Clustering and Upgrading - a Case Study of the Sugar Inudstries in Brazil and Cuba, Paper presented at Globelics 6th International Conference 2008, 22 – 24 September, Mexico City
Author
Summary, in English
Clusters have received much interest as a strategy and a policy tool in order to enhance the capabilities of firms and to stimulate innovation. There are many indications that clusters and cluster initiatives, as frameworks and co-operative processes, can serve this purpose, not only for high-tech sectors, but also low- and medium-tech ones. By enhancing linkages between firms, firms and government and with research communities, the regional economic dynamics are supported, which can help the firms in a region to become more innovative. There are a number of processes that supports this, such as knowledge spill-overs, labour pool matching, specialised suppliers, specialised demand, an intensified competition, collaborative efforts and external economies of scale.
This paper is one of a series of papers from a larger project that aims to explore and structure these relations more thoroughly and also the relation to international linkages. The larger project is exploring different types of clusters and the relation between firms in these types of clusters and how cluster policies can function as an upgrading strategy in these countries. The findings in this paper are based on preliminary data and analysis.
In our project we have undertaken three case studies: (a), of two regions in Brazil:, in the Centre South and the North East and (b) also a Cuban region, the Province of Havana. The material for these case studies has been gathered during six field trips, carried out during 2006-2008, three of them to Brazil and three to Cuba. During the fieldtrips successful and less successful clusters and cluster initiatives have been identified within the sugar industries in Brazil and Cuba, exploring also the role of public policy in this development process. As the cluster approach is including a broad spectrum of actors, not only firms, but also government and academia, we wanted to have input from as many representatives as possible, in order to capture differing opinions on the matters. The project has used a comparative, multi-stakeholder and multi-lateral approach to reflect the complexities of the clusters, which has been beneficial for identifying best practises, and providing analytical input to the process. The material used include written material and interviews with a wide array of actors, such as firm leaders, union activists, researchers and policymakers, from national, regional and local levels.
This paper is one of a series of papers from a larger project that aims to explore and structure these relations more thoroughly and also the relation to international linkages. The larger project is exploring different types of clusters and the relation between firms in these types of clusters and how cluster policies can function as an upgrading strategy in these countries. The findings in this paper are based on preliminary data and analysis.
In our project we have undertaken three case studies: (a), of two regions in Brazil:, in the Centre South and the North East and (b) also a Cuban region, the Province of Havana. The material for these case studies has been gathered during six field trips, carried out during 2006-2008, three of them to Brazil and three to Cuba. During the fieldtrips successful and less successful clusters and cluster initiatives have been identified within the sugar industries in Brazil and Cuba, exploring also the role of public policy in this development process. As the cluster approach is including a broad spectrum of actors, not only firms, but also government and academia, we wanted to have input from as many representatives as possible, in order to capture differing opinions on the matters. The project has used a comparative, multi-stakeholder and multi-lateral approach to reflect the complexities of the clusters, which has been beneficial for identifying best practises, and providing analytical input to the process. The material used include written material and interviews with a wide array of actors, such as firm leaders, union activists, researchers and policymakers, from national, regional and local levels.
Department/s
- Research Policy Institute (RPI)
Publishing year
2008
Language
English
Pages
1-28
Publication/Series
[Host publication title missing]
Document type
Conference paper
Publisher
Globelics
Topic
- Business Administration
Keywords
- Sugar
- Ethanol
- Innovation
- Clusters
- Upgrading
Conference name
The 6th Globelics Conference, 2008
Conference date
2008-09-22 - 2008-09-24
Conference place
Mexico City, Mexico
Status
Submitted