It once took two decades to replace one-third of the Fortune 500; now a subset of new firms are challenging and displacing this elite group at a breathtaking rate, while armies of startups come and go within just a few years. Most new jobs are, in fact, coming from small firms, reversing the trend of a century. David Audretsch takes a close look at the U.S. economy in motion, providing a detailed and systematic investigation of the dynamic process by which industries and firms enter into markets, either grow and survive, or disappear. He shapes a clear understanding of the role that small, entrepreneurial firms play in this evolutionary process and in the asymmetric size distribution of firms in the typical industry.Audretsch introduces the large longitudinal database maintained by the U.S. Small Business Administration that is used to identify the startup of new firms and track their performance over time. He then provides different snapshots of the process of industries in motion: why new-firm startup activity varies so greatly across industries; what happens to these firms after they enter the market; the extent to which entrepreneurial firms account for an industry's economic activity and why that measure varies across industries; how small firms compensate for size-related disadvantages; and who exits and why.Audretsch concludes that the structure of industries is characterized by a high degree of fluidity and turbulence, even as the patterns of evolution vary considerably from industry to industry. The dynamic process by which firms and industries evolve over time is shaped by three fundamental factors: technology, scale economies, and demand. Most important, the evidence suggests that it is the differences in the knowledge conditions and technology underlying each specific industry -- key elements in innovation -- that are responsible for the pattern particular to that industry.

A new approach to the analysis of technological process, emphasising the tailoring of formal modelling to historical context.

Written by internationally acclaimed experts in the economics of innovation, this volume examines how the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector is affected by the dynamics of innovation, institutions, and public policy. It contributes both theoretically and empirically to the increasingly influential Schumpetarian framework in industrial economics, which places innovation at the centre of the analysis of competition. Both quantitative and qualitative studies are included, and this varied perspective adds to the richness of the volume's insights. The contributors explore different ideas regarding the historical evolution of technology in the sector, and how firms and industry structure have co-evolved with innovation dynamics. Important policy questions are considered regarding the future of innovation in this sector and its impact on the economy.

Jati K. Sengupta examines the market dynamics of the evolution of industry and the impact of new technology with R&D and knowledge capital. The book builds the theory of innovations in the contexts of the high-tech industries of today such as computing and telecommunications.

Innovation, Industry Evolution and Employment offers a cross-disciplinary approach to employment creation and economic growth.

Turbulence characterises the current global scene. This book uses complementary theoretical approaches to understand and help prescribe policies to ‘re-frame’ the regional development problem in turbulent times. These approaches are: evolutionary complexity; evolutionary economic geography; emergence theory; and resilience theory. From below, they address the four major crises creating a ‘perfect storm’ for societies and economics involving: the climate change crisis; the energy crisis; the banking and financial crisis; and the global economic crisis. This book analyses and proposes ways in which regional economies, in particular, are having to be ‘reframed’ to address these crises. First, many must evolve in new ways, possibly moving back from the ‘service economy’ towards a new, greener form of manufacturing of goods as well as services. Accordingly, regional economies are innovating in new ways. Amongst these are the quest for ‘relatedness’ within their own regional orbits, and promoting ‘modularity’ as a mode of analysis and a policy stance to stimulate innovation across industry and geographical borders. Finally, regional economies and societies are discovering that, from a ‘resilience’ perspective, they must find answers to the higher levels of governance with which they increasingly struggle. In this respect regional economies are in ‘transition’ and regional processes are ‘emergent’. The transition seeks to address the four crises, involving re-balancing, re-directing and re-framing future policy and practice. This book describes many of the novel ‘framings’ involved in understanding the new ways in which this major task is being addressed in theory, policy and everyday practice.

“A fascinating story of regeneration. Using a social history perspective over different periods, it offers a wonderful case study of urban reinvention.” —Shiri M. Breznitz, Economic Geography Formerly prosperous cities across the United States, struggling to keep up with an increasingly global economy and the continued decline of post-war industries like manufacturing, face the issue of how to adapt to today’s knowledge economy. In Invention and Reinvention, authors Mary Walshok and Abraham Shragge chronicle San Diego’s transformation from a small West Coast settlement to a booming military metropolis and then to a successful innovation hub. This instructive story of a second-tier city that transformed its core economic identity can serve as a rich case and a model for similar regions. Stressing the role that cultural values and social dynamics played in its transition, the authors discern five distinct, recurring factors upon which San Diego capitalized at key junctures in its economic growth. San Diego—though not always a star city—has been able to repurpose its assets and realign its economic development strategies continuously in order to sustain prosperity. Chronicling over a century of adaptation, this book offers a lively and penetrating tale of how one city reinvented itself to meet the demands of today’s economy, lighting the way for others. “This is an important, pioneering book that contributes to our unique understanding of how one place, San Diego, has achieved what most places want: the capacity to evolve and meet the challenges of a constantly changing global economic environment. Walshok and Shragge help us understand why some places thrive while others wither.” —David B. Audretsch, author of Everything in Its Place