Transitions in Regional Development Policy: Comparative to Competitive Advantage

This article analyses the changing trends in regional economic development policy delivery in multilevel governance systems. Although the imperatives of coordination of public policy interventions across multiple levels has generally been recognized, not enough attention has been given to how different political systems actually adapt their institutional and policy designs to effectively operate in the emergent complexity of multilevel governance systems. The article focuses on regional economic development policy governance in the province ofOntario,Canada over the past three decades, drawing insights from new regionalism, organization theory and governance literature to examine the prospects and challenges of policy delivery in politically complex multilevel systems. The case study illustrates how regional economic development policy is increasingly dictated by complex environmental and institutional forces of multilevel governance that are shaped by the particular character of a political system.

This contribution addresses two important streams of research—innovation system research basically addressing the system level and entrepreneurship research basically interested at the actor (firm or individual) level. Building on previous research in these fields (primarily on Cooke [(2001) Regional innovation systems, clusters and the knowledge economy, Industrial and Corporate Change, 10(4), pp. 945–974], Cooke and Leydesdorff [(2006) Regional development in the knowledge-based economy: The construction of advantage, Journal of Technology Transfer, 31(1), pp. 5–15], Sarasvathy [(2001) Causation and effectuation: Toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency, Academy of Management Review, 6(2), pp. 243–263], Johannisson [(2000) Modernising the industrial district: Rejuvenation or managerial colonisation? in: E. Vatne & M. Taylor (Eds) The Networked Firm in a Global World, pp. 283–308 (Aldershot, Hants: Ashgate Publishing)]), a typology developed depicting characteristics both at the system level and at the actor level of an institutional regional innovation system (IRIS) and an entrepreneurial regional innovation system (ERIS) as well as a “conceptual bridge” between innovation system research and entrepreneurship research is suggested. While the developed ERIS type of regional innovation systems due to its marked orientation towards individual actors and their behaviour leans more towards the main stream of entrepreneurship research, the IRIS type of regional innovation systems has more similarities with conventional innovation system research. It is argued that by also applying concepts depicting different management preferences and behaviour from entrepreneurship research, we should be able to better understand the different logics guiding these two types of regional innovation systems. The relevance of the extended typology thus developed is then illustrated by two empirical cases located in northern Sweden and form the base for policy implications derived from this study.

Regional development is very closely related to a region and its competitive advantages which affect the competitiveness of the region. The regional development is influenced by many factors that act differently depending on the region. To ensure the effective and harmonized regional development, the systematic approach is needed. Every region is unique and differs from the other by the level of economic development, living standards of its inhabitants, unemployment rate and by employment possibilities. Regional policy is a strategic investment policy which focuses on all regions and cities in the European Union. The aim is to boost economic growth and to improve the quality of people’s lives. Solidarity is the main feature of the policy, because policy focuses on support for less developed regions. A fundamental aspect of regional development is to reduce disparities between the regions and cities. The paper focuses on the analysis of regional development of Slovakia. The intention is to follow the logical continuity of the article’s parts, the correctness and the adequacy of information and data. First part is focused on the definition of the regional policy and regional development. Important task is to identify the differences between European policies – regional, structural and cohesion policy. This section is prepared by using the analytical methods – the analysis, the casual and historical analysis. This part is based on literature review. The empirical part is based on statistics and secondary analysis which were aimed to analyse the regional development and effectiveness of its planning in the Slovak Republic. The question of this article is whether it is possible to plan the regional development by application of the plan for economic and social development, called the Municipal Development Plan.

Pilot reforms gradually implemented through key nodes have become an important pattern of regional development in China since the policy of reform and opening up was introduced in 1978. On the basis of an analysis of the evolution processes and characteristics of regional development policies in post-reform China, this paper develops the concept and analytical framework of national node strategies (NNS), defined as regional development strategies centered on specific spatial nodes, by addressing their theoretical basis and research scope. The regional economic impacts of NNS were explored quantitatively through the examples of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Pudong New Area and Tianjin Binhai New Area in different stages of the reform and opening up. The results indicate that the evolution of China’s regional development policies can be divided into three stages: the exploration stage led by Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the expansion stage dominated by Economic Development Zones and the optimization stage featuring State-level New Areas and National Comprehensive Reform Pilot Areas. During all the three stages, NNS have played an important demonstrative and leading role and promoted the rapid evolution of China’s regional development policies from localized to widespread implementation, and the role of the government has also changed accordingly. As an innovative application and development of the growth pole theory in transitional China, NNS have become engines of regional development as well as important conduits of institutional innovations. NNS and regional development have achieved a benign coupling and formed a gradated regional development model. Empirical research indicates that NNS are an important method used by the government to guide and regulate regional economic development, with complex and diverse economic effects that differ depending on the stage of regional development and the spatial scale of analysis.

