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THE KEEP JEEP IN TOLEDO CAMPAIGN: A LOST OPPORTUNITY FOR THE WHEELS OF CHANGE?
Author(s) -
MCCARTHY LINDA
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-9663
pISSN - 0040-747X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9663.2004.00316.x
Subject(s) - contest , incentive , competition (biology) , context (archaeology) , politics , nothing , scale (ratio) , business , political science , economics , market economy , geography , law , ecology , philosophy , cartography , archaeology , epistemology , biology
In 1996, Chrysler announced plans to build a replacement plant within 50 miles of its existing Toledo Jeep facilities. In theory, this presented an opportunity for alternatives to expensive ‘all or nothing’ individual competition; in practice, Toledo and other governments in the northwest Ohio/southeast Michigan region entered into the usual cutthroat contest when transnational corporations solicit incentive offers from across the United States. Chrysler's desire to remain within the region provides a unique context for analysing the opportunities and challenges associated with regional co‐operation as an alternative to individual competition. In investigating the extent to which localities can co‐operate and reduce wasteful incentives, this paper also identifies how the opportunities for such co‐operation are limited. The research highlights the need to better incorporate this kind of region – without internal political coherence despite locational proximity – into conceptualisations and empirical analyses of regional co‐operation, particularly with respect to issues of scale and conflict.