Research Policy and Review 28: Fragmenting Markets and the Dynamic Restructuring of Production: Issues for Spatial Policy

Abstract

In the aftermath of the recession of 1981 – 82, change has been sweeping through corporate enterprise in Great Britain. Long-established companies have been taken to the brink of failure, and have drawn back to reorganize, recapitalize, and restructure. In this paper the broader underpinnings of this process of sharp reconfiguration are speculated upon, and it is hinted that it represents a fundamental ‘phase-shift’ in the process of economic development—by producing new forms and structures, new opportunities and threats, and new strengths and weaknesses. With regard to policy matters, it is suggested that the emergent new order offers a particular challenge in rendering past performance a poor guide to future outcomes, and demands a reconceptualization of the processes by which these policies seek to intervene to achieve regional or local advantage.