Analysing Regional Development and Policy: A Structural–Realist Approach

Abstract

Moulaert F. and Mehmood A. Analysing regional development and policy: a structural–realist approach, Regional Studies. This paper gives an overview of theories and models that can be used to analyse regional development as well as to design policies and strategies for the future of regions and localities. It evaluates the analytical and policy relevance of these models, and as it moves towards analytical synthesis, it makes some recommendations for a structural–realist approach to spatial development analysis. It offers a methodological framework for contemporary spatial development analysis by combining regulationist, cultural political economy and network theoretical approaches, and taking full cognisance of the structural–institutional, scalar, and cultural dimensions of development processes and strategies.

Moulaert F. et Mehmood A. Analyser l'aménagement du territoire: une façon structuralo-réaliste, Regional Studies. Cet article fournit une vue d'ensemble des théories et des modèles à employer afin d'analyser l'aménagement du territoire aussi bien que de mettre au point des politiques et des stratégies en faveur de l'avenir des régions et des endroits. On évalue l'importance analytique et de politique de ces modèles et, au fur et à mesure que l'on commence à penser une synthèse analytique, on fait quelques recommandations en faveur d'une façon structuralo-réaliste pour analyser le développement spatial. On propose un cadre méthodologique pour analyser le développement spatial contemporain en associant des façons réglementaires, d'économie politique culturelle, et théoriques de réseaux, tout en tenant compte des aspects structuralo-institutionnels, scalaires et culturelles des processus et des stratégies de développement.

Modèles d'innovation territoriale Nouveau régionalisme Aménagement du territoire Sentier de dépendance Structure sociale, institutions et culture Réalisme structurel

Moulaert F. und Mehmood A. Analyse der Regionalentwicklung und Politik: ein strukturell-realistischer Ansatz, Regional Studies. Dieser Artikel enthält eine Übersicht über die Theorien und Modelle, die sich zur Analyse der regionalen Entwicklung sowie zur Gestaltung von Politiken und Strategien für die Zukunft von Regionen und Orten heranziehen lassen. Wir analysieren die analytische und politische Relevanz dieser Modelle und machen beim Übergang zur analytischen Synthese einige Empfehlungen für einen strukturierten, realistischen Ansatz zur Analyse der räumlichen Entwicklung. Der Artikel bietet einen methodologischen Rahmen zur Analyse der aktuellen räumlichen Entwicklung, indem er die regulationistischen, kulturpolitisch-wirtschaftlichen und netzwerktheoretischen Ansätze miteinander kombiniert und zugleich die strukturell-institutionellen, skalaren und kulturellen Dimensionen der Entwicklungsprozesse und -strategien vollständig zur Kenntnis nimmt.

Territoriale Innovationsmodelle Neuer Regionalismus Regionalentwicklung Pfadabhängigkeit Sozialstruktur, Institutionen und Kultur Struktureller Realismus

Moulaert F. y Mehmood A. Análisis del desarrollo y la política regional: un enfoque realista estructural, Regional Studies. Este artículo contiene un resumen de las teorías y los modelos que pueden servir para analizar el desarrollo regional y diseñar las políticas y estrategias para el futuro de las regiones y localidades. Evaluamos la relevancia analítica y política de estos modelos y según se va desplazando hacia una síntesis analítica hacemos recomendaciones sobre un planteamiento realista y estructural para el análisis del desarrollo espacial. Aquí ofrecemos una estructura metodológica para el análisis contemporáneo del desarrollo espacial al combinar enfoques regulatorios, de la economía política cultural y planteamientos teóricos de redes a la vez que intentamos reconocer completamente las dimensiones institucionales-estructurales, escalares y culturales de los procesos y estrategias del desarrollo.

Modelos de innovación territorial Nuevo regionalismo Desarrollo regional Trayectoria dependiente Estructura social Instituciones y cultura Realismo estructural

Keywords:

• Territorial Innovation Models
• New Regionalism
• Regional development
• Path dependency
• Social structure, institutions and culture
• Structural realism

JEL classifications:

• B0
• R0

Notes

This paper does deal with regional development, not regional growth theories. Although affinities between both analytical traditions exist, there is not enough space to deal with both and the preference is to address the more ‘quality features’-oriented development theories. As a consequence, the paper will not, for example, present the debate on/between New Economic Geography and regional endogenous growth models (e.g., Fujita et al., 1999).

Sayer (1992) has summarized the realist scientific–philosophical approach as having the following features: (1) the world exists independently of our knowledge of it; (2) our knowledge of the world is pre-informed but also imperfect; (3) ‘Knowledge develops neither wholly continuously, as the steady accumulation of facts within a stable conceptual framework, nor wholly discontinuously, through simultaneous and universal changes in concepts’; (4) objects (natural or social) have particular causal powers or ways of acting and particular susceptibilities (p. 5); (5) ‘The world is differentiated and stratified, consisting not only of events, but [also] objects, including structures, which have powers and liabilities capable of generating events’ (pp. 5–6); (6) ‘Social phenomena such as actions, texts and institutions are concept dependent’; (7) ‘Science or the production of any other kind of knowledge is a social practice. For better or worse (not just worse) the conditions and social relations of the production of knowledge influence its content. Knowledge is also largely – though not exclusively – linguistic, and the nature of language and the way we communicate are not incidental to what is known as communicated. Awareness of these relationships is vital in evaluating knowledge’; (8) ‘Social science must be critical of its object’ (p. 6).

Contemporary debates on New Regionalism take different directions, especially following criticisms of the neglect of articulation among spatial scales and their consequences for economic policy. The term ‘New Regionalism’ has been reserved for the original spatially disarticulated models, the preference being to refer to the spatially articulated models as ‘Beyond New Regionalism’ (see the fourth section). Neither is the political science literature on New Regionalism addressed (e.g. Keating, 1998). However, the authors believe that Markusen's Regionalism concept (see the third section) could play a significant role there.

This section has been reproduced and extended from the work of Moulaert and Nussbaumer (2005). Copyright has been granted by Sage Publications, Inc.

For details, see Moulaert et al. (1999).

For more details, see Moulaert et al. (1999). See also MacKinnon et al. (2002), who among other critical observations point out how the Learning Region model underemphasizes the articulation among spatial scales in learning dynamics.

The German Historical School also played a significant role in the genesis of location theory; this is not developed here (Nussbaumer, 2002).

It should also be kept in mind that the theory of stages of economic growth also had an influence on Lösch's theory of system of regions (Lösch, 1938).

On the relationship between migration flows and uneven development in contemporary Europe, see also Williams et al. (2004).

These two authors were selected because their focus is regional compared with other authors from the 1970s working in radical political geography and their analysis fitted best the trajectory leading to the structural–realist synthesis in regional development analysis, which is pursued herein. If this methodological exercise had to be further extended, the work of Dunford (1988) and Harvey (1982) would certainly have been made use of.