The Role of Local and Regional Institutions
This chapter explores the ways in which regions that are remote from the main concentrations of economic wealth and power can achieve development in a high cost environment. The role of effective institutions in creating the conditions for economic development has become a major field of scholarship. Recently, these insights have been applied to the urban and regional scale. This chapter pays particular attention to the role that regional and local institutions play in shaping patterns of economic performance, especially in high cost environments. The chapter examines ways in which this new thinking is informing regional policy. It provides some case studies of regions that have succeeded in the high cost environment of Europe. It concludes by stressing the importance of effective and adept local and regional institutions in ensuring the prosperity of cities and regions.