In recent years, the scientific interest in the complex relationship between technological change, employment and regional growth has ex- hibited a fast growth. Despite the upswing in attention for the inter- actions between the components of this 'triangle', research efforts in this area are still severely hampered by lack of theoretical and em- pirical insights. The present volume aims at providing a refreshing look at this trian- gle against the background of recent discussions on structural econom- ic changes, technological innovations and labour market dynamics. In particular the attention will be directed toward two focal points, viz. : the relationship between technological developments and (qualita- tive and quantitative) shifts in the labour market. In this framework a review of current theoretical and empirical knowledge on labour saving or labour augmenting technologies, on changes in the secondary and tertiary sectors, and on shifts in external and internal labour markets will be given.
It goes without saying that in this context also the relationship between innovation and employment policy will be analysed, as well as the spatiotemporal diffusion pattern of (produqt, process or managerial) innova- tions. the interaction between the urban or regional production environ- ment and technology changes, with a particular emphasis on labour market dynamics. Spatial potentiality factors, bottleneck effects and incubation functions will also be treated in this perspec- tive, while also much attention will be devoted to empirical evi- dence and policy prospects in this field.