Growth regimes over time and space

This paper seeks to shed new light on the policy debate about whether regional economic development policy should be targeted towards fostering new firm start-ups or nurturing large, incumbent enterprises. We extend the concept of technological regimes for innovative activity in the industrial economics literature to develop a concept of growth regimes for the unit of observation of regions. Based on data for 74 regions in West Germany over a two-decade period, we identify the existence of four distinct growth regimes: the entrepreneurial regime; the routinized regime; the revolving door regime; and the declining regime. The empirical evidence suggests that no single type of regime accounts for growth. Rather, regional growth can result in regions focusing on large enterprises or new enterprises. Thus, we conclude that diverse growth regimes exist across both time and space.