ABSTRACT
The development fortunes of localities and regions are crucially dependent on their abilities to attract and embed exogenous resources. External means of development are central when actors in particular localities and regions perceive deficiencies or problems in their indigenous or internal potential (Chapter 6). Distinct but often connected to indigenous and endogenous approaches, the focus and emphasis is on resources external and outwith local and regional economies (Figure 7.1). In practice, this has often meant attempts to attract the foreign direct investment (FDI) of transnational corporations (TNCs), and to exploit their potential benefits and minimise their costs for local and regional development. This chapter explains the growth of TNCs and their changing form, especially the emergence of global production networks and value chains, and the institutions, policies and instruments seeking to attract and embed FDI in localities and regions. It also charts the more recent concern with attracting particular occupational groups and people such as “creative professionals”. The decisions of TNCs to invest, reinvest or divest, and the epiphenomenon of territorial competition, have the power to shape local and regional development and to determine geographical patterns of prosperity and disadvantage.
