Evaluation of Cluster Policy in Russia. Analysis of Publicly Supported Innovative Territorial Clusters

Today many programs supporting clusters are introduced in Russia and other countries.The purpose of the research is to provide a relevant quantitative study assessing the effectivenessof cluster policy. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, the effectiveness of Russia's cluster policy isanalyzed using regression analysis. The survey covers data on 516 Russian enterprises divided intotwo groups: companies from supported clusters and firms that are members of similar but notsupported clusters. To the classical variables of Cobb-Douglas production function (companies'revenue, number of workers, capital of the company) we added cluster program dummy variable.The main question of the research is whether companies in supported clusters operate moreeffectively than other companies. Findings: The analysis provided quite interesting results. It was found that governmental supportwhich was received by 27 innovative clusters didn't have any effect on the revenue of thecompanies. This means that Russian innovation clusters work equally efficiently, regardless ofwhether they have government support. Research/practical implications: We have not found short-term effects on the enterprisesassociated with the supported clusters. The obtained results indicate that cluster policy conductedfrom 2012 to the present time requires adjustment. In this regard, the authors proposerecommendations on further implementation of cluster policy. Originality/value: We have described the production function of Russian companies which workin the clusters. We have found that there is no significant effect on companies' output fromgovernment supporting of the clusters in Russia. Effectiveness of cluster policy has never beenevaluated empirically before this research.