Regional Governance in OECD Countries
Trends, Typology and Tools
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.
Executive summary
Over the past 50 years, 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. The Regional Authority Index, which measures the degree of power of regional governments, shows that 67% of countries experienced a net increase in the degree of regional authority over the period 1970-2018, whereas only 10% experienced a decline. A first wave of reforms took place between the 1970s and 1990s, characterised by the creation or strengthening of an autonomous regional level (e.g. France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom), especially in Central and Eastern European countries. After the 2008 financial crisis, some countries created new self-governing regions (e.g. Greece), some merged existing ones (e.g. France, Norway) while others undertook institutional reforms, including the transfer of new responsibilities and fiscal powers to the regional level (e.g. Belgium). Today, several other OECD and European Union countries are undertaking (e.g. Chile, Finland) or debating (e.g. Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania) regional governance reforms.
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