ABSTRACT
The Dutch case differs from other cases described in the literature. To anticipate the results to some extent, the Dutch case shows that, where physical distance is deemed less important in location choices, cognitive distance becomes of greater significance (cf. Nooteboom 2000). This element, thought to be of increasing importance, is included in the study by examining the effects of the knowledge infrastructure on the geography of high-tech economic activity. Material reasons for the spread of economic activity through the Netherlands, at least for high-tech activity, become less important, indicating that the Netherlands is indeed an ‘urban field’; regional differences in material factor endowments do not seem to have any systematic impact on the location pattern of high-tech activity.
