Economists, policy makers and international organisations have often paid less attention to regional than to national growth. Yet regional disparities suggest that economic potential in some regions is not being fully exploited, and that this reduces overall national performance.
Regional economic performance varies considerably among regions as a result of a combination of interconnected factors such as geography, demographics, specialisation, productivity, physical and human capital, infrastructure and the capacity to innovate, just to mention a few.
This heterogeneity leads to marked differences in economic performance among OECD regions. Yet, this analysis shows that there is no single path to attain high and sustained growth rates. On the contrary, high growth rates can be achieved by different types of regions.
One common theory suggested that urban concentration is the predominant factor driving economic growth. Yet, the figure below shows that a significant number of rural regions have out-performed urban regions in terms of GDP per capita growth over the past decade.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Executive Summary
Chapter 1. Overall Growth Trends
Chapter 2. Analysing the Components of GDP Growth
Chapter 3. Assessing the Impact of the Main Determinants of Regional Growth: A Parametric Analysis
References
Annex A. The Components of Regional Growth
Annex B. Methodology for Decomposition of Factors and Growth
Annex C. Summary of Neoclassical and Endogenous Growth Models
Annex D. Main Models of the New Economic Geography
Annex E. Distance and Accessibility
Annex F. Spacial Econometrics