Innovation in Real Places

Dan Breznitz is a University Professor of the University of Toronto where he is also the Munk Chair of Innovation Studies in the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and the Department of Political Science, as well as the Co-Director of the Innovation Policy Lab. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, where he co-founded and co-directs the program on Innovation, Equity and the Future of Prosperity. His award-winning books include Innovation and the State, The Run of the Red Queen, and The Third Globalization.is a University Professor of the University of Toronto where he is also the Munk Chair of Innovation Studies in the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and the Department of Political Science, as well as the Co-Director of the Innovation Policy Lab. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, where he co-founded and co-directs the program on Innovation, Equity and the Future of Prosperity. His award-winning books includeInnovation and the State, The Run of the Red Queen, and The Third Globalization.

All cities and regions prioritize economic growth for a simple reason: it is essential to wellbeing and progress. But what are the sources of growth? The eminent scholar of innovation Dan Breznitz contends that the answer lies in global supply networks. In Innovation in Real Places, he examines the four stages of production and argues that struggling regions cannot improve their circumstances by imitating tech-centric economies. Rather, they need to develop their own strengths, and they can do this by focusing on where they best fit in a globalized production system. All cities and localities have certain strengths, and the trick is in recognizing it.

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