ABSTRACT
Subnational regions have increasingly become focal points of contemporary economic activities. Paradoxically, market globalization is a major factor explaining the increasing importance of localities in the spatial organization of economic processes (Acs, de la Mothe and Paquet 1996; A. Scott 1996; Stopford 1996). In the global economy, modern regions are far less subject to changing national policies. Instead, they are increasingly dependent upon the direct effects of world market conditions: the major linkages of regions tend to be not with their host nations, but with the global economy (Ohmae 1993, 1995). Globalization results in expanded markets and increasing competition, strengthening the economic growth potential and the degree of specialization of individual regions (A. Scott 1996).
