Regional Policy (regional + policy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Finnish Higher Education Expansion and Regional Policy

HIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2010
Toni Saarivirta
This paper concentrates on the expansion of Finnish higher education between the 1960s and 1970s, exposes its background in the light of the policy decisions that were made, compares the unique features of this expansion with those of certain other countries, discusses the impact of the controlled ,top down' governance of higher education policy, and describes the Finnish higher education system today. The paper argues that the driving forces behind universal mass higher education were, on the one hand, changes in the structure of society, and on the other hand, individual demand for education but also increased need for skills in production processes. This was the case in Finland as well but the Finnish higher education expansion was also characterised by regionalism. The actual location of universities in the era of expansion was a function of local political actors who were able to have an influence on ruling political parties. [source]


Forging Ahead and Falling Behind: Changing Regional Inequalities in Post-reform China

GROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2002
Max Lu
This study analyzes the evolution of China's regional inequalities during the reform period of 1978,1998 based on three geographical scales, both output and livelihood indicators of economic well-being and three measures of inequality. The results indicate that interprovincial and regional inequalities declined between 1978 and 1990, but have widened steadily since 1990. Urban-rural disparity diminished before 1984, then experienced a decade-long surge afterwards to peak in 1994 at a much higher level and since 1994, it has been declining again. The levels of regional inequalities in China appear to be sensitive to changes in government development strategies and regional policies. Differential growth of the provincial economies shaped by the coast-oriented and urban-biased development strategies as well as selective open-door policy implemented by the Chinese government after the reform is the key to understanding the wax and wane in China's regional inequalities. This paper discusses the factors that account for the changing regional inequalities in post-reform China and argues that government policies are likely to continue to influence the future trajectories of inequality change. [source]


Drivers of ecosystem change and their impacts on human well-being in Lake Victoria basin

AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2009
Eric O. Odada
Abstract To offer an increased understanding of the spatial patterns, temporal, social and physical predictors of the conversion and transformations of land use in Lake Victoria basin, an assessment of proximate and underlying forces is presented. This study discusses key theoretical underpinnings for the manifold linkages existing between selected drivers of land-use changes around the basin and their consequences on human well-being. Using a meta-analytical research design, the paper analyses ecosystems level cases of the causes of land use and cover changes in the basin, to determine any spatio-temporal or institutional patterns and dynamics. A suite of recurrent core variables has been identified to influence land use and cover changes in the basin. The most prominent of these at the underlying category are climatic factors, economic factors, institutions, national and regional policies, population growth and other remote influences. At the proximate level, these factors drive cropland expansion, overgrazing, infrastructure extension and rates of land degradation. These are supported by empirical evidence from the basin. This assessment is crucial for appropriate local and transboundary policy interventions, which have to be fine-tuned to the locale-specific dynamic patterns associated with the inherent ecosystems changes. [source]


Unemployment clusters across Europe's regions and countries

ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 34 2002
Henry G. Overman
Summary High unemployment and regional inequalities are major concerns for European policy-makers, but so far connections between policies dealing with unemployment and regional inequalities have been few and weak. We think that this should change. This paper documents a regional and transnational dimension to unemployment , i.e., geographical unemployment clusters that do not respect national boundaries. Since the mid 1980s, regions with high or low initial unemployment rates saw little change, while regions with intermediate unemployment moved towards extreme values. During this polarization, nearby regions tended to share similar outcomes due, we argue, to spatially related changes in labour demand. These spatially correlated demand shifts were due in part to initial clustering of low-skilled regions and badly performing industries, but a significant neighbour effect remains even after controlling for these, and the effect is as strong within as it is between nations. We believe this reflects agglomeration effects of economic integration. The new economic geography literature shows how integration fosters employment clusters that need not respect national borders. If regional labour forces do not adjust, regional unemployment polarization with neighbour effects can result. To account for these ,neighbour effects' a cross-regional and transnational dimension should be added to national anti-unemployment policies. Nations should consider policies that encourage regional wage setting, and short distance mobility, and the EU should consider including transnational considerations in its regional policy, since neighbour effects on unemployment mean that an anti-unemployment policy paid for by one region will benefit neighbouring regions. Since local politicians gain no votes or tax revenues from these ,spillovers', they are likely to underestimate the true benefit of the policy and thus tend to undertake too little of it. [source]


Regional development policies and the constructions of gender equality: The Swedish case

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007
CHRISTINE HUDSON
Drawing on Carole Bacchi's ,What's the Problem? Approach', we explore how arguments concerning the new forms of regional policy are assigning different categories of people different subject positions and, in particular, we focus on the kind of subject positions that are being given to women as a group in this context. The discourse being shaped in national policy is, however, interpreted in specific contexts. Accordingly, we compare the way this new discourse is being (re)interpreted and (re)constructed and the subject positions being ascribed to women in the regional development partnerships and growth strategies in two Swedish regions: Västerbotten and Jönköping. Finally, we draw attention to how both the form and the content of Swedish regional development policies create great difficulties for politicizing gender as a power dimension in society. We suggest that regional politics has become de-politicized and argue for the need for it to be re-politicized with gender included as a conflict dimension. [source]


