At the origin of the industrial district: Alfred Marshall and the Cambridge school

Abstract

This paper investigates the origin and evolution of the concept of the industrial district. The idea of industrial district is quite widespread in modern industrial economics and in business studies, with a variety of meanings and typologies. Indeed the real original conceptualisation dates back to Alfred Marshall and the economists of the so-called Cambridge school. Quite often the concept of industrial district is considered as synonymous with agglomeration, localisation and clustering. But, according to the meaning given originally by Marshall, these processes of industry 'territorialisation' are quite different from the more 'compound localisation' that is the Marshallian industrial district. Therefore, the aim of our contribution is focused on disentangling its original meaning from other subsequent interpretations, referring particularly to the debate on this subject that arose among the economists of the Cambridge School. © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.