XII BGK Conference
Discussion Panel : Strategic Directions for
Regional Development
1
Emilia Skrok
Jan Gąska
Problem recognition and and objectives of
regional development policy
Regional development can be seen as a general effort to
reduce regional disparities by supporting (employment
and wealth-generating) economic activities in regions.
Regional disparities in well-being:
GDP per capita,
Indicators covering material conditions (income, jobs, housing)
quality of life (health, education, safety, environmental quality,
access to services, and life satisfaction)
shifting from GDP to indicators that focus on people’s outcomes
makes the issue of regional disparities within countries broader
for policy makers
2
Regional disparities in Poland in GDP remains
high though close to OECD average …3
40.940.6
66.168.775.2
38.073.8
60.273.771.067.0
57.275.266.970.571.364.370.368.872.581.481.3
68.569.7
54.865.382.281.488.783.383.2
307.2326.8
244.6210.0
151.0186.8
161.5173.1169.3161.8
150.0165.1156.1158.5153.4
139.9142.7136.2134.8141.5138.7
124.2124.6
103.1112.8129.5
118.6124.1118.5115.4
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
MEXCHLUSASVKCZETUR
CANHUN
BELGBRDEUITA
FRANZLPOLAUSEST
NLDESP
GRCSWEPRTAUTDNKNOR
IRLFIN
KORCHESVNJPN
Regional variation in GDP, country average = 100Source: OECD
… but in disposable income, they are below
OECD average, though significant4
ChiapasSE Anatolia
East SlovakiaTasmania
MississippiNorthern District
West GreeceMaule
Northeast Extremadura
CampaniaNorthern Ireland
Northland Prince Edward Island
NorthwestPodkarpacia
NorthNord-Pas-de-CalaisNorthern Great Plain
GroningenNorth Middle
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
ShikokuEast and North
Gangwon Hedmark and Oppland
WalloniaBorder, Midland, West
Eastern SloveniaCarinthia
Southern Denmark
Federal DistrictAnkara
Bratislava Capital Territory
District of ColumbiaTel Aviv District
AtticaSantiago Metropolitan
North Basque Country
Bolzano-BozenGreater London
Wellington Northwest Territories
PragueMazovia
LisbonÎle-de-France
Central HungaryUtrecht
StockholmBavaria
Southern-KantoÅland
Capital Oslo, AkershusFlemish Region
South and EastWestern Slovenia
Lower AustriaCapital
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
MEXTURSVKAUSUSAISR
GRCCHLESTESPITA
GBRNZL
CANCZEPOLPRTFRA
HUNNLD
SWEDEUJPNFIN
KORNOR
BELIRL
SVNAUTDNK
Regional variation in household disposable income, country average = 100
Source: OECD
Objectives of regional development
policy
Most of OECD countries implement regional policies
with following objectives:
equity (regional balance, “opportunities for citizens
to increase their well-being”);
efficiency (growth and competitiveness) objectives
sustainable development;
improved governance, especially decentralization
and regionalism.
5
Where people live has an important impact on
their opportunities to live well6
Source: OECD
No matter where people live in Poland health
services is below peers7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
0 20000 40000 60000 80000
Num
ber
of
phy
sici
ans
per
10
00
of
pop
ula
tion,
20
14
GDP per capita, constant prices, PPP, 2014
CZE
FRA
DEU
POL
PRT
SVK
ESP
SWE
Source: OECD
Region with
lowest GDP per
capita in PL
Life satisfaction declines with increase
of unemployment and pollution8
Source: OECD Better Life Index
LDZMAZ
MLP
SLA LUB
PKRSWK
PDL
WLK
ZPM
LBU
DSL
OPO
KPM
WMZ
POM
5.2
5.4
5.6
5.8
6.0
6.2
6.4
6.6
6.8
5.0 10.0 15.0
Self
-report
ed lif
e s
atisf
act
ion
leve
l
Unemployment rate in given region
LDZMAZ MLPSLA
LUB
PKRSWK
PDL
WLK
ZPM
LBU
DSL
OPO
KPM
WMZ
POM
5.2
5.4
5.6
5.8
6.0
6.2
6.4
6.6
6.8
9.0 14.0 19.0
Self
-report
ed lif
e s
atisf
act
ion
leve
l
PM2.5 concentration in air
Growth is fueled mainly by labour productivity
growth…
15 Polish regions were among
the 40 OECD regions with the
highest GDP per capita growth
rate during 2000-13.
