Globalization,Modes of Innovation and Regional Knowledge Diffusion Infrastructures

Firms increasingly transcend the boundaries of regional innovation systems in their search for technology and complementary capabilities, and only rarely can they build their knowledge bases on science system output alone. Whereas the former decouple firms from regional user–producer networks, the latter raises important questions concerning the role of local science and education system actors in industrial development. By applying the “modes of innovation” concept on a Norwegian region, this paper discusses how science and education institutions can respond to the challenges of knowledge base complexity and globalization. It concludes that such institutions may play a vital role in supporting knowledge-based development, albeit different from that of academic knowledge exploration followed by linear technology transfer to industry.     

The Emergence of a Working Poor: Labour Markets,Neoliberalisation and Diverse Economies in Post‐Socialist Cities

Abstract: This paper examines the transformations of urban labour markets in two central European cities: Bratislava, Slovakia and Kraków, Poland. It highlights the emergence of in‐work poverty and labour market segmentation, which together are leading to a reconfiguration of the livelihoods and economic practices of urban households. The focus of the paper is on the growing phenomenon of insecure, poor‐quality, contingent labour. It examines the ways in which those who find themselves in, or on the margins of, contingent and insecure labour markets sustain their livelihoods. We ask how such workers and their households negotiate the segmentation of the labour market, the erosion of employment security and the emergence of in‐work poverty and explore the diverse economic practices of those who cannot rely solely on formal employment to ensure social reproduction. Further, we assess the articulations between labour market participation and exclusion, and other spheres of economic life, including informal and illegal labour, household social networks, state benefits and the use of material assets. We argue that post‐socialist cities are seeing a reconfiguration of class processes, as the materialities and subjectivities of class are remade and as the meaning of work and the livelihoods different forms of labour can sustain are changing.     

Knowledge Production in European Regions: The Impact of Regional Strategies and Regionalization on Innovation

In the last 15 years, the regional scale was used to implement innovation strategies in European Union. Departing from the discussion of the relevance of innovation policy at the regional level, the article benefits from the knowledge production function framework to estimate patterns considering 175 European regions. It is intended to understand whether regional innovation strategies developed and applied between 1994 and 2001 were successful at an aggregated level in contributing for knowledge creation measured in terms of patents and high technology patents. The results underline the relevance of private R&D expenditure and medium and high technology employment to increase patent numbers. The models suggest also that administrative regionalization may be important to regional innovation and that the creation and implementation of a regional strategy have a positive contribution for high tech innovation.     

Innovation,R&D and Technology Transfer: Policies towards a Regional Innovation System. The Case of Lombardy

The evolution of Lombardy's economic structure and international position led the regional government to build up a network of public and private stakeholders in the effort of promoting the creation of new knowledge and supporting innovation at local level. In this article a technology picture of the region and the main policy actions undertaken in recent years in Lombardy to promote a nest of linkages within actors, moving along the approach of regional innovation systems are presented.     

States, Markets and Governance for Emerging Market Economies: Private Interests, the Public Good and the Legitimacy of the Development Process

States, markets, and governance are among the pressing issues of our day. The global market exerts dynamic pressures on our societies, economic agents, and systems of government, especially in the developing world. Typically, most analysis begins with the idea that global markets have increasingly intruded upon the capacity of the institutions of government to manage the process of change. Our societies are seen as increasingly subject to the vagaries of market forces, to the delight of some and the regret of others.
This article argues that much thinking about states and markets is flawed, making it highly likely that policy-makers, among others, will commit mistakes in their responses to the undoubted pressures for change. If we alter the way we think about the state and the market, we will see opportunities to change what we do about them and how they evolve over time. The article argues that we should retreat from understandings of the market and governance that involve a clear distinction between states and markets, proposing a radical reformulation wherein states and markets are no longer seen as separate entities, but as a state-market 'ensemble of governance', or 'condominium'. Drawing on Adam Smith, this approach leads to a reinterpretation of the relationship between private interests in market processes and the wider public good. This model is used to interpret contemporary patters of global trade and finance, and the article concludes that this new way of thinking can help us to realise better our normative preferences about the sort of world in which we wish to live.     

Linking Technology Foresight and Regional Innovation Activities: Network Facilitating Innovation Policy in Lahti Region,Finland

During recent years a growing body of literature has been published on regional innovation systems and regional foresight activities. However, not so much attention has been paid on modelling the connection between these two areas of research. This article proposes a model on how to use results of regional technology foresight in generating practical innovation processes in a region with mainly synthetic knowledge infrastructures. The model draws upon practical experiences from Lahti region, Finland, where the concept of network facilitating innovation policy has been adopted as part of the regional development strategy.