ABSTRACT
‘Deindustrialization’, the growth of disparities between and within regions in the level and nature of manufacturing activity and jobs, and the geographically uneven shift towards a ‘service economy’, have been clearly evident within the UK and across the EU (CEC 1996). The manufacturing sector has been—and continues to be—reshaped by pressures including ‘globalization’, ‘tertiarization’, industrial reorganization, employment change, accelerated technical development, and shifting policy frameworks. At the heart of these issues is a regional dimension which often conditions the development of the manufacturing sector as a whole.
