Keith Chapman

Learning, innovation and regional development: a critical appraisal of recent debates

A resurgence of interest in the region as a scale of economic organization has been apparent within economic geography over the past decade or so. In view of the apparent shift towards a ‘knowledge-driven economy’, the capacity of regions to support processes of learning and innovation has been identified as a key source of competitive advantage. This paper provides a critical appraisal of recent work on innovation, learning and regional development, situating this within its intellectual context. We argue that, while the focus on knowledge and learning is highly relevant, much of the literature fails to adequately ground its arguments in empirical enquiry and also tends to underemphasize the importance of wider extra-local networks and structures. In conclusion, we offer some directions for further research.

Resource-based industrialization : sowing the oil in eight developing countries

Part 1: country size and efficiency constraints on resource-based industrialization harnessing mineral enclaves - export base, mineral boom and RBI literature. Part 2 Potential and actual RBI resource rent: the potential stimulus from resource processing in the base case - a large efficient developing country the country size constraint on RBI extent and external causes of RBI resource rent overstimation. Part 3 Implementation efficiency: political constraints on macro-economic efficieny - oil windfall deployment in the low absorbing countries macro-economic constraints on the high-absorbing oil-exporting countries micro-efficiency - firm performance in RBI micro efficiency - RBI sectoral performance. Part 4 RBI impact: the impact of RBI on economic growth and structural change RBIs spatial impact - the lagged economic stimulus. Part 5 Conclusion and policy implications: a model of RBI and some policy implications conclusions - RBI risk.

Networking, trust and embeddedness amongst SMEs in the Aberdeen oil complex

Over the last decade or so, networking has become a ‘vogue concept’ in small business research, connecting with wider debates on learning and regional development. Participation in inter-firm networks is seen to provide small firms with access to a broader pool of resources and knowledge, helping them to overcome size-related disadvantages. In particular, the role of such networks as channels for innovation and learning within regions and localities has been emphasized in the context of an apparent shift towards a knowledge-driven economy. In this paper, we provide an empirically-grounded analysis of networking, trust and embeddedness amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Aberdeen oil complex. Drawing upon survey and interview data, it is argued that connections to extra-local networks play a crucial role in providing access to wider sources of information and knowledge. At the same time, an Aberdeen location still matters to oil-related firms because of the access it offers to crucial forms of industry-specific information and expertise. In concurring with recent calls for more empirically-grounded research which seeks to ‘test’ theoretical propositions against relevant data, we suggest in conclusion that a combination of firm surveys and face-to-face interviews provides an appropriate way forward.

From 'growth centre' to 'cluster': restructuring, regional development, and the Teesside chemical industry

Agglomeration offers both static, cost-based advantages and dynamic, innovation-related benefits to participating firms. These ideas have informed regional development policy from the growth poles/centres of the 1950/1960s to the contemporary focus on clusters. Although such policies imply the theoretical prospect of regional diversification by exploiting supply-chain and information-based/knowledge-based relationships, in practice they tend to promote regional specialisation. The experiences of many old industrial areas emphasise the risks of specialisation as advantages mutate into liabilities (territorial lock-in). These experiences are ignored in much of the clusters discourse which often lacks historical perspective. This paper provides such perspective by reflecting upon the relationships between the dynamics of industry evolution, agglomeration, and regional development policy with reference to the chemical industry on Teesside in North East England.

Variability of degree results in geography in United Kingdom universities 1973–90: Preliminary results and policy implications

ABSTRACT Variability in degree results, especially in the proportion of good (i.e. first class and upper second class) degrees awarded, between subjects and institutions is well-documented. Relatively little work has examined variability within a single discipline. Analysis of degree results in geography in United Kingdom universities between 1973 and 1990 reveals persistent and systematic variations between departments in the proportion of good degrees awarded. Differences in entry qualification provide some explanation, but important questions remain. These questions have implications for various areas of current policy concern including the validity of value added performance indicators and the future of the external examiner system.

An Analysis of Degree Results in Geography by Gender

Abstract Chi‐square analysis is used to test for differences in the degree results of male and female geography graduates from 42 UK universities between 1973 and 1993. The combined results of these universities (i.e. departments at subject‐specific level) show a persistent and striking overrepresentation of males with thirds and pass degrees together with a less obvious, but statistically significant, overrepresentation of males achieving firsts. Corresponding analyses for individual departments emphasise the need for caution in deriving generalisations from aggregate data. A significant difference (at the 99% level) in the cumulative annual degree results of males and females is found in 10 of the 42 departments. The sources of these differences vary and it is suggested that a distinction is drawn between general factors responsible for the pervasive overrepresentation of males in the third/pass categories and department‐specific factors responsible for gender differences in other degree classes, especi...

Continuity and Contingency in the Spatial Evolution of Industries: The Case of Petrochemicals

Various attempts have been made to identify similarities in the long term spatial evolution of industries. Systematic changes in both the technology of production and in the dynamics of market development have been incorporated in life cycle models. Others have criticised the determinism of such models, emphasizing their tendency to over-generalize from limited empirical evidence and to neglect the impact of contingent conditions in shaping observed patterns of development. These positions are explored with reference to the spatial evolution of the petrochemical industry at national and international scales. Many of the changes in its distribution reflect the operation of evolutionary processes consistent with the life cycle analogy, especially those relating to the development of markets. Other influences, such as the oil price shocks, have been essentially unpredictable, creating discontinuities which have disrupted the life cycle of the industry. On balance, the life cycle analogy is useful in identifying the internal dynamics of industry evolution based upon technical and economic variables, but many external factors, often political in character, cannot be accommodated within this framework.

The structure and development of the oil‐based industrial complex at Grangemouth

Abstract The oil refinery/petro‐chemical complex at Grangemouth has played an important part in the rise of the United Kingdom petro‐chemical industry which has been one of the most dynamic elements of the nations manufacturing sector.1 The complex has a special significance within Central Scotland in view of the contrast between its rapid development and the declining fortunes of the traditional industrial base. This paper analyses its structure and development and also examines its role as the focus of official attempts to promote Grangemouth/Falkirk as a ‘growth centre’.

Issues in environmental impact assessment

The last decade has witnessed a great increase in the formulation and execution of environmental policies as governments in most countries of the developed world have responded to a heightened popular consciousness of the fragility of the global ecosystem. The growth of this awareness has been reviewed elsewhere (see O’Riordan, 1976a) but the extent of its effects upon public policy is not always appreciated. In the US, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 has been followed by a succession of measures designed to implement the philosophy outlined in the preamble to this piece of legislation which seeks ’ ... to

The incorporation of environmental considerations into the analysis of industrial agglomerations — Examples from the petrochemical industry in Texas and Louisiana

Abstract Most analyses of agglomeration in manufacturing evaluate the merits of clustered and dispersed spatial arrangements of plants in terms of their effects upon the profitability of individual enterprises. However, the problem of defining optimal levels of agglomeration becomes very much more acute if the costs and benefits are considered with reference to society as a whole. Examples of air and water pollution from petrochemical plants in Texas and Louisiana are used to illustrate these difficulties. It is argued that the technology and economics of pollution control have tended to reinforce the cost advantages to industry of agglomeration in large complexes despite the fact that major concentrations of polluting industries may be regarded, from a broader environmental perspective, as intrinsically undesirable.