This book aims to explore the potential of the industrial district 'model' through the analysis of Italy, the 'land' of districts, and in Mexico, a less developed country. Empirical research assesses the extent to which the core characteristics of the 'model' correspond to the clusters analyzed. The investigation focuses upon external economies and cooperation which stem directly from the industrial district 'model', with particular emphasis upon the intense linkages existing within the clusters examined.

Originally published in 1989, this book was the first comprehensive and analytical account of the Italian small firm economy to appear in English. Dealing principally with the area of central and north-east Italy where small business flourishes, the book relates to the concentration of such companies to the concept of ‘industrial districts’ developed by Alfred Marshall, and provides both a theoretical and statistical basis for Italy in the latter part of the twentieth century. The success of Italian manufacturing is explained in terms of political and social factors as well as economic and technical ones and the working practices within the technology companies discussed.

This book sheds new light on the role of industrial districts in the industrial development of the past and present. Industrial districts, which refer to the geographical concentration of enterprises producing similar or closely related commodities in a small area, play a significant role in the development of manufacturing industries not only historically in Europe and Japan but also at present in emerging East Asian economies, such as China and Vietnam and low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The book identifies similarities in the development patterns of industrial districts in history and the present and analyzes the reasons for these similarities. More specifically, the book examines whether Marshallian agglomeration economies provide sufficient explanations and seeks to deepen understanding about the important factors that are missing. Despite the common issues addressed by economic historians and development economists regarding the advantages of industrial districts for industrial development, discussion of these issues between the two groups of researchers has been largely absent, or at best weak. The purpose of this book is to integrate the results of case studies by economic historians interested in France, Spain, and Japan and those by development economists interested in the contemporary industries still developing in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Tanzania, and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Italian industrial districts (IDs) recently attracted international attention because their performance during the last few decades contradicted the alleged weakness of industrial structures based on SMEs in "traditional" sectors. The book analyses some developments taking place in Italian IDs and local systems of production that can represent a new stage of evolution for the backbone of the Italian economy. Based on the extensive use of original databases three main trajectories of change in IDs are presented. The first trajectory is the increasing role of "groups" of manufacturing SMEs arising from mergers and acquisitions as well as spin-off growth processes at the "family firms" level. The second one is the consolidation of innovation capabilities in IDs. And the third one is the internationalisation process of Italian IDs through both trade and foreign direct investment. The essays suggest that Italian IDs are again evolving by coherent adaptations which will have, however, uncertain outcomes.

'A Handbook of Industrial Districts is a very well-organized and structured collection of scientific works on the theory of industrial districts.' - Roberta Capello, Regional Studies In this comprehensive original reference work, the editors have brought together an unrivalled group of distinguished scholars and practitioners to comment on the historical and contemporary role of industrial districts.

This book outlines the historical framework and the main concepts of the literature on industrial districts. It illustrates a new approach to the study of industrial development, based on well-known industrial districts analysis. Academics, politicians and students interested in local development and also industrial development will find much to learn in Industrial Districts, as will industrial geographers and historians of industry and of economic thought.

From Industrial Districts to Local Development introduces a set of papers representing the main contribution of the 'Florence school' to the recent literature on industrial districts. The authors illustrate that the revitalisation of the concept of industrial districts, returning to Alfred Marshall's nineteenth-century writings, is rooted in an unconventional interpretation of the economic development of Tuscany after the Second World War. Models of industrial organisation and empirical investigation of industrial tendencies are featured, and Alfred Marshall's concepts of the advantages of the geographical agglomeration of specialised small firms in industrial districts are reintroduced. The authors extend the analysis of purely economic effects of agglomeration, including social, cultural and institutional foundations of local development, and current case studies are presented. This book will appeal to scholars, lecturers and researchers focusing on industrial economics, development economics and economic geography. Its references to Italian political experiences will also be of interest to policymakers in both developed and developing countries.