ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book looks at the process of defining new approaches to regional development. It deals with experiences of regional development in Canada, and the last part on regional development experiences elsewhere. The book presents an overview of the regional development experience based on discussion at the conference as well as the content of the papers. The time is ripe for a reexamination of regional development theories and approaches. Japan's most recent approach to regional development is called the Technopolis Plan. It involves the cooperation of private enterprise, government, and universities to establish high-tech industrial complexes in relatively small towns in retarded regions of Japan. 'Regional development' and 'efficiency of the national economy' are aspects of the social welfare of every nation which cannot be measured, or even ranked, in any market.
