Business Clusters [antikvár]

I am very pleased to introduce this new publication from the OECD LEED Programme. It tackles a subject of great importance to economic development in Central, East and South East Europe. The cluster mapping, analysis of existing cluster policies and recommendations for policy development presented in this book are intended to support policy-makers, entrepreneurs and other decision-makers working in these economies and beyond. They show how the cluster concept can be operationalised to support small firm growth and employment creation at local level. This publication aims to inform national, régiónál and local policy makers in Central, East and South East European countries about policies to develop business clusters (local concentrations of horizontally or vertically linked firms that specialise in related lines of business together with supporting organisations). In addition, it aims to share cluster experiences from Central and Eastern Europe with other OECD member and nonmember countries. Since its founding in 1982, the OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Programme has played a critical role in identifying and disseminating information on international innovations and best practices in local economic and employment development. LEED quickly grasped the importance of clusters and inter-firm networks for entrepreneurship and employment creation. Over the years, it has organised many conferences and studies on the subject with the aim of alerting entrepreneurs, governments and development agencies to the potential of the cluster concept and informing policy makers on the most appropriate forms of intervention. The LEED Programme has alsó been active for many years in the promotion of entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development in Central and Eastern Europe. An important step was taken to reinforce this work in 2003 with the creation of the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development, which provides a structure for policy analysis, information exchange and capacity building activities to promote entrepreneurship, local governance and social cohesion with a special focus on Central, East and South East European countries.