@article{Getahun:229713,
      recid = {229713},
      author = {Getahun, Tigabu Degu},
      title = {The Effect of Industrial Cluster Policy on Firm  Performance in Ethiopia: Evidence from the Leather Footware  Cluster},
      address = {2016-01},
      number = {1546-2016-132330},
      series = {ZEF Discussion Papers on Development Policy},
      pages = {37},
      year = {2016},
      abstract = {This paper empirically analyzes the productivity,  profitability, innovation and network effects of a public  policy promoting micro and small scale industrial clusters  in Ethiopia. To this end, firm-level survey data was  collected from randomly selected clustered leather shoe  manufacturers that have directly benefited from the policy  and those that do not, both before and after the cluster  policy intervention. The results from econometric analysis  suggests that the industrial cluster policy adversely  impacts the productivity, profitability, growth, and  innovation performance of the small and micro leather shoe  manufacturing enterprises that moved to the government  created clusters . The analysis of the transmission  mechanism further reveals that the relocated cluster policy  hampers the treated firms’ collaborative business and  knowledge network and aggravates their growth impediments  which includes lack of trust, high customer and supplier  search and reach cost, lack of market information,  imperfect contract enforcement, delays in the supply of raw  materials and the lack of skilled labor. The time lag  between policy implementation and its impacts may conceal  the long-term impact of the cluster policy. The  overwhelming majority of the representatives of treatment  group firms also continue to believe that their buisness  performance will improve over time as a result of their  participation in the MSE cluster development program. This  study is a pioneer to quantitatively evaluate the  productivity, profitability, innovation and network effect  of industrial cluster policy in Ethiopia.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/229713},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.229713},
}