Market Mechanisms and State Intervention in Diversifying the Regional Development of the People’s Republic of China
 The article focuses on the importance of market mechanisms and state intervention in the field of regional development policy, in particular on the dominant process of development differentiation. The aim of the article is to verify to what extent market mechanisms are the driving force in China’s regional development policy, and to what extent state intervention is the driving force. It is also important because of the fact that regional policy is an amalgam of the public intervention and presence of market forces, regardless of the country’s political regime. The article identifies the elements that determine the differentiation of regional development due to the operation of market mechanisms and state intervention in China’s regional policy.

Today, interesting and important interconnections have been made that promise great leaps forward for innovation systems and entrepreneurial ecosystems - especially operating at the regional or sub-national level of the space economy. Of course, there are politics in such relationships. Most notable are those that are critical of anything that “interferes” with market hegemony (neoliberal bias) which has weakened commitments such as those pioneered in South Korea in the early years of the twenty-first century, later to be followed by numerous Scandinavian policy experiments (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) as well as austerity policy to enlarge regional governance spaces, as in Germany and France (not to mention the dismantling in 2010 of Anglo-regional governance in the UK). Meanwhile, however, it can be seen that good progress in regional innovation policy and entrepreneurial accomplishment at regional level proceeds apace. This is known as the “co-operative bias” in contemporary political economy. Entrepreneurial ecosystems and regional innovation systems are excellent examples of “generative growth” mechanisms (floated in Cooke, P, Generative Growth, Knowledge Economies and Sustainable Development: implications for Regional Foresight Policy, 2002) as a counter to Romer-style individualistic endogenous growth theory. The paper explores the virtues of variety against those of linearity in innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems in exemplary empirical instances.

Aim of the research is to analyze regional gaps in terms of renewable energy generation across Poland. For this purpose, four types of regions were outlined based on two indicators: the existing renewable energy generation capacity and the current regional energy demand revealed through the number of residents. This classification allowed to reveal regions in Poland that have distinct features of energy gaps and peripherality, while also more successful regions with renewable energy surpluses and distinct sustainable energy potential. For each of the region type key potential systemic problems in terms of renewable energy generation development were given. To understand how peripheral regions and regions with energy gaps could be supported in their development of renewable energy generation the regional innovation systems, social networks, knowledge and technology transfer and diffusion were substantiated. Results of the research can serve as an aid in development of national and regional energy policies, helping to understand peculiarities of local renewable energy generation and the influence of enabling environment peculiar to the specific region, including the regional innovation systems and intensity of knowledge transfer and diffusion.

The possibilities of adaptation of the experience of the G7 countries in the conditions of Ukraine regarding the regulatory and legal support for the formation and implementation of the State regional policy are determined. Methods of analysis and synthesis of information were used, which allowed to establish advantages and «weaknesses» in the legislation of both Ukraine and the G7 countries to ensure the development of the regional economy, also a comparison method based on which the possibility of adaptation of foreign experience in the formation and implementation of the State regional policy was determined. The main directions of implementation of the State regional policy were established through a detailed study of the existing regulatory and legal documents of Ukraine. Advantages and «weaknesses» in the legislation of Ukraine on regulation of regional development are identified. It is defined that the «weaknesses» of Ukrainian legislation in the direction of regulation of the State regional policy are the following: development and implementation of generalized programs for the development of regions without taking into account the level of development of territorial units; weak stimulation of innovations; lack of transparency of the activities of the State administration bodies and control over documentation as to local budgets; lack of provisions to increase the level of development of depressed regions. The possibility of using the experience of the G7 countries to develop recommendations for improving the State regional policy are substantiated. It is determined that the United Kingdom, France and Italy do not have special legislation on regional policy, but it is effective in the United States, Canada, Japan and Germany. The experience of using instruments for the implementation of the State regional policy by the G7 countries in the absence of special legislation was studied. The normative and legal documents of the State regional policy of the G7 countries, which have special legislation on the development of regions, were monitored. A comparative analysis of Ukrainian and foreign experience on implementation of regional development policy was carried out. Recommendations on accelerating the processes of stimulating the development of regions by activating regional policy towards supporting depressed regions are proposed as follows: support for small and medium-sized businesses; introduction of smart specialization with simultaneous development of diversified forms of knowledge economy; introduction of instruments of innovative and digital economy in all spheres of activity of economic entities; inclusion of priorities of small towns and villages into the regional development plans.

Economic polarization is a process that is present at global, national and regional level. Economic activity is extremely spatially concentrated. Cities and developed regions use the agglomeration effect to attract labor and capital, thus achieving more favorable economic conditions than the agrarian region. Scientific research and European experiences over the past decades have contributed to the discrepancy among theorists about the causes and consequences of regional inequalities. Regional development is a complex process that involves a multidisciplinary approach. Without a detailed analysis of successful regional development cases, the implementation of their development systems directly to other regions can lead to the loss of time, capital, and human resources. Regional development is a process that needs to be adapted to specific conditions. Each region has its own identity and unique characteristics. Key factors of development include: natural and human resources, level of technological development, capital, knowledge, institutional and legislative framework, values, ethics and commitment. Regarding the pace and nature of regional development, institutional structures can play a key role. The prevailing opinion today is that regional development is closely linked to the use of endogenous capacities. The region can achieve long-term progress only if it uses its specific properties and endogenous / internal capacities. The challenge for each region is to use its endogenous resources that will make it competitive and attractive to the market. The progress of one region depends to a large extent on the circumstances and networking of different sectors at the local level. The modern concept of neo-endogenous development implies integral and sustainable development of the region, which includes the harmonization of economic, social and ecological goals. It combines the spatial, temporal and multisectoral dimension and emphasizes 'the reciprocal of local and external forces in the control of development processes.' Undeveloped, mainly rural regions are no longer just territories that provide food and are not identified exclusively with the agrarian environment. Regional or cohesion policy is an important mechanism for sustainable economic development. Regional policy aims to reduce underdevelopment. The main motive for countries to adopt regional policies is to help poor and backward regions, for whose development and recovery the state itself does not have enough strength. Regional development in a comprehensive way defines regional development priorities and ways of their realization.

