URBAN AND REGIONAL ECONOMICS

Building sustainable urban settlements: approaches and case studies in the developing world Sam Romaya, Carole Rakodi 0 Resenhas ITDG Pub., 2002 - 299 páginas In this collection of studies, environmental, institutional, social and cultural aspects of sustainability are considered in a variety of towns and cities in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Central and South America. Many of the contributors focus particularly on meeting the needs of the urban poor. The main themes are: * urban environmental management with particular reference to economic activities and housing * achieving institutional, social and cultural sustainability * managing urban development processes to reduce their environmental impacts, to improve the produced built environments and sustain improved practices. Drawing on case studies of individual cities and countries as well as comparative research and analytical procedures, the international group of contributors evaluate government policies and practices and make suggestions for improvements.

Entrepreneurship, competitiveness and local development: frontiers in European entrepreneurship research Luca Iandoli, Hans Landström, Mario Raffa 0 Resenhas Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007 - 279 páginas This book draws together leading academics to provide a state-of-the-art overview of the key challenges to entrepreneurship in Europe. Relationships between entrepreneurship, competitiveness and local development are assessed from various perspectives, and the important role played by entrepreneurs and small firms in fostering economic development in emerging as well as in developed countries is explored. Topics included within these parameters are venture capital, start-ups, entry barriers, the role of gender, refugee entrepreneurship and technological entrepreneurship. Researchers and scholars focusing on the areas of entrepreneurship and small business management will find much to interest them within this book, as will policy-makers involved in the promotion and support of local development and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship and Business: A Regional Perspective Miguel-Angel Galindo, Joaquín Guzmán, Domingo Ribeiro 0 Resenhas Springer, 2008 - 308 páginas "This book examines the relationship between entrepreneurship, growth and regional aspects of business. The text offers two broad perspectives of entrepreneurship, a historical one and a comparative perspective. In the historical part, several examples of the co-operation between regional aspects and aspects of entrepreneurship are presented. The second part shows different aspects of entrepreneurship in a more and more globalizing world. Networking, the relationship between clusters and business innovation, economic transition and the links between social capital and business competitiveness are some of the topics."--BOOK JACKET.

The Production and Distribution of Knowledge Aard Groen 0 Resenhas Emerald Group Publishing, 2009 - 203 páginas The research and policy evaluations presented in these papers represent a uniquely valuable evolving record of policy and research on high technology small firms through many changes in economic conditions and government policy approaches over more the a decade and a half. Specific issues in the book series cover many of the key industrial development policies adopted by developed, and developing, national governments since the early 1990s including, for example, writings on policy and practice concerning science parks, incubators, academic enterprise, industrial networking and the role of clusters in nurturing high technology small firms formation and growth. In particular, the on-going problem of early stage high technology funding has been a theme of constant concern since1993, and because it remains resistant to amelioration, will endure into the future. Both the conference and the ensuing book series represent a pre-eminent vehicle for all the major international researchers concerned with high technology small firms to present their work to each other and the wider public.

The learning region: foundations, state of the art, future Roel Rutten, Frans Boekema 0 Resenhas Edward Elgar, 2007 - 301 páginas The aim of this book is to present a much-needed conceptualization of the learning region. Early publications are scrutinized for key concepts that are then discussed in the context of recent literature. The authors present a state-of-the art discussion of concepts such as regional networks and social capital. The learning region is introduced as a theory to explain how regional actors perform regional learning. Contrary to competing theories, this gives the learning region a relational approach. It focuses on learning between regional actors and the ongoing relations they have with one another and with other actors in their social context.

Creative regions: technology, culture and knowledge entrepreneurship Philip Cooke, Dafna Schwartz 0 Resenhas Routledge, 2007 - 294 páginas This unique book focuses on regional creativity, analysing the different factors that can affect creativity and innovation process within regions in the knowledge economy. Approaching creativity from technological, organizational and regional viewpoints, it attempts to break down the influence of oppositional approaches and take account of multi-level interactions in economy and policy. The variety of papers presented looks at: how regions can be creative and competitive how research and development is outsourced and the scientific knowledge and technology transferred what types of technology based cultural activities can operate the relevant financing and development of knowledge entrepreneurship. Whilst many of these aspects are driven by market forces Creative Regions demonstrates that the regional and national public sectors have a significant role to play and is essential reading on how to generate a competitive advantage for regions in the knowledge economy in the global market.

