Working Regions

Jennifer Clark is Associate Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. She writes, consults, and speaks on the subject of national and regional development policies related to innovation and manufacturing, and the effect of those policies on cities and their economic competitiveness. Her book Remaking Regional Economies: Power, Labor, and Firm Strategies in the Knowledge Economy, a collaboration with Susan Christopherson, won the Best Book Award from the Regional Studies Association in 2009 and is also published by Routledge.

Jennifer Clark’s Working Regions is a timely and welcome addition to the growing literature discussing the new developments required in regional economic policies in order to construct resilient working regions capable of responding to exogenous shocks. The book addresses some of the key themes current in economic geography, including the links between proximity and innovation, and highlights some of the rethinking of regional development policy options that has been taking place recently, and particularly in the light of experiences in the aftermath 2008 global financial crisis. For the broader scope of issues, this is a book that can easily be of interest to economists, geographers, policy scientists and other social scientists. It illustrates each of the issues raised on the basis of real case studies and specific examples. There is a wealth of information and evidence provided spanning issues of technology and institutions, as well as detailed insights into the workings of particular sectors including photonics and apparel, all of which is brought together to underpin the book’s main contentions.Raquel Ortega-ArgilésUniversity of Groningen, Groningen, the NetherlandsThis review appeared in the journal Regional Studies.

• 1. Working Regions: Regeneration by design 2. The Spatial Distribution of Advanced Manufacturing 3. The Rise of the Research Center: The nexus between national innovation policies and regional development 4. The Trade in Innovation: The evolution of intellectual property markets 5. Hidden in Plain Sight: The North American optics and photonics industry 6. Working Regions in Practice: Apparel and outdoor equipment and medical devices industries 7. Flexible Specialization 2.0: The design + build approach to working regions