An empirical analysis of employment and payroll clusters in Puerto Rico: 1979-1999

Abstract

This paper proposes a method to identify employment and wage clusters for various sectors of a region‘s economy. The Location Quotient, the National Averages Index, and a local employment or wage index were estimated and used to identify industrial clusters and classify their development stage according to three categories: emerging, maturing and declining. An application of this methodology considering the Puerto Rican economy during the period 1980-2000 has allowed for documentation of regional shifts as a transition from manufacturing to service (postindustrial) industries was observed.