Manufacturing Plant Size - Toward a Regional Strategy. A Case Study in Limburg, Belgium

Abstract

The impact of manufacturing plant size on urban and regional growth is analysed in the region of Limburg, Belgium, extending both geographically and in scope previous studies on the same issue in Israel and in Brazil. The study reveals that medium size plants are important growth constituents, whose favourable impacts are felt in the immediate local and regional industrial spaces. The study is extended to evaluate the influence of town size on input-output flow patterns and to examine interrelations between plant size and level of technology. Development strategy considerations for peripheral regions are discussed.