Tool For Regional Development Research Articles

Eine neue Identität für Regionalstädte: Deindustrialisierung, kommunale Gebietsreform und Tourismus

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image sizeAbstractIn recent years, many regional cities that had relied on their industrial base and central function for the surrounding areas have experienced varying forms of decline, including population shrinking and ageing. During the wave of municipal mergers, these cities have integrated many peripheral municipalities with the aim of administrative consolidation—even when there were only weak connections between them. As a result of deindustrialization and municipal merger, a new trend has emerged among regional cities to promote tourism, which has always been a prominent regional development tool in peripheral areas, as a tool for both revitalization and the integration of newly created administrative units. Based on examples from Hiroshima Prefecture, this paper examines strategies for identity and image construction in regional cities, identifies the actors involved in the development and implementation of these strategies, and evaluates their success not only in terms of tourist number, but also in terms of long-term effects on regional identities. It becomes apparent that tourism is actively promoted mainly by cities with a declining industrial base and population. However, post-merger images created by the new municipal authorities often do not succeed in integrating the local identities of formerly independent units. Furthermore, this new kind of tourism promotion is rarely accompanied by improvements of the urban environment. The private sector becomes involved in image construction only in cities where tourism is already established. Here, not only private enterprises, but also a large variety of citizen groups are committed to conserving and promoting tourism resources.

Analyzing the Role of Festivals and Events in Regional Development

While tourism has a long history of use as a tool for regional development, events and festivals are a more recent policy option. In both cases the emphasis is often placed on the potential positive economic impacts. In both cases there has also been little research conducted into a wider range of outcomes or into the factors and processes that contribute to these outcomes. This article examines the potential role of festivals and events in regional development with a particular focus on effects other than economic. The study reported here used a conceptual framework developed to describe regional tourism development to explore 36 case studies describing festivals and events in a regional development context. The content analysis identified 13 themes as associated with the effectiveness of festivals and events in supporting regional development. These themes were further organized according to their connections to the three key constructs of building social capital, enhancing community capacity, and support for non-tourism-related products and services. These constructs are then used to build a preliminary conceptual framework to understand the role of festivals and events in regional development.

A NAFTA Dividend: A Guaranteed Minimum Income for North America

This paper explores the desirability and feasibility of a minimum income for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region. I review arguments in support of a basic income or a negative income tax for the European Union (EU). Then I examine ways in which the NAFTA countries do and do not resemble the EU in aspects relevant for the desirability and feasibility of a regional basic income. I argue that a case can be made for a North American guaranteed income, grounded, with respect to desirability, in a globalist theory of justice, and with respect to feasibility, in the necessity of moderating the flow of labor migration. A universal regional basic income is a useful tool for regional development that is fair and that insures better than does the current NAFTA that cooperation benefits the least advantaged.

Social Capital, Tourism and Regional Development: SPCC as a Basis for Innovation and Sustainability

Traditional views of regional development have focused on economic factors and potential innovation in technical and resource exploitation processes. Similarly, regional tourism development is usually couched in economic terms, such as number of jobs and increasing land values. This approach usually ignores the social and community aspects of tourism development; thus an alternative view argues that the community needs to be factored into our planning and development strategies to balance the traditional economic view. It is argued in this paper that fostering innovation in regional development is much more than a process of community consultation. Rather, what needs to be factored in is SPCC – social, political and cultural capital. This works in both directions; tourism development depends on a level of social, political and cultural capital in order to be a successful regional development tool (even in economic terms) while at the same time tourism development can be undertaken in a way that contributes to SPCC in the region. The paper outlines the key concepts of social capital, political capital and cultural capital. It does so within the context of regional tourism development and the concepts of systems of innovation and sustainable development.

Call Centres : a Swedish Geographical Perspective exemplified by conditions in the West of Sweden

The arrival of the Internet as well as that of cheap long-distance telecommunications mean that many activities that once required physical presence can now be conducted online. On the other hand, at transferring unstructured information which is often the case when work is carried out in the form of a project, proximity seems to be more needed than ever. In Sweden, sparsely populated, new telecomputer techniques are seen as means for regional development. Besides, ICT-use enables the location of functions to Sweden that may serve Scandinavia and the Baltic Region in an European context. Studies presented in this paper have been conducted in Western Sweden, that represents varying prerequisites for location of call centres. Environmental conditions such as infrastructure for transportation and communication and assistance by the state and/or EU are observed. Furthermore, the studies focus on what types of functions that are performed at different locations. This paper contributes to the understanding of what types of works that are performed in call centres located to varying geographical environments and to what extent the location of call centres may be used as a tool for regional development.

Are Incubators Good for Business? Understanding Incubation Practice—The Challenges for Policy

In this paper we explore a phenomenon that is currently a key component of the UK government's business support policies. Growing investment in incubation, and increased emphasis on it as a tool for regional development, require an understanding of its practice. We aim to provide insights for policymakers and practitioners to help them meet the needs and aspirations of users. Initially we present the key findings from a significant global review of studies of incubators, conducted on behalf of UK Business Incubation (UKBI), and the UK Department of Trade and Industry. The review identifies key factors in determining the potential added value of incubators. We then present the key findings from a subsequent in-depth study of seven incubators across England and Scotland, commissioned by UKBI. The conclusions of the study highlight the dichotomies relating to the potential polarisation of incubator objectives (from property development focus to business development focus) and how these influence the implementation of effective incubation processes from the perspective of tenant and graduate firms. The policies and practices of operators highlight a blurring of the distinction between incubator management and incubation development.

