We trace the geographic and intellectual heritage of the early entrants into the US tire industry in Ohio, the industry's historical center. We test a model in which the supply of capable entrants, localized knowledge, and production externalities influence where entrants originated and located....

Data for all producers of automobiles and integrated circuits on their origins, base location, and performance are used to analyze the factors behind the historical clustering of the two industries in Detroit and Silicon Valley, respectively. Key ideas concerning organizational reproduction and...