5 th Central European Conference in Regional Science – CERS, 2014 – 933 – Where Evolutionary-institutional Theory of Regional Economic Development Meets the Post-socialist Reality of Central and Eastern Europe: Building Silicon Valleys in Slovakia. MARTIN SOKOL Department of Geography, Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2 Ireland sokolm@tcd.ie Abstract Evolutionary-institutional theory of regional economic development makes important claims about the links between regional institutions and regional economic development. Institutional ‘thickness’ and networking between firms and a plethora of institutions at the local and regional level are seen as crucial for fostering innovation, learning and knowledge creation and thus securing a successful regional economic development in the global knowledge-based economy. Silicon Valley is often cited as the best example of a ‘high-tech’, high added-value, highly innovative, post- industrial, knowledge-based and a highly successful regional economy. From an evolutionary-institutional perspective, the purported success of Silicon Valley is explained by its particular institutional set-up and networking culture. But can Silicon Valley-style regional development be replicated in East-Central Europe? Does evolutionary- institutional theory of regional economic development work in the context of a post-socialist transformation? This paper examines the extent to which assumptions of the evolutionary-institutional theory can be applied to regional development reality in Slovakia, using the cases of Bratislava and Košice regions. While these two regions represent two contrasting cases of regional development, both regions share an aspiration to become successful, Silicon Valley-style, knowledge-based regional economies. Building on interviews with key regional actors in both regions the paper highlights some paradoxes involved in, and questions the causal direction of, the links between regional institutions and regional economic development. Key words: evolutionary-institutional theory; regional economic development; Silicon Valley; Europe; post-socialist transformation; Slovakia. JEL Classification: B52; O3; O43; P25; P30; R10; R58; I23; L86; 1 Introduction Evolutionary-institutional theory of regional economic development makes important claims about the links between regional institutions and regional economic development. Institutional „thickness‟ and networking between firms and a plethora of institutions at the local and regional level are seen as crucial for fostering innovation, learning and knowledge creation and thus securing a successful regional economic development in the global knowledge-based economy. Silicon Valley is often cited as the best example of a „high-tech‟, high added-value, highly innovative, post-industrial, knowledge-based and a highly successful regional economy. From an evolutionary-institutional perspective, the purported success of Silicon Valley is explained by its