SME Cluster Development: A Dynamic View of Survival Clusters in Developing Countries

In the past twenty years the clusters of small enterprises proved to be among the most dynamic ways to promote the endogenous growth of local economic systems. However, the case of 'survival clusters' in developing countries is more controversial, as many international organizations and specialized government agencies have verified over their long-term experience. This book offers a new interpretative key, which we call 'a stage and eclectic approach' to the development of clusters. This approach supports public efforts to increase the effectiveness of policy-making and development operations in local contexts.

MARIO DAVIDE PARRILLI is Lecturer in Industrial Economics at the University of Birmingham, UK. He is also Coordinator of the Latin American Graduate School in Industrial Development and SME Policies and of a related EU-ALFA Project. Over the years he has lectured and researched in several European and Latin American countries.