The paper deals with an immensely important and topical issue related to the implementation of sustainable development policies at the regional level. It focuses on assessing the level of ...sustainability in building stable infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation between 2015 and 2021 at the regional level in Poland. The areas included in the assessment relate to Goal 9 of the UN Agenda 2030 adopted by member states. The basis for the assessment was a developed research methodology based on a selected set of 19 indicators characterizing the development of innovation, industrialization and infrastructure at the regional level. The research covered 16 regions (provinces) in Poland from 2015 to 2021. In addition to determining the dynamics of change of individual indicators, characterizing the rate of change of the sustainable economy in these 16 regions, their ranking was created, reflecting the status of implementation of Goal 9 of the Agenda. The ranking was made using the developed new approach to analyzing a multi-criteria problem based on the MCDM methodology. The CODAS and CoCoSo methods and the Laplace criterion were used to determine the final value of the index for assessing the level of sustainable development of regions. Meanwhile, the values of the indicator weights were determined based on the Shannon Entropy and CRITIC methods and the aforementioned criterion. The determined index values formed the basis for making a ranking of the studied regions and assessing their level of development. The result of this process was their division into four classes differing in the level of achievement of Goal 9 of the Agenda. With the use of non-parametric tests (Kendall's Rank and Spearman Rank), an evaluation was carried out of the relationship between the values of the determined index and selected economic and social parameters characterizing the studied regions between 2015 and 2021. The results show that Poland is highly differentiated both temporally and spatially at the regional level. Throughout the entire analyzed period, the high level of development in the assessed scope was reported for the Masovia, Lower Silesia and Pomerania provinces, and the low level – for the Holy Cross Province. The results also confirm the relationship between a high degree of innovation, industrialization and stable infrastructure and economic development and living standards. The results show regions that need a decision on their nature and the role they are to play in the national and European economy.
•Regional Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 9 in Poland was assessed;•A new integrated approach was used for the assessment;•In Poland occur the great diversity of the regions in terms of SDG9;•SDG9 index has a strong relationship with economic and social parameters.
With the concept of exnovation, Sustainability Transitions (ST) studies are experiencing a paradigm shift. Their typical focus on sustainable niche innovations has now shifted to shed light on the ...reverse side of these emergence processes: the exit routes from socio-technical systems which cause problems of unsustainability. This article introduces the exnovation shift which is taking place within STs and illustrates its relevance in understanding the challenges of transition governance in Brussels. Based on a review of the literature and an exploratory analysis, this article discusses the limits of transition strategies based solely on support for niche innovations, presents two emblematic cases which structure the literature on exnovation, and emphasises the need to consider new areas which integrate the challenges of exnovation at city level. Applied to the case of Brussels, the concept of exnovation allows a systemic and critical reading of the challenges facing the Low Emission Zone.
With the concept of exnovation, Sustainability Transitions (ST) studies are experiencing a paradigm shift. Their typical focus on sustainable niche innovations has now shifted to shed light on the ...reverse side of these emergence processes: the exit routes from socio-technical systems which cause problems of unsustainability. This article introduces the exnovation shift which is taking place within STs and illustrates its relevance in understanding the challenges of transition governance in Brussels. Based on a review of the literature and an exploratory analysis, this article discusses the limits of transition strategies based solely on support for niche innovations, presents two emblematic cases which structure the literature on exnovation, and emphasises the need to consider new areas which integrate the challenges of exnovation at city level. Applied to the case of Brussels, the concept of exnovation allows a systemic and critical reading of the challenges facing the Low emission zone.
