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HKU-USF Public Lecture Series
Distinguished Seminars Series in Geography and Sustainable Development
Regional Development Traps and Regional Innovation Policy: The Case of European Regions
Date: 31 MAR 2025 (Monday)
Time: 15:00-16:00 (HKT)
Venue: LE 3, LG1/ F, Library Extension Building, HKU
Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=99205
Abstract:
Recently, the development trap concept has been introduced to identify regions that get caught in persistent patterns of low economic growth and stagnation (Iammarino et al. 2020). Evolutionary scholars have indicated that self-reinforcing dynamics can limit the capacity of regions to innovate and develop new growth paths (Arthur 1989, 1994). However, an evolutionary approach to regional development traps is still underdeveloped. We build on but also go beyond recent work by Pinheiro et al. (2022), among others, that argue that regions might become trapped in low-complexity activities, because their opportunities to develop high-complex activities are very limited, since relevant capabilities are missing.
A novel concept of regional traps is proposed that is embedded in evolutionary thinking, and that accounts for the persistent weak ability of many regions to develop new activities and upgrade their economies into more complex activities. We build on the relatedness/complexity framework (Balland et al. 2019) to measure and identify regional traps and to develop a new typology of regional traps. We aim to shed light on the possible links between regional ‘development traps’ (low growth/stagnation traps) as defined by Iammarino et al. (2020) and our new typology of “regional traps”, following an evolutionary approach (Balland et al. 2019).
We discuss the policy implications, like what to do about regional traps, how to successfully escape them, and how to avoid them in the future. This is crucial for regional innovation policy in places that find themselves trapped or run the risk of falling into a trap.
Prof. Ron Boschma
Professor in Regional Economics, Utrecht University
Professor in Innovation Studies, UiS Business School of Stavanger University
Ron Boschma is full professor in Regional Economics at Utrecht University, and Professor in Innovation Studies at UiS Business School of Stavanger University. Boschma has been full professor at Lund University where he was director of the Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE). He is member of the Executive Board of the International Regional Studies Association since 2015. Boschma has published on Evolutionary Economic Geography, geography of innovation, regional resilience, regional diversification, and Smart Specialization policy. Boschma has been ranked every year since 2014 by Thomson Reuters among the top 1% of cited researchers worldwide in all scientific fields. Number of Google Scholar citations (7 March 2025): 53,350, number of SCOPUS citations (7 March 2025): 23,867. In 2024, he received the prestigious Vautrin Lud prize for his scientific achievements, considered the ‘Nobel of Geography’, the highest international award in the field of geography.
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