Rural Knowledge Clusters: The Challenge of Rural Economic Prosperity

The implications of globalization for economic development have been dramatic. Firms and industries are presented with a double-edged sword-they have access to global markets, but this access has come at the price of exposure to global competition. In this new competitive climate, firms and industries producing innovative, high-value products have prospered, while those producing standardized, high-volume, low-value products have not. In addition, industries historically accustomed to insulation from global competition have also adjusted less favorably to this new economic context.