The geography of economic opportunity in the information society

Abstract

This paper draws attention to the geography of economic opportunity in the information society. Canadian evidence is used to shed light on regional issues raised by the information revolution. While Canada's constituent provinces are all emerging as information‐based service economies, regional development is occurring in a virtual policy vacuum. In particular, existing regional policy is predicated on the assumption that Canada is still an industrial economy, as reflected in a continued emphasis on influencing the location of manufacturing production and access to transportation. Initial evidence on “first wave” impacts of economic and technical change suggests that the information revolution is likely to exacerbate current regional disparities. Finally, it is argued that historical patterns of cumulative economic development have provided Canada's most favored regions with a head start in the emerging information society.