Nested methodological approaches for cluster policy evaluation: An application to the Basque Country

Mari José Aranguren, Xabier de la Maza*, Mario Davide Parrilli, Ferran Vendrell-Herrero, James R. Wilson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper explores the evaluation of cluster policies designed to support cooperation and networking. It examines the case of the long-running Basque policy, where support is provided for 'cluster associations'. It first examines empirically the effects of the cluster associations on firm productivity performance, alongside other variables including agglomeration and firm behavioural characteristics. The results provide some weak evidence for the existence of additionality associated with the policy. This empirical work is complemented with context-specific knowledge of the policy in question to show that the nesting of both empirical and contextual approaches is crucial for effectively evaluating such policies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1547-1562
Number of pages16
JournalRegional Studies
Volume48
Issue number9
Early online date15 Jan 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2014

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • cluster association
  • cluster policy
  • mixed methodologies
  • policy evaluation

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