This volume brings together expert contributors to explore opportunities and challenges that Industry 4.0 is likely to pose for regions, firms and jobs in Europe. Drawing on theory and empirical cases, it considers emerging issues like servitization, new innovation models for local production systems, and the increase in reshoring.

This edited volume brings together a group of expert contributors to explorebthe opportunities and the challenges that Industry 4.0 (smart manufacturing) is likely to pose for regions, fi rms and jobs in Europe. Drawing on theory and empirical cases, it considers emerging issues like servitization, new innovation models for local production systems and the increase in reshoring. Industry 4.0 and Regional Transformations captures the complexity of this new manufacturing model in an accessible way and considers its implications for the future. It will be essential reading for advanced students and researchers and policy makers in regional studies, industrial policy, economic geography, innovation studies, operations management and engineering.

The Regional Economics of Technological Transformations provides a comprehensive overview of 4.0 technological transformations in Europe and their socio-economic impact, with a particular emphasis on the regional dimension of the phenomena. The authors employ extensive original data and robust quantitative methods to analyse technological change in all regions of the 27 EU countries plus the UK and shed light on this trend for Europe and beyond. Structured in four parts, the book first looks at conceptual definitions, empirical measurements and expected impacts on both the economic performance (GDP and productivity growth) and the labour market, and then moves on to analyse where 4.0 technological transformation actually takes place in Europe and the reasons for this. Next, it offers original empirical evidence on the impacts of the different transformations, and of their intertwined effects, on both the economy and the society. Finally, the book explores the policy implications of this technological transformation. This book will be valuable reading for advanced students, researchers and policymakers working across regional economics, industrial economics and innovation policy. It will be of primary interest to regional scientists interested in the field, who may enjoy the conceptual and empirical solutions to the study of a very complex, timely and still largely unexplored theme. Sociologists, engineers and political economists can benefit from the book’s analysis, noting the urgency of the development of new ethical rules governing the new digital and labour markets. Finally, the book may appeal to policymakers interested in opportunities to increase regional competitiveness and sustainability goals through the advent of 4.0 technologies.

Originally published in 1991. This book deals with industrial and regional changes in Western Europe and the effectiveness of policies designed to cope with them. It examines the regional experiences, including successes as well as problems, to illuminate the trends and policies; raises questions about the issues; and reports on the effects and further implications for not just Europe but Japan and many newly industrializing countries. Analysing the evolution and effectiveness of local, regional, national and European policies, this is of interest for industrial and development specialises as well as economists, planners, geographers and policy makers.

This book offers a selection of the best papers presented at the annual international scientific conference “Digital Transformation in Industry: Trends, Management, Strategies (DTI2021),” held by the Institute of Economics, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in Ekaterinburg (Russia) on October 29, 2021. The book focuses on the idea of introduction mechanisms for digitization processes and on highlighting successful digital transformation strategies in all sectors of industry. Key topics include the development of a cyber-physical production system for Industry 4.0; digital design technologies for enhancing the competitiveness of products and companies; digital twin-driven product manufacturing and services; and the effects of the industrial digital transformation on society and the environment. With regard to implementing IT and other technological innovations, lessons learned in developed and developing economies, as well as small and large enterprises, are included. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable asset for researchers and managers of industrial organizations alike.

World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.

This book offers a critical reflection on the meaning and expected impact of the fourth industrial revolution, and its implications for industrial policy. Industrial revolutions are considered not only in terms of technological progress, but also in the context of the changing relationship between market and production dynamics, and the social and political conditions enabling the development of new technologies. Industrial Policy for the Manufacturing Revolution aims to increase our capacity to anticipate and adapt to the forthcoming structural changes. A concrete illustration of this industrial policy is provided through an experience of its implementation at regional level.