Regional Governance in OECD Countries
Trends, Typology and Tools
In recent decades, federal and unitary countries have increasingly adopted or deepened
regional governance reforms, especially in the OECD and Europe, but also in Asia,
America and to a lesser extent Africa. Approximately two-thirds of countries around
the world have increased the power of regions over the last 50 years. This trend has
happened in parallel with countries increasingly embedding a territorial approach
into policy-making at the national and subnational levels. This process, however,
does not follow a linear path. The rationale behind regional governance reforms differs
from country to country, and over time, leading to a broad spectrum of governance
models with varying institutional and financing arrangements. Taking stock of these
trends, this report provides key data on regional governance reforms and their drivers,
with a focus on the role of regions in the COVID-19 crisis response. The report also
presents an innovative typology of regional governance models across OECD countries
and the multi-level governance instruments that enable sound regional governance and
help ensure these arrangements effectively serve their purpose.
Available from December 20, 2022
In series:OECD Multi-level Governance Studiesview more titles