ABSTRACT
Economists have usually treated recessionary and similar shocks as temporary interruptions to an economy’s long-run growth path which otherwise remains unchanged. The impact of economic shocks and resilience and adaptive capacity of places to withstand, cope with and prepare for future disruptions are geographically differentiated. Over the past decade or so, the notion of “resilience” has attracted prominent attention from academics across numerous disciplines and amongst policymakers. The capacity of a regional or local economy to withstand or recover from market, competitive and environmental shocks to its developmental growth path, if necessary by undergoing adaptive changes to its economic structures and its social and institutional arrangements, so as to maintain or restore its previous developmental path, or transit to a new sustainable path characterised by a more productive and equitable use of its physical, human and environmental resources.
