Unlocking Rural Competitiveness

Over the last 15 to 20 years, cluster analysis has emerged as a new way of looking at economic development, integrating regional differences in development and economic specialization (Porter 1990, 2003; Sweeney and Feser 1998; Feser 2004, Cortright 2006). An increasing number of states and regions in the United States and overseas have modified their economic development strategies to focus and capitalize on the business and industry clusters where they have, or would like to have, a competitive advantage. In adopting a cluster strategy, states and regions hope to maximize their competitive advantage in existing industries and to build new strengths in the emerging industries that will replace older, declining sectors (Nolan 2003).