Hegemonic ideas and local adaptations: Development of the Norwegian regional restructuring instrument

Abstract

Policy instruments evolve over time. The authors elaborate on the development of an important initiative in regional policy in Norway, referred to as ‘the restructuring instrument’. The Norwegian Government established the instrument in 1983, and it is still used as a means for addressing job losses in key industries in rural areas. The authors describe development trends and dominant modes of policy regulation in Western economies in the post-war period in relation to the profiles of local restructuring programmes. The first case, the 1988 restructuring programme in Mo i Rana, demonstrates the influence of Keynesian thinking in a Fordist mode of accumulation. The second case, the 1999 restructuring programme in Åmot, links neo-Schumpeterian policy thinking to post-Fordist economies. The third case, the 2008 restructuring programme in Ålvik, illustrates the operation of the instrument in a more regionalised world of tailor-made solutions. The article indicates a causal relationship between hegemonic ideas about policy formulation in the post-war Western economies and policy-practice at the local level.

Keywords:

• local adaptation
• megatrends
• regional policy
• restructuring instrument

Acknowledgements

The research was made possible by grants from the Research Council of Norway. The authors are grateful for valuable comments and suggestions from the editors and two anonymous referees, as well as Radmil Popovic's assistance with the formatting of Fig. 1.