The regional challenge of industrial restructuring: a Polish-Czech Comparison

Project information

Funder

Leverhulme Trust, United Kingdom

Start year

2002

End year

2003

Themes

Regional development

The project comprised an evaluation of the changing role of the region in the processes of regional economic restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The research hypothesised that processes of regionalisation are creating new institutional relationships and that these developments are having an impact on the formulation and implementation of regional economic programmes. The research aimed to establish how regional-level institutions of governance in CEE fit into the broader European trend of regionalisation and examine the implications for regional economic development. Three sets of issues were addressed: (i) the process and motivations of regionalisation; (ii) institutional relationships, power balances and networks influencing regional economic development; and (iii) policy implications, including in the light of future EU accession. The research involved detailed comparative case study analysis of neighbouring heavy industrial regions in the Czech Republic and Poland to allow an in-depth analysis of the issues within the dynamic reality of continued controversy, ambiguity and institutional instability.