One thing that occurred to me in reading through this list factors influencing industrial location decisions is that in some very important cases one single factor swamps all the others. In Silicon Valley, the social networks of capital and talent are so powerful that they swamp everything else. Oil is obvious case where if the discovery is large enough the infrastructure and skilled labor will come along, and not much else is required. A few other factors might be part of the necessary but not sufficient conditions and most other factors become more like nice-to-haves.
Yes the factors are so varied that influence industrial location. Inertia has certainly has proved difficult for governments to combat, which is why it is useful to look at many examples of industries and locations to appreciate the complexities. My next post looks at some other locations and their experiences of industrial rejuvenation. I'm hoping that when readers look at the entirety of my posts on Industrial Geography they will see a fuller examination of the subject. What I'm trying to do is write a short book on Industrial Geography which readers can use as a starter on the subject and I'm posting each chapter or section here on Substack to make it freely available.
One thing that occurred to me in reading through this list factors influencing industrial location decisions is that in some very important cases one single factor swamps all the others. In Silicon Valley, the social networks of capital and talent are so powerful that they swamp everything else. Oil is obvious case where if the discovery is large enough the infrastructure and skilled labor will come along, and not much else is required. A few other factors might be part of the necessary but not sufficient conditions and most other factors become more like nice-to-haves.
Yes the factors are so varied that influence industrial location. Inertia has certainly has proved difficult for governments to combat, which is why it is useful to look at many examples of industries and locations to appreciate the complexities. My next post looks at some other locations and their experiences of industrial rejuvenation. I'm hoping that when readers look at the entirety of my posts on Industrial Geography they will see a fuller examination of the subject. What I'm trying to do is write a short book on Industrial Geography which readers can use as a starter on the subject and I'm posting each chapter or section here on Substack to make it freely available.