INDUSTRIAL FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL SYSTEMS.

Just as the structure of developed economies has changed over the last several decades, so has the composition, content and focus of studies of the industrial components of regional systems. While, at first glance, little discernible continuity is apparent in the changing research foci since the Second World War, several major trends can be noted, especially in the development of analytical techniques used to describe the structure and dynamics of regional systems. The review and evaluation here is topical rather than temporal, although the latter perspective is an important component of many of the factors discussed, and is largaely biased towards North American and West European experiences.