Policy approaches to developing the region in the information age: Evidence from Ireland and Europe

Inspired by the ‘death of distance’ debate that emerged in geography throughout the 1990s, this presentation seeks to gauge the importance of the region as the spatial scale of investigation in the Information Age. Owing to its alleged ability to embrace new technologies over the 1990s the Irish case proves to be particularly interesting in gauging the spatial impact of development in the new economy. Looking at the economy in the broader context of Europe highlights some interesting distinctions between the approach adopted in Dublin and that in Brussels. For the purposes of presentation I distinguish between the neo-liberally inspired ‘access’ approach to information age development associated with the Irish case, and the ‘adaptability’ approach, more attuned with institutionalist perspective, in the European case. Survey and interview results are used to demonstrate the differing impacts of policy approaches.

Related Priority Research Area: Internationally Traded Services

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