Innovation, Regional Development and Technology Policy: New Spatial Trends in Industrialization and the Emergence of Regionalization of Technology Policy

Abstract

The reemergence of the regions as promoters of economic development is a result of profound changes in the national and global economy and a deep movement to a broader regionalization. Many reasons contribute to this trend. The last decade is marked by great transformations in the structure of production systems; many manufacturing sectors have experienced declining production and employment due to the offshore location of traditional industries, the introduction of labor-saving technologies and the newly emerging sectors show a nuanced geography. Changes in the competitive conditions at European and world levels in a context of globalization have been accompanied, amongst other things, by huge transformations in production processes, changes in industrial organization, the development of new activities and products. Not all territories were able to adapt themselves to these changes at the same pace, nor did their reactions follow a single and uniform pattern. The geography of production suffered considerable changes, both at a world level and within each country. There is a great diversity in territorial dynamics which reflects the failure of governments’ traditional regional policies (incentives and grants) and the need for a new approach, based on the invigorating capacity of the regions and the local networks. This diversity of dynamics also reveals the different and uneven capacity of each territory to assume innovation strategies and to incorporate the changes into technology and markets. A controversy exits about the real power of regional government to affect the level and growth rate of the economy and to support structural change. Both central and regional governments have different and specific ways of acting yet many goals require a close cooperation between different levels of governments. European and Spanish experiences can be a good reference to reflect on.KeywordsRegional DevelopmentInnovation ProcessPeripheral RegionInnovative ActivityTechnology PolicyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.