Resumen de Neglected Aspects of Regional Policy: : A Retrospective View
The primary focus is on three aspects of regional policy that have tended to be taken for granted in the past. To set the discussion in context, several important background issues are examined. Of the three neglected aspects to be considered here, the first explores the bases or justifications for regional policy and the implications of these. Important in this connection are the possible trade-offs between efficiency and equity. A second aspect deals with the various modes of intervention in regional policy, and a distinction is drawn between direct or conventional regional policy and indirect regional policy, the latter not generally being thought of as regional in character. The third neglected aspect is concerned with the varying extent to which space is accorded an importance in regional policy. Attention is directed to a situation where the question of space has been given inadequate treatment, and also to a case where it has exerted a predominant influence. This leads on to a consideration of the ‘competition’ between space-based and space-neutral emphases of present development strategies, starting with the place prosperity versus people prosperity debate.
