Heritage and Agglomeration: The Akron Tyre Cluster Revisited

We use new data on the location and background of entrants into the US tyre industry to analyse why the industry became so regionally concentrated around Akron, Ohio, a small city with no compelling advantages for tyre production. We analyse where the Ohio entrants originated and conduct various analyses of how proximity to other tyre firms affected the longevity of tyre producers. We also examine how the heritage of the Ohio entrants influenced their origin and longevity. Our findings suggest that the Akron tyre cluster grew primarily through a process of organisational reproduction and heredity rather than through agglomeration economies.