INDUSTRIAL-POLICY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - THE PRODUCTION OF MARKETS,TECHNOLOGIES, AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

The Southern California economy is at a crossroads. The end of the Col d War has meant significant reductions in defense investment and the d ownsizing of the region's aerospace-electronics industrial complex. Al though the region is technology rich, it lacks the institutional suppo rt and corporate know-how necessary to develop new markets, new indust rial relations, and new production systems. To remedy these failings, a rare mix of institution building and policy initiatives is tending t o cohere around advanced-ground-transportation technologies and in par ticular the development of an electric vehicle industry. In this paper we examine federal, state, and local policy efforts to develop an ele ctric vehicle industrial complex in Southern California.