Path Dependence in Regional Development: What Future for Baden-Württemberg

The extent to which regions can diverge from established paths of economic development continues to be a matter of heated debate. There are potent arguments that any new constitution of regional economies is determined to a considerable degree by institutional and industrial structures that have emerged in the course of regional industrialization history, often spanning hundreds of years. Such structural lineage is often considered to hinder the adjustment to new challenges. The increasing globalization of national and regional economies, the rise of supra-national economic blocs, ongoing developments in technology, and new organizational strategies are among the elements that individually and collectively add new spins to this path dependence debate. Simultaneously, these challenges bring along new possibilities of innovation, and the transfer and adaptation of knowledge. New technologies offer new perspectives and institutional structures; learning systems and policy mechanisms might serve as change factors that promise fresh opportunities for regions to pursue new development trajectories.