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This paper investigates how the localization of firms in clusters enhances their resilience in the face of external shocks, using the COVID-19-related disruptions of global value chains (GVCs) as a case study. Our qualitative study of the Alcoi-Ontinyent textile cluster in Spain's Valencian Region shows that the cluster's institutional infrastructure facilitated the reorganization of the cluster's cognitive structure, enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to cope with the shock. Local collective actors aided in leveraging cluster enabling factors to enhance firms' resource position and their reconfiguration, thus supporting firms' dynamic capabilities, and ultimately their resilience. Our study contributes to the literature on clusters and firm resilience by showing that clusters can play a crucial role in SMEs' ability to respond to external shocks and offering insights into how firms can leverage their location in clusters. We also shed light on the importance of institutions, collective actors, and collective actions in creating a competitive advantage for clustered SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, 'place-based' interventions have become influential in shaping economic development policy, especially at the European level. From the 2007 to 2013 programming period onwards, EU Cohesion policy, adopted a 'place-based' approach to encourage the competitiveness of all regions. Rather than spatially-blind interventions, the focus is on tackling territorial inequalities via a more sophisticated spatially-sensitive approach to stimulate economic change, at the local level. The challenge is that place-based policies are complex, risky and the performance indicators used to capture the achievements from EU Cohesion policy focus on direct results rather than expected policy change, making it hard to prove effectiveness and value for money. This paper contributes to ongoing academic and policy debates about how to capture the achievements of EU Cohesion policy, through an in-depth case study of 'place-based' interventions made via Interreg funding, to encourage cross-border cooperation between Spain and Portugal. The evidence illustrates that there is a need for novel approaches, which are conceptually informed and spatially sensitive to be able to capture not only the quantitative but also the qualitative achievements generated through EU 'place-based' interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the innovative intensity (iMID effect) in the local production systems (LPSs) using dynamic territorial units that modifies their geographical boundaries and specialization over time. The paper is based on the idea that the local communities are the real unit of generation of innovation and that they are constantly changing, behaving like a 'living innovation machine'. To explore this dynamic relationship, the paper applies the Marshallian industrial district (MID) as an approach to industrial change. Then, it focuses on the Marshallian industrial districts (MIDs) as a type of LPS and asks how the innovation effect changes in MIDs and other types of LPSs when dynamic territorial units are used. The differences in innovation intensity between the different types of LPSs are explained for Spain in the period 1991–2014 using new methods of analysis that combine causal analysis, a variable and adaptive geometry of territorial units and industrial specialization, and machine learning methods. The results show that the transformation of an LPS into another type of LPS does not automatically imply a change in innovative capacity, and the type of LPS of origin continues to be relevant in explaining current innovation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss the growth potential of clusters and industrial districts (CIDs) in international markets. Over the past two decades, CIDs have gone under increasing competitive pressure while markets have progressively globalized. Lead companies, either foreign or home-grown multinationals, have globalized their operations while often reducing their commitment (e.g. investments) within CIDs. As a result, a number of second, third and fourth-tier suppliers disconnect from global value chains coordinated by lead companies, leaving the cluster fractured and jeopardizing local development prospects. Only a few firms in the CID cope with globalization. This situation represents a challenge that CIDs need to take on. In this paper, we inquire about the importance of two factors that may represent crucial conditions for the upgrading of CIDs within global markets. The long-term commitment of lead companies with the local economy, together with the dense interaction between the regional innovation system and the lead companies and their new global innovation network, are found to be crucial elements for the resilience of CIDs and their small firms. A few successful CIDs are considered vis-à-vis others that face higher risks of internal fracture. Relevant cases in Spain, Italy, and Costa Rica are analysed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial accessibility as a way of ensuring financial inclusion has received increasing attention. However, most of studies have drawn attention to the likelihood of becoming branchless and not on the differential characteristics of branchless municipalities. The aim this paper is to assess financial accessibility in branchless municipalities of the most populated region of Spain, Andalusia, and to examine their distribution across space. To that end, we identify the nearest bank branch for each branchless municipality. In addition, we incorporate socio-economic characteristics of each municipality in order to identify different groups of branchless municipalities. The results obtained suggest that there are substantial differences across branchless municipalities. In particular, we identify two degrees of financial accessibility: moderate and poor. Population dynamics are revealed as a key factor in explaining financial accessibility although this can be ameliorated by a higher per capita income and a greater industrial specialization. From a territorial point