The local levels of economies have felt the impact of technological change and globalization. These forces have triggered the need to understand the dynamic mechanisms that enable locales to respond to such changes. For example, the downsizing of traditional employers because of a major loss in market share due to new competitors, acquisition by global firms, or off-shoring of production or services was traditionally thought to be beyond the scope of powers of local policy makers, thinkers, and business leaders. In the world of practice, those concerned about the economic performance of place-city, region or state-are increasingly focused on how to adapt to these trends and leverage their existing resources to respond to these global challenges as a positive opportunity.The Oxford Handbook of Local Competitiveness brings together some of the leading minds in the fields of business, economics, and the social sciences to identify, articulate, and analyze what influences and shapes local competitiveness and what places can do to enhance their economic performance. The contributors to the Handbook provide a body of systematic analyses suggesting that the local context is a critical element of the forces that shape competitiveness. The challenges to generate and sustain economic performance vary across places, and the factors and conditions that either enhance or impede competiveness also are place-specific. Finally, the characteristics and nature of what constitutes success also vary across places.This Handbook is essential reading material for academics in the fields of economics and public policy, as well as business leaders who hope to gain a more in-depth understanding of their field. Informative and intellectually rigorous, The Oxford Handbook of Local Competitiveness is the definitive volume of scholarly analysis regarding the relationship between place and economic competition.

1. IntroductionDavid B. Audretsch, Albert N. Link and Mary Lindenstein WalshokPART I: THE CONCEPT OF LOCAL COMPETITIVENESS2. The Strategic Management of PlaceDavid B. Audretsch3. Talent , Cities, and CompetitivenessRichard Florida and Charlotta Mellander4. Enabling Entrepreneurial EcosystemsPhilip E. Auerswald5. Construction of the Cluster CommonsOrjan Solvell6. Alfred Marshall, Alive and Well? The Rise and Evolution of Innovative Manufacturing Clusters in a Globalizing EconomyDan Breznitz and Guilio Buciuni7. Something New: Where Do New Industries Come From?Maryann P. Feldman and Sam M. TavassoliPART II: CRITICAL DRIVERS OF LOCAL COMPETITIVENESS8. Local Competitiveness Fostered through Local Institutions for EntrepreneurshipMartin Andersson and Magnus Henrekson9. The National Resource Curse in the Arab Gult: Rapid Change and Local CultureThomas Andersson10. The Role of Universities for Local and Regional CompetitivenessErik E. Lehmann11. The Grand Challenge Model of R&DChristopher S. Hayter12. Commercialization or Engagement: Which Is of More Significance for Regional Economies?Martin Kenney13. Philanthropy, Competition, and Local Competitiveness: A Schumpeterian ConundrumZoltan J. Acs14. Local Policies for High-Growth FirmsErik Stam and Niels Bosma15. Innovation BrokersDoug Henton and Jessie Oettinger16. Swimming Upstream: Why Regional Economic Development Depends on National Economic CompetitivenessRobert D. AtkinsonPART III: COMPETITIVENESS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL17. Competitive Advantages from University Research ParksAlbert N. Link18. The Co-Creation of Locally Useful Knowledge by Business SchoolsSimon Mosey, Paul Kirkham, and Martin Binks19. Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development: The Relevance of Shaping Inter-temporal Local Intangible ConditionsJos? L. Gonzalez-Pern?a, Maribel Guerrero, and I?aki Pe?a-Legazuke20. In Search of New Competitive Advantage: Japan's Local Firms in Sustainable BusinessHideki Yamawaki, Hiro Motoki, and Kayo Hirai21. Assessing State-level Science and Technology Policies: North Carolina's Experience with SBIR State Matching GrantsJohn Hardin, Lauren Lanahan, and Lukas C. Brun22. Clusters, Communities, and Competitiveness - An Emerging Model from America's MidwestDavid Lawther Johnson23. Lessons on Microenterprise Development from a University-Based Microlending Development ProgramPaul Miesing, Brad Watts, Donald S. Siegel, and Katharine Briar-Lawson24. A Region in Transition: Bottom up Economic Transformation in Post-Conflict Northern IrelandMary Lindenstein Walshok and Steve Orr25. The 2008 Economic Crisis and its Impact on Universities' CompetitivenessShiri M. Breznitz and Paige A. Clayton26. Smart Specialization and European Regional Development PolicyDominique Foray, Philip McCann, and Raquel Ortega-Argil?s