Regional Innovation and Decentralization - Hardcover

In recent years industrial change has had a marked regional dimension. Areas with a concentration of traditional industries have gone into sharp decline, whilst those which accommodate high tech industries have prospered. This pattern, which has been repeated throughout the developed world, has marked economic, social and political implications. Policy-makers are faced with the problem of creating the conditions within which innovative industries can flourish in areas which have been host to very different sorts of industry. But how do you legislate for innovation? This book looks at one key approach, that of decentralization. Different localities clearly require different solutions and by making decisions at a local level more appropriate strategies are likely to be found. The development of technology and science parks is seen as a key phenomenon and the relationship between research in small and large firms, and in the academic world, is outlined. Throughout, the approach is strongly comparative as the book considers the successes and failures of different approaches and tries to evaluate what role different levels of government should have.