Niles Hansen

COMPETITION, TRUST, AND RECIPROCITY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE REGIONAL MILIEUX

While economists have given considerable attention to the role of competition in economic matters, and rightly so, they have unduly neglected the positive economic roles of cooperation, trust, and reciprocity. The importance of the latter have become particularly evident in the context of the many geographically concentrated networks of enterprises that have formed in countries throughout the industrialized world. The general nature of these dynamic regions are briefly considered. Their origins are then examined in terms of economic and technical factors, as well as in terms of historical, cultural, and social factors that reduce transaction costs and enhance innovation in relations among enterprises that not only compete, but that also often cooperate in ways suggesting that the regional milieu itself has an entrepreneurial character. Finally, the relevance of these arguments is illustrated by numerous concrete examples.

Regional Development Policy

Among countries with distinctly regionalized economic and political structures, Australia is virtually unique in its degree of indifference to regional problems and policies, both within the academic community and among the general public. To an economist brought up in Canada, it seems extraordinary that highly respected surveys of the Australian economy and Australian economic development, published since World War II, should contain not one word about regional problems, regional development, or regional policy.1 Regional policy is almost never a major campaign issue. It is seldom debated in Parliament, or discussed on television or in the press, although the media allocate more time and space to economic and social issues in Australia than in most countries.

The Strategic Role of Producer Services in Regional Development

In recent years, employment in services, especially in producer services, has expanded rapidly in the United States. Meanwhile, employment in manufacturing has remained relatively constant, although the proportion of production workers in manufacturing has declined. A common belief is that these phenomena have adversely affected productivity because most productivity gains are made in the direct production of goods. This view fails to take into account the complex nature of production organization in an economy increasingly based on flexible production, knowledge, information, and communications. Producer services, through their sophisticated interactions with goods production and other service activities, have been playing a strategic role in increasing productivity. Moreover, producer services are frequently exported and can provide a catalyst for regional development. There needs to be greater recognition of, and more research on, the nature and significance of productivity-enhancing interactions among producer services, goods production, and the quality of the labor force.

Factories in Danish Fields: How High-Wage, Flexible Production has Succeeded in Peripheral Jutland

This article examines the nature and significance of industrial development in peripheral Jutland, largely on the basis of survey data obtained from small and medium-sized establishments in the region. The results indicate considerable reliance on flexible production practices, inter-firm networking, and industry-specific localization economies. Despite arguments that these phenomena are likely to entail greater spatial concentrations and favor large agglomerations, peripheral Jutland has retained its essentially rural and small town character without loss of competitiveness nationally or internationally. An entrepreneurial culture has played an important role in this regard.

International Cooperation in Border Regions: An Overview and Research Agenda

This paper examines critically various theoretical and conceptual approaches to the analysis of interactions between neighboring border regions. As an important indicator of the degree of rapprochement between nations, the nature and significance of evolving transboundary cooperation in Western Europe and along the U.S.-Mexico border are considered. Despite barriers raised by national governments, such cooperation has been extensive at the regional and local levels. Suggestions are made for research that would contribute to a better under-standing of the processes that foster transboundary cooperation.

Innovative Regional Milieux, Small Firms, and Regional Development: Evidence from Mediterranean France

The purpose of this article is to critically examine key factors that have been involved in the remarkable economic turnaround of Mediterranean France, which until recently was always considered to be a peripheral zone within the national economy. Particular attention is given to the role of noneconomic factors that condition the location choices of households and firms and to the roles of technological innovation, service activities, and small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in the regional development process. With increasing vertical disintegration, Mediterranean France has been realizing external economies from the expansion of the entire system of production. SMEs, which are especially prevalent in this region — and which have behavior patterns that follow a logic that is more spatial than sectoral in nature — have contributed significantly to endogenous regional development through their growth as an ensemble. The new regional organizational paradigm transcends older forms of industrialization.

Immigrant and native ethnic enterprises in Mexican American neighborhoods: differing perceptions of Mexican immigrant workers.

This study uses original data from a large sample of businesses located in Mexican ethnic neighborhoods (barrios) in Texas and California to analyze how perceptions of the economic roles of Mexican immigrant workers differ among three employer groups: native ethnic, immigrant ethnic and non-ethnic. It was found that the immigrant ethnic employer group depends more on Mexican immigrants as workers and as consumers than does the native ethnic group, which tends in many ways to be more like the non-ethnic group. Differences between results for localities on the border with Mexico and those for non-border localities are also discussed.

Regional Consequences of Structural Changes in the National and International Division of Labor

This paper argues that for the past two decades regional scientists have not been successful in anticipating structural changes in the spatial division of labor. A major reason has been the excessive emphasis placed on static analytic constructs based on city sizes and systems of cities. A more instructive approach would analyze the dynamic interrelations among the three functional levels through which changes in the division of labor operate, that is, workplaces, business organization, and spatial systems. The product cycle, the manufacturing process cycle, and a more broadly conceived view of regional production processes are considered in this context.

Mexico's border industry and the international division of labor

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature and significance of northern Mexicos rapidly-growingmaquiladora (assembly plant) industry, which has been promoted by policies in both the United States and Mexico. It is argued that this phenomenon is one aspect of the new international division of labor, which can be explained in terms of the related product cycle and spatial-industrial filtering concepts. The evidence suggests that despite problems, both countries have benefited on balance. In addition, the long-term implications of U.S.-Mexican interdependency are considered. The findings indicate that both countries need to adapt to changing international circumstances, but the potential gains from internal reforms are especially great for Mexico.

Are Very Large Cities Successful? Searching for Dynamic Externalities Versus Evidence from Population Movements

This article considers two ways of viewing the successfulness of large U.S. cities. The first, which has been very prominent in the past decade, emphasizes that large cities are successful because the advantages of proximity create dynamic knowledge externalities that, in turn, are a source of increasing returns and higher per capita incomes. It is argued here that empirical evidence concerning the nature and magnitude of the externalities is often conflicting, and in any case they have not been measured directly. An alternative approach is to consider international and domestic population movements, which suggest that large cities have not been successful in the view of many domestic residents. Domestic migration patterns favor intermediate-size cities. Some reasons are given for why domestic population deconcentration has taken place.