engleski

Role of the Government in Promoting Development in the Weaker Regions

The role of the government in regional development and policy has been the subject of controversial debates in the past decade. Having in mind the justified "popularity" of the development "from-below" approach, which has been used along with the implementation of "top-down" policy measures - the authors will comment on the justification of both approaches in the European regions which are particularly lagging behind in economic development. The paper will reflect upon the case of Croatia, as well as a number of other countries of Central and South-East Europe whose regions have been faced with industrial decline and economic and demographic stagnation. This experience could be useful to other transition economies - particularly the CEI member countries and those included in the Pact of Stability. The paper will put particular focus on the changing role of the government in promoting development processes, and will emphasise the following: measures and strategies implemented in the OECD, as well as a number of CEI member countries, which have proofed to be effective at various levels of government intervention ; horizontal policies with important regional impacts (policies to promote competitiveness, R&D and other policies) ; interregional and other transfers from central government budgets ; role of the public sector in implementing policies which encourage entrepreneurial development and other.

region; development; government

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