Foreword

By  Mary  Harney  TD
Deputy  Prime  Minister  and  Minister  for  Enterprise,
Trade  and  Employment  of  Ireland

Despite the recent economic downturn, there is little doubt that the "New Economy" in the form of knowledge-based enterprises competing in a global marketplace will continue to be the mainspring of economic growth and the opportunity for increasing living standards into the future. Therefore, a rigorous examination of the factors that enable regions to create wealth and compete in the global economy through successful adaptation to the New Economy is to be welcomed.

We in Ireland are very conscious of the fact that our recent economic growth has been largely driven by the high-technology sector, which has provided both a significant increase in employment and very high productivity growth rates. The U.S. has been the source of much of our investment in these sectors and, indeed, Silicon Valley has provided the model and inspiration for many of our successful indigenous high-tech companies.

The major lesson that we in Ireland have learned, as a small open economy, is that the only constant is change and that the flexibility to respond to it is the key to achieving and maintaining success. I believe that such flexibility is best fostered through:

• Policies that promote openness not just to trade and investment but above all to ideas

• Investment in education

• The promotion of a research, technology, and innovation ecosystem that is the basis for developing high value added goods and services

• A fiscal regime that encourages enterprise and innovation

While it is clearly not possible for a region to just replicate a standard model of successful high-tech regions it is possible to learn from the underlying factors in their success and consider how they can be adapted to meet the needs of regions with different histories and stages of development. This publication therefore raises many important questions for policymakers in both developed and developing countries and regions to ponder.