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.
Assessment and recommendations
This chapter presents a brief overview of the main findings of the report, including the most recent trends on regional governance reforms and their drivers. It includes a typology of regional governance models across OECD countries to help illustrate and shed light on the different types of regional governance models used around the world, their main objectives, and the main challenges they represent. The chapter also provides a brief overview of key recommendations needed for effective regional governance, including instruments that facilitate vertical co-operation across levels of government and interregional co-operation, monitoring and evaluation processes and tools for stakeholder engagement.
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