ABSTRACT
The increased mobility of production – regionally, nationally and internationally – constitutes one of the key challenges confronting social scientists and policy makers. The main dimensions of the challenge could be usefully discussed in relation to four questions: 1) why are these changes taking place, 2) how are they taking place, 3) so what and how significant are these changes (impact), and 4) is there scope for action? This book attempts to provide new insights and rigorous arguments about a wide range of issues that are captured within these questions. It does so by bringing together academics from different disciplinary backgrounds, located in diverse national settings, and bringing together expertise from a variety of sectoral contexts. Interestingly, the evidence presented in the chapters of this book provides a picture of diversity between individual industrial contexts that in some respects questions the rationale behind the emphasis placed upon sectors with considerable labour-intensity.
