“How Regions Can Re-invent Themselves ” with Pierre-Alexandre Balland

No region can rely on past successes, rather constant transformation and re-invention is necessary for a region to keep developing. Many regional policies, such as smart specialization, aim to support regions in this process of re-invention. Yet, the operationalization of regional development policies has been rather limited because a coherent set of analytical tools to guide the policy directives remains elusive. In this webinar Pierre-Alexandre Balland proposes a policy framework around the concepts of relatedness and knowledge complexity. Based on a recent study, he shows that diversifying into more complex technologies is attractive but difficult for European Union regions to accomplish. Regions can overcome this diversification dilemma by developing new complex technologies that build on local related capabilities. These findings are then used to construct a policy framework for smart specialization that highlights the potential risks and rewards for regions of adopting competing diversification strategies.

Pierre-Alexandre Balland is Assistant Professor of Economic Geography and Network Science at Utrecht University, Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Media Lab), and Fellow at the Center for Complex Systems Studies. He received his Master and PhD degree in Economics from the University of Toulouse in France. His interests and scientific work concentrates on Economic Geography, Economics of Innovation, the evolution of knowledge and network science. Balland has published his research in international journals such as "Regional Studies", "Journal of Economic Geography", "Research Policy" and "Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society".