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New forms of industrial districts

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Abstract

The industrial district may be seen as a species hosting not only many different cases, but also, more generally, some ideal–typical forms that characterize different historical contexts. The form that, according to previous contributions, seems to emerge in contemporary contexts of advanced economies under globalisation, technological and societal challenges, is the so-called Mark 3 ID. This paper expands precisely on differential features, contexts, and factors of strength and weakness of ID Mark 3. The thought of Giacomo Becattini, in particular his conception of the Marshallian industrial district, is assumed as a central reference point. The Mark 3 ID is discussed in this paper under the frame of such conception of industrial organization and development, centred on place-specific collective capital and specialized small-to-medium sized firms.

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Notes

  1. C.H. Sabel, “The new organization of production, productive development policies and job creation or Thinking about industrial policy as industry becomes less central to development”, paper presented at the Conference on Relations Between Productive Development Policies, Jobs, Wages And Human Resources Brainstorming Session, Lima, January 22, 2016.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the EU under H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions project “MAKERS: Smart Manufacturing for EU Growth and Prosperity”, Grant Agreement No. 691192.

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  1. Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Via Delle Pandette 32, 50127, Florence, Italy

    Marco Bellandi

  2. Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    Lisa De Propris

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  1. Marco Bellandi
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Correspondence to Lisa De Propris.

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Bellandi, M., De Propris, L. New forms of industrial districts. Econ Polit Ind 44, 411–427 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-017-0082-9

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