of view, we find a high concentration of branchless municipalities across space. Some initiatives should be taken in order to avoid that people become financially excluded. In this sense, local action groups responsible for rural development policies could identify the main negative effects and propose the most suitable alternative services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Former industrial premises provide material and symbolic resources for grassroots creative production, but planning is complex as these sites are transitory and excessive intervention may stifle creativity. This paper analyses the transformations of La Ribera (Bilbao), a mixed-use peninsula waiting to be redeveloped, where, in the meantime, creative-based grassroots projects have settled. Drawing upon relevant planning documents, documentary material and interviews with key actors, the paper explores (i) the spatial and built form advantages of these spaces, (ii) their impact on neighbourhood life and (iii) the contradictions faced in the planning process. The analysis suggests that spatiality plays a critical role, but it is threatened by market pressures, local governments’ interest to encourage the city's reputation and neighbours’ mistrust for the changes they may trigger. As a result, we contend that art spaces’ institutionalization in the neighbourhood is decisive for their sustainability, but the conflicts that arise for the symbolic appropriation of space should be considered. Regarding policy, governance approaches that preserve users’ autonomy and spaces’ built form and atmospheric qualities are rather suitable responses if they are part of a comprehensive agenda that includes local socio-economic conditions and neighbours’ aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, the EU Urban policy has provided several opportunities to explore innovation at local level. This policy is based on the so-called Integrated Sustainable Urban Development (ISUD) approach. This paper explores to what extent the URBANA programme, launched by the Spanish government in the frame of the EU Cohesion Policy 2007–2013, has promoted a 'new way of doing things' in local administrations. The research addresses three main objectives. Firstly, to identify which abilities are linked to the ISUD approach. Secondly, to understand how urban managers' capacity has been developed within local administrations in the frame of the URBANA programme. Finally, to assess the effect of URBANA Institutional Capacity (IC) on the local administration. The information has been obtained from the analysis of EU and Spanish official documents, in-depth interviews and a questionnaire targeted to the local technicians. The general conclusion is that there is evidence of an urban Europeanisation in Spain. The mainstream of the ISUD approach is clear at formal level, but also in the level of acceptance of these requirements by the Spanish municipalities. The ISUD approach remains as a 'way of doing', even if proposals are not co-funded by EU funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The innovation-Marshallian industrial district (iMID) effect defines the existence of dynamic efficiency in the Marshallian industrial district (MID) in the form of a positive innovative differential compared to the average of the national economy. Cross-sectional analyses have proven the existence of the iMID effect. Nevertheless, these findings do not provide any evidence on the evolution in the iMID effect over a long period and, in particular, when phases of growth, crisis and economic recovery follow one another, as occurred in the world economy around 1990 and 2007. This paper aims at closing this gap in knowledge by measuring the evolution of the iMID effect for Spain for the period 1991–2014. The measurement is made using an exhaustive database of 143,229 patents and by estimating a knowledge production function for the local production systems (LPSs). The results show that MIDs registered the largest number of patents compared to the other LPSs during the time span considered, that the iMID effect is higher for the highest quantiles of innovative intensity, and that MIDs' innovative intensity has been continuously above the national average, even after the 2007 economic crisis. MIDs are still fundamental for the generation of innovation in the Spanish economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small islands in peripheral regions are currently perceived as attractive tourist destinations. Governance plays an important role as a strategy for the revival of such destinations to achieve a more productive, environmental, social and sustainable management structure. ‘Good’ governance of a destination depends on all the actors involved in the tourism network. Such governance requires a redefinition of relations between government and society and minimal boundaries between public and private sectors. This paper has analysed the level of implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a tourist destination that is a biosphere reserve (BR), the island of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain), from a comprehensive approach involving a tourism supply chain (TSC) with private and public agents. The focal firms analysed within the TSC have been tourist accommodation establishments in Fuerteventura. The paper shows that the level of involvement of tourist accommodation in CSR is positive. However, this involvement is not sufficiently high to meet the requirements of a destination designated as a BR. Therefore, coordination policies should be developed that promote governance systems and further enhance sustainability in the destination. