The French cluster policy put to the test with differences-in-differences estimates

Olivier Brossard (1) , Inès Moussa (1)

1 LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux

There is an abundant literature on innovative clusters but the incidence of cluster policies is hardly ever assessed. We assemble a panel of 94 French regions for 1997-2008 and use difference-in-differences regressions to evaluate the cluster policy that is being implemented in France since 2004-2005 in some of these regions. We obtain a positive, significant but rather small impact on patenting.

Mots clés: Cluster policies; Differences-in-differences; R&D; Patents; Innovation

Domaines: Economies et finances

Olivier Brossard, Inès Moussa. The French cluster policy put to the test with differences-in-differences estimates. Economics Bulletin, 2014, 34 (1), pp.520-529. ⟨halshs-01228857⟩