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This publication presents contributions by international experts on various aspects of West African migration. It provides a contrasting perspective to current debates which essentially focus on security issues. This rather non-institutional approach promotes a constant dialogue based on analyses of the actual situation: the authors encourage "win-win" mobility for all parties involved (Europe, North Africa and West Africa), whether it be a host, transit or departure country.
Human resources, training, qualifications and skills play an essential part in the development of regional economies. The notion of "learning" regions which has now become self-evident has yet to be translated into practice: but under which conditions and what are the priorities? This publication gives a comprehensive picture of current practices and future issues. Regional policies are increasingly focusing on human resources and their orientation towards market demand and improvement of partnerships. The great diversity of regional approaches to human resource development in industrialised countries shows that an efficient regional governance, coupled with concern for equity, can reinforce and consolidate national policies. This volume casts a new light on these issues, providing a useful source of information and inspiration for regional actors and their national partners.
Regional Policies in OECD Countries Policy makers need both a handy reference guide to the regional policies of their own and other countries and a broader analysis of trends in regional policies, based on sound, comparable information. responds to this need. It is the first systematic, comparative analysis of OECD countries’ regional policies.
The report addresses fundamental regional policy concerns, such as: problem recognition; the objectives of regional policy; the legal/institutional framework; the urban/rural framework; budget structures; and the governance mechanisms linking national and sub-national governments as well as sectors.
It begins with an overview of the regional policy today. This is followed by country profiles covering the 31 OECD members. The profiles share a common conceptual framework, allowing countries to see how their experiences measure up. The report also contains several annexes, which cover some of the countries that are candidates for accession to the OECD or with which the OECD has enhanced engagement. The annexes also cover the key topics of cross-border cooperation and trends in urban-rural linkages, especially efforts to control urban sprawl.
The report will help countries to better understand regional policies and to formulate and diffuse horizontal policy recommendations. The analysis suggests an important role for regional policies in shaping sustainable endogenous development, in particular well-developed governance mechanisms to better respond to the different opportunities and demands of regions and to improve policy efficiency.
This report is a unique source of regional policy information and of special interest to policy makers, researchers, and others engaging with regional development.
Mexico is a multi-faceted country. Given the geographical and ethnic diversity of Mexico's regions, as well as their particular cultural and historical traditions, each of the regions making up the Federation calls for a specific development policy. At the same time, economic, political and social equilibria are going to be affected by the trend towards a greater decentralisation of political structures. Mexico is faced with two major challenges. How can consistency of government action be maintained in conjunction with a firm resolve to decentralise? How is it possible to reconcile regional and national development while striving to achieve the country's integration within the world economy? This study, which includes many tables, maps and figures as background material, makes it possible to define these challenges more clearly and therefore to clarify regional policy options for the coming decade.
Despite its rapid economic growth over the past decades, Poland’s economic inactivity rate remains above the OECD average and regional differences in labour force participation persist. This report sheds light on the drivers of economic inactivity across Polish regions and analyses them in light of both individual and structural factors associated with labour force participation. It highlights the need for more inclusive active labour market policies to help integrate the economically inactive into labour markets across Poland. A better integration of services provided by national and local institutions, as well as a strengthened role of the social economy, is needed to address the complex needs of economically inactive persons.
The Welsh Government is refining its approach to regional development, adopting a regional lens directed to four regions to better allocate resources and address local needs. This OECD Multi-level Governance Study – a follow up to the 2020 OECD report The Future of Regional Development and Public Investment in Wales, United Kingdom – summarises the progress Wales has made to advance this regional lens, and identifies key areas of attention going forward. It synthesises the results of a vision-setting exercise, capacity-building workshops with the national government and regional bodies, and a multi-stakeholder workshop on collaborative working among Welsh regional development actors. This report identifies enablers for the effective use of a regional lens in Wales, including robust regional data, long-term and future-oriented objectives, effective co-ordination across Welsh Government policy areas related to regional development, capacitated regional structures, and trust and collaborative working among levels of government. The report's insights on establishing strategic direction and fostering collaboration among national, regional, and local levels could be valuable for countries exploring ways to optimise regional development policy, including in the face of resource constraints.