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper contributes to the study of the role of public policies in the origins and evolution of clusters. Building on the existing literature, we set up a taxonomy of nine public policies that may have an impact on the emergence and evolution of clusters. Based on in-depth case studies of six clusters of the Basque Country, particularly representative of the industrial history of the region, we analyse the relevance of the different types of policies both in the emergence and evolution of clusters over time. In agreement with cluster literature, the paper concludes that public policies seem to have played only an indirect role across clusters and over their life cycles. Moreover, it points to the necessity of taking history and context into account, as most of the important policy measures highlighted by cluster literature today do not fit well with the previous policy and economic context. Finally, it also concludes that for cluster policies to be effective, the stages of the life cycle should be taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of recent advancements regarding regional innovation policy rationales and evidence, there are few analyses about the actual features of existing regional innovation policies. Nevertheless, a policy analysis perspective is important in order to recognize their distinctive patterns across regions, and to understand how rationales and evidence can be translated into policy-making. To this purpose, this paper develops a framework to study the extent to which regional innovation policies have changed during the past few years. Since the mid-2000s, there has been an important development of innovation policy rationales, advocating for more specialization; likewise, greater data availability at the regional level has allowed more sophisticated assessment of innovation performance. Finally, the crisis since 2008 has had ravaging effects in some regions, with job losses and severe economic sluggishness. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect transforming dynamics in regional innovation policies. Against this backdrop, the paper compares the institutional frameworks and budgetary priorities of four Spanish regions during the period 2001–2014: Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia and Andalusia. In so doing, it aims at studying the extent to which regional governments have readily addressed past and new challenges related to their regional innovation system, and if so, how. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The rise in the number of urban road accidents is a challenge shared by all European cities, which seek to improve mobility while reducing transport problems. In recent years, urban road accidents in Spain have been constantly increasing and now account for a larger share of the total number of road accidents. This paper aims to analyse the impact of urban factors on road accidents. For this purpose, a small-scale analysis of land use and road infrastructure has been conducted in the town of Benidorm, one of the main tourist destinations in Spain. In addition, a regression analysis has been carried out using a Negative Binomial distribution. The results show that factors such as the level of mixed land uses, population density and road infrastructure are related to urban road accidents. The findings also reveal that tourism environments have a positive impact on pedestrian road safety. Small-scale analyses, particularly those related to exclusively-oriented environments, such as tourism developments, should be studied in detail in order to promote safety, liveability and sustainability in our cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of new national high-speed rail (HSR) networks, together with the emergence of a new urban paradigm, requires a reflection on previous experience, enabling the definition of better policy proposals for station-area planning. The HSR network in Spain offers one of the world's longest trajectories but in order to draw lessons from previous experience an appropriate analytical framework must be established, fulfilling at least three conditions: (a) inclusion of cases from different periods -verifying an evolution or a constant pattern-; (b) basis in quantifiable parameters specific to HSR areas -allowing comparison among cases- and (c) coherence with contemporary planning criteria. With these three premises in mind, this paper builds a methodological framework analyzing parameters related to density, compactness, diversity of uses, public space, centrality and the barrier effect, extracted from the comparative analysis of 12 approved Station-area Plans. The results show a common pattern that reveals a mixed urban model which combines compactness with the creation of large open spaces; as well as a progressive minimization of the barrier effect over the last 25 years. The verification of these results reinforces some hypotheses of the literature, but also introduces new criteria for incorporation into policy proposals for HSR stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an efficiency analysis of high-speed rail (HSR) connections in Spain, focusing on the quality of the services supplied and the friction introduced by all the links of the whole transport chain in same-day trips. The methods proposed consider variations in the efficiency of HSR connections depending first on the different purposes of travel - tourism or business - and second, on the sensitivity of the measure to different transport-related factors such as ticket prices, adequate timetables and local accessibility to/from HSR stations. The results obtained show that large cities in peripheral locations of the network are generally more favoured for business HSR connections, while intermediate cities are more likely to achieve higher efficiency for tourism. Also, the results highlight how for tourism trips, timetables are the key factor in the efficiency measure, while for business, access/egress to/from HSR stations is more relevant. The analysis of the efficiency of HSR connections and its sensitivity to different factors and travel purposes is a useful tool for transport planning, especially for cities, because they may do their best to achieve service quality improvements or even adapt their strategies to different activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until 2007, many Spanish cities developed ambitious policies and programmes to foster the creative economy in a context of economic expansion mainly driven by the growth of the real estate sector. The goal was common but the means were considerably diverse. Currently, the development of creative sectors and the emergence