This thesis evaluates the impact economic characteristics, including regional agglomeration and establishment concentration among other variables, have on the survivability of new establishments. Using the National Establishment Time Series database for South Carolina, we analyze all establishments in industries from 1990 to 2009. We find there is a positive relationship between cluster strength and survival rates of establishments. These results vary slightly between county-level industry concentration and the narrower zip code levels. We also find evidence of a non-monotonic relation between agglomeration (industry cluster) strength and establishment survival, suggesting a positive impact on survival until congestion becomes an overwhelming factor.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis evaluates the impact economic characteristics, including regional agglomeration and establishment concentration among other variables, have on the survivability of new establishments. Using the National Establishment Time Series database for South Carolina, we analyze all establishments in industries from 1990 to 2009. We find there is a positive relationship between cluster strength and survival rates of establishments. These results vary slightly between county-level industry concentration and the narrower zip code levels. We also find evidence of a non-monotonic relation between agglomeration (industry cluster) strength and establishment survival, suggesting a positive impact on survival until congestion becomes an overwhelming factor.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Smith, William Patrick"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Campus Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Moore School of Business","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Douglas Woodward","Paulo Guimaraes"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:49Z","subjects":["Economics","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Agglomeration","Clusters","NETS","Proportional Hazards","Regional Economics","Survival"],"languages":[],"rights":["© 2011, William Patrick Smith"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/925","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Douglas Woodward","Paulo Guimaraes"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Smith, William Patrick"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Moore School of Business"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Economics","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Agglomeration","Clusters","NETS","Proportional Hazards","Regional Economics","Survival"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2011, William Patrick Smith"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/925"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis evaluates the impact economic characteristics, including regional agglomeration and establishment concentration among other variables, have on the survivability of new establishments. Using the National Establishment Time Series database for South Carolina, we analyze all establishments in industries from 1990 to 2009. We find there is a positive relationship between cluster strength and survival rates of establishments. These results vary slightly between county-level industry concentration and the narrower zip code levels. We also find evidence of a non-monotonic relation between agglomeration (industry cluster) strength and establishment survival, suggesting a positive impact on survival until congestion becomes an overwhelming factor.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effect of Industry Agglomeration On the Survival of New Establishments In South Carolina"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Douglas Woodward","Paulo Guimaraes"],"dc:creator":["Smith, William Patrick"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis evaluates the impact economic characteristics, including regional agglomeration and establishment concentration among other variables, have on the survivability of new establishments. Using the National Establishment Time Series database for South Carolina, we analyze all establishments in industries from 1990 to 2009. We find there is a positive relationship between cluster strength and survival rates of establishments. These results vary slightly between county-level industry concentration and the narrower zip code levels. We also find evidence of a non-monotonic relation between agglomeration (industry cluster) strength and establishment survival, suggesting a positive impact on survival until congestion becomes an overwhelming factor.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/925"],"dc:rights":["© 2011, William Patrick Smith"],"dc:subject":["Economics","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Agglomeration","Clusters","NETS","Proportional Hazards","Regional Economics","Survival"],"dc:title":["The Effect of Industry Agglomeration On the Survival of New Establishments In South Carolina"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Moore School of Business"],"thesis:degree_level":["Campus Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:49Z"}