This paper provides two things. First, it gives an overview on the existing top-down methods for the identification of clusters (Section II). Second, it presents a new method that has been recently introduced by Scholl and Brenner (2016) in a basic version. However, the existing version of this...

This compilation of papers from a researchproject funded by the German Ministry provides a political perspective andunifying concept of how local industrial clusters can be strengthenedbypolicy measures.The chapters in Part I cover theoretical approaches, thechapters in Part II present case...

Lagging regions differ in their characteristics, implying a need for tailor-made policy measures to improve the economic situation in these regions. However, while there are differences between these regions, certain "archetypes" of regions might exist that share the same obstacles to...