THE NEW INDUSTRIAL SPACES - LOCATIONAL LOGIC OF A NEW PRODUCTION ERA

The suggestion is now widespread that fundamental changes within the advanced western economies are part of the transition to a new era of capitalist development. In turn, the question has become one of explaining how the present period of economic restructuring is being translated into a period of spatial restructuring (Lovering, 1990). One such explanation is that of the New Industrial Spaces theory which, through the use of transactions cost analysis, argues that special agglomeration (of 'high technology' industry) is indicative of the new geography of production (Scott and Storper, 1986; Scott, 1988a; 1988b). This paper outlines an investigation of the New Industrial Spaces theory. It does not seek to deny that New Industrial Spaces can occur or that they can occur for the reasons given by Scott (and Storper). However, it does put forward a critique of the geographical implications of transaction costs theory and, in particular, a methodological critique of the empirical methods used thus far to provide evidence for the New Industrial Spaces. An empirical investigation of Britain's own prominent candidate for the title New Industrial Space, namely 'high-technology Hertfordshire', is undertaken, using a more appropriate methodology. Whilst this empirical investigation provides evidence for the New Industrial Spaces theory, it also highlights the theory's failure to explain fully the growth of 'high-technology Hertfordshire'.