Emerging Issues for Regional Economic Development

Abstract

The final chapter of this book canvasses a number of issues which are likely to be crucial for the future direction and development of analytical tools and strategies for regional economic development. One of the most challenging issues regions face in their future economic development is how to ensure a more sustainable and equitable outcomes and how this will affect the way we think about competitiveness. Another is how to develop and implement strategies for regions to be fast and flexible in creating knowledge and become learning regions by developing competitive industry clusters. Future directions of regional economic strategy will require the development of additional tools to support both analysis of regional economic competitiveness and the management of economic development, including how to manage regional risk.