of new economic activities in Spain have to cope with the deep economic recession affecting the country: given the considerably different specializations and prospects of employment creation, cities’ strategies differ from one to the next. In this paper, these differences are explored through the analysis of four Spanish cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia. First, we analyse how different paths of industrialization and modernization paved the way for different forms of transition towards the creative economy. Secondly, we elaborate on how the local context, defined by the set of actors interacting and the existence of economic traditions, frames a specific vision on creative and knowledge industries. Finally, the paper indicates to what extent the development of the creative economy in the four Spanish cities depends on the combination of trajectories and disruptive changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the territorial effects of the LEADER approach in Southern Europe, by analysing the region of Andalusia (Spain). Our research has revealed that, in many cases, projects were concentrated in the most dynamic, most populated areas, with a well-established business network with the financial and organizational capacity required to access European funding. In these areas, the economic leadership of the most dynamic municipalities has been reinforced at the expense of more depressed areas with little social capital and few businesses. These programmes have not, therefore, helped to mitigate territorial imbalances. In a minority of rural areas, however, this trend was not observed, which shows that although territorial inequality is a widespread problem in the practice of neo-endogenous rural development, it does not affect all areas to the same degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We need to understand the dynamics of current local production systems in the form of industrial districts and, particularly, how culture and innovation are interlinked. In this paper, we argue that the district innovation system approach, which covers the innovation systems and industrial district literatures, provides a set of ideas useful for understanding the role of culture in innovation in industrial districts. We study the role of innovation culture in two of the most important European ceramics industrial districts in Italy and Spain. Specifically, we analyse how, within a given district system, the innovation culture, networks and social structure, and their inter-relations, influence the interactions among those agents actively participating in the development, diffusion or adoption of innovation. We identify the cultural elements that are decisive in these innovation systems and whether these elements are substantially equal between the two countries or whether there are differences in their cultures, processes and innovation systems. Our main finding is that the cultural dynamics in district innovation systems differs among countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether collaborating with public research organizations (PROs) contributes to strengthening the innovation culture of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). We examine to what extent their innovation culture is reinforced by collaborations with research organizations and investigate the type of organizational strategies that enhance this effect of collaboration. The empirical study is based on a survey of firms that collaborate with the largest Spanish PRO, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Our results indicate that SMEs differ greatly in their capacity to strengthen their innovation culture through collaboration with research organizations. We show also that firms with formal innovation plans that develop internal and external search strategies are more likely to improve their innovation culture as a result of collaboration with PROs. These findings provide managers with new insights into how to strengthen their firms' innovation culture through collaboration with research organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During recent years, Spain has experienced an important revolution in its migration flows. With the 2008–2013 Spanish financial crisis, the model of economic growth that attracted a large number of foreign people disappeared, and the entry of immigrants for reasons other than economic issues gained relevance. Linked with this phenomenon are the new patterns of locational choice across provinces and the variation in the nature of immigrants. In this paper, we examine the differential patterns and drivers of immigration across Spanish regions before and after the financial crisis. Special attention is paid to the question of how the characteristics of individual migrants influence their locational preferences. To answer this question, we use the Dirichlet multinomial regression model. The results obtained show a sharp change in the locational patterns of Spanish immigrants after the economic recession, confirming that traditional economic incentives are less relevant, while non-economic factors linked with a better lifestyle gain importance. They also reveal that, regardless of the economic conditions, network effects are strong. Finally, and what is probably more important for us, our estimates support the hypothesis that the locational preferences rely on the interaction between the immigrants’ characteristics and the underlying locational features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the effect of location characteristics on urban growth using regression cubic splines. Our empirical analysis shows that in Spain, differences in accessibility to major urban centres and geographic isolation help explain differences in population growth rates across municipalities between 2001 and 2014. Moreover, even though physical proximity to large cities is usually assumed to be closely related to the attractiveness of a municipality, we found that urban population growth is even more related to the joint effect of distance to major centres and agglomeration. In this respect, there seems to be a threshold from which agglomeration diseconomies come into