Understanding Growth in Different Types of Regions

Civic Centre, Newcastle, United Kingdom, 26-27 March, 2012

A framework for understanding regional growth

Countries are facing significant economic volatility.  The effectiveness of current economic strategies is being questioned and new visions of the economy are emerging.

This conference offered a timely opportunity to rethink the approach to regional growth and define new strategic directions for regional policy. Opportunities for growth exist in all regions - urban, intermediate, and rural. Policies to trigger growth should move beyond traditional ones - based exclusively on infrastructure provision or schooling - toward policies that encourage regions to capitalise on their specific competitive advantages and mobilise local assets and resources.

The conference gave an overview of the OECD publication Promoting Growth in all Types of Regions,  which analyses the growth capacity of different types of regions, including the main factors driving growth and the main bottlenecks faced by regions. This work is an important part of a longer-term programme that examines how sub-national economic performance contributes and relates to aggregate national performance, and how policy initiatives can maximise its impact.
The conference focused on the policy implications of a more targeted approach to growth, setting out a framework for understanding regional growth and its impact on national growth.

Topics for discussion included:

•     Promoting growth in all types of regions: key considerations
•     Mechanisms for promoting growth: human capital and innovation
•     How to integrate local labour markets and infrastructure
•     Developing a good business environment for growth
•     Encouraging strong local coordination, engagement and leadership to better impact growth
•     How to ensure programmes and policies have continuity and coherence

Agenda and presentations

Improving Productivity in Lagging Regions

OECD Conference Centre, Paris, France, 28 June 2010

This forum provided an introduction to the debate on the key factors that have been successful in helping lagging regions reach national standards and in particular the role regional policies playin areas such as human capital, infrastructure, connectivity and innovation.

The discussion covered:

• What we know about the Determinants of Regional Growth. 
• Human Capital Skills for Future or Skills for Present?
• Infrastructure – Accessibility or Connectivity?
• Institutions and Policy Discussions

The presentations from this forum can be found here. 

Promoviendo el crecimiento en todas las regiones

Mexico

 Other related events

The Case for Growing Regions, organised by Regional Development Australia

Melbourne, Australia, 30 August 2012

Resilient Regions: Applying the latest thinking from the OECD, organised by the Regional Australia Institute and the Department of Regional Australia

Canberra, Australia, 31 August 2012

Promoting Growth in all Regions and OECD Regional Outlook, organised by Motu Economic and Public Policy Research and the New Zealand Productivity Commission

Wellington, New Zealand, 4 September 2012

Smart Sustainable and Inclusive Regions - Regional development strategies in the Nordic countries, organised by Nordriego

Stockholm, Sweden, 20 November 2012