 2013. "Geographic scope of proximity effects among small life sciences firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 1059-1086, May.
    3. Zidong Yu & Jinyan Zu & Yang Xu & Yimin Chen & Xintao Liu, 2022. "Spatial and functional organizations of industrial agglomerations in China’s Greater Bay Area," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(7), pages 1995-2010, September.
    4. Rafael Boix & José Luis Hervás-Oliver & Blanca De Miguel-Molina, 2015. "Micro-geographies of creative industries clusters in Europe: From hot spots to assemblages," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(4), pages 753-772, November.
    5. Yasuyuki Motoyama, 2008. "What Was New About the Cluster Theory?," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 22(4), pages 353-363, November.
    6. Doloreux, David & Shearmur, Richard & St-Pierre, Laurie-Anne, 2024. "Innovation modes and knowledge interactions: A micro-geographic approach," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    7. Winifred Curran, 2010. "In Defense of Old Industrial Spaces: Manufacturing, Creativity and Innovation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 871-885, December.
    8. Francisco Benita & Serhad Sarica & Garvit Bansal, 2020. "Testing the static and dynamic performance of statistical methods for the detection of national industrial clusters," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(4), pages 1137-1157, August.
    9. Xiao Ling & Zhangwei Luo & Yanchao Feng & Xun Liu & Yue Gao, 2023. "How does digital transformation relieve the employment pressure in China? Empirical evidence from the national smart city pilot policy," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-17, December.
    10. Richard G Funderburg & Xiaoxue Zhou, 2013. "Trading Industry Clusters amid the Legacy of Industrial Land-Use Planning in Southern California," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(11), pages 2752-2770, November.
    11. Rafael Boix & Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver & Blanca De Miguel-Molina, 2012. "Micro-geographies of clusters of creative industries in Europe," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1209, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised May 2012.

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