play such that a greater proximity to major cities and/or being localized within a more densely populated area goes against local growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As new concepts of innovation emphasizing interaction between agents have gained influence, regions have become acknowledged as relevant units for policy-making. This paper explores questions around multi-level governance with regards the promotion of local and regional networking initiatives designed to facilitate innovation. The specific case studied is that of the Basque Country region in Spain. As part of a response to the innovation challenge an initiative called Innobasque was launched in 2007 as a region-wide framework through which to stimulate cooperation networks for innovation. While Innobasque is in its infancy, this paper seeks to draw lessons for the development of such projects from analysis of a smaller-scale, local case (Ezagutza Gunea) that has demonstrated considerable success. While the territorial coverage, goals and institutions implied are different in each case, the necessary rationalization of efforts made at different institutional levels makes it interesting to “learn from the local” in trying to understand complementarities and possible overlaps. We conclude that effective coordination of knowledge flows rooted in networks at different spatial scales and of different configurations (“bottom-up” and “top-down”) is a key challenge for regional policy-makers and an important area for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the concept of Smart Specialization was launched, an effort has been made to clarify and establish criteria for its implementation. Part of the difficulties in implementing Research and Innovation Smart Specialization Strategies (RIS3) is their emphasis on bottom-up approaches, which are required because there are public and private stakeholders that are better positioned than governments to find the domains in which the region is likely to excel. Regions must shift towards a new generation of industrial policy and the difficulties for advancing in this direction are already visible. Designing and implementing a smart specialisation strategy at regional level: Some open questions. The centrality of entrepreneurial discovery in building and implementing a smart specialisation strategy. Efforts to implement smart specialization in practice – leading unlike horses to the water. The paper is based on four cases related to governance and learning for smart specialization in the Basque Country (Spain) and presents three main lessons learnt. The first has to do with connections between regional and sub-regional governments in order to construct networks of territorial actors that can act as the senses of governments in the territory. The second is about the challenge of handling complexity and conflict and the third is about the integration of social researchers in RIS3 processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Territorial cohesion has become one of the main objectives in transport planning. This has fostered the development of assessment methodologies to quantitatively estimate the territorial impact of major transport infrastructures, which are particularly scarce at the intra-regional level. Linked to cohesion, polycentricity has been defined as the best spatial configuration to achieve balanced regions where population and opportunities are distributed among several entities linked by functional relationships. This paper aims to present a methodology to estimate these impacts based on the use of a new regional composite polycentricity indicator. The proposed indicator is tested by comparing the effects of conventional and high-speed railway (HSR) alternatives in the territorial system of a northern region of Spain. This quantitative assessment is a ranking tool for prioritizing rail network alternatives in terms of achieving the most balanced territory, which is especially relevant in countries where HSR networks follow cohesion goals. Our results show that new HSR links should only be complementary to regional railway services, and that the suppression of secondary lines should be avoided if a reduction in polarization is to be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban sprawl has a major impact on the environment, public health and the socio-economic evolution of cities. The causes are numerous, being mainly related to the generalized use of the automobile in modern cities. Urban sprawl has been especially relevant in US cities since the 1950s, rapidly spreading to other cities in the rest of the world. This paper studies the case of Spain using recent data. Spanish cities have grown rapidly over the 90s and 2000s. The country has completed the process of urbanization and has suffered the effects of a major real estate bubble. In this context, we are interested in measuring and explaining where and why urban sprawl has appeared in Spanish cities. Digital mapping carried out around the year 2000 providing full coverage of Spain is used to calculate an Urban Sprawl Index. It is applied to all urban areas and municipalities throughout the country, providing an objective, comparable measurement of sprawl and identifying which areas are most affected by this phenomenon. A second stage of analysis is conducted in an attempt to explain the causes of the differences in sprawl among Spanish cities with a regression model based on the literature. We have found that the cases most affected by sprawl are the latest urban developments on the Mediterranean coast as well as certain areas in the vicinity of large cities: the mountains to the north of Madrid and the coastline near Barcelona and Valencia. In some cases, urban sprawl is starting to become a problem for the environment and urban sustainability, with important consequences for the future evolution of the affected cities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Avilés is a medium-sized city in Asturias, the Spanish region hardest hit by industrial crisis since the 1970s. The crisis of the state-owned iron and steel works and subsequent restructuring caused significant job losses, demographic decline and social