Susan Walcott

... Published by Edward Elgar Publishing Limited Glensanda House Montpellier Parade Cheltenham GlosGLSOlUA UK Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. ... This period saw heavy emphasis on R&D in the fields of microelectronics, computing, laser technology, fiberoptic communications ...

art of the “Advances in Chinese Economic Studies” series, this book was produced by two individuals affiliated with the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research in Taipei, Taiwan. The clearly organized work comes with a large number of tables, but no figures, including an absence of maps (the authors are obviously economists, rather than geographers). Their observations are both timely and clear-eyed as to systemic opportunities and challenges, citing for example the strength of top-down policy-directing research and development, as well as structural impediments to university-industry technology transfers. As summarized in the highly informative Preface, five chapters organize their presentation. Chapter 1 focuses on the history of China’s post-Mao science and technology sector, particularly the use of tax policy to attract foreign investment. Given the size of China’s population, the anti-intellectual excesses preceding Deng’s rise to power, and the challenges of implementing technology-based modernization in general, the story of China’s determined and (thus far) successful advance provides a model worth studying. The authors’ approach largely lists policy proclamations and numerical signs of advances along those lines. The second chapter traces the process of research and development infusions in China’s hightechnology industries, a popular topic for geographers as well. A strength and a weakness of this chapter lies in its reliance on figures from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), which has an interest in demonstrating that government policy is achieving successes. It remains unclear whether the authors actually visited any of these locations to ground-truth results, or conducted interviews to check for deeper insights rather than relying on government statistics. Chapter 3 looks at the regional unevenness of high-technology research and companies throughout China. Dividing their examination by three stages of industrial development (advanced/established, in development, and still undergoing research) usefully underlines the nascent state of these sectors. The fourth chapter focuses on the highly significant part played by multinational corporations in China’s high-technology development—particularly the role of Greater China (including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan). The fifth and final chapter provides a performance analysis of China’s domestic hightechnology market—the most interesting and under-researched aspect of the entire examination. Despite the often-lamented shortage of venture capital, the authors see a private investment structure developing, although lagging in performance at present. Their analysis of what drives regional investment, creating leaders and laggards, is right on.

The furniture industry has played an important role in the history of the United States as a bellwether for manufacturing. This sector continues to be a major manufacturing employer in the US and around the world through its utilization of a global production network. Types of furniture range from household (indoor and outdoor) to institutional, with particular growth in firms supplying medical and government-related commodities. The industry is highly responsive to economic and fashion trends, but is partitioned into high, medium and low cost segments that reveal different location-al and market responses to changes in these factors. Recent developments indicate that the post-1980\u27s migration of furniture manufacturing to offshore, low labor cost countries has stabilized and shows signs of re-shoring in the US for high end customized technologically intensive products utilizing the remaining embedded skilled labor and locally clustered industry components. Businesses that survived the recessionary \u27creative destruction\u27 largely adopted lean manufacturing processes and took advantage of newly available, lower cost equipment and buildings to upgrade their production practices, absorbing market from former competitors. New partnerships will be traced with branches and headquarter relocations in Asia, along with cooperative supplier relationships with former U.S. and new foreign companies. Industry survivors adopted practices that could be highly instructive for other manufacturers challenged by globalization to grow stronger by increasing their adaptive capacity. Concepts illustrated in the furniture industry would be useful to a number of audiences in academic, industry and public policy markets. The proposed book provides an overview of the industry and its global production network including a brief overview of the manufacturing technologies of each sector. Assessment of new competitors in Asia and South America will illustrate opportunities and challenges in these locations. The book culminates by considering challenges, opportunities, and the future outlook of the industry in regional clusters

ABSTRACT The biotechnology industry is extraordinarily concentrated: five states account for nearly half of all biotechnology firms. California accounts for almost a quarter of all firms while Massachusetts accounts for just over one-tenth of all firms. Viewing the biotechnology industry as a leading sector for creating high-quality growth, many states have initiated public policies aimed at growing the industry at home and capturing a greater share of the national pie. In a comparative analysis with these two vanguard states, we examine public strategies initiated during the last two decades to promote the development of the biotech industry in three states in the Southeast: Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. Biotechnicians represent the largest number of workers in this industry, hold the greatest promise for geographic diffusion throughout the Southeast, and constitute a largely unexamined sector. The extent to which workforce-training strategies are successful typically depends on clustering and network building with industry leaders.

Science parks were envisioned as an economic development institution from their inception, designed to provide employment that is particularly geared toward a highly educated labor force. Funds generally come from government sources at the early stage. The intention of science park development is to jump-start businesses that could benefit from research generated by a nearby university or research institution. This chapter reviews the development of science parks and high-technology zones in China with a focus on their impact on regional and national innovation. Discussion includes the industrial and technological focus of such zones, the relevance of specialization, and issues of effective implementation.

High technology companies in Atlanta provide a major job growth engine in this premier business centre of Georgia and the Southeast. Data rankings indicate the metropolitan area's relative strengths, augmented by interviews discussing the crucial human network synergies that created and sustain Atlanta's computer software and telecommunications sectors. A feature of the region's technology employment base is its Asian face, primarily from India and China. This research discusses the origin, extent, and composition of high technology clusters in metropolitan Atlanta's four core counties. Les entreprises des technologies de pointes d'Atlanta representent un moteur de creation d'emplois important dans le milieu des affaires industrielles et commerciales de Georgie et du sud est. Les donnees indiquent la force relative de la metropole, et les entrevues que nous avons menees mettent au premier plan la synergie cruciale du reseau humain qui a cree et soutenu les se...

... A model emerges of economic development more suitable to developing countries that usually exhibit a stronger government rather than market directive role. Page 24. 12 Chinese Science and Technology Industrial Parks Table 1.1 US foreign direct investment in China Sector ...

ABSTRACT A surge in urban economic development in the southern United States, unprecedented in scope and scale for this region, occurred during the four decades from 1960 through the 1990s. The location pattern and sectoral composition of corporate headquarters located in Atlanta, the Deep South's largest city, reflect the nature of this movement, transforming a region's economic landscape. A detailed corporate data set and survey of managers in selected companies in the top employment sectors enables analysis of firm type, size, and location for each decade. Explosive growth in a northern suburban wedge between major interstate highways follows the extension of transportation arteries outward from the urban core to formerly peripheral locations. Semple and Phipps' model of corporate headquarters distribution over time is amended in this demonstration of location variance by sector, by combination of firm size categories in the same general location, and with the emergence of an economy based on "white collar" occupations.

The relevance of place characteristics of both sending and receiving regions on the socioeconomic success of immigrants constitutes an under examined yet potentially highly important factor explaining differential adjustment outcomes of groups from a similar geographic region. This research looks at major Southeast Asian refugee groups in North Carolina to compare them with each other in the same state and with the success of the same groups in other states. Census figures from PUMA and SF3 files are used to trace education attainment, income levels, and clustering in five demographic divisions from 1990 – 2007, depending on data availability. Interviews with community leaders supplement quantitative sources. Cultural factors, proclivity to settle in an urban or rural location, and the role of leadership are all found to play important explanatory roles.

New York City is a" traditional" destination for Caribbean immigrants, with the earliest influx occurring at the turn of the twentieth century (Bogen, 1987; Bryce-Laporte, 1979; Conway, 1989; Richardson 1989). Notably, the post 1965 era has witnessed remarkable growth of ...

Abstract: The reconstruction of the built environment in downtown Indianapolis over the past 25 years demonstrates the impact of powerful individuals constituting a potent urban regime in an archetypal middle-American city. Change began on January 1, 1970, with the ...