Spatial Clustering and the Potential for Policy Practice: Experiences from Cluster-building Processes in Sweden

In the last decade, there has been an increased interest in the cluster approach as a regional development tool. Moreover, it has been increasingly acknowledged that TIME (Telekom, IT, Media and Entertainment) industries have come to be of great importance to the economy. This article sets out to examine the use of the cluster approach as an analytical tool as well as a proactive policy tool and an approach based on negotiated and collaborative efforts to manufacture and utilize 'visions' of regional development futures to good effect. Consequently, the intent is not to judge the economic performance of firms in the three case clusters but rather to demonstrate problems and prospects in regional TIME industry cluster-building.

Putting Porter into Practice? Practices of Regional Cluster Building: Evidence from Sweden

In the last decade there has been an increased interest in the cluster approach as a tool for boosting regional competitiveness. In this article practices and processes of regional cluster building in Sweden are examined in order to better understand the key traits that seem to be common to successful regional cluster initiatives. It is argued that regional cluster building may be formed through long running policy processes that are crucially constituted by public and private actors' collective vision of what cluster policy involves and what a cluster can look like. Results from a study of 13 cluster initiatives in Sweden are presented. Out of these, four key examples are presented in detail to illustrate four distinct 'models' of cluster approaches that emerged: (a) industry-led initiatives to build competitiveness and competence within an existing base; (b) top-down public policy exercises in brand-building; (c) visionary projects to produce an industry cluster from 'thin air'; (d) small scale, geographically dispersed, natural resource based, temporal clusters that link or dip into global rather than national systems, sources of innovation and competitive advantage. The article closes with the presentation of a checklist of some common elements that successful cluster initiatives in Sweden have shared. It is hoped that they may trigger further research or be useful to policy-makers working in the area. It is concluded that though many questions and problems persist over the use of the cluster-approach it can be a useful tool for regional development.

Economic recovery through electronic mode 2 knowledge production

This paper presents a vision of engineering and management research as a regional development tool. It also sees these research efforts in a wider context, leveraging economic development and encouraging inter-cultural exchange that is neither imperialistic nor deterministic. It briefly outlines the key elements of the approach and presents some arguments for adopting this approach in western European-Balkan region knowledge production partnerships.

Bringing Peripheral Regions into the Information Market: the European Commission's STAR Programme

Some people are probably already familiar with the STAR programme that has been operating in Portugal since 1987, but I think it is appropriate to give a brief summary of the origins of the programme as in doing so it will give some insight into what the programme is all about and what it is intended to achieve. In summary, STAR is a community programme designed to give improved access to advanced telecommunications in less favoured regions of the European Community. However, STAR is first and foremost a tool for regional development and stems from the regional problem.

Télécommunication et organisation spatiale des entreprises

Abstract. — More than ever before, information is becoming a major factor of production in the industrial and tertiary sectors, in the same way as water, power, transport, materials, workforce, etc. Thus for various administrative bodies and international institutions, the possibility of transfering information through the telecom networks is of very high interest for their companies or organizations. These networks are present at establishment level (local networks) but also at company level, by combining the possibilities available through the public network with the private industry network. Let us consider to what extent this large range of télécom means may modify the spatial articulation in the very near future of ail companies whatever their size. The use of new telecom products and services would appear capable of bringing about a modification yery different from that of transportation in so far as company lay out is concerned. We will first consider the relationship between telecom and establishment locality. Telecom means may encourage the decentralisation of certain activities. It may then be possible to envisage a new type of geographical distribution, a new tool for regional development. Secondly, we will try and define the influence of telecom over the geography of companies by carrying out a functional analysis. It is effectively at workspace organization level for compagny functions that the intégration of new work area procedures may be noted. This analysis per function (management, marketing, production, etc.) allows a much more precise appréciation than could be offered by a general company study.

Coastal development in France: Tourism as a tool for regional development

The coastal development for tourism, of Languedoc-Roussillon in South West France represents one of the leading examples of State investment in tourism as a means of regional development. Examination is made of the administration, planning and implementation of the tourism project in Languedoc-Roussillon and its success is evaluated in terms of seasonality, its effect on income and employment in the region, the social value of the project and its contribution to the national balance of payments. On the basis of these evaluations it is argued that the tourism project has achieved only moderate success and tourism alone has not solved, and is unlikely to solve, the region's basic problems. The lessons of its use as a tool for regional development in Languedoc-Roussillon are of relevance to national governments everywhere.

The Economic Programming of a System of Planned Poles

The growth pole concept, introduced in 1955 by Perroux, has received increasing attention as a tool for regional development [17]. Adaptations exist for both developed and developing nations. There is, however, danger in regarding such a program as a solution to all regional problems; for some it is ill-suited. Particularly in developing countries, the growth pole has become a slogan because of its social and political appeal; its indiscriminate use may result in misallocations of scarce resources.