tension. Since the 1990s, the Spanish Government, with regional and local governments and other local stakeholders, has been involved in new forms of urban governance focused on finding alternatives to shrinkage and a new model of urban development. This model recognizes several strategic aims: to (i) restructure and privatize the state-owned iron and steel works and attract new multinationals, (ii) promote a new economy based on innovation and culture using flagship urban projects, and (iii) improve the urban environment with rehabilitation of the historic centre, environmental restoration of the estuary and recuperation of wasteland for a new business park. This paper focuses on the influence of local actors, resources and networks on impulse regeneration strategies, analysing statistical information and data obtained from interviews with agents involved in urban development, combined with a selection of the major initiatives implemented. In brief, it discusses the transition to the resurgence of Avilés, including some of the uncertainties and future challenges identified, which are highlighted in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing on three case studies in the Catalan Pyrenees (Spain), this paper shows how interactions between planners and stakeholders influence expectations, uncertainties and conflicts during the planning process. Therewith, it provides further understanding of performance of regional planning beyond the formality of plans and policies. The case studies illustrate how planners' actions can either generate uncertainty, conflicts and frustration, or common understanding, agreements and positive expectations. With these insights, planners can be more conscious about the effects of their communicative strategies on the multiple perceptions of the planning process. Planners need to deal with interpretations of other actors, and they have to be aware of others' expectations and uncertainties. The positive effect of interactions has limitations because of the unavoidable existence of different perceptions and interests concerning a plan. Nevertheless, planners can generate even greater conflicts themselves if the perceptions from other stakeholders are ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European internal borders have been involved in a process of reconfiguration. Political discourses have emphatically commented upon the dismantling of borders, the Single Market and free movement of products and people. This paper addresses these changes in relation to a specific European internal border—the Portuguese–Spanish border. To reflect on the changes referred to above, three different axes are explored: the relationship between borders and mobility, between borders and identity and between borders and memory. It is by stressing these relationships that concepts of familiarity and unfamiliarity will be equated and discussed. Drawing on my fieldwork experience and on documented studies on different sections of the border, I will explore how territorial and social dissimilarities affect the relationship with the border and in what ways (un)familiarity acts as a motivation for border crossing. I will argue that although there is a feeling of familiarity (constructed by past experience) and that despite the fact that Iberian states are imposing a new paradigm of relations across the border (that of cross-border cooperation) people living on the border are using concepts of differentiation to sustain their identity in a discursive manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission in the scope of its cohesion policy tries to increase competitiveness of the European Union (EU) regions by supporting, beside many other instruments, entrepreneurial activities in the EU sub-national regions. This paper sheds an empirical light on the relationship between entrepreneurial activities and entrepreneurial perceptions on the one hand and the economic performance of regions eligible for EU regional policies in Spain and Germany on the other. Based on empirical data on the NUTS2 level, there will be analysis of whether previous EU support has later had an impact on entrepreneurial activities and/or entrepreneurial perception in the regions. The results show empirical evidence for a relationship between entrepreneurial activities and EU regional policies. However, other determinants such as gender and the role model function have an even stronger impact. Some of the results may help to increase the effectiveness of EC regional policies and of regional policies of the national governments, especially if the interdependence of entrepreneurship support policies and proper regional policies is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this study, we aim at evaluating the role of path-dependent and past-dependent forces in the historical trajectory of clusters. For that purpose, we study the life cycles of four of the main industrial clusters in the Basque Country (paper-making, electronics and information and communication technology, maritime industries and aeronautics) and analyse the factors that account for the origin, development, maturity and, if so, decline of those clusters, considering factors related to both cluster dynamics and the regional environment. Our analysis shows that the existence of a life cycle does not imply a straightforward growth path. Clusters follow multiple growth patterns in their development. The heterogeneity of growth patterns may be, in some cases, due to different initial conditions. However, despite similar initial conditions and/or resource endowments and opportunities for development, we can observe heterogeneous evolutionary patterns. Clusters react differently to the same external shocks (e.g. international demand, global competition and technological change) and evolve differently according to their capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper studies why some clusters in a certain region are more dynamic than others, even though they all operate within the same basic innovative regional environment. We first established which variables were to be used to measure the dynamics of a regional cluster. We included both inputs and outputs of the innovative regional environment and also cluster development-related variables. We then applied this to two clusters located in the Valencian Region, Spain. The first cluster is involved in the footwear industry, while the other is involved in the ceramic tile industry. The evolution of the variables which had an influence on their dynamics was studied to determine which variables had similar behaviours and how their evolution was related to the clusters' life cycle and to the evolution of regional income. The results show that regional innovation impacts on clusters’ productivity and that when clusters lose their dynamism, employment, sales and exports are the most affected variables. