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The paper reflects more than 25 years of experience in regional governance. The argumentation centres on North Rhine-Westphalia and the Ruhr area. The Ruhr area worked as a "laboratory" in experimenting with new modes of regional governance in the 1990s and 2000s. In a nutshell, four streams of regionalization have been implemented: Integrated regional development strategies, the International Building Exhibition IBA Emscher Park, Cluster policy, and Innovation City Bottrop and Rebuilding 21 - Digitalization in the Emscher Region as an example for real laboratories. The paper concludes with a hypothesis about different modes of regional governance, their strengths and weaknesses and asks for possibilities to improve the governance of smart specialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses an article on regional policies that support regional economies, territorial knowledge dynamics (TKD), and regional development.

Income derived from nonemployment sources (i.e., investment income and government transfers) is of increasing importance in rural areas. Knowing the extent and characteristics of a community's nonemployment income dependence can guide regional economic development and diversification strategies. This article explores nonemployment income dependence in Canada and compares social and economic characteristics of these communities to communities dependent on natural resources. Our findings suggest that the number of highly nonemployment income-dependent communities in rural Canada is relatively large, ranking second only to the number of highly agriculture-dependent communities. The prevalence of nonemployment income dependence in Canada varies by region, and social and economic characteristics in nonemployment income-dependent places are mixed. Nevertheless, a goal to attract private pension- and investment income-dependent households may be a sound economic diversification strategy for single-resource-dependent communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the economical, geopolitical, and biophysical dimensions in defining the Mekong River basin as a region. It demonstrates that the integral processes in the framing of the Mekong River as a region of international cooperation and economic integration differs from a region of highly connected biophysical processes. Moreover, the approaches within other academic disciplines and geography can be used for other transboundary river-basin regions in Eurasia.

This paper studies why some clusters in a certain region are more dynamic than others, even though they all operate within the same basic innovative regional environment. We first established which variables were to be used to measure the dynamics of a regional cluster. We included both inputs and outputs of the innovative regional environment and also cluster development-related variables. We then applied this to two clusters located in the Valencian Region, Spain. The first cluster is involved in the footwear industry, while the other is involved in the ceramic tile industry. The evolution of the variables which had an influence on their dynamics was studied to determine which variables had similar behaviours and how their evolution was related to the clusters' life cycle and to the evolution of regional income. The results show that regional innovation impacts on clusters’ productivity and that when clusters lose their dynamism, employment, sales and exports are the most affected variables. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present a stylized, supply-side model to estimate the permanent effects of the Community Support Framework (CSF) programmes on a regional economy and use it to estimate the impact of the 1994-1999 and 2000-2006 CSF programmes on the Spanish region of Galicia. The evolution of the economy is simulated under two scenarios, with and without CSF funds, studying the contribution of the European regional policy to the output, employment and different categories of capital. Our results suggest that the contribution of the Structural Funds to the growth of the Galician economy is remarkable and that the impacts of the European programmes extend well beyond the end of the aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural resources are today the object of considerable attention in regional economics. Ground for new forms of innovation these resources have given rise to numerous works aiming at understanding the emergence and organisation of culture based economic activities and at identifying the role of these activities in regional development and urban planning. The objective of this article is to explore the way in which resources, and in particular cultural resources, are incorporated into production processes on the one hand, and the consequences on the resources of doing so on the other hand. Becoming an economic resource, a cultural “object” (symbol, image, cultural heritage, traditional know-how, etc.) becomes embedded within commercial relationships. The question we address here is what are the causes and consequences of this commodification of culture for the production systems, the customers and for the local communities which put a certain number of their constitutive elements into play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 1990s, the south-eastern part of North-Brabant (also known as the Greater Eindhoven region) in the Netherlands has enjoyed a major turn in its economic position and outlook. From a more or less traditional industrial region in decline, it has become a “cradle of innovation” with a key position in the wider “knowledge-based” economy. This paper sheds light on this transformation by referring to the recent literature on territoriality and relationality, and how it has informed post-Marshallian accounts of clustering. In particular, we discuss the context and scope for regional strategy-making in light of selectivities stemming from state and firm activities. The success of the Eindhoven region cannot be understood without seeing how it was structurally privileged by agents and processes largely external to the region. Part of its success, however, can be attributed to strategic action undertaken within the region itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work in regional development has stressed the role of key economic actors in less favoured regions, particularly in high-technology sectors, in making those regions more attractive to outside investors. Of course, in less favoured regions (LFRs), there are rarely strong high-technology sectors able to reconfigure their local environment and provide the necessary local "buzz" to attract the attention of outside investors. In this paper, this issue is addressed by looking at how universities can play this role and have a broader systemic effect on the regional economic environment, by plugging gaps in the local regional innovation system. In this paper, a case study from Newcastle in the north-east of England is taken to consider recent developments which have begun to rebuild the regional innovation system. Focusing on the commercialization community around the university, it is looked at how this community of geographically proximate but initially organizationally and cognately remote actors built a common understanding to solve the problems involved in exploiting intellectual property in the impoverished regional innovation system (RIS) of the north-east of England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the results of research to explore a range of attempts to develop new regional forms, and considers the degree to which they accord to conceptualisations of the ‘new regionalism’ and accounts of the changing territorial structure of the state. It highlights the array of new regional configurations which now extends across the territory of the European Union, discussing the influence exerted by the growth of interest in European spatial planning over the course of the 1990s and considering the degree to which readings of new regionalist rhetoric have informed both the creation and substance of a number of recently conceived regional entities. The paper concludes by considering the implications posed by the growth of these new regional configurations for attempts to interpret the rescaling of governance and the reterritorialisation of the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a list of journals published between September and December 2005 of Planning Literature Information Service. The urban and regional spatial development and Policy, include the "Urban Soundscapes: Experience and Knowledge," by Manon Raimbault. The local and regional economic development, include "Port Geography of UK International Trade," by Henry G. Overman. The theory and history, include, "Complexity Science, Complex System and Landuse Research," by Thomas W. Crawford.

