Title:
A Comprehensive Assessment of Atlanta's Status as a High-Technology Cluster

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dc.contributor.advisor Breznitz, Dan
dc.contributor.author Taylor, Mollie Marie en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Bowman, Kirk
dc.contributor.committeeMember Taylor, Zak
dc.contributor.department International Affairs en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2008-06-10T20:41:41Z
dc.date.available 2008-06-10T20:41:41Z
dc.date.issued 2008-04-01 en_US
dc.description.abstract This thesis addresses two questions to understand the current situation of technology in Atlanta: Is Atlanta an ideal location for a technology cluster to form? Does a true technology cluster exist in Atlanta? According to cluster literature, there are seven characteristics required for emerging clusters: a high-quality, powerful research university; a skilled labor pool; funding (R&D, venture capital, etc.); favorable policies; linkages; certain city characteristics; and luck. There also are several somewhat-vague characteristics that show success in a cluster. Among these are agglomeration, innovation (where funding and employment are two measures of innovation), and growth. In order to provide a comprehensive assessment of the answers to the two questions, a mixture of summary statistics, shallow case studies, previous analysis, and comparisons of Atlanta with other clusters are blended together to assess Atlanta's performance on each of the characteristics outlined in theory. Where possible, more than one of these measures are used. Of the seven necessary characteristics of cluster creation set out by theory, Atlanta seems to have achieved a passing grade regarding research university, labor pool, and city characteristics, but has a failing grade on policy and linkages. One interesting finding is that Atlanta receives a strong amount of venture capital investment in start-ups but is lacking in later stage companies. Atlanta's success as a cluster is dubious. It has proven somewhat successful in start-ups and in the so-called "Level II" technology companies that have lower levels of technology-oriented jobs and that tend to be more manufacturing focused. It is also possible that a technology cluster is forming in Atlanta, but that it is still in its infancy. With regard to policy, it is recommended that Atlanta gain certain policies that will allow for the characteristics of cluster formation (particularly investment and linkages--since those are the areas where Atlanta is or possibly is lacking) and replace policies that will hinder the growth of technology and investment in the technology industries. en_US
dc.description.degree M.S. en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/22628
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology en_US
dc.subject Economic geography en_US
dc.subject Regional economics en_US
dc.subject Linkages en_US
dc.subject Georgia en_US
dc.subject Agglomeration en_US
dc.subject Southeast en_US
dc.subject High-technology en_US
dc.subject Cluster en_US
dc.subject Technology en_US
dc.subject Atlanta en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Industrial location Georgia Atlanta
dc.subject.lcsh High technology industries
dc.subject.lcsh Industrial policy
dc.subject.lcsh Economic policy
dc.subject.lcsh Public-private sector cooperation
dc.subject.lcsh Institutional cooperation
dc.title A Comprehensive Assessment of Atlanta's Status as a High-Technology Cluster en_US
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Thesis
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.corporatename Sam Nunn School of International Affairs
local.contributor.corporatename Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 2e513ee5-3735-41d6-94e0-7df2c5325e35
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication b1049ff1-5166-442c-9e14-ad804b064e38
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