The Politics of High Tech Growth: Developmental Network States in the Global Economy

by Sean O'Riain

Overview

Driven by high tech foreign investment, the "Celtic Tiger" economy in the Republic of Ireland was one of the economic "success stories" of the 1990s. This book argues, however, that the state played a central role in developing the Celtic Tiger economy as well, and particularly, the increasingly important Irish high tech industry. Typically seen as an example of successful market-led globalization, high tech growth in Ireland has actually been promoted by a new form of state intervention in the economy--one that fosters local networks of support through decentralized state institutions drawing on extensive local, national and global resources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521711876
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/01/2007
Series:	Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences , #23
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Seán Ó Riain is Professor of Sociology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

Table of Contents

List of tables; List of abbreviations; Preface; Part I. Development in the Global Information Economy: 1. Networks of development: globalization, high technology, and the Celtic Tiger; 2. State developmentalisms and capitalist globalizations; 3. Explaining the Celtic Tiger; Part II. Software and the Celtic Tiger: 4. 'Location Nation': remaking society for foreign investment; 5. Indigenous innovation and the developmental network state; 6. Making global and local; 7. The class politics of the global region; Part III. The Politics of the Developmental Network State: 8. Institutions of the developmental network state; 9. Politics and change in developmental regimes; 10. Developmental bureaucratic and network states in comparative perspective; 11. Futures of the network state; Appendix A. Methodology of the study; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

“Ó'Riain makes a very important contribution to comparative studies of development by arguing that the same model of network development can be inspired by very different political ideologies. He focuses the attention on neo-liberalism, conservatism (i.e. paternalism) and social democracy. Each of these three ideologies goes hand in hand with a different set of political bargains over socioeconomic inequality, risk, security, governance. This is in essence the powerful message that this book offers to students of economic development: politics does not stand in the way of economic development; rather, different political patterns shape the way a country achieves economic well-being and have distinct consequences for the distribution of new riches across the population.” --Social Forces, Mauro F. Guillen, University of Pennsylvania

From the Publisher