Convergence in West German Regional Unemployment Rates

GERMAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 4 2007
Christian Bayer
Stochastic convergence; unemployment; structural break; unit root Abstract. Differences in regional unemployment rates are often used to describe regional economic inequality. This paper asks whether changes in regional unemployment differences in West Germany are persistent over time. Understanding the persistency of regional unemployment differences helps us to assess how effective regional policy can be. While univariate tests suggest that changes in regional unemployment differences are persistent in West Germany, more powerful panel tests lend some support to the hypothesis that regional unemployment rates converge. However, these tests reveal a moderate speed of convergence at best. Because there is a structural break following the second oil crisis, we also use tests that allow for such a break. This provides evidence for both convergence and quick adjustment to an equilibrium distribution of regional unemployment rates that is, however, subject to a structural break. [source]


The Impact of EU Regional Support on Growth and Convergence in the European Union

JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 4 2003
Aadne Cappelen
The evidence presented in this article suggests that EU regional support has a significant and positive impact on the growth performance of European regions. Moreover, there are signs of a change in the impact of this support in the 1990s, indicating that the major reform of the structural funds undertaken in 1988 may have succeeded in making EU regional policy more effective. However, the results also indicate that the economic effects of such support are much stronger in more developed environments, emphasizing the importance of accompanying policies that improve the competence of the receiving environments. [source]


Brain competition policy as a new paradigm of regional policy: A European perspective

PAPERS IN REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010
Christian Reiner
Brain competition policy; human capital; innovation; Europe Abstract The emerging knowledge economy has led to an increase of demand and locational competition for highly-skilled labour. Brain competition policy (BCP) is the reaction from national and regional policymakers. In short, BCP refers to the attraction, education and circulation of talent in and between regional and national economies. This new focus on human capital instead of physical capital indicates a paradigmatic shift in innovation policy and regional policy. While most of the contributions to this new policy approach come from the US, it can be demonstrated that different institutions in Europe prevent the simple copying of those strategies. The article contributes to the ongoing paradigmatic shift by conceptualizing a coherent framework for BCP from a European perspective. Abstract La emergente economía del conocimiento ha llevado a un aumento de la demanda y competencia en localización de mano de obra altamente especializada. Las políticas de competencia por talento (PCT) son la reacción nacional y regional de formuladores de políticas. En resumen, PCT se refiere a la atracción, educación y circulación de talento dentro de, y entre, economías regionales y nacionales. Este nuevo enfoque en cuanto a capital humano en lugar de capital físico indica un cambio paradigmático en políticas innovadoras y políticas regionales. Aunque la mayoría de aportes a este nuevo enfoque de políticas proviene de los EE.UU., se puede demostrar que las diferentes instituciones europeas impiden el copiar simplemente dichas estrategias. El artículo contribuye al cambio paradigmático continuo mediante la conceptualización de un marco coherente para PCT desde una perspectiva europea. [source]


Agglomeration and the adjustment of the spatial economy,

PAPERS IN REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2005
Pierre Philippe Combes
Urban systems; new economic geography; urban and regional policy; diagrammatic exposition Abstract., We consider the literature on urban systems and New Economic Geography to examine questions concerning agglomeration and how areas respond to shocks to the economic environment. We first propose a diagrammatic framework to compare the two approaches. We then use this framework to study a number of extensions and to consider several policy relevant issues. [source]


National growth versus spatial equality?

REGIONAL SCIENCE POLICY AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008
A cautionary note on the new, trade-off' thinking in regional policy discourse
national efficiency; regional equity; trade-offs; regional policy Abstract Recently, there has been increasing interest in whether and to what extent the spatial agglomeration or concentration of economic activity and employment in particular regions may actually benefit national growth. The implication is that policies that seek to reduce regional economic inequality may in fact be nationally inefficient: in other words, that a policy ,trade-off' may exist between the pursuit of national growth and the reduction of regional economic disparities. This view has been particularly associated with the so-called ,new economic geography' models, and seems to be circulating in official policy circles. This paper suggests that neither the theoretical argument nor the empirical evidence for a national efficiency-regional equity trade-off are yet convincing, and that until much more research has been undertaken on both fronts policy-makers should exercise caution in appealing to this supposed trade-off notion to justify particular policy choices. [source]


Some reflections concerning GDP, regional convergence and European cohesion policy

REGIONAL SCIENCE POLICY AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008
N. De Michelis
regional policy; cohesion policy; regional convergence; European Union Abstract The main objectives of the European cohesion policy have often been translated as the promotion of convergence between EU regions, which is most frequently measured as the decrease in disparities between the levels of regional GDP per head. This type of convergence has even become a major aspect in assessing the effectiveness of European cohesion policy. This paper first discusses the capacity of conventional convergence measures to capture the evolution of regional disparities in Europe. It then reflects on the information conveyed by this type of analysis concerning the effectiveness of cohesion policy. [source]