Flexible production systems and regional development: the rise of new industrial spaces in North America and western Europe*

This paper is about the recent resurgence of flexible production organization and its impact on the shape of the space-economy. I begin by situating the analysis in the context of the theory of regimes of accumulation. I argue that a transition has been occurring over the last couple of decades in structures of capitalist accumulation and that fordism is being gradually replaced by more flexible forms of production. I discuss the effects of this transition on patterns of industrialization and regional growth. I show (a) that production systems are displaying signs of a deepening division of labour and an expansion of external economies of scale, (b) that local labor markets are becoming increasingly less rigid in structure, and {c) that rapid re- agglomeration of production has been occurring as a consequence. I demonstrate that these events have brought into existence a series of new industrial spaces in both North America and Western Europe. The paper ends with a re-affirmation of the importance of macro-theoretical approaches to social and geographical investigation.