Identification Of Hierarchy Of Agglomerations At Regional Level And In Industrial Sector In The Republic Of Moldova

Clusters represent one of the most efficient economic incentive mechanisms and become an important tool for developing and increasing the enterprises competitiveness, thus improving also the business climate in the region. At the same time, it is one of the most discussed topics at national level, but still remains a topic of discussion. Currently, the cluster development policy in Moldova is still at the initial stage. Although the mechanisms for clusters creation are not clearly defined, and it has not been yet developed a cluster map, reflecting the regions and industrial sectors with cluster potential, about the need to create clusters was mentioned in several strategic documents. The paper aims to perform a hierarchy of agglomerations at the regional level, based on those industries with a high degree of specialization, identified via the „three stars” method. The main results achieved following the investigations consist in carrying out the agglomerations hierarchy at regional level, its description and graphic representation. The research methodology is based on: a critical analysis and generalization of literature, analytical materials; „three stars" method for the agglomerations identification; mapping method. The basis of this paper is constituted of final results of a study under the project for the young researchers „Analysis of the potential of clusterization in the Republic of Moldova in the industrial sector” (code 16.80012.08.15A).