High-Technology Industry and Regional Development in Britain: The Case of the Cambridge Phenomenon

After a discussion of the nature and definition of high-technology industry, original evidence on the recent (1981–84) regional and local evolution of high-technology industrial employment in Britain is presented. The case of the Cambridge Phenomenon is reviewed in detail, drawing upon a range of recent research to document the scale, nature, and impacts of rapid high-technology growth in the Cambridge region, especially in the 1980s. The volume of such growth in the period 1981–84 was greater in Cambridgeshire than in any other county of Britain. The reasons for Cambridge's exceptional performance are discussed, and to conclude there is a brief consideration of policy issues arising from the region's experience, including the role of universities and science parks, of government defence and procurement policies, of local small-firm assistance structures, and of selective help to ‘threshold’ firms.