European Urban and Regional Studies

This article reports on an in-depth evaluation of European Union (EU) Objective 2 Structural Funding in Industrial South Wales (ISW). The central aim of the evaluation was to assess the main results obtained during the programming period 1989-93, as part of an analytical review of the main problems that ISW confronted during the programming experience. The major strategic objectives of the programme were tackled using six subprogrammes: industrial infrastructure; communications; business development; environment; tourism; research and development/vocational education and training facilities. Despite encountering numerous problems in the evaluation process, it was estimated that the programme created 2544 direct jobs, in addition to 7500 temporary construction jobs and the creation and upgrading of a range of physical infrastructure. Although there was an economic climate of recession during much of the programming period, the programme itself was seen to have positively and significantly contributed to the restructuring and diversification of the South Wales economy. It is suggested that the 'learning processes' associated with this programming period helped to 'push' funds in subsequent programming periods from projects concerned purely with physical assets to those involving human resource development. In conclusion, it is argued that following constitutional change in Wales, the opportunity exists within ISW to further converge EU, national, regional and local policies, producing further transparency and coherence in economic planning and regeneration strategies.

The economy of the Republic of Ireland has experienced continuously high growth rates in the 1990s, after a period of severe difficulty in the previous decade. As a result, Ireland is now within sight of exceeding average EU living standards, a situation which would reverse Ireland's traditional status as a peripheral European economy. The main purpose of this article is to examine the factors which have contributed to this apparent economic miracle, which has earned Ireland the 'Celtic Tiger' appellation. Particular importance is attached to the role of inward investment, which has grown in quantity and changed in quality in the last decade. These changes are attributed to general developments in the locational behaviour of transnational corporations, especially the need for access to skilled workers in an increasingly high-tech age. Such workers have become readily available in Ireland due to demographic change and state investment in education. However, while foreign branch plants have been upgrading their skill levels and their range of functions, they generally lack strategic responsibilities and independent decision-making powers.

Additional contributors to Ireland's economic growth have been macroeconomic stabilization, EU funding, and expansion of tourism and indigenous industry. However, growth has not been shared equally, but has been accompanied by increasing social polarization between those in skilled employment and those who have unskilled jobs or no jobs at all. This polarization could threaten the system of moderate national wage agreements which has played an important role in promoting peaceful industrial relations and in holding inflation to very low levels. There has also been growing spatial polarization, with the great bulk of the recent growth being concentrated in the main cities, especially Dublin. The current growth phase is expected to continue at least for the medium-term future, but could come under pressure from the emergence of competing pools of skilled labour in other parts of Europe.

This article explores the extent to which the benefits of new forms of inter-firm partnership within the European automotive industry have been shared between assemblers and component producers. It first considers the changing nature of the buyer-supplier relationship from the viewpoint of different parties and as part of a process of restructuring within the filiere. Then it documents patterns of performance, comparing samples of five European vehicle assemblers and ten component firms from 1987 to 1996. Evidence is presented on R&D and capital investment expenditures, inventory levels and work-inprogress, and profitability. It is concluded that lead- ing component manufacturers proved more resilient and adaptable than the assemblers during the early 1990s. This is explained in terms of the position of these system integrators with respect to their own suppliers, and the differing sectoral and geographical configurations of assembly and leading component firms.

Quality products and services (niche markets) could be an important instrument of rural development in the lagging regions of the European Union. However, there is little research which relates product to place in a rural context. After providing a brief insight into aspects of agricultural and rural restructuring, the article reviews existing literature and relevant concepts under the separate headings of 'Constructing quality' and 'Constructing regional images: linking product to place'. Many of these ideas are being applied in an interdisciplinary and international (EU) research project which attempts to link specific quality products and services to specific regions. The aims of RIPPLE are outlined in the hope of encouraging more research into the links between quality products and rural places.

The Danish fishing industry has experienced a harsh economic situation within the last decade due to a decline in the most important fish stocks and in-creasing overcapacity. Furthermore, changes in the market for fish and fish products has caused de-creasing prices in the traditional markets. As Danish producers cannot expect extraordinary increases in catches, the future success of the Danish fishing in-dustry may depend upon altering fishing patterns to bring them in line with market demands. However, this would require a vigorous exchange of market in-telligence within the production chain. This article identifies those institutional paths which are hinder-ing progress towards a knowledge-rather than resource-based industry and concludes that the survival of the Danish fishing industry depends on its ability to adapt to changes in the international market via a strong cast of 'market intelligent' players.

Studies of recent changes in the structure of the European production system have focused upon relatively few sectors. The experience of the EU fertilizer industry since the early 1980s is reviewed. It demonstrates a combination of organizational and spatial concentration consistent with the anticipated effects of economic integration upon a mature, declining industry with a history of serving fragmented national markets. This interpretation is, however, superficial. Observed changes are the outcomes of multiple processes and agencies. Many of these have operated at national, rather than European scales. Government intervention, reflecting the strategic significance of the fertilizer industry for agricultural policy, has been an important influence in several countries. This strategic dimension has also influenced the commercial evolution of the industry. Although fertilizers have played an important role in the business histories of some of Europe's largest multinational corporations (MNCs) such as BASF and IC, this role has been largely restricted to domestic production facilities. The assumption that the configuration of the evolving European production system will be determined by the continental vision of large MNCs is, therefore, not appropriate. Only two, Scandinanvian-based companies have, as a result of essentially opportunistic expansion by cross-bor-der acquisitions, moved in the direction of a pan-European strategy.