Tj McCall

Transitions in Regional Development Policy: Comparative to Competitive Advantage

This chapter explores the progress of international regional development policy, including new regionalism and the knowledge economy, regional innovation systems, and constructed advantage. The role of SMEs is highlighted in anchoring regional science, and collaboration is examined as an emerging driver of competitive advantage. The text explains the rise of globalisation in shifting the focus of regional science from competitive to comparative advantage, based on the abilities of regional SMEs to operate in the global context. However, the failures of this as a base for regional policy are highlighted, and ‘new regionalism’ is instead explored as a theoretical base to connect globalisation with the knowledge-based economy.