Cluster policy has gained remarkable prominence in regional and sectoral structural policy in industrialized countries. Instead of compensating for weaknesses it focuses on strengths in the local and regional economic structure. In Germany, handing out regional development funds in competitions...

Using a strategy of export-led growth and an activist industrial policy, Japan, the Asian Tigers and more recently China have attained high rates of economic growth. Export-led growth has taken over the status as model for developing countries' economic development from the formerly prevailing...

The development of Abu Dhabi and Dubai during past years seems breathtaking. Both emirates pursue a strategy of diversifying their economic structure and thus of becoming less dependent on oil and gas. The obvious goal is to secure their prosperity for an era beyond oil. Diversification is a...

Recent political transformations in Arab countries suggest that solutions have to be found for the problem of lacking economic prospects and particularly of high youth unemployment. Such solutions have to consist of economic growth that unfolds widespread employment effects. A tourism policy...

Underlying Greece's public debt crisis is a fundamental economic problem: its lack of international competitiveness. While in the short term the debt crisis must be solved, in the long term the economic perspective of the country will depend on whether it will succeed in developing competitive...

During the past two decades, the “Washington Consensus” has been the dominant recipe for unleashing economic growth in developing countries. In view of the strong criticism mounted against it, it seems to have lost prominence recently. The success of the East Asian newly industrialized...

When thinking about clusters, primarily agglomerations of manufacturing and related service industries come into mind. Yet, clustering in tourism is as salient as in few other industries. Tourism clusters are an empirical fact. Considering the high relevance of tourism to many regions and...

After it has been discovered as a vehicle of economic policy in industrialized countries at the beginning of the 1990s, cluster policy has attracted the attention of development policy. Indeed, the case for using cluster policies to promote economic development is in principle not confined to...

This paper discusses the nexus between economically-driven tourism development and broader societal aspects of social, cultural and ecological sustainability. The paper argues that similar to the discussion on the limits to growth in industrial development that started in the 1970s, the...

Cluster policy has arrived at the mainstream of economic policy since the early 1990. In many developing countries including those on the African continent, clusters on the regional and local levels have been promoted. The North African countries offer an interesting case because of their...