Strength in Numbers? The Weak Effect of Manufacturing Clusters on Canadian Productivity

There is no strong link between the clustering of Canada’s manufacturing industries and their economic performance on a sector-wide basis, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Strength in Numbers? The Weak Effect of Manufacturing Clusters on Canadian Productivity,” author Kristian Behrens finds instead that increases in trade, whether imports or exports, have a stronger effect on industry productivity and should be the focus of policymakers.