Sida Yang
Title: Government's role in cluster development: the case of textile industry in Gaomi, China
Supervisor: Ms. Olga Mikheeva, MA
Opponent: Mario Laul, MA
Defense: 26 January 2018
Abstract: Based on the theory of industrial clusters and the theory of government function in Economics and Public Administration, the thesis analyzes the development of Gaomi Textile Industrial Cluster and the various roles played by the local government. The thesis introduces the present state of cluster’s development, its characteristics and the development phases of Gaomi textile industrial cluster, and explores what role the Gaomi government plays in the development of Gaomi Textile Industrial Cluster. The thesis also identifies some bottlenecks for the further development of Gaomi Textile Industrial Cluster and therefore, given an active local government, suggests that the local government and other public sector agencies need to further consider how to provide effective public services to promote upgrading of the local textile industry. The thesis represents a qualitative exploratory case study. The interviewing is combined with the analysis of archival documents to collect the data and information about Gaomi textile industrial cluster and the government's participation and activities. The document analysis is based not only on legal documents and reports publicly available but also internal archives, survey reports, memos, and the local work reports. The thesis concludes with policy recommendations.
Keywords: industrial cluster, textile industrial cluster, local government, strategic alliance, China
