Technology,Industrial Restructuring,and Regional Development

ABSTRACT This paper presents a contemporary survey and synthesis of research on the regional dimensions of technology and competitiveness and explores ways in which technological change has influenced industrial restructuring in U.S. regions. Neoclassical models of regional growth are judged to be seriously wanting in their treatment of technological change. Industrial organization theories such as product/profit cycles, best-practice firms, and flexible specialization have proven to be more illuminating. However, the task remains to integrate technology as a core element in a geography of production and regional economic change that includes both global strategic decision-making of companies and the viability of plants in particular regional settings. Although the federal government as sponsor and procurer of technology has contributed significantly to regional industrial restructuring, the prospects for state and local governments to facilitate technological change appear to be very limited.