The Geographic Clustering of High-Tech Industry,

High-tech activities cluster and clustering spurs competitiveness. That is the message of a rapidly growing body of research showing that the geographic co-location of businesses, universities, colleges, and labs often yields powerful clusters of technology-related activity that continue to expand through initial market leadership and economies of scale. Well-known examples are information technology and biotechnology California’s Silicon Valley and Boston’s Route 128, software and aircraft in Seattle, and electronics and pharmaceuticals in North Carolina’s Research Triangle. Such clusters have con-tributed to substantial increases in their regions ’ prosperity while also supplying the innovations that drive national economic growth. This study constitutes a systematic location analysis of the technology assets of Appalachia. Spe-cifically, the report identifies and documents sub-regional concentrations of technology-related em-ployment, R&D, and applied innovation within and immediately adjacent to the 406-county service area of the Appalachian Regional Commission. By assembling and analyzing an extensive set of data at high levels of functional and spatial detail, the study reveals localized technology strengths that might be nurtured through focused economic development policy. The study found 100 technology clusters — joint spatial concentrations of high-tech employmen