Inward Investment, Regional Transformations and Uneven Development in Eastern and Central Europe

Inward investment has been accorded a central place in the 'transition' programmes of East and Central European economies. This article seeks to examine the uneven regional development impacts of inward investment in Slovakia through a series of enterpriselevel and regional case-studies. The article contests the claims of the proponents of the role of inward investment in transition which suggest that a positive set of impacts will arise out of new corporate structures resulting from foreign investment. Through examining the locally specific impacts of inward manufacturing investment in relation to different corporate strategies, technology transfer and modernization, labour-market transformation and local supplier subcontracting, the article argues that reliance upon inward investment may not be the 'godsend' that many suggest it will be and that there is enormous diversity in the local impacts of new investment. The article concludes with a consideration of the role of inward investment in Europe's eastern periphery.

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