On The Relationship Between Clusters And Regional Economic Growth

Nowadays, with the rapid development of science and technology, the longdevelopment of an area or an enterprise requires the acquisition of effective resources(including material resources and human resources). However, affiliated enterprisesshould cooperate with each other and become more competitive in the fierce marketcompetition. Industrial clusters appear to be the optimistic mode to escape thedilemma. Relevant enterprises migrate to the same geographic place; they can partlyshare various resources and information, yet face different risks. By this way, theycan achieve a long and persistent development.The thesis analyses the mechanism that industrial clusters promote thedevelopment of regional economy and the reasons. On that base, the thesis builds thelocal economy development model in the sight of industrial clusters. Then, with acase study of Xiangtan, a city located in the central China, the thesis makes atheoretical and positive analysis of the effects of industrial clusters to local economydevelopment.On the empirical research, this thesis takes manufacturing industry as therepresentatives. Surely the thesis could not choose all industries included inmanufacturing industry. We choose the data of six industries from2000-2010, whichincluding Processing industry of ferrous metal smelting and suppressing, manufactureof electric machinery and equipment, manufacture of general equipment, processingindustry of chemistry raw material and chemical products, processing industry ofnonmetallic mineral, and manufacture of special equipment. With structuring theindex system measures the external effects of scale economy, transaction cost,technology spillover and human capital. In this index system, the results of thecomprehensive index of industrial clusters in Xiangtan move up and then go down.Furthermore, the assay makes an economic growth model including thecomprehensive index of industrial clusters to verify the relationship betweenindustrial clusters and local economic growth in Xiangtan. The results may bedisappointing; the effects of capital, labor and technology in Xiangtan industrialclusters have very little contribution to local economic growth, so the paper cannotprove the assumption that the industrial clusters promote the development of localeconomy in Xiangtan. At last, the thesis puts forward several policy suggestions.