The study of New York’s biotechnology industry is published here in attempt to present the value of adopting a regional approach to the analysis of advanced technology industries, and to explore the extent to which distinctive economic policies are required, by both commercial and government organizations, to nurture the growth of industries based on knowledge rather than tangible resources. It presents evidence for the importance of focusing on the “region” as the unit of analysis in studies of industrial competitiveness, in addition to those of the nation or the individual firm.

This report summarizes the results of the comprehensive study of the biotechnology industry across the whole of New York state. A great deal of care was directed towards ensuring that organizations included in the study were properly classified and accurately documented; this has resulted in a body of information and an analytical framework which may serve as a benchmark for future studies of the industry and assessments of its evolving economic performance. The study has revealed a substantial, complex, and changing industry that is emerging with the potential to play a key role in the evolution of New York’s economy. There are a number of distinctive local biotechnology industry clusters within the state, each of which has special strengths, needs, and relationships to the surrounding community. Public initiatives or cooperative industry efforts to strengthen the position of biotechnology in New York will need to be tailored to the specific conditions that apply in each of the local clusters.

The paper discusses the status of the rural economy in Aus­ tralia, emphasizing that agriculture, and primary industry in general, have historically played a dominant role in national economic development and have occupied a prime position in general economic policy. In this context, rural develo ment policy in Australia has consisted mainly of measures to expand agricultural production through a pattern of capital­ intensive technological change aimed at minimizing labor in­ puts and maximizing land-labor ratios. While leading to vety high levels of labor productivity, this approach has failed to prevent the wider rural economy from deteriorating in many communities. It has also been accompanied by a deteriora­ tion in the overall economic performance of the agriculture sector itself, despite continued improvements in certain po ularly quoted agricultural indicators (such as gross physical production). The paper argues that Australia's rural policies andprograms have not taken adequate account ofstructural changes in the national and international economy. It con­ cludes that improvements in the rural economy will require a new approach which includes: (1) the replacement of "growth in agriculturalproduction• as the main focus ofrural policy by a new paradigm concerned with "integrated rural development"; and (2) a new emphasis on technology policy as a tool for ensuring that the pattern of technological prac­ tice in agriculture and other rural industries is developed to fit properly the underlying economic conditions.