Manufacturing investment from abroad has been of immense importance to\udIreland’s economic development in recent decades. In particular, high levels of\udforeign investment in manufacturing were the main contributor to the unprecedented\udeconomic growth rates from the early 1990s which led to Ireland’s\udeconomy being compared with the Asian ‘Tigers’. Clearly it is desirable from a\udnational economic point of view that the current base of foreign manufacturing\udfirms should remain as embedded as possible. In this respect, the low level of local\udlinkages developed by foreign firms has been a constant concern for policymakers.\udA number of studies have been conducted on the nature of linkages\uddeveloped within the Irish economy by foreign-owned manufacturing plants in\udterms of the nature of these linkages and their potential for further development.\udHowever, there has been little research on the spatial patterns of external linkages\udof the plants in question. Based on a survey of 91 firms in four key manufacturing\udsectors, this paper examines the spatial configuration of the material input\udlinkages of Irish manufacturing industry. The findings show that major sectoral\udvariations exist in the spatiality of the linkage structures of Irish manufacturing\udindustry. The paper concludes with a discussion of the possible implications of\udthese variations for the future stability and embeddedness of manufacturing firms\udin the Irish economy.
展开▼