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines successful policy network (henceforth PN) practices in the Basque Country over an 18-year period, in relation to Cluster Associations, Quality Promotion and Local Agenda 21 Promotion. Basing our work on the Basque experience and on previous multi-disciplinary knowledge regarding learning processes, networking management and marketing, we contribute new insights that help to understand how PN management evolves. The need to analyse PN from an evolutionary perspective has been pinpointed by the various traditions of network research as one of the main gaps in the study of networking. Our research shows that expertise in PN management is generated through a long, performance-oriented dilemma-solving process that takes place in time and space. The first experiences provide initial knowledge and absorptive capacity, both of which improve through new and diverse experiences of increasing complexity. Step by step, a quantity of tacit and codified knowledge is created and shared, mainly through face-to-face contact, within the territory. Finally, the knowledge achieved is substantially similar to the normative knowledge that, though sparse, can be found in various networking literatures and needs to be brought together. But we also suggest that more emphasis on PN marketing is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper analyses tourist experience, studying the existing differences among geographical zones within a broader tourist destination with provincial character. Planning and management of tourist destinations must pay special attention to the maintenance and conservation of natural and artificial resources in tourist supply, attempting to improve their competitive position. Hence, this study compares several Andalusian coastal municipalities through different components of tourist supply. Among other obtained results, findings indicate the existence of significant differences in urban environments among the municipalities of Almeria, in beach quality among the municipalities of Cadiz and in accommodation among the municipalities of Malaga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies an “innovation gap” in the (in)efficient relation between innovation structures and production systems in SME-based economies and, by elucidating an implicit aspect of key theoretical contributions from Lundvall and Cooke, among others, sets the basis for a policy focus that may help reducing those margins of inefficiency. In this work, we identify three interdependent drivers of innovation: the “critical mass” of firms in a specific geographical location; the formation of “organizations” devoted to the creation and diffusion of knowledge and innovations; the ignition of “learning processes” within the production system that help catalyse significant innovations within the local economy. We suggest that the importance of processes of codified knowledge flows needs to be complemented by interactive flows of tacit knowledge that help overcoming the “innovation gap” that often exists between firms and knowledge institutions. Since this gap represents the inefficiency of the innovation structures, we suggest that it should be targeted by policy-makers and business associations as a central issue for innovation promotion through actions that intensify interactions and learning processes through bottom-up initiatives. These elements are analysed in a furniture cluster in the Basque Country and are highlighted on the basis of successful micro-territorial experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the causal relationship between economic growth and income inequality in Spanish regions from 1970 to 2000. We examine such a relationship using a panel of data with four time observations on the level variables for each region. Thus, we use a modified form of traditional Granger causality tests to suit the short times series that are available. Applying a sum-difference test, we conclude that the empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth in Spanish regions leads to less income inequality, rather than any other possible causal relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public policies (often at the regional level) favouring pre-competitive research and cooperative research and development have played a decisive role in the development of technology centres in Europe and all over the world. The technology offer model gave priority to the creation of technology transfer organizations and structures, but there is increasing evidence that this model did not attach enough attention to the needs of small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and in particular, to their capacity to take in knowledge. In this paper, based on qualitative research, we show in detail some of the main issues involved in the relationships between technology centres and SMEs in the Basque Country, a region that has developed intensive policies favouring technology transfer organizations over the years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, the European Union has contributed to the development of poor regions of the Associate Members. This is the case of Andalusia, an Objective 1 region for the European regional policy in the south of Spain. In this paper we carry out an impact analysis of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), one of the most important Structural Funds, to the object of assessing its effect on aggregate and sectoral