Uneven decline: linking historical patterns and processes of industrial restructuring to future growth trajectories

Abstract

The uneven revitalisation of some North American manufacturing industries calls attention to the challenges and opportunities facing historical industry core regions. Yet policy prescriptions routinely overlook industry- and place-specific factors that enable or restrict the viability of manufacturing over time. We re-engage Markusen’s profit-cycle model of industrial evolution and dispersion, presenting updated metrics of U.S. manufacturing industry restructuring over three decades, and demonstrating the uneven ways that historical core regions remain vital. Through the critical case of the turbulent computer industry, we show that combining industry trends with scrutiny of firm, technological, place and market contingencies can explain policy-relevant differences in regional industrial fortunes.