Regional Knowledge Economies Markets, Clusters and Innovation Philip Cooke, University Research Professor in Regional Development and Director, Centre for Advanced Studies, University of Wales, Cardiff, Carla De Laurentis, Researcher, Centre for Advanced Studies, University of Wales, Cardiff, UK, Franz Tödtling, Professor and Head, Institute for Regional Development and Environment, WU Wien, University of Economics and Business, Austria and Michaela Trippl, Researcher, Institute for Regional Development and Environment, WU Wien, University of Economics and Business, Austria 2007 336 pp Hardback 978 1 84542 529 6 £79.95 on-line discount £71.96 2009 336 pp Paperback 978 1 84844 524 6 £35.00 on-line discount £28.00     This book is also available as an ebook 978 1 84720 693 0 'This volume represents an important information source for a broad range of disciplines - regional and development economics, public policy, economic geography and industrial studies. It will interest teachers, researchers, students and policymakers within these fields.' - Economic Outlook and Business Review Contents: Preface Part I: Conceptual Issues 1. Introduction: Aims of the Book 2. The Emergent Knowledge Economy: Concepts and Evidence 3. Knowledge-based Sectors: Key Drivers of Innovation and Modes of Knowledge Exchange 4. Local Clusters and Global Networks 5. Varieties of Business System and Innovation Part II: Empirical Findings 6. Introduction to Key Research Results 7. UK ICT and Biotechnology Performance: The Significance of Collaboration and Clustering 8. Austrian Catch-up in Knowledge-based Sectors: Research Exploitation, Spatial Clustering and Knowledge Links 9. Comparing the Cases and Lessons for Knowledge-based Sector Policy 10. Reflections on the Research and Conclusions for Policy Index

Regional innovation, knowledge, and global change Zoltán J. Ács 0 Resenhas Pinter, 2000 - 275 páginas Among the interesting developments of the 20th century has been the economic rise of such nations as Japan and Taiwan and the relative decline of Latin American countries, of the UK, and so on. In order to understand this ebb and flow, economists have begun to appreciate the evolutionary nature of socio-economic change, the important role that technological and research capabilities play in this dynamic, and the apparently paradoxical observation that globalization typically relies on local behaviour. An analytic lens has been developed by Lundvall, Freeman, Nelson and others, called "the national system of innovation." This approach recognizes both the highly creative nature of economic growth and economic adjustment in a turbulent world and the highly uneven or lumpy distribution of growth. This approach leads to an understanding that economic growth is not a "national" phenomenon, but a highly specific reaction to change: hence the rise of Silicon Valley. What is missing in the national systems approach isa mechanism through which to understand innovation when the realistic unit of analysis is no longer the nation state. In this volume, some of the leading scholars in the field set out to broaden the systems of innovation approach conceptually and empirically, to include both subnational and transnational systems of innovation

Regional advantage: culture and competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128 AnnaLee Saxenian 12 Resenhas Harvard University Press, 1996 - 226 páginas Why is it that business in California's Silicon Valley flourished while along Route 128 in Massachusetts declined in the 90s? The answer, Saxenian suggests, has to do with the fact that despite similar histories and technologies, Silicon Valley developed a decentralized but cooperative industrial system while Route 128 came to be dominated by independent, self-sufficient corporations. The result of more than one hundred interviews, this compelling analysis highlights the importance of local sources of competitive advantage in a volatile world economy

Cluster genesis: technology-based industrial development Pontus Braunerhjelm, Maryann P. Feldman 0 Resenhas Oxford University Press, 2006 - 336 páginas Clusters - regional concentrations of related firms and organizations - are seen as an important element of economic growth and innovation. But there is little understanding of how clusters come into existence, and little guidance provided on the role of policies in promoting this. Cluster Genesis focuses on these early origins of clusters

Clusters, networks, and innovation Stefano Breschi, Franco Malerba 0 Resenhas Oxford University Press, 2005 - 499 páginas Governments and regional authorities often express the belief that the key to prosperity and economic expansion is related to the ability of countries to sustain regional clusters of competitiveness and innovation. The book reviews the most important conceptual approaches to the analysis of the emergence, growth and evolution of clusters of innovation. Drawing from the different experiences of industrial districts and high-tech regions such as Silicon Valley, Boston's biotech region and Hsinchu-Taipei, the contributions in this book offer a broad interpretative framework and policy implications for the creations and strengthening of competitive clusters. Themes include: q The wide variety of existing clusters and the diversity on their emergence and growth q The international mobility of factors and demand linkages q The role of different network types and the social setting q The accumulation of capabilities on key large actors and the importance of spinoffs and new firm formation q The role of different learning regimes and sectoral specificities q The importance of social networks, labor mobility and face to face contacts as vehicles of knowledge spillovers Broad implications are drawn for the design of policies to encourage successful economic clusters in developed and developing clusters.

