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Abstract
Australian sugar-producing regions have differed in terms of the extent and rate of
incorporation of new technology into harvesting systems. The Mackay sugar industry
has lagged behind most other sugar-producing regions in this regard. The reasons
for this are addressed by invoking an evolutionary economics perspective. The
development of harvesting systems, and the role of technology in shaping them, is
mapped and interpreted using the concept of path dependency. Key events in the
evolution of harvesting systems are identified, which show how the past has shaped
the regional development of harvesting systems. From an evolutionary economics
perspective, the outcomes observed are the end result of a specific history.