production, price indexes and consumers' welfare. To this extend we compute an Applied General Equilibrium Model (AGEM) and we present a counterfactual analysis with simulations for three representative years: 1990, 1995 and 1999. We conclude that regional funding has deeply contributed to Andalusian regional development and the effectiveness of the funds seems to be larger for the last years of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks at the reorganization of production in the context of a multi-plant firm in the automotive industry. Changes in such firms may result in the closure of some plants and/or the opening of others. The article provides a method for assessing the risk of plant closure, and then applies that method to a specific case: the automotive plants located in the Spanish region of Navarre. This entails acknowledging the factors that increase what has come to be known as the "degree of vulnerability" of the plant, including sunk costs and relative productivity levels. This paper can also be understood as a source of information for designing developmental after-care programmes for foreign direct investors in the periphery of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the context and contradictions that have brought Bilbao Spain, a city of some 1 million inhabitants, to its stature as a leader and model of contemporary public transit. The decision to invest in public transit infrastructure is situated within an urban context that includes historical, economic, urban design, social, environmental and political motivations. From this contextual rooting, public transit projects are examined for their potential to achieve both a tangible set of objectives and an intangible symbolic meaning that presents transit projects as being about more than just moving people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of transport in the spatial organization of food processing firms in Spain. A framework is developed through the analysis of the various mechanisms by which transport affects firms, and the identification of key elements and recent trends in spatial firm organization. Empirical evidence from interviews suggests that with modern logistic strategies transport is becoming more important. In a time-based competitive environment, transport plays an important role in efforts to reduce delivery times, and increase reliability and flexibility in deliveries, as well as customer responsiveness. Not only does transport influence firms' location decisions, but also by adjusting to transport improvements firms are found to reconfigure their spatial organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galicia is traditionally one of the weaker regional economies in Spain. However it is home to one of the most successful global marketing phenomena of the age. Zara, the mid-market fashion arm of the Galician INDITEX Group, is amongst the 'culprits' that have been blamed for the demise from high street hegemony of such European retail notables as C&A, Littlewoods and Marks & Spencer. In this paper an analysis is provided of the mechanisms by which this peripheral region has succeeded in producing, from virtually nothing, a globally outstanding retail fashion industry in one of the world's most cutthroat competitive industries. It is shown that regional, national and supra-national factors have had important parts to play, but that the Galician approach is nevertheless unique, compared to that of other fashion clothing regions. Among the special features at play are high levels of tacit and codified knowledge exploitation, integrated design, production and retailing and advanced retail feedback technology that enables anticipation of customer preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against a general climate of liberalization, the Spanish Government has made a concerted effort to bring about a reduction in house prices. A legislative reform in April 1998 has sought to liberalize land and planning, through (a) refining the category of land previously excluded from development to enable residential development to take place, (b) allowing for greater flexibility of land uses and building controls, and (c) reducing administrative controls. This paper discusses the extent to which such reforms are likely to meet their anticipated objectives, resulting in beneficial effects in the land and housing markets, as well as the territorial impact of such reforms from a sustainability perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper reports on the administrative innovation for promoting integrated sectoral and spatial planning, based on the designation of Comarcas, by the Galician regional government in Spain. The region has suffered from peripherality and a heavy bias towards low productivity agricultural, fishing and food processing industries. Traditional regional policies had led to urban expansion but rural desertification. The Galician government embarked in 1991 on a radical new approach to development planning based on building new administrative entities based on urban and village networks. The new planning delivery system now exists and is already active in promoting more balanced and integrated planned development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology is of key importance to the growth of regional firms and economies. Research has shown the association between low technology development or take-up and regional disparities. Hence technology policy is moving closer to the heart of regional policies. European innovation programmes are intended to involve firms, large and small, in international technology research and development networks. The paper focuses on the involvement of Spanish firms in such programmes. Participation tends to be low if business R&D, presence of large firms, and the development of regional innovation systems are also low. Creation of R&D infrastructure through the Structural Funds has now to be prioritized at EU level and also define a new scheme of sectoral priorities in order to support R&D innovation activities in fields diverse from high-tech, if regions are to escape the 'low R&D trap'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]