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Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 How to Obtain this Publication
| Related Documents Despite concern about the negative impacts
of globalisation on the economies of OECD regions, notably the
loss of manufacturing jobs and enterprise relocation, this
report presents evidence that region-specific advantages –
embedded in specialised firms, skilled labour and innovation
capacity – remain a significant source of productivity gain for
firms, even for the largest multinational enterprises. This
seems to contradict the hypothesis that globalisation reduces
the importance of geographical proximity in business. Economic
geography in an era of global competition involves a paradox. It
is widely recognised that changes in technology and competition
have altered many of the traditional rules that determine
location of economic activity, making it possible for firms to
access the inputs and knowledge that they need from anywhere
across the globe. Yet speciali