Innovation policy in a knowledge-based economy: theory and practice Patrick Llerena, Mireille Matt, Arman Avadikyan 0 Resenhas Springer, 2005 - 362 páginas The main underlining conviction, throughout the book, is the importance of dynamical and systemic approaches to innovation policies. The first part of the book provides the theoretical background for the subsequent more empirical contributions. In the second part, a series of three papers analyse each the development or diffusion of a specific technology developed in the frame of a procurement policy. They explain the success of mission-oriented policies (the development of digital switching systems in the telecom sector, the development of high-speed trains in Germany and the diffusion of military technologies). The three papers contained in the third part explore the impact of incentive tools (R&D tax credits, R&D cooperative agreements and university-industry relations) on the innovation potentialities of firms and of economic systems (regions). The chapters in the last part of the book are all based around the question of how is it possible to design an innovation policy, applicable throughout Europe, bearing in mind the diversity of innovation behaviours and strategies.

Evaluation in planning: evolution and prospects Ernest R. Alexander 0 Resenhas Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006 - 293 páginas Evaluation is a critical stage in urban and regional planning and development, with the consideration of alternative proposals essential for informed debate and decision. Evaluation in planning has become even more important with the new paradigm attempting to integrate economic efficiency with equity, sustainability and social responsibility.The craft of pre-development evaluation has long been influenced by Nathaniel Lichfield, and in his honour, this book brings together prominent researchers and practitioners to discuss evaluation in planning: its conceptual foundations and subsequent development, its strengths and persisting dilemmas, and its best practices and their potential for improving future planning and development.The chapters trace evaluation in planning from its historical origin to current applications. Part one reviews the evolution of evaluation theory and practice, and part two contains a selection of best-practice application. The final integrating chapter notes key problems, and offers directions for future development in evaluation research and practice.

Economics in urban conservation Nathaniel Lichfield, Mekhon Yerushalayim le-ḥeḳer Yiśraʼel 0 Resenhas Cambridge University Press in association with Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 1988 - 361 páginas The role of economics in urban conservation is relatively underdeveloped. Professor Lichfield has added to his other pioneering studies in this innovative and important exposition of approach, method and techniques for the systematic application of economics in the conservation of urban areas. In order to establish an appropriate base for the economic analysis and application in parts III, IV and V of the book, the opening sections provide essential background information about the management and planning for conservation in the urban system in general and examine the special place of the cultural built heritage: those building and objects chosen by society for particular protection. Written in a highly accessible style, Economics in Urban Conservation makes a major contribution to an understanding of how economics in conservation can help in achieving a sensible balance between continuity and change in the built environment.

Revitalizing historic urban quarters Steven Tiesdell, Taner Oc, Tim Heath 0 Resenhas Architectural Press, 1996 - 234 páginas This book synthesizes urban design and urban regeneration by examining the revitalization of a number of historic urban quarters.Its focus is on quarters or areas where there is a significant number of historic buildings concentrated in a small area; with places and area-based approaches. Many cities have such quarters that confer on them a sense of place and identity through their historic continuity and cultural associations. The quarters are often an integral element of the city's image and identity. The lessons and observations from the experience of the revitalization of such historic urban quarters forms the core ofthis book with a number of case study examples from North America and Europe showing a variety of approaches to and outcomes of revitalization.

Compact cities: sustainable urban forms for developing countries Michael Jenks, Mike Jenks, Rod Burgess 2 Resenhas Taylor & Francis, 2000 - 356 páginas This collection of edited papers forms part of the Compact City Series, creating a companion volume to The Compact City (1996) and Achieving Sustainable Urban Form (2000) and extends the debate to developing countries. This book examines and evaluates the merits and defects of compact city approaches in the context of developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Issues of theory, policy and practice relating to sustainability of urban form are examined by a wide range of international academics and practitioners.

The creative city Charles Landry, Franco Bianchini 1 Resenha Demos, 1995 - 66 páginas

Innovative cities James Simmie 1 Resenha Taylor & Francis, 2001 - 254 páginas Innovative Citiespresents a unique international comparison of innovation in Amsterdam, London, Milan, Paris and Stuttgart. Based on research funded by the ESRC program on "Cities: Competitiveness and Cohesion", it compares and contrasts the reasons why these sites are among the top ten innovative cities in Europe. The research reported here takes a careful and directly comparable look at what characteristics and conditions in the five cities have led to the flourishing of innovation in them. Researchers with detailed local knowledge have applied the same analytical tools and survey techniques to investigating this question and the results present a unique international comparison of innovation in the five cities

National Systems of Innovation: Toward a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning Bengt-Åke Lundvall 0 Resenhas Anthem Press, 2010 - 404 páginas ls"National Systems of Innovationrs" presents a new perspective on the dynamics of the national and the global economy. Its starting point is that the international competitiveness of nations is founded on innovation. Which role do different parts of the national system play in determining the long-term dynamics of the economy? What is happening to the coherence of national systems of innovation in an era characterised by far-reaching internationalisation and globalisation? These and other issues are addressed in this volume. Available for the first time in paperback, the book is an invaluable resource for scholars and policy-makers.