De Groot (spatial economics, Free University, The Netherlands) provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of entrepreneurial behavior in a spatial context and links it to important new fields in economics such as endogenous growth theory, the new economic geography, and evolutionary theory. Contributors in economics and geography analyze the rol

The purpose of this book is to provide a state-of-the-art overview of current research on spatial industrial clusters and inter-firm networks. Given the current political belief in many countries and regions that clusters can be a major vehicle for economic development and growth, it is important to have a good understanding of industrial clusters and how they emerge, grow, eventually stagnate and disappear. Also an understanding is needed about when and how to apply policy measures to support cluster development to increase economic welfare. This book contributes to the theoretical and...

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are expected to add considerable productivity to existing transportation infrastructure and to therefore partially reduce the need for more physical infrastructure such as additional lanes of roadway. But there are huge barriers to achieving this vision ranging from the technical to the institutional. In this work a new outcome-orientated methodology is developed and applied to a diverse set of ITS case studies in an effort to gain insight into the barriers to deployment. The case studies, mostly from the National Capital Region (Washington) in the USA,...

During the last two decades a new growth theory has emerged - often labelled "endogenous economic growth." The contributions in the book develop these advances into a theoretical framework for endogenous regional economic growth and explain the implications for regional economic policies in the perspective of the new century. Endogenous growth models can reflect increasing returns and hence refer more adequately to empirical observations than earlier models, and the models become policy relevant, because in endogenous growth models policy matters. Such policies comprise efforts to stimulate...

This book highlights the role of entrepreneurship, social capital and governance for regional economic development. In recent decades, many researchers have claimed that entrepreneurship is the most critical factor in sustaining regional economic growth. However, most entrepreneurship research is undertaken without considering the fundamental importance of the regional context. Other research has emphasized the role of social capital but there are substantial problems in empirically relating measures of social capital to regional economic development.

Regional economic development has experienced considerable dynamism over recent years. Perhaps the most notable cases were the rise of China and India to emergent country status by the turn of the millennium. With time now for hindsight, this book identifies some of the key forces behind these development successes, namely agglomeration, clusters and entrepreneurship.

This book examines urban growth and the dynamics that are transforming the city and city regions in the 21st century focusing specifically on the spatial aspects of this process in the "Urban Century." Forces that are driving city growth include agglomeration spillovers, concentration of innovation and entrepreneurship, diversity of information and knowledge resources, and better amenities and higher wages. These benefits produce a positive reinforcing system that attracts more people with new ideas and information, fuelling innovation, new products and services and more high-wage jobs,...