This book applies regional analysis to the challenges facing global investment agencies seeking to enhance trade in lagging regions. It shows how spatial interaction and agent-based modelling can be used as the basis for developing new plans and policies. An in-depth analysis of trade routes is presented, which can be used to develop policies for increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Landlocked Uganda and the sea-locked South Pacific Islands serve to illustrate the problems of covering sizable distances, accelerating export flows and improving supply chain efficiency. These examples also provide an excellent illustration of the power of regional science, from assembling data bases in difficult situations to developing and applying models of the trade system.

This book presents the fmdings of a comparative study of three European metropolitan regions: Vienna, Barcelona and Stockholm. The heart of the work consists of empirical studies carefully designed and developed in order to identify the main actors and mechanisms supporting technological innovation in each of the metropolitan regions. The authors have also highlighted the similarities and differences across regions and countries, investigating how these came to be, and discussing the possible implications. The introductory as well as the concluding Chapter was written by Manfred M. Fischer who, assisted by Attila Varga, was also responsible for Chapter 2 on the Metropolitan Region of Vienna. Javier Revilla Diez contributed Chapter 3 on the Barcelona Metropolitan Region. Folke Snickars has provided Chapter 4 which examines the Metropolitan Region of Stockholm and. All authors have reviewed and commented on the whole contents so that the volume represents a collective endeavour which has been rendered as homogeneous as possible. A particular effort has been made to ensure that the study is based on a common conceptual framework.

This book applies regional analysis to the challenges facing global investment agencies seeking to enhance trade in lagging regions. It shows how spatial interaction and agent-based modelling can be used as the basis for developing new plans and policies. An in-depth analysis of trade routes is presented, which can be used to develop policies for increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Landlocked Uganda and the sea-locked South Pacific Islands serve to illustrate the problems of covering sizable distances, accelerating export flows and improving supply chain efficiency. These examples also provide an excellent illustration of the power of regional science, from assembling data bases in difficult situations to developing and applying models of the trade system.

Ake E.Andersson has always been intellectually on the move. He has selected his own track through the academic system and has formed a school of thought which has brought him international recognition. The cornerstones of his scientific interest are welfare analysis, regional economic dynamics and human capital theory. For his excellent achievements on dynamic analysis in the field of regional economics and regional planning he received the Japanese Honda Prize in 1995. This book provides a sample of the broad ranging research of Ake E.Andersson. Here some of his friends and colleagues have contributed to give various examples from the growing research field "Knowledge and Networks in a Dynamic Economy" in which he has been a great inspiration and in which he has contributed as part of his prodigious output.

Europe's space is in a flux. Earlier cores and peripheries in Europe are experiencing a profound transformation. The driving forces include, amongst others, Western European economic and political integration, and Eastern European transition. We are also witnessing fundamental technological and organisational restructuring of industrial systems. Information technology and telecommunications are rapidly altering the requisites for comparative advantage. Peripherality is being determined more by access to networks than by geographical location. Economies of scale can be attained in distributed networks of production with good access to markets as well as in large agglomerations. Clearly, these changes also call for new perspectives in regional analysis. This book derives its impetus from an Advanced Summer institute in Regional Science which was arranged in Joensuu, Finland, in 1993 under the auspices of the European Regional Science Association. Some of the papers, which were discussed at the institute, were thoroughly revised for the present purpose. In addition, chapters on specific topics were specially written for the volume. In most contributions, the focus is on the Nordic countries and their internal peripheries. They form a particularly interesting case in assessing prospects for the multi-faceted centre-periphery confrontation in Europe.

This book presents the fmdings of a comparative study of three European metropolitan regions: Vienna, Barcelona and Stockholm. The heart of the work consists of empirical studies carefully designed and developed in order to identify the main actors and mechanisms supporting technological innovation in each of the metropolitan regions. The authors have also highlighted the similarities and differences across regions and countries, investigating how these came to be, and discussing the possible implications. The introductory as well as the concluding Chapter was written by Manfred M. Fischer who, assisted by Attila Varga, was also responsible for Chapter 2 on the Metropolitan Region of Vienna. Javier Revilla Diez contributed Chapter 3 on the Barcelona Metropolitan Region. Folke Snickars has provided Chapter 4 which examines the Metropolitan Region of Stockholm and. All authors have reviewed and commented on the whole contents so that the volume represents a collective endeavour which has been rendered as homogeneous as possible. A particular effort has been made to ensure that the study is based on a common conceptual framework.

Ten years ago the former Soviet Union was pictured in the West as a monolithic unit governed from Moscow with a firm hand. Today, the geographical area which once constituted the USSR no longer exists and the disparities between regions are increasing all the time. This is the first book to provide an overview of Russia's regional development during the entire Soviet period as well as presenting a penetrating analysis of the array of regional problems facing Russia as we move into the twenty-first century. It analyses factors contributing to cohesion and disintegration in Russia today, stressing the importance of ethnicity, religion and Russian nationalism. In examining regional developments and spatial policy during the Soviet period, the authors reveal a remarkable paradox that the development of heavy industry actually reduced regional inequalities, but as the economy diversified disparities widened. The book is also a document from 'the people who were there' - that is, those trying in the circumstances then prevailing to develop regional science which never achieved practical application under central planning. The authors conclude that the development of Russia is increasingly becoming an issue of the development of its regions. This book will be useful for academics working in the areas of transitional economics, economic geography, particularly those interested in long term regional divergence and convergence, and economic history.