This national report draws heavily upon the regional studies of five pilot regions (Atlanta, Pittsburgh, the Research Triangle in North Carolina, San Diego, and Wichita) and synthesizes the implications for any region that seeks to improve its economic performance. It examines the composition and performance of regional economies, how industry clusters develop and innovation arises, how clusters affect a region's economic future, and how a region can establish a strategy and action program to drive its economy and clusters forward.

The most populous county in the nation, Los Angeles is home to a diverse and dynamic workforce that produces an estimated $544 billion gross regional product, which is larger than the GDP of many countries. This 2012 report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation presents a vibrant profile of L.A.'s private sector using the U.S. Cluster Mapping Project's cluster definitions.

This National Bureau of Economic Research working paper sets foundational competitiveness as the expected level of output per working-age individual that is supported by the overall quality of a country as a place to do business. The focus on output per potential worker, a broader measure of national productivity than output per current worker, reflects the dual role of workforce participation and output per worker in determining a nation's standard of living.

The new microeconomics of competition is contained in frameworks that structure the complexity of competition and inform managers of choices that they must make. The role of location has shifted from factor endowments and size to productivity growth; factor inputs are abundant and accessed via globalization. To increase productivity, factor inputs must improve in efficiency, quality, and ultimately specialization in particular cluster areas, which are critical masses of companies in a particular location.

This 2007 report by the Council on Competitiveness benchmarks current U.S. competitiveness against twenty years of domestic and global economic data. The baseline year of 1986 was chosen because it marked the beginning of cyclical expansion in the domestic economy, a high dollar, and an exploding trade deficit, which put the concept of competitiveness on the national agenda. It also marked the creation of the Council on Competitiveness. The report is a wide-ranging assessment of how the changing global economy presents new challenges for the future.

Current economic realities have provided governors with a unique opportunity to assess their economic landscapes and change their approaches to economic development. This white paper and accompanying issue brief by the National Governors Association (NGA) focus on what states are doing—and what they can do—to make their economic development agencies more effective.

This 2012 industry report discusses the maritime business and technology innovation community that has flourished in the coastal city of San Diego, intersecting markets including fishing, ship building, defense and security, and offshore energy. The study shows that the city's maritime industry boasts $14 billion in total revenue and 46,000 direct jobs, with 8,000 in the traditional maritime space and 19,000 in "Blue Tech" or maritime technology.

This research paper focuses on the increasing interest of economic geography in explaining differences in prosperity levels across locations. It discusses the current state of the academic debate on cluster policy, providing an extensive review of the rapidly growing research. The first part of the article summarizes key findings about the existence and impact of clusters, while the second part addresses the issue of cluster policy itself.

This report illustrates the complementary advantages of applying cluster analysis to the established economy-wide analysis that is traditionally used in determining export competitiveness. Written in a non-technical perspective, this report provides an introduction to the cluster-based approach to competitiveness, 10 core tools used in cluster initiatives, discussion on the key stages involved in initiating cluster analysis, and finally discussion on the policy implications of a cluster-based approach. Also included is an annex of resource materials.

Image: Nick Lowndes

This report sponsored by the U.S. Economic Development Administration explores the fundamental changes within our economies: community, regional, state and national. It provides great insight into the current economic challenges and opportunities that cluster-based projects face in regions throughout the country as they aim for long-term economic prosperity.

Image: Nick Lowndes