Identification of Industrial Clusters and Complexes: a Comparison of Methods and Findings

The paper reviews systematically studies dealing with the identification of clusters and complexes, or of groups of industries linked by flows of goods and services, or showing significant mutual locational attraction. The studies are classified according to the method used for identification, and to their spatial focus. Some 60 types of industrial groupings have been found to exist by the various students of spatial aggregation of industries but many showed only small differences in their sectoral composition. The similarity of results despite the diversity of methods used, degree of sectoral disaggregation, and areas examined was striking. A set of tables comparing the findings is presented along with a detailed analysis of methods and results.