Wirtschaftsraum Ressourcen Umwelt WRU-Berichte

Table 4: Labour force development, Vancouver CMA, 1961-1981
These localised modernization schemes were essential
formative elements in enhancing Vancouver’s regional
assets and necessary precursors to the onset of the
development into a competitive gateway city on the
Pacific Rim 38 . (see WOOD 2001: 177).
2.3.1.3 The turning point of Greater Vancouver’s
regional trajectory
In the early 1970s most capitalist economies were faced
with the crisis brought on by new developments that
were eroding the foundations on which Fordism rested.
In particular the sharply increasing prices for oil, triggered
by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC), created inflation and unstable flows of
capital, which resulted in a global economic recession
(see SAYER & WALKER 1992: 191). Moreover, the dominance
of American MNC was increasingly challenged by
Japanese firms, which were introducing more flexible
production systems. Mature industrial regions dominated
by mass production lost their ability to compete, as the
38 The continuous expansion and modernization of the regional
infrastructure was deliberately fostered by the provincial government
under the premiership of William Andrew Cecil Bennett. During
the period from 1952 to 1972, the BC government embarked
on major hydroelectric power and transportation infrastructure projects,
which was part of the so-called ‘pavement politics’ (MCGIL-
LIVRAY 2000: 220).
The Economic Transformation Process in Greater Vancouver between Globalisation and Localisation
1961 1971 1981
Industrial Group in 1.000 In % in 1.000 in % in 1.,000 in %
Goods producing sector 86,8 30,4% 124,2 26,2% 160,0 23,2%
Agriculture 3,8 1,3% 5,4 1,1% 7,7 1,1%
Forestry 2,5 0,9% 3,3 0,7% 4,1 0,6%
Fishing and trapping 1,8 0,6% 1,5 0,3% 4,1 0,6%
Mining 1,5 0,5% 3,3 0,7% 3,3 0,5%
Manufacturing 57,4 20,1% 78,7 16,6% 96,3 13,9%
Construction 19,8 6,9% 32,0 6,8% 44,5 6,4%
Service sector 198,4 69,6% 349,7 73,8% 530,4 76,8%
Transportation and Communication 34,9 12,2% 49,9 10,5% 69,6 10,1%
Trade 59,8 21,0% 85,7 18,1% 126,4 18,3%
Finance, insurance, real estate 15,9 5,6% 28,1 5,9% 47,3 6,9%
Community, business and personal services 70,3 24,6% 127,7 26,9% 216,7 31,4%
Public administration and defense 18,0 6,3% 22,3 4,7% 37,8 5,5%
Other 36,0 7,6% 32,6 4,7%
Total 285,2 473,9 690,4
Source: BARNES et al. 1992, own calculations
regional system was too rigid to cope with the uncertainty
of recession. The classical industrial city, which
emerged after World War II, was increasingly failing the
demands of the new economic environment (see
BATHELT 1994: 72).
According to BARNES et al. (1992: 178n) the hallmark of
staples production is price and output volatility. It is
argued that BC is the most economically volatile of all
provinces experiencing the most intense boom and bust
cycles in Canada. In addition, BC tends to be out of
phase with the national economy as a whole, experiencing
both recession and recovery later than other regions.
These peculiarities refer to the province’s specialisation
in the export of staples to competitive markets characterised
by high price elasticity. When OPEC forced the first
of it’s major oil price hikes in 1973 the ripples of recession
spread through the global economy and reached
BC in the form of an immediate downturn of export activities,
mainly in the forest industry. However, three
years later, export activities had returned to prerecession
levels, and by the late 1970s both production
and export price levels soared to new record highs.
The next round of OPEC oil price increases in 1979 and
the following global recession had a deeper impact on
economic activities in the region. As in the past, the
province was slow to feel the downturn, but when it did,
in late 1980, the consequences were particularly severe,
with staples producing industries not recovering until
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