In recent decades, federal and unitary countries have increasingly adopted or deepened regional governance reforms, especially in the OECD and Europe, but also in Asia, America and to a lesser extent Africa. Approximately two-thirds of countries around the world have increased the power of regions over the last 50 years. This trend has happened in parallel with countries increasingly embedding a territorial approach into policy-making at the national and subnational levels. This process, however, does not follow a linear path. The rationale behind regional governance reforms differs from country to country, and over time, leading to a broad spectrum of governance models with varying institutional and financing arrangements. Taking stock of these trends, this report provides key data on regional governance reforms and their drivers, with a focus on the role of regions in the COVID-19 crisis response. The report also presents an innovative typology of regional governance models across OECD countries and the multi-level governance instruments that enable sound regional governance and help ensure these arrangements effectively serve their purpose.
Some manufacturing activities are among the most difficult human activities to make climate neutral and they are typically regionally concentrated. Across Europe these regions are often socioeconomically relatively weak. Yet these sectors provide relatively well-paid jobs in many of these regions. Some of these regions may also have more difficult access to infrastructure to provide the hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and zero-emission freight, which can be important to some of these activities. Industrial transitions to climate neutrality therefore have regional development implications. Since regions differ in their socio-economic conditions, understanding these regional development implications will help policy makers prepare a just transition. This publication identifies manufacturing activities that are particularly difficult to decarbonise and the transformations they require. It shows how these activities are distributed across European regions, focusing on employment at emission-intensive production locations. It identifies conditions for getting access to needed infrastructure and how access conditions differ across regions. It investigates the socio-economic vulnerabilities of affected regions, their manufacturing businesses and workers. In some regions, workers and firms may be particularly vulnerable, for example, because of low-skill jobs, type of employment contract or low productivity.
To make the most of its longstanding tradition of manufacturing and innovation, Piedmont, Italy, is undertaking a process of industrial transition, the success of which may be linked to an updated approach to its regional innovation policy. This should include promoting technology and non-technology driven innovation, building the innovation competences of micro- and small enterprises in addition to medium and large ones, better connecting regional innovation actors, and ensuring that innovation contributes to the region’s broader development goals such as sustainable regional development. It also requires diversifying the role of Piedmont’s innovation clusters and reinforcing the multi-level governance system for innovation policy. This report features a comparative perspective of the trends, challenges and opportunities for innovation-led growth in Piedmont, and highlights how Piedmont could build a dynamic innovation ecosystem based on its smart specialisation strategy, a fresh perspective on innovation, and future-oriented innovation cluster organisations. The report provides actionable recommendations and offers insights into making the most of innovation policy as a lever for place-based regional development.
The trade liberalisation agreements signed between the European Union and the southern Mediterranean countries carry risks as well as benefits. They reveal structural weaknesses in the partner countries, including continued rent seeking, market segmentation, a weak modern private sector and inadequate fiscal systems. In the short term, since the agreements only cover industrial goods and not agriculture or services, there is a risk of job losses in the domestic industrial sector due to competition from the EU.
The authors of this study highlight the opportunities the agreements offer for supporting reforms to encourage industrial restructuring through financial transfers, providing incentives for producers to diversify, and securing new markets. Achieving the reforms, however, will require political will in the southern Mediterranean countries and complementary reforms in the European Union to open its markets further to include those sectors currently excluded from the agreements. Moreover, as demonstrated by the authors' detailed analysis of the Egyptian and Tunisian cases, a regional response to the challenges posed by the agreements is likely to bring more benefits than a purely national response.
Regional integration and co-ordination are not a panacea but they could hold the key to African countries' long-awaited participation in the world economy. This was one of the conclusions of the second International Forum on African Perspectives, jointly organised by the African Development Bank and the OECD Development Centre in February 2001, at which OECD and African economists discussed the prospects for regional initiatives in Africa.
While many other factors need to be taken into consideration, regional approaches -- provided they are accompanied by domestic reforms -- can present an effective response to globalisation. Indeed, given the isolation of the African countries from the world economy, regional initiatives may be the only sustainable solution to the economic, political and social challenges raised by globalisation.
This report, published by the OECD's International Futures Programme in co-operation with the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre in Australia, aims to stimulate informed debate about the main integration issues facing the Asia-Pacific region in the decades ahead. It examines such issues as how the region compares to other regions of the world in terms of economic and political integration; regional co-operation on trade, investment and environment; and security and transportation concerns. The book concludes with Mike Moore's "Reflections on Asia Pacific Integration".
