Policy Review Section

Abstract

In this issue of the Policy Review Section, John Bachtler of the European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde, drawing on work undertaken for the European Commission, sets out the nature of regional problems in Central and Eastern Europe following the collapse of the so-called planned economies and the implications for policy makers seeking to address such problems. In the second article Keith Hayton of the Centre for Planning, University of Strathclyde, examines the consequences for business support services in Scotland of the merger of the Scottish Development Agency and the Training Agency, which has led to the establishment of eighteen Local Enterprise Companies (LECs). Hayton argues that the increased financial dependence of enterprise trusts on LECs raises a series of questions concerning the future of private-public sector partnerships in economic development in Scotland and, in turn, the effectiveness of delivery mechanisms.