Animate the cluster or subsidize collaborative R&D? A multiple overlapping treatments approach to assess the impact of the French cluster policy

This paper examines the effectiveness of the French competitiveness cluster policy on participating SMEs in terms of innovation and economic performance. Using an original dataset, we construct different measures of treatment with crossover designs. The findings indicate substantial additionality effects on R&D and employment and weak or insignificant effects on other types of economic performance. While only adhering to clusters induces much stronger positive impacts on SMEs than only participating in R&D collaborative projects, the policy is most effective when the two treatments are simultaneously used. To achieve its impact on SMEs, the cluster policy should not overlook low-cost instruments such as animation actions and common services.