This paper presents a study on regional development and innovation systems. The theoretical points of departure are gender theory and two perspectives from human geography and sociology: the theory of network governance for regional development and the theory of homosocial networks. The regional policy of the EU today is characterized by a strongly emphasized governance model: i.e., an orientation towards networks and cluster initiatives. The 2004–2007 regional development programme in Värmland, a Swedish county, is a template for this policy. Its basic principles included partnership engagements, networking, EU-specific linguistic usage and superstar rhetoric. However, this seemingly innovative regional policy has roots in traditional industrial society (ironworks and paper mills). The network-planning model allows informal social structures to re-enter the arena of regional planning. Gender equality in regional government policy was challenged by the presence of a homosocial shadow (seamy-side) structure, such as secret networks and clubs on the outside of the official organizations. Networks were also important in the reproduction of traditional power structures, male dominance and hegemony. One conclusion we reach is that networking can be used mutually as a progressive force and as a conservative tool among actors in the innovation of policy.

European regional policy evolved partly as a response to the distinctive needs of the UK following its accession to the then European Economic Community in the 1970s and remains a key and well-regarded ‘British contribution’ to the present-day European Union. Inspired by this rarely acknowledged reality and the aftermath of the UK’s European Union referendum in 2016, this paper first reflects on the position of regional policy within the wider ‘European Project’. It then outlines the material, symbolic and political impacts that European regional policy has had on Britain and its deprived regions and communities over the past four decades. The outcome of the UK’s 2016 European Union referendum is then reviewed from a territorial perspective, and some of the key spatial and placed-based contradictions which it embodies are unpacked. A reflection on the prospects for place-based policy in a post-European Union Britain then follows emphasising that the new context invites a reappraisal of the purposes and forms of regional development policy. Five tentative scenarios of the UK’s future relationship with European Union territorial development policy are then presented. The conclusion recalls the crucial role that European Union regional policy has played in UK regions and communities and calls for close attention to be paid over the coming years to the distributional territorial impacts of leaving the European Union.

Regional innovation systems are important because: 1) strong dynamics of innovation generation in regions are crucial for achieving national innovation policy objectives; and 2) innovation performance can contribute to improving the overall economic competitiveness of individual regions by increasing the productivity of firms. As such, the goals of regional innovation policy are relevant to policy makers from both the regional development and science and technology fields. This policy relevance appears to be increasing, not only in federal or regionalised countries such as Germany and Italy, where innovation policy has a strong regional focus, but also in countries with a more centralised policymaking tradition such as France and Japan.

The first part of this article examines the concept of regional innovation systems against the background of modern theories of innovation and regional policies. It is argued that the role of localized learning is of strategic importance in the promotion of endogenous regional development. With reference to current research on regional policy, the author also argues that sustainable regional strength is built on a continuously upgraded knowledge base, rather than on general factor endowment. By stimulating localized learning, the regional innovation systems have an important role to play and offer possibilities of producing regional competitive advantage. The author then suggests how regional innovation systems can be organized in order to increase innovation at various levels. Finally, some sketches are provided of various innovation strategies operating at the regional level from which lessons of direct policy relevance may be learned and adapted to the Portuguese context.

Regional policy in Cameroon: The case of planning without facts

Few studies have explicitly explored regional embeddedness and both the inconsistencies and injustices of circular bioeconomy (CBE) innovations. To better navigate the normative dimension of these innovations and CBE transitions in general, our article presents a threefold argument for the relevance of the regional level of analysis. First, CBE innovations are influenced by and affect regional metabolisms and actor constellations, assets, and (biophysical) resources within regional innovation systems (RIS). Second, thoroughly exploring these dimensions of regional (un)embeddedness can reveal ethical concerns, including potential “dark sides” and injustices, such as exclusivity and exploitation. Third, to address these concerns in CBE research and governance, we outline four facets: complementing the RIS as a framework and policy approach, balancing creative and destructive measures, addressing the need for more inclusive regional CBE policies, and establishing dedicated intermediaries to better govern regional CBE transitions. In summary, this conceptual article provides starting points for further research and proactive measures that help govern the normative dimension and the design of CBE transitions at the regional level, promoting inclusivity, justice, responsibility, and legitimacy for both innovation and exnovation.