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Clusters Old and New: The Transition to a Knowledge Economy in Canada's Regions.

Article Excerpt
Clusters Old and New: The Transition to a Knowledge Economy in Canada's Regions. 2003, 238 pages. David A. Wolfe (editor). Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's Press. ISBN: 0-88911-959-7 (paper: $24.95); 0-8811-9619 (cloth: $65.00).

This volume covers a topic of considerable interest to regional scientists. In recent decades, many economic development authorities and business communities in Canada and elsewhere have occupied themselves with the idea that they might create the next "Silicon Valley". (Miller and Cote (1987) provide a classic example of this thinking). "Silicon Prairie", "Silicon Valley North", "Telecom Corridor" and other regional clusters represent attempts to duplicate the success of the San Francisco Bay Area. The clustering of even a few knowledge economy firms in a region inevitably draws local comparisons to better-known counterparts elsewhere, with the hope that someday the region might also have the status of San Jose or Boston. However, the important question that regional scientists need to address is whether or not such a knowledge economy strategy can work for communities in Canada. This book contributes to the discussion by examining regional industrial clusters and their place in the development of the Canadian economy. The book is based on the work of the Innovation Systems...