About the course

Why do some regions and territories perform systematically better than others in terms of economic development and wealth? What are the key drivers of local and regional economic performance? How can local and regional economic development policies boost economic activity and improve socio-economic conditions in disadvantaged areas? Globalisation and technological change have challenged the ‘traditional’ answers to these questions and call for new analytical and policy tools. This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of the macro and meso-level determinants of regional and local economic development and of the policies influencing these drivers. After examining the existing disparities in regional economic performance between and within a number of advanced, emerging and developing countries, the course illustrates the scope and justification for government intervention in this area. Various theories and approaches to local and regional economic development, leading to different policy prescriptions, are analysed in order to identify different macro and meso determinants of economic performance (from innovation and human capital to knowledge spillovers and global networks). In particular, this section of the course dwells on the regional policy of the European Union (EU) – one of the most important large-scale regional policy experiences - in order to discuss the pros and cons of existing policy tools and illustrate the benefits of a ‘balanced’ approach to the analysis, design, management and implementation of regional and local economic development policies in a globalising world.In this context, special attention will also be devoted to the cases of the United States, China and India in a comparative perspective.