Regional Policy

Ugo Fratesi is Professor of Regional Economics and Policy at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Spatial Economic Analysis.

“A warm welcome must be given to the book prepared by Professor Ugo Fratesi. Some works published years ago on Regional Policy are clearly obsolete. Others have a partial approach, either because of the topic or focus or because they refer to specific cases. This book offers a refreshing global, theoretical, and practical vision of what Regional Policy is, its objectives and instruments. It has a well-defined structure. It is solid, and very well written. I therefore have no doubt about its timeliness, nor about its usefulness for teaching and for many interested professionals, economists or not, including policymakers."— Juan R. Cuadrado-Roura, Professor of Applied Economy and Former President of the European Regional Science Association.“Regional policy requires a spatially differentiated approach allied with an effective governance system. These are challenging conditions, for which this book explains in a clear and rigorous style, the rationale, the What and the How. Together with its enlightening examples and diagrams, this is a precious work companion for students, academics, and policymakers in the field of regional development.”— Joaquim Oliveira Martins, Counsellor at the CEPII, Paris and Special Advisor to the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms at the EU Commission."In the face of challenges such as globalisation and migration, climate change, technological and digital transformation and the demographic transition, policymakers across the world are increasingly seeking to develop spatially targeted policies that build on regional and local knowledge and capabilities. This ambitious new book provides an excellent synthesis of recent thinking on regional policy combining key insights from the latest research with a thorough understanding of the issues faced by policymakers. It should be essential reading for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of regional policies in today’s world.”— Peter Berkowitz, Director for Policy, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission.“This comprehensive textbook by Fratesi is an absolute must-read for academic scholars, students, policy practitioners and everybody else that is interested in regional policy.”— Ron Boschma, Professor in Regional Economics, Department of Human Geography and Planning, Utrecht University."[This book] explores the most important conceptual ideas currently driving regional policy...[and] presents theoretical justifications behind the need for regional policies, highlighting economic, social, environmental, and political issues."— March 2025 issue of the Journal of Economic Literature (Volume 63, no. 1, American Economic Association Publications; e-JEL, JEL on CD, and EconLit.

• Introduction to the book PART A: DEFINITIONS, JUSTIFICATIONS AND AIMS OF REGIONAL POLICY 1. Definition and overview of regional policy 2. The rationale for regional policy 3. The objectives of regional policy PART B: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REGIONAL POLICY 4. The regional policy process and its governance 5. The instruments of regional policy 6. Innovation and regional policy PART C: THE ASSESSMENT OF REGIONAL POLICY 7. The evaluation of regional policy PART D: REGIONAL POLICY UNDER DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES 8. Regional policy in specific contexts 9.Conclusions: established trends in regional policy