Path Formation and Reformation: Studying the Variegated Consequences of Path Creation for Regional Development

Abstract

The article, thereby, aims to contribute to the burgeoning research strand on new path creation by bringing the debate a step closer to the major point of concern, regional economic development.We demonstrate the use of the framework to understand how new path creation may affect existing economic activities and how this relates to the overall goal of promoting regional economic development in an illustrative case study of the Zambezi region in northeastern Namibia. The Zambezi region, as we will show, is a suitable example to study the effects of new path creation on existing economic structures. Historically, the region relied on agriculture as the main livelihood activity. Since the 1990s, different resource formation processes have contributed to the creation of a tourism path. We analyze this formation process of the tourism path and its influence on the existing agricultural path. The findings highlight that new path development cannot be interpreted as a growth path for the entire region. The formation of the tourism path has generated variegated outcomes within the region, with benefits and losses unevenly distributed among firms and people.

Hyper‐peripheral regional evolution: The “long histories” of the Pilbara and Buryatia

“…Absent population density, innovation, and path creators, these regions fundamentally rely on extra‐regional actors and resources. However, that path creation and renewal are viewed as beneficial is subjective, because they are not necessarily beneficial to regional denizens 2 (Breul et al, 2021). While extra‐regional actors import ideas, investment, and resources to facilitate path creation, regional dynamism as defined in EEG means that these actors rarely maintain full commitment to the regions.…”

“…Indeed, as Irarrázaval (2020, p. 1) points out, “natural resources are not natural commodities but, rather, are socioecological constructions.” Moreover, Indigenous worldviews exist in stark contrast to ideas about regional development in EEG, which ascribe value to expropriating commoditised resources rather than sustaining the region itself. Taking to an extreme arguments provided by Breul et al (2021), the creation of new extractive paths in peripheries, desirable in EEG, may be deleterious from an Indigenous perspective.…”

Grasping transformative regional development – Exploring intersections between industrial paths and sustainability transitions

“…Recent contributions on path interrelations highlight the range of potential interactions, including mutually supportive, but also competitive or simply neutral relationships between technologies and industries (Frangenheim et al, 2020). Such relations between different paths, however, are not solely based on technologies but involve a broader spectrum of influential factors (Tanner, 2014) such as the reliance on the same resources, markets or even place-specific institutions, culture or discourses (Breul et al, 2021; Carvalho and Vale, 2018; Eriksen and Isaksen, 2021; Frangenheim, 2022).…”

Co-evolution of tourism and industrial sectors: the case of the Bełchatów industrial district

“…The strengthening of learning capability has been identified as the most influential action (Boschma and Lambooy, 1999). Two types of adjusting strategies to solve the issue of lock-in situations of old industrial regions were proposed: (1) path-dependent strategy or path reformation -referring to the increase in adaptability of their inhabitants, established companies and institutions, and (2) pathless strategy or new path formation -focused on deep restructuring of a region when old functions and structures expire and brand-new arise (Boschma and Lambooy, 1999;Breul et al, 2021). Moreover, path creation in mid-sized peripheral regions requires state intervention, including both policy actions and investments, e.g., modernising the knowledge infrastructure, and stimulating innovation and entrepreneurial activity (Brekke, 2015).…”