TY  - JOUR
AU  - Kerr,William R.
AU  - Kominers,Scott Duke
TI  - Agglomerative Forces and Cluster Shapes
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 16639
PY  - 2010
Y2  - December 2010
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16639
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16639.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
William R. Kerr
Harvard Business School
Rock Center 212
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
Tel: 617/496-7021
E-Mail: wkerr@hbs.edu

Scott Duke Kominers
Rosenwald Hall 331B
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL 60637
Tel: 301-529-4162
E-Mail: skominers@uchicago.edu
AB  - We model spatial clusters of similar firms. Our model highlights how agglomerative forces lead to localized, individual connections among firms, while interaction costs generate a defined distance over which attraction forces operate. Overlapping firm interactions yield agglomeration clusters that are much larger than the underlying agglomerative forces themselves. Empirically, we demonstrate that our model's assumptions are present in the structure of technology and labor flows within Silicon Valley and its surrounding areas. Our model further identifies how the lengths over which agglomerative forces operate influence the shapes and sizes of industrial clusters; we confirm these predictions using variations across both technology clusters and industry agglomeration.
ER  -