Regional Integration in the Union for the Mediterranean: Progress Report monitors major trends and evolutions of integration in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The Report examines five domains of regional integration, namely trade integration, financial integration, infrastructure integration, movement of people, as well as research and higher education. It presents an original analysis of the patterns and challenges of integration in the Euro-Mediterranean region, which highlights the interdependence of the areas examined – e.g. how to increase regional trade without affordable transport connectivity? The Report offers new insights, based on specific quantitative and qualitative performance indicators that are monitored over time. Almost 100 graphs and tables in the report cover data for the 42 member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean and, when relevant, for partners of the region. The Report includes key takeaways and policy recommendations on how to foster regional integration in each of the five domains.
Deepening economic integration via regional co-operation has emerged as a key priority in the reform strategies of most developing economies over the past decade. This is evidenced by the explosive growth in bilateral and regional trading agreements in which they now participate. Regional aid for trade can help developing countries spur regional economic integration, enhance competitiveness, and plug into regional production networks.
Based on a rich set of experiences regarding regional aid for trade projects and programmes, the study finds that regional aid for trade offers great potential as a catalyst for growth, development and poverty reduction. The study recommends greater emphasis on regional aid for trade as a means of improving regional economic integration and development prospects. While regional aid for trade faces many practical implementation challenges, experience has shown that associated problems are not insurmountable but do require thorough planning, careful project formulation, and prioritization on the part of policy makers.
The Territorial Review of Greece offers analysis and policy guidance to strengthen regional development and well-being. It examines Greece’s regional development framework, the EU Cohesion policy and multilevel governance in Greece. Since the global financial crisis, Greece has undertaken an impressive number of structural reforms. Recovery initiated in 2017 but the current COVID-19 pandemic is slowing down Greece’s efforts. The country is now facing a number of strategic development priorities including fostering digitalisation, improving entrepreneurial and business ecosystems, and addressing environmental challenges. These new priorities must also tackle existing social challenges and mitigate rising inequalities. The Review examines a range of policies that have the potential to propel inclusive growth in Greece’s regions and improve the quality of life for their residents. It stresses that policies for economic growth, social capital and environmental sustainability are more effective when they recognise the different economic and social realities where people live and work. OECD work illustrates the importance to align place based regional development strategies with sectoral policies (support for private investment, infrastructure and human capital policies) in each place to generate multiplier effects. To fulfil this task, Greece will need to continue advancing the reform of its institutional and fiscal multi-level governance system.
The high-speed transport networks of the future are already in the planning stage, and all regions will want to be included. However, the magnitude of the investment required and the operating constraints will make it impossible to provide homogeneous service to all areas. Regional policies, whether accommodating or alternative in scope, will have to be adjusted accordingly. What problems will arise if the regions of Central and Eastern Europe, where investment requirements are considerable, are included? Round Table 94 addressed these issues from both a practical and analytical standpoint, gathering information and comparing the views of specialists and regional policy makers.
An analytical framework for assessing and managing the relationship between regional agreements and the world multilateral trading system. Regional trade agreements (RTAs) are increasingly portrayed as a threat to the free global exchange of goods and services. Moreover, should the WTO-approved Doha Round of multilateral talks end in deadlock, many member countries would likely place even greater emphasis on regional agreements. This book provides WTO members with an analytical framework for assessing and managing the relationship between regionalism and the world multilateral trading system.
Why do some regions grow faster than others, and in ways that do not always conform to economic theory? This is a central issue in today’s economic climate, when policy makers are looking for ways to stimulate new and sustainable growth. OECD work suggests that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to regional growth policy. Rather, regions grow in very varied ways and the simple concentration of resources in a place is not sufficient for long-term growth. This report draws on OECD analysis of regional data (including where growth happens, country-by-country), policy reviews and case studies. It argues that it is how investments are made, regional assets used and synergies exploited that can make the difference. Public investment should prioritise longer-term impacts on productivity growth and combine measures in an integrated way. This suggests an important role for regional policies in shaping growth and economic recovery policies, but also challenges policy makers to implement policy reforms.
This report examines cross-border collaboration on innovation, building on case studies of cross-border areas that include the following countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom and Ireland.