Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/300010 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 24-031
Publisher: 
ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, Mannheim
Abstract: 
The Flemish government launched its Spearhead Cluster (SHC) policy in 2017. The aim is to boost strategic sectors by setting up cluster initiatives which coordinate collaborative R&D initiatives. In this paper, we analyze whether becoming a member of such a cluster initiative has an impact on the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of the firm. We exploit firm-level data between 2013 and 2020 to estimate TFP and apply a difference-in-differences approach to assess the programs' treatment effects. We find that becoming a member of a cluster has an average positive impact on firmlevel TFP of between 1 to 4.4 percent, depending on the econometric specification. These results are the first to provide an insight into the impact of the Flemish SHC policy on productivity.
Subjects: 
cluster associations
cluster policy
innovation policy
total factor productivity
conditional difference-in-difference
JEL: 
D24
L25
L52
L53
O25
O38
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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