This book examines local 'Islands of Innovation' where research and industrial expertise are concentrated, along with areas where traditional industrial regions have passed through a process of innovative restructuring.

Part 1: Introduction 1. Globalisation and Selective Localisation of Industry and Innovation - The Role of Government in Regionalising Socio-Economic Development Ulrich Hilpert Part 2: Regionalisation and Islands of Innovation 2. Poly-centred Innovation and Governmental Structures - Germany and France in Comparison Ulrich Hilpert 3. Islands of Innovation in the UK Economy: High Technology, Networking and Public Policy Desmond Hickie 4. Selective Performance amid Government Failure - The Complexities of the Italian Regionalism in Innovation Helmut Druke 5. Islands of Innovation and Clustering Decisions of U.S. High-Tech Firms: Theory, Evidence and Patterns Vijai P. Singh, Thomas Allen and Ulrich Hilpert Part 3: Restructuring Old Industrialised Locations 6. Old and Traditional Industrial Regions on the Archipelago Europe - Governmental Systems and Regionalisation of Innovation Ulrich Hilpert 7. Dynamics of Growth and Restructuring in the Pittsburgh Metropolitain Region Frank Giarratani, Vijai P. Singh and Christopher Briem 8. Liguria: A Region in Transition Helmut Druke Part 4: Geographic Periphery and Advanced Socio-economic Development 9. Processes of Peripherization Through International Innovation Systems - The Role of European Policies at Disadvantaged Locations Dietmar Bastian and Ulrich Hilpert 10. Competencies and Opportunities - Building an Island of Innovation Apart from Europe's Innovative Centre Rasmus Nelund and Jesper Norus 11. Regionalisation and De-industrialisation in Eastern Europe's Transition Economies Dietmar Bastian Part 5: Conclusions 12. How the Regional Factor Comes in. New Paths and Conditions for Industrial Policies Ulrich Hilpert

Ulrich Hilpert is Professor and Chair of Comparative Government at Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena. His major research fields are comparative European-American studies in the role of government policies for techno-industrial innovation, restructuring, environmental technologies, globalisation and regional development.