The regionalisation of structural policy: North Rhine‐Westphalia in the Europe of the regions

Abstract

North Rhine‐Westphalian industry has undergone a far‐reaching process of structural adjustment since the 1970s which has largely avoided social upheaval. This process was presided over by a North Rhine‐Westphalian government guided by the concept of a ‘regionalised structural policy’. The aim was to incorporate all interested parties into the decision‐making process as far as possible at the local level, leaving a role for the Land government restricted mainly to overall coordination plus the provision of infrastructure. Such a concept of regionalisation in economic policy could, if applied in the EC, help increase accountability and provide legitimation for the process of European integration as it heads towards Economic and Monetary Union and Political Union.