Fred Bakker Books
Fred Bakker is a Dutch journalist and former editor-in-chief of Het Financieele Dagblad, specializing in business and economic reporting.
Known for: The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation
Books by Fred Bakker
The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation
What if the world’s next great innovation hubs are not the glamorous capitals of the digital economy, but former factory towns written off as relics of the industrial age? In The Smartest Places on Earth, Antoine van Agtmael and Fred Bakker argue that many old manufacturing regions in the United States and Europe are staging a remarkable comeback. Their central insight is that innovation increasingly flourishes where advanced industry, engineering know-how, research institutions, and local collaboration come together in tight networks. Through vivid examples from places such as Akron, Albany, and Eindhoven, the book shows how rustbelts are evolving into “brainbelts” built on specialized expertise, precision manufacturing, and applied science. This matters because it challenges the familiar story that economic dynamism belongs only to Silicon Valley-style tech clusters. Van Agtmael brings the perspective of a global investor who coined the term “emerging markets,” while Bakker contributes deep experience as a business journalist. Together, they offer a grounded, hopeful, and highly practical view of how regions can renew themselves—not by copying others, but by transforming inherited industrial strengths into engines of future growth.
Read SummaryKey Insights from Fred Bakker
How Rustbelts Became Brainbelts
Economic decline often looks permanent when you are living through it. The authors begin by revisiting the global forces that devastated once-mighty manufacturing regions: cheaper labor abroad, trade liberalization, automation, and the shift of mass production to lower-cost countries. Cities and reg...
From The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation
Innovation Thrives in Dense Ecosystems
The most important innovations rarely emerge from isolated genius; they arise from connected ecosystems. One of the book’s central arguments is that successful brainbelts are built not around a single company or laboratory, but around dense local networks where businesses, universities, investors, s...
From The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation
Akron Reinvented Its Industrial DNA
A city’s past can either trap it or empower it. Akron, Ohio, is one of the book’s clearest examples of renewal through reinvention. Long known as the rubber capital of the world, Akron suffered deeply when tire manufacturing moved away. By conventional measures, it looked like another casualty of de...
From The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation
Albany Built a Semiconductor Cluster
Breakthrough regions do not always emerge from famous cities; sometimes they are deliberately assembled through institutional strategy. Albany, New York, is one of the book’s standout examples of how a region can become globally relevant by building a focused innovation cluster around advanced semic...
From The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation
Eindhoven Proves Collaboration Beats Size
A region does not need to be huge to become world-class; it needs to be deeply connected. Eindhoven in the Netherlands illustrates how a relatively small place can punch far above its weight when it combines technical excellence, industrial legacy, and unusual levels of cooperation. The city’s histo...
From The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation
Universities Matter When They Engage
A university can be a powerful economic engine, but only if it connects to the surrounding region. The book emphasizes that successful brainbelts almost always feature strong research institutions, yet the mere presence of a university is not enough. Many cities have campuses without becoming innova...
From The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts Are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation
About Fred Bakker
Fred Bakker is a Dutch journalist and former editor-in-chief of Het Financieele Dagblad, specializing in business and economic reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fred Bakker is a Dutch journalist and former editor-in-chief of Het Financieele Dagblad, specializing in business and economic reporting.
Read Fred Bakker's books in 15 minutes
Get AI-powered summaries with key insights from 1 book by Fred Bakker.