301. Higher Capacity with Limited Competence, Regional Development Agencies in Unitary States: The Case of The Emilia-Romagna
- Author:
- Aziz Tuncer
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Bilgi
- Institution:
- Sakarya University (SAU)
- Abstract:
- It is generally accepted that regional development policies and institutions in unitary states are shaped under potent influence of the centre without leaving any room for peculiar characteristics of the regions. As introduction of regional development policies preconditions devolution of some power to sub-national administrative tiers, central governments seek to strictly control the process and restraint the regional competencies. Region of Emilia-Romagna and ERVET confronted with the same difficulties and experienced a policy learning process during which they incrementally discovered various methods and instruments of policy to diminish the influence of the central constraints. Upon the analysis of ERVET, this article claims that the national government would not necessarily be the sole determinant of the regional development policies as generally accepted. If RDAs efficiently integrate political, cultural, social and economic particularities of the region into its administrative structures and policies and create a regional consensus upon their priorities, it would become more likely that they can play a remarkable role to exploit more power than central government allocated, and they can become rather influential in shaping regional development.
- Topic:
- Governance, Policymaking, and Regional Development
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Italy, and Emilia-Romagna