The New Economic Geography of Old Industrial Regions: Universities as Global — Local Pipelines

Paul Benneworth and Gert-Jan Hospers
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Paul Benneworth: Institute for Policy and Practice, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, England
Gert-Jan Hospers: Faculty MB, University of Twente, Postbus 217, 7500 AE Enschede, Netherlands

Environment and Planning C, 2007, vol. 25, issue 6, 779-802

Abstract: The knowledge economy appears to be problematic for old industrial regions, as lock-in and restructuring remove assets for innovation from their territories, as well as for the kinds of policy which can stimulate their economies. In this paper we explore whether universities can provide points of stability within which such locked-in regions can strengthen their innovation systems and attract external investment in knowledge capital. Using the case study of Twente in the eastern Netherlands, we explore whether universities can strengthen their regional innovation systems. We distinguish local networking from external-investment attraction to show that universities can become temporary venues for ‘local buzz’, building networks which become attractive to outside investors and promoting regional innovation. This suggests that an alternative approach to regional innovation policy, which we term ‘promoting smart hybridity’, may be useful in stimulating growth-based restructuring in such regions.

Date: 2007
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirc:v:25:y:2007:i:6:p:779-802

DOI: 10.1068/c0620

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