This paper summarizes empirical findings and results from the author's most recent research publication in Chinese: China's Unbalanced Economic Growth. It studies China's economic growth with a special emphasis on its regional disparities. It provides an analysis of China's overall economic landscape as well as an empirical study of China's unbalanced regional development. Based on its quantitative findings and results, the author predicts the emergence of ten Chinese metropolitan economies in the early twenty-first century and recommends a regional development strategy as well as implementation policies for China's future development. The major empirical findings, results and conclusions of this research are outlined in three sections: the first describes China's economic future—the emergence of ten regional metropolitan economies, the second reports the empirical findings of China's national and regional economic disparities and discusses policy implications, and the third investigates China's future economic growth and discusses its growth limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines how regional development policy in New Zealand has attempted to reshape the organizational and institutional foundations of regional growth and innovation since the government initiated the implementation of growth and innovation-focused policies in 2000. Dealing with the governance and the economic dimension, the paper elaborates on the challenges encountered in different regional environments that range from metropolitan areas to remote rural regions. The paper outlines New Zealand's institutional and economic framework and the set of programmes used to foster regional development and innovation. Principal lessons from New Zealand's experience are the importance of the institutional set-up in regions, the need to tailor initiatives to different regional contexts, and insights into the complex relationship between regional development and regional innovation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is great interest in the new knowledge economy, less favoured regions seem permanently disadvantaged because they lack a critical mass of knowledge capital to initiate accumulation, growth and economic development processes. This is a problem for policy-makers seeking to promote economic growth and territorial cohesion in such regions. Despite this, examples from two such regions, Newcastle, UK and Twente, the Netherlands, suggests that such companies can be very successful. This paper seeks to develop a conceptual model of how university spin-off companies (USOs) can improve their regional economies. The economic benefits that such companies bring are explored, to identify those elements which can potentially upgrade regional economies through knowledge accumulation, which are termed ‘building up territorial knowledge pools’. This paper concludes by developing a conceptual framework for the operation of the territorial knowledge pool; highlighting four different roles played by USOs in improving regional innovation environments and considering the conceptual and policy implications raised by the framework model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the planned reviews of the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON). The work of ESPON carries forward the Study Program on European Spatial Planning organized by Nordregio in seeking a better understanding of spatial development trends across Europe. The program differentiates the thematic policy impact and cross-thematic projects.

