The politics and economics of the United States are wedded in the political economy of the nation state and the nationalist economic policies. This `nationalist paradigm' is, however, showing the following signs of fatigue: the role of the nation state is diminishing as the economy globalizes; US national accounting systems are less effective, technology forces change; trading blocs are emerging; there is less control of exchange rates; regional economies are restructuring; and competitive environments are changing. This book proposes that political jurisdictions are not economies but polities, and explores the complex and important economic implications of this thesis.

Winner of the 2009 Regional Studies Association Best Book Award! Since the early 1980s, the region has been central to thinking about the emerging character of the global economy. In fields as diverse as business management, industrial relations, economic geography, sociology, and planning, the regional scale has emerged as an organizing concept for interpretations of economic change. This book is both a critique of the "new regionalism" and a return to the "regional question," including all of its concerns with equity and uneven development. It will challenge researchers and students to consider the region as a central scale of action in the global economy, and at the core of the book are case studies of two industries that rely on skilled, innovative, and flexible workers - the optics and imaging industry and the film and television industry. Combined with this is a discussion of the regions that constitute their production centers. The authors’ intensive research on photonics and entertainment media firms, both large and small, leads them to question some basic assumptions behind the new regionalism and to develop an alternative framework for understanding regional economic development policy. Finally, there is a re-examination of what the regional question means for the concept of the learning region. This book draws on the rich contemporary literature on the region but also addresses theoretical questions that preceded "the new regionalism." It will contribute to teaching and research in a range of social science disciplines and this new paperback edition will also make the book more accessible to students and researchers in those disciplines, those individuals who will influence the re-structuring economies of the 21st century.

Japan's regional geoeconomic strategy -- Foreign economic policy, domestic institutions and regional governance -- Geoeconomics of the Asia-Pacific -- Transformation in the Japanese political economy -- Trade and investment : a gradual path -- Money and finance : an uneven path -- Development and foreign aid : a hybrid path.

Regional issues are increasingly debated across the social sciences. In an age of globalization, the region has come to matter perhaps more than before. In business, companies orient themselves to engage in regional environments to build capabilities and create critical mass in their vicinity. In the world of policy, almost one-third of the EU budget is spent on regional policy. Yet in spite of this the differences between regions that do well and those that do not are increasing in both Europe and the United States. In recent years, evolutionary economic geography has done much to create a framework to inform regional policy and academic work. Using its insights, Martin Henning explores why economic growth and transformation is an essentially regionally based and spatially dependent process. The book offers an accessible introduction to the core ideas involved in understanding the dynamics of regional economies and draws on case studies to illuminate these ideas in practice.

The second edition of Regional Economics provides a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of regional economics. This fully revised edition includes key theoretical developments of the last ten years. Topics included span from the earliest location theories to the most recent regional growth theories. It is also is also enriched by the recent debate on smart specialization strategies recently developed by the EU for the design of new cohesion policies. Key elements covered in the new edition include: proximity and innovation theories the concept of territorial capital the debate on the role of agglomeration economies in urban growth This textbook is for undergraduate students in regional and urban economics as well as spatial planning courses.

'Charlie Karlsson, Börje Johansson and Roger R. Stough have collected a set of important articles on some of the most important factors determining the growth of contemporary regional economies. the focus of the book is on important growth determinants that are almost never mentioned in the standard analyses of economic growth. Entrepreneurship is discussed from theoretical as well as empirical points of view. the role of social capital as well as institutional governance are highlighted in chapters that ought to be read by all economists interested in the economic growth and development of regions.' – Åke E. Andersson, Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping, Sweden 'This is an exceptional work that is the result of an outstanding selection of the best papers on agglomeration and innovation given at the 10th anniversary of the Udevalla conference. It is the finest set of conference papers I have seen in the past 25 years. These are artfully woven together into three primary areas. the first focuses on the role of knowledge and innovation in entrepreneurship, the second incorporates the institutional environment, while the third looks at the international context. I recommend this collection to academics, students and all who are interested in the role of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurial development. Not only are these the very best researchers in the field, but the materials are presented in a clear and concise manner, making it an outstanding base for advanced courses in this area. This work combines some of the best writings by top-notch authors sharing the sharpest insight into the complex area of the role of human capital in structuring agglomerative advantages. I take my hat off to the fine editorial work represented in this volume.' – Kingsley E. Haynes, George Mason University, US 'The book provides a remarkable contribution on the role of human capital as major creator of knowledge, interpreted as abilities, capabilities, methods, creativity and persistency in identifying and solving problems by collecting, selecting, interpreting and applying existing knowledge and information. the laws of increasing returns to human capital – among which are urban agglomerations as magnets which attract persons who embody knowledge – are conceptually searched and empirically verified. the book answers questions such as: Why do highly educated people, i.e. the carriers of human capital, tend to concentrate in large agglomerations?; What are the agglomerative forces?; and How does this agglomeration of human capital impact different types of economic activities and in particular their location behaviour? Important normative implications are thus derived from such a collected effort.' – Roberta Capello, Politecnico di Milano, Italy 'The Regional Economics of Knowledge and Talent, edited by Charlie Karlsson, Börje Johansson and Roger R. Stough brings together a wide range of cutting-edge studies and research on the role of talent in regional development. It is an important addition to our understanding of how knowledge, human capital, and talent shape the development of cities and regions across the globe.' – Richard Florida, University of Toronto, Canada This original and instructive new book defines and explores the concept of knowledge as the talent, skills, know-how and understanding embodied in individuals. the distinguished contributors advance the current research frontier in three novel directions which focus on: the role of human capital and talent for creativity, entrepreneurship and regional development; the role of institutions for the behaviour of firms and entrepreneurs; and the influence of the global context on the location, export and innovation behaviour of firms in a knowledge economy. They also address critical questions that underpin the emerging knowledge economy: • Why does human capital and talent tend to agglomerate in large urban regions? • How does this agglomeration affect the location of different types of economic activities? • How does this agglomeration affect regional growth? Presenting the state of the art in the field of knowledge economics, this book will prove a stimulating and challenging read for scholars and researchers with an interest in economics, business and management, and regional and urban studies.

Regional economic development has attracted the interest of economists, geographers, planners and regional scientists for a long time. And, of course, it is a field that has developed a large practitioner cohort in government and business agencies from the national down to the state and local levels. In planning for cities and regions, both large and small, economic development issues now tend to be integrated into strategic planning processes. For at least the last 50 years, scholars from various disciplines have theorised about the nature of regional economic development, developing a range of models seeking to explain the process of regional economic development, and why it is that regions vary so much in their economic structure and performance and how these aspects of a region can change dramatically over time. Regional scientists in particular have developed a comprehensive tool-kit of methodologies to measure and monitor regional economic characteristics such as industry sectors, employment, income, value of production, investment, and the like, using both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis, and focusing on both static and dynamic analysis. The 'father of regional science', Walter lsard, was the first to put together a comprehensive volume on techniques of regional analysis (Isard 1960), and since then a huge literature has emerged, including the many titles in the series published by Springer in which this book is published.