labour productivity growth was
a major determinant of the
economic performance for the
top 40 regions
Urban regions at the
productivity frontier
Both sustain employment and
productivity growth is needed
for long term growth
9
LDZMAZ
MLP
SLA
LBLPKR
SWK
PDL
WLK
ZPM
LBU
DSL
OPO
KPM
WMZ
POM
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4Lab
our
utiliza
tion
gro
wth
, 2
00
4-2
013
GVA per employee growth, 2004-2013
Source: OECD
The quality of human capital is central to
increasing productivity10
Source: OECD
LDZ MAZMLP
SLALUB PKR
SWK
PDL WLK
ZPM
LBU
DSL
OPO
KMP
WMZ
POM
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
GD
P g
row
th(P
PS), 2
00
0-2
01
4
Growth in the percentage of employees with tertiary education, 2000-2014
BE
BG
CZ
DKDE
EE
IE
EL
ESFRIT
CY
LV
LT
LUHU
MTNL
AT
PL
PT
RO
SI
SK
FI
SE
UK
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
-0.2 0.8 1.8
Ave
rage
GD
P g
row
thin
20
% w
ors
tre
gio
ns,
20
00
-2014
Average growth of the percentage of skilledworkforce in 20% worst regions, 2000-2014
Human capital is ample in all Polish regions
11
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 20000 40000 60000 80000
Tert
iary
ed
uca
tion
enr
olm
ent
, %
, 2
01
4
GDP per capita, constant prices, PPP, 2014
CZE
FRA
DEU
POL
PRT
SVK
ESP
SWERegion with the
lowest GDP per
capita in PL
Source: OECD
And high share of elderly population is a
challenge, especially for most vulnerable regions12
Source: OECD
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
MEX
TUR
CH
L
ISR
IRL
KO
R
ISL
SV
K
LUX
NZL
AU
S
PO
L
CA
N
NO
R
NLD
CZE
SV
N
GBR
HU
N
CH
E
BEL
ESP
FRA
DN
K
AU
T
EST
FIN
SW
E
PRT
DEU
ITA
JPN
Share of Elderly Population (% 65+ over total population)
Best region Country average Worst region
Source: OECD
Strategic directions for regional development
Policies to promote regional development could
focus: sustain productivity and increase labour utilization
(investments for higher value added production);
generate fairer and livable regional economies (access
to key public services – health!, quality of air and ITC);
promote effective governance at all levels of
government (local-regional-central level cooperation)
13
Features of effective regional strategy
An effective strategy is one that:
Is embedded in its institutional, socio-economic and territorial context;
Identifies a widely shared vision for the future development of the
region;
Engages regional stakeholders in an open and inclusive planning
process;
Communicates its key messages clearly to a diversity of audiences;
Identifies delivery mechanisms and responsibilities in a phased and
coherent manner;
Establishes a simple and effective monitoring framework;
Is flexible enough to react to unforeseen circumstances and is able to
take advantage of windows of opportunity.
14
Common weaknesses in regional development
strategies
There are also a number of common weaknesses in such strategies that
should be avoided:
An over emphasis on analysis and description of the region;
Limited engagement of regional stakeholders;
Poor communication strategy that limits the profile of the strategy;
Avoidance of wicked issues (i.e. particularly difficult and complex issues);
Weak linkages between the analysis, strategy and implementation;
Excessively broad focus trying to address all issues or spread resources
too thinly;
Lack of clarity about delivery mechanisms, responsibilities and phasing;
Insufficient attention to monitoring frameworks and an over emphasis on
quantitative rather than qualitative indicators.
15
The Priority matrix can assist regional
authorities to make informed decisions16
Quick wins
Complex wins
Fill ins Hard slogs
HighEffortLow
Impact
Low
High
Source: http://www.timeanalyzer.com/lib/priority.htm
Thank you