Globalization, Institutions and Regional Development in Europe

This text argues that regional economic prosperity across Europe will depend upon the degree to which regions are able to mobilize flexible institutional strategies, and to harness the forces of globalization to their own ends.

What are the economic prospects of European regions in a globalizing world? One view suggests that European regions will be overwhelmed by global forces; another suggests the rise of a new localism leading to a Europe of the regions. This book argues that neither of these accounts is correct. The authors offer detailed accounts of the local economies of Baden Wuttemberg, Emilia-Romagna, Switzerland, and Eastern Germany amongst others to support their view. In so doing they discuss a number of important and topical issues: industrial districts and their distinctiveness, organizational flexibility, regional economic planning, and the role of transnational companies. Through the application of an institutionalist perspective which stresses the importance of institutionalizing processes within the economy, the chapters in the book argue that regional economic prosperity will depend upon the degree to which regions are able to mobilize flexible institutional strategies. The book concludes that adaptable regions with a diverse institutional presence can harness the forces of globalization to their own ends. Other regions, with more rigid institutional structures, face a bleak future.

Preface and Introduction
Living in the Global
The Local Embeddedness of Transnational Corporations
Global Agro-Food Complexes and the Refashioning of Rural Europe
The Uneven Landscapes of Innovation Poles: Local Embeddedness and Global Networks
Growth Regions Under Duress: Renewal Strategies in Baden Wurttemberg and Emilia-Romagna
Flexible Districts, Flexible Regions? The Institutional and Cultural Limits to Districts in an Era of Technological Paradigm Shifts
Regulating Labour: The Social Regulation and Reproduciton of Local Labour Markets
The Disembedded Regional Economy: The Transformation of East German Industrial Complexes into Western Enclaves
Institutional Change, Cultural Transformation, and Economic Regeneration: Myths and Realities from Europe's Old Industrial Areas
Local and Regional Broadcasting in the New Media Order
Global-Local Social Conflicts: Examples from Southern Europe
Holding Down the Global