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Revisiting Marshall's Agglomeration Economies: Technological Relatedness and the Evolution of the Sheffield Metals Cluster

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  • Antony Potter
  • H. Doug Watts

Abstract

Potter A. and Watts H. D. Revisiting Marshall's agglomeration economies: technological relatedness and the evolution of the Sheffield metals cluster, Regional Studies . According to Alfred Marshall, firms receive increasing returns from a trinity of agglomeration economies: a local pool of skilled labour, local supplier linkages and local knowledge spillovers. This article re-examines the mechanisms underlying Marshall's agglomeration economies in the Sheffield metals cluster wherein Marshall discovered them. Despite the cluster's decline, empirical evidence is found that the mechanisms underlying Marshallian agglomeration economies continue to occur within the surviving metals industry. However, upon closer examination, Marshallian agglomeration economies have evolved to become more prevalent amongst plants that use related metals technology. The results highlight the importance of technological relatedness to cluster survival.

Suggested Citation

  • Antony Potter & H. Doug Watts, 2014. "Revisiting Marshall's Agglomeration Economies: Technological Relatedness and the Evolution of the Sheffield Metals Cluster," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 603-623, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:48:y:2014:i:4:p:603-623
    DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2012.667560
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Frank Neffke, 2008. "Time-Varying Agglomeration Externalities in UK Counties between 1841 and 1971," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 0818, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Dec 2008.
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    Cited by:

    1. Canfei He & Qi Guo & David Rigby, 2015. "Industry Relatedness, Agglomeration Externalities and Firm Survival in China," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1528, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2015.
    2. Teresa de Noronha & Eric Vaz, 2020. "Theoretical Foundations in Support of Small and Medium Towns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Carlos Carreira & Luís Lopes, 2020. "How are the potential gains from economic activity transmitted to the labour factor: more employment or more wages? Evidence from the Portuguese context," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(2), pages 319-348, April.
    4. Sujai Shivakumar, 2021. "Beyond clusters: Crafting contexts for innovation," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 115-127, March.
    5. Yinhao Wu & Shumin Yu & Xiangdong Duan, 2021. "The Impact of Environmental Regulation on the Location of Pollution-Intensive Industries in China under Agglomeration Effect," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-14, April.
    6. E. E. Kolchinskaya & L. E. Limonov & E. S. Stepanova, 2022. "Does Working in a Cluster Provide Higher Productivity to Industrial Enterprises in Russia?," Regional Research of Russia, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 204-214, June.
    7. Nick Williams & Chay Brooks & Tim Vorley, 2016. "Hidden clusters: the articulation of agglomeration in City Regions," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(8), pages 1776-1792, December.
    8. Julia Hoffmann & Stefan Hirsch & Johannes Simons, 2017. "Identification of spatial agglomerations in the German food processing industry," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(1), pages 139-162, March.
    9. Kang Pan & Rong Liu & Xiaowei Chen & Ying Huang, 2023. "How Does Industrial Agglomeration Affect Exports? Evidence from Chinese Province-Industry Panel Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, June.
    10. Nils Grashof & Dirk Fornahl, 2020. "To be or not to be located in a cluster? A descriptive meta-analysis of the firm-specific cluster effect," Working Papers on Innovation and Space 2020-01, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    11. Liang, Jiaochen & Goetz, Stephan J., 2018. "Technology intensity and agglomeration economies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10), pages 1990-1995.
    12. Nils Grashof & Dirk Fornahl, 2021. "“To be or not to be” located in a cluster?—A descriptive meta-analysis of the firm-specific cluster effect," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 67(3), pages 541-591, December.

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