Local governments struggle to drive regional growth, study finds
A new study of Nordic municipalities reveals a critical gap: while regional development policy targets local governments, they often lack the mandate, resources, and structural support to execute it. The mismatch is undermining place-based development strategies across three countries, with implications for how governments should redesign accountability and funding.
Originaltitel: Municipalities: Actors of Change in Regional Development?
<p>Even though place is associated with the local, place-based policy approaches typically target the regional level of government. Addressing this spatial mismatch, this paper focuses on the local level studying municipalities' regional development work in different types of regions in three Nordic countries. Through a comparative study across regional and national contexts, the paper identifies the need to clarify the mandates of municipalities in place-based approaches. The results unveil the uneven capabilities, and national and regional structural constraints of municipalities which impacts their place-based regional development work.</p>