In the past decade Europe has seen much change, and at the same time the importance of the regional perspectives has significantly increased. Regional Development Agencies in Europe brings together experiences of Regional and Development Agencies throughout Europe to provide material for the first major comparative study of bottom-up regional policy across the continent. Using an analytical framework developed by editors, the contributors evaluate the long term potential and limitations of the RDAs in terms of promoting regional and economic development. Institutional and other preconditions for successful regional polices are identified, and combined with a broad analytical and geographical coverage that includes Eastern Europe, a clearer picture of the relevance of the RDAs emerges.

Across Europe, regional development agencies (RDAs) have become a central feature of regional policy, both as innovative policy-makers and as the implementers of programmes and initiatives originating from the national or European level. By drawing on a combination of conceptual reflection, surveys, comparative research, and systematic use of critical case studies, this book provides a new point of reference by identifying key features of the current, and, indeed next, generation of regionally-based economic development organisations.

This title was first published in 2000. Providing an introduction to contemporary regional economic development issues, this book analyzes whether the Regional Development Agencies (ROAs) have the organizational capacities to cope with complex business and economic development challenges.

When originally published in 1986, this book was one of the first to deal solely with the urban and regional incidence and development implications of new firm formation in particular EU countries. It reviews the extent of and reasons for geographical variation in numbers of new firms, examines the nature of such firms and assesses the regional impact and policy implications in various EC countries.

Regional development strategies have become the focus of attention in many countries in the 1990s. This textbook provides a conceptual, theoretical and empirical analysis of regional development strategies within a European context It examines the various regional development strategies which are currently being pursued within the regions of Europe - defined in its loosest term to include East and West. The book describes how many different European regions are attempting to reduce regional disparities by engaging themselves in coherent and focused regional development strategies, and there is also private sector approach to regional economic development. There are many case studies from Europe and from other parts of the world, including Japan, thereby providing lessons that different countries and regions can learn form each other.