This paper applies growth equations to examine the impact of region-specific factors on China's growth in the 1980s and 1990s. In particular, this study focuses on investigating the role of capital formation, initial conditions, labour productivity, human capital, openness, infrastructure, foreign capital and economic reform in China's regional growth. It is found that those variables account for 70-90% of China's growth in the past decades. The robustness of the findings in this study is tested by estimating alternative models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews perceptions of regional problems in Australia and opposing views of regional policy. It argues that regional conditions vary widely and that much of non-metropolitan Australia is not in decline, casting doubt on the existence of a divide and on arguments that the divide can, and should, be addressed by government. The article also argues that views on policy reflect perceptions of the nature and causes of regional problems, and of the capacity and desirability of government being involved in shaping regional outcomes. Current regional policy approaches, characterized by ‘pragmatic incrementalism’, are outlined and explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 7 years Australia has been undergoing substantial economic reform under a collaborative Federal and State government program known as national competition policy. These reforms have increased the nation's productivity and international competitiveness, and are generally held responsible for Australia's increased growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita over the past decade. However, the reforms have been carried out against a background of increased interregional disparities, to which the reform program may have partly contributed. In this study we examine a number of Australian studies that have used computable general equilibrium modeling to uncover the regional economic consequences of national competition policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of geographic information system (GIS) techniques for rigorous analysis of regional inequality in China remains limited. In this article, the authors utilize recent data and GIS and spatial statistical techniques to analyze changing patterns of regional inequality in China from 1978 to 2000. It also identifies the changing clusters of regional development in China. They illustrate that regional inequality in China is sensitive to development trajectories of the provinces, and that conventional measures of regional inequality mask geographical clustering.

Presents a study that adopted a simple regional economic model to integrate and review traditional and modern urban location theories. Illustration of the power of initial conditions to determine the final result; Appreciation of existing spatial economic patterns in a region; Establishing of development programs to induce regional technology corridors and clusters.

Aceh is known as not only a rich but also a rebellious region. It experienced one of the longest wars against the Dutch colonial government. The seeds of conflict with the Indonesian government were sown early on during the independence period in the 1940s and 1950s. During the Suharto period (1966-98) Aceh developed from being a poor province to being the fastest growing provincial economy in Indonesia. However, the Acehnese believe that they did not gain much from this economic growth. This fuelled anti-Jakarta feeling among the Acehnese and also increased the popularity of the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka) in Aceh. The military solution that the Suharto government imposed in the late 1980s worsened the human rights conditions in Aceh. As both the Habibie and Abudurrahman Wahid governments have failed to end the conflict, many Acehnese have been calling for a referendum to decide the future of the province: whether to remain part of Indonesia or to be an independent state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper reports on the administrative innovation for promoting integrated sectoral and spatial planning, based on the designation of Comarcas, by the Galician regional government in Spain. The region has suffered from peripherality and a heavy bias towards low productivity agricultural, fishing and food processing industries. Traditional regional policies had led to urban expansion but rural desertification. The Galician government embarked in 1991 on a radical new approach to development planning based on building new administrative entities based on urban and village networks. The new planning delivery system now exists and is already active in promoting more balanced and integrated planned development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides background information on authors who contributed to the December 2005 issue of the "Journal of Urban Technology". Katrin Anacker is a candidate of the city and regional planning program at the Ohio State University. Ron Boschma is a professor in regional economics at the faculty of geosciences of the Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Hisham Ekaldi is a professor of architecture at the University of Ulster in Belfast. Catherine Lawson is an assistant professor in the geography and planning department at the University of Albany, New York.