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The Performance of Seaport Clusters - RePub - Erasmus Universiteit ...

The Performance of Seaport Clusters - RePub - Erasmus Universiteit ...

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English Summary 249<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Performance</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Seaport</strong> <strong>Clusters</strong><br />

A Framework to Analyze Cluster <strong>Performance</strong> and an Application to the <strong>Seaport</strong><br />

Summary<br />

<strong>Clusters</strong> <strong>of</strong> Durban, Rotterdam and the Lower Mississippi<br />

Economists frequently use the cluster concept to analyze the economic development <strong>of</strong><br />

regions. Because <strong>of</strong> increasing interaction and competition between regions, the<br />

specialization <strong>of</strong> regions increases. This leads to the development <strong>of</strong> clusters: spatial<br />

concentrations <strong>of</strong> interrelated firms. Competitive clusters can contribute substantially to the<br />

economic development <strong>of</strong> regions. <strong>The</strong>refore, the question ‘what determines the<br />

performance <strong>of</strong> clusters’ is relevant.<br />

In this thesis, a framework to analyze the performance <strong>of</strong> clusters is developed. This<br />

framework is applied to three case studies: the port clusters <strong>of</strong> Rotterdam, Durban and the<br />

Lower Mississippi. <strong>The</strong> cluster concept is frequently applied, but hardly to seaports, in spite<br />

<strong>of</strong> the fact that seaports are clear examples <strong>of</strong> clustering. Virtually all ports attract firms<br />

related to the arrival <strong>of</strong> goods and ships. <strong>The</strong> results <strong>of</strong> the case studies are relevant both for<br />

economists dealing with clusters in general and scholars specializing in port studies.<br />

<strong>The</strong> thesis consists <strong>of</strong> three parts. In the first part the theoretical framework is developed<br />

(chapters 1 to 6), the second part (chapters 7 to 12) deals with the application to seaports<br />

and the third part (chapters 13 to 15) presents conclusions.<br />

<strong>The</strong> theoretical part<br />

<strong>The</strong> question ‘how can cluster activities be identified’ has received limited serious attention.<br />

In virtually all cluster studies, clusters are defined loosely. A precise delimitation is a step<br />

forward, since it provides a basis for a precise analysis <strong>of</strong> the evolution <strong>of</strong> a cluster in time, it<br />

enables a detailed comparison between clusters, and it allows for a precise analysis <strong>of</strong> the<br />

influence <strong>of</strong> certain characteristics <strong>of</strong> a cluster, such as degree <strong>of</strong> foreign ownership,<br />

diversity in the cluster and entry and exit in the cluster, on its performance.

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