European Regional Development Policy Research Articles

Historical Retrospective of the Formation of European Regional Development Policy

The article notes that in EU countries, regional development, especially policies and regulations of regional development, has been constantly evolving and adapting to meet the needs of structural changes in countries, EU policies and the requirements of the regions themselves. However, the experience of forming and implementing regional policy in different countries had some differences. There is a significant amount of work devoted to the study of this experience, highlighting certain historical periods of its formation. Nevertheless, in the vast majority of scientific research the periodization is based on either economic factors (policy transformation associated with changing goals, economic and financial mechanisms of its implementation), or political and legal factors (transformation of principles, ideologies of regional policy, creating a legal basis for it implementation). There is a need to generalize these approaches to provide stages in the evolution of regional development policy in European countries.
 The aim of the article is to study the historical stages of the formation of regional development policy in European countries, to propose a generalized periodization of the evolution of policy.
 Having analyzed the economic, legal and institutional principles of formation and development of European regional development policy, the author provides the main stages of policy development.
 It is noted that the expansion of competencies of institutional structures formed the basis for the formation and development of a common EU regional policy, there are seven stages in the evolution of EU regional policy instruments, the institutional form of which later became the EU Framework Programs.
 The periodization of regional policy formation on the basis of the adoption of basic EU regulations is proposed. Based on the generalization of these approaches, the evolution of EU regional policy is given. The conclusion on actualization of necessity of use of experience of formation and realization of regional policy of EU in domestic practice is made.

Location matters. Are science and policy arenas facing the Inner Peripheries challenges in EU?

The challenges to achieve balanced territorial development are often related to the predominance of spatial concentration processes, lack of awareness of local potential and critical mass in remote regions. Despite this large-scale picture, increasingly development problems are observed also in more “centrally-located” regions of Europe necessitating a much finer grained level of spatial analysis. The resulting perception of Inner Peripheries in recent years pose several critical questions for the evaluation and planning of the European regional development policy and practice. This is particularly due to their nature, i.e. peripherality and marginality, which might instigate local population feelings of being treated ‘unfair’ and, at the same time, to the relatively poor attention given by EU policy and scientific frameworks to these remote territories. Recent studies have highlighted the need for reflecting local distinctive challenges and pathways in different types of rural regions. Through adopting an interdisciplinary approach with robust and finer level analyses and multi-stakeholder processes, the Academic studies and policy strategies should pool their strengths towards understanding and devising actions for mitigation of the underlying problems, making use of European and National Funds also for affected Inner Peripheries.

Regional social innovation - pinpointing socially inclusive change for smart, inclusive and sustainable growth in European regional development policy

This article explores how social innovation on the regional, sub-national, level helps pinpoint socially inclusive change for smart, inclusive and sustainable growth in European regional developmen ...

Toward Inclusive Growth

Economic and social cohesion at a regional level is one of the main objectives of the European Union (EU). The European regional development policy aims to promote a harmonious, balanced, and sustainable development through inclusive growth. Yet, while economic cohesion, proxied by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, has attracted significant attention with most studies finding little regional convergence since 1985, social cohesion has been virtually ignored. This article tries to cover this gap by asking the question of whether regional convergence in social welfare, measured by Amartya Sen’s welfare index, has taken place across regions of the EU-15. Using panel data models with or without spatial interaction effects, we find that the absence of convergence in GDP per capita is not matched in terms of social welfare. Welfare levels have converged significantly across European regions and this convergence has been built on a series of structural and institutional factors, among which female participation in the labor force is the most relevant.

The EU cohesion Policy in Central and Eastern Europe, a Tool for Innovation?

Globalisation has paradoxical territorial effects. On the one hand, it erodes local and regional particularisms and convinces a large number of elected local officials and citizens that it deprives them of the levers of action they thought they possessed. On the other hand, the change of paradigm in the reflection on territorial development has led to depreciating the simple logic of redistribution in the national framework and increasing the status of endogenous development, local initiative and multiscalar strategies. The process of decentralisation, the erosion of national frameworks through the effect of European construction and the new organisation of the value chain in the firm have in other respects given a new meaning to territorial development policies. The implementation of the European regional development policy, supposed to work in favour of local and regional authorities, coincides with a renewal of reflection on the role of local actors in the development process. The European Union has the distinctive characteristic of being the area having the most successfully deepened regional integration and, at the same time, granting the highest importance to the reduction of regional disparities. A third of the Union’s budget is indeed devoted to regions lagging in development; which is to say a 213 billion euro envelope for the 2000-2006 programming period. With the adhesion in 2004 and 2007 of twelve economies whose GDP was inferior by half to that of the existing Union, the challenges of solidarity and convergence present themselves henceforth in different terms. While the disparities have considerably worsened from the statistical point of view, the Union has not given up reducing them. A 308 billion euro budget has been allocated to regional policy for the 2007-2013 programming period and certain new Member States will have at their disposal an allocation equivalent to 3.5 per cent of their GDP. The principal challenge for regional policy is to compensate for the lagging behind of the ex-communist countries in physical facilities, notably those concerning protection of the environment and transport infrastructure. Modernisation cannot, however, rest solely on catching up in this domain. It supposes as well an improvement in quality that a policy of innovation and education could make

Communicating uncertainty in climate-change adaptation and decision support; further development of the Gdańsk case study

AbstractThe impact of climate change on European society is an issue of increasing concern on the agenda of European regional development policy. Using sea-level rise and changing flood-prone areas as an example of climate-change impact, this paper reviews an approach to stakeholder communication developed in the Baltic Sea Region. The application of climate- and sea-level change scenarios in spatial planning, as well as the communication between scientists and stakeholders, was integrated into a set of tools called the ‘decision support frame’ (DSF), which focuses especially on uncertainty aspects. By specifically addressing the communication process the DSF distances itself from pure computer-based decision-making. The city of Gdańsk is a good example where a combination of climate-change models, maps and various discussion rounds led to a communication process that has integrated several planning authorities and decision-makers.

Improving the management of European regional development policy

This article is a reflection of the first EuroManagers programme that took place in 1996. The theme of the programme was European Regional Development Policy. EuroManagers is an initiative taken by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), and is intended to offer senior public administration managers an opportunity to upgrade their skills in the management of EU‐related matters.

Dual Networks in European Regional Development Policy

This article seeks to extend the general analytical powers of the ‘multi‐level governance’ (MLG) model of politics in the European Union. Empirically, we investigate the political dynamics of networks linking supranational, national, and subnational actors in EU regional development policy. Theoretically, we argue that interaction in these networks can be illuminated by an approach based on the structuralist logic of sociological network theory. Structuralist logic emphasizes how particular patterns of relationships—in this case, a supranational–national–subnational triad—shape actors' roles and strategies. Triads create opportunities for constantly shifting alliances, as relations between any two actors are affected by appeals to the third. The resulting pattern of interaction, which we call ‘dual network dynamics’, corresponds well to observed conflict and co‐operation in EU regional development policy.

Development Dilemmas in the European Community: Rethinking Regional Development Policy

The evolution of European regional development policy European Community regional development policy - confusing quantity with quality? economic growth and (un)sustainable development agriculture and development in the European Community conclusion.

The politics of European regional development policy: Additionally in the Scottish coalfields

(1993). The politics of European regional development policy: Additionally in the Scottish coalfields. Regional Politics and Policy: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 88-107.