Abstract.  The authors present the case of five Canadian peripheral regions, which they argue are destined to decline. The explanation of the reasons why future decline (in absolute population and employment numbers) is inevitable constitutes the article’s central focus. The authors suggest that regional decline will become an increasingly common occurrence in nations at the end of the demographic transition whose economic geographies display centre‐periphery relationships. Such broad structural trends cannot be easily altered by public policy. The authors reflect on the implications of regional decline for the formulation of local economic development strategies. Local economic development strategies should not, they argue, be advanced as a means of arresting population and employment decline. To suggest that the regions studied in this article will decline because of a lack of social capital or insufficient number of local entrepreneurs, is not only misleading but may also be counterproductive.

This article presents a model for comparing industrial location patterns over time, applied to Canadian data for 1971 and 1996. The Canadian economy is divided into eighteen industrial sectors (manufacturing and services), of which eight are examined in detail. The analysis addresses several questions. Do observed location models for given industries follow predictable patterns? How stable are those patterns over time? Has the relative sensitivity to "distance" of given industries changed over time? Can significant breaks in location patterns be observed over time? The authors consider the possible impact of information technology on location. If "distance is dying," as is sometimes argued, this should be reflected in changing location patterns. The results show a high degree of stability over time, suggesting that distance is still very much alive.

A growing literature has accumulated that points to the stability of industrial location patterns. Can this be reconciled with spatial dynamics? This article starts with the premise that demonstrable regularities exist in the manner in which individual industries locate (and relocate) over space. For Canada, spatial distributions of employment are examined for seventy-one industries over a thirty-year period (1971-2001). Industry data is organized by "synthetic regions" based on urban size and distance criteria. "Typical" location patterns are identified for industry groupings. Industrial spatial concentrations are then compared over time using correlation analysis, showing a high degree of stability. Stable industrial location patterns are not, the article finds, incompatible with differential regional growth. Five spatial processes are identified, driving change. The chief driving force is the propensity of dynamic industries to start up in large metro areas, setting off a process of diffusion (for services) and crowding out (for manufacturing), offset by the centralizing impact of greater consumer mobility and falling transport costs. These changes do not, however, significantly alter the "relative" spatial distribution of most industries over time. Copyright 2006 Blackwell Publishing.

The idea that cities are sources of economic growth, generally associated with Jane Jacobs, has gained ground in the scholarly literature in recent years. This essay proposes a review of the arguments for and against the Jacobs hypothesis. Much of the debate centres on the existence of dynamic agglomeration economies. It is difficult, it is argued to rigorously test the relationship between agglomeration and economic growth. Part of the problem stems from the difficulty of distinguishing factors that allow cities to capture a greater share of national economic growth from those that allow cities to add to national economic growth. It is argued that the socioeconomic processes that explain economic growth operate primarily at the national/societal level and not at the city level.

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COFrEY W. J. and POI. ~SE M. (1985) Local development: conceptual bases and policy implications, Reg. Studies 19, 85-93. Although local development is frequently cited as an option within the broader context of regional policy, the concept remains vague. The bases of the local development approach lie in its complementarity with three traditional pillars of regional theory and policy: capital and infrastructure policies; migration as an adjustment mechanism; and growth centre strategies. In examining the potential utility of local development as an effective element of regional development policy, we emphasize the emergence of local entrepreneurship and the role of the State in stimulating local initiatives. Local development policy may be generalized in terms of three options involving financial assistance, access to information, and social animation. Regional development policy Local development Entrepreneurship Human capital CorrrY W. J. and POL/:SE M. (1985) D6veloppement local: bases conceptuelles et port~e politique, Reg. Studies 19, 85-93. Bien que le d6veloppement local se voit proposer en tant que option dans le cadre plus large de la politique r~gionale, la notion reste floue. Les racines de la faqon centr~e sur le d~veloppement local remontent au point o6 elle constitue le compl~ment des trois axes fondamentales de la th6orie et de la politique r~gionales; ~ savoir, les politiques de capital et d'dquipement, la migration comme m~canisme d'ajustement, et les strategies en faveur des p61es de croissance. En examinant l'utilit6 6ventuelle du d6veloppe-ment local comme ~l~ment-cl~ de la potitique r4gionale, on souligne la naissance d'un esprit d'entreprise locale et le r61e de l'Etat afin d'inciter des initiatives locales. En bref la politique du d6veloppement local comprend trois volets; aide financi&e, acc~s ~t l'information et action sociale. Politique r~gionale Esprit d'entreprise D6veloppement local Capital humain COFFEY W. J. and POL~SE M. (1985) Ortliche Entwicklung: Begriffsgrundlagen und Implikationen der Zielsetzung, Reg. Studies 19, 85-93. Obschon 6rtliche Entwick-

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