This book analyses regional development policy or the lack thereof in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which forms a key trading bloc on the African continent as well as the Global ...South. It explores the main attributes relevant to the formulation of regional policy in terms of socio-economic policies as well as spatial planning instruments. Further, it integrates macro and sectoral policy frameworks and applies the goals and objectives thereof practically through the appropriate and timely application of spatial targeting instruments within the SADC as a developing region. The focus of the research is to reflect on the social, economic, environmental, and political arguments through a focused analysis of relevant planning instruments, policies, and barriers in terms of the regional policy goals for the SADC region. The book provides insight into the role of the SADC in the context of regional development, analyses regional policy on a national, regional, and continental scale with reference to the SADC, and evaluates the inherent potential in the regional economy as well as barriers to regional development. It identifies gaps in the existing regional policy framework of the region and its constituent members and makes recommendations for improved regional policy frameworks and their implementation. The book is targeted at scholars, researchers, and students studying international trade as well as regional and economic development, and urban and regional planning and policy. It will also be a useful resource for policymakers, as it provides practical policy guidelines for improved regional planning towards a comprehensive regional policy framework. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Cet article se penche sur une des questions centrales de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale depuis son origine en 1989 : celle de la migration de ses classes moyennes vers la périphérie. Après 30 ans, ...le constat de l’échec des politiques visant à fixer les ménages moyens au sein de la RBC est patent. Nous montrons que cet échec résulte à la fois d’une erreur dans la cible (les ménages moyens avec enfants) et de moyens (l’accent mis sur la propriété), niant la réalité de la ville comme espace de transition : d’une part, les ménages moyens avec enfants ne représentent qu’une fraction modérée des départs et particulièrement difficile à maintenir dans un environnement urbain dense ; d’autre part, l’accès à la propriété ne semble guère un moyen efficace pour fixer les populations. Nous proposons dès lors un changement de paradigme : prenant acte de la ville comme espace de transition, il s’agit de s’interroger sur les groupes que la RBC pourrait chercher à attirer et les moyens pour y arriver.
Dit artikel bestudeert een van de belangrijkste kwesties van het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest (BHG) sinds de oprichting in 1989, namelijk de migratie van de Brusselse middenklasse naar de rand. Na dertig jaar is het duidelijk dat het beleid om huishoudens uit de middenklasse in het BHG te houden gefaald heeft. We tonen aan dat dit beleidsfalen toe te schrijven is aan een fout qua doelgroep (huishoudens uit de middenklasse met kinderen) en qua middelen (focus op eigendom), waarbij geen rekening wordt gehouden met het feit dat de stad als overgangsruimte fungeert: enerzijds vertegenwoordigen de huishoudens uit de middenklasse met kinderen maar een klein deel van de uitstroom en zijn zij erg moeilijk in een dichte stedelijke omgeving te houden, en anderzijds lijkt de toegang tot eigendom nauwelijks een efficiënt middel om te vermijden dat bevolkingsgroepen wegtrekken. We reiken dan ook een paradigmaverschuiving aan: door de stad als een overgangsruimte te beschouwen, dient er te worden nagedacht over de groepen die het BHG zou kunnen trachten aan te trekken, en over de middelen die daarvoor nodig zijn.
This article looks at one of the central issues of the Brussels-Capital Region since it was formed in 1989: the migration of the middle classes to the outskirts. After 30 years, it is clear that policies aimed at keeping average households in BCR have failed. We show that this failure is the result of an error with respect to the target (average households with children) as well as the means (the emphasis on ownership), denying the reality of the city as a place of transition: on the one hand, average households with children represent only a moderate fraction of departures and are particularly difficult to retain in a dense urban environment; on the other hand, access to ownership hardly seems to be an effective means of anchoring the population. We therefore propose a paradigm shift: acknowledge that the city is a place of transition and determine which groups BCR could seek to attract as well as the means to achieve this.
At the regional level, the imperative of sustainable development often manifests itself in an emphasis on developing green industries. However, regions vary in their preconditions for achieving this. ...In this paper we link regional preconditions to various pathways for green industry development. This provides the foundation for identifying place-based policy implications for growing green industries in different types of regions, grounded in the emerging perspective in innovation studies on transformative innovation policy. The paper thereby helps to understand the pathways for greening the economy in different regional contexts and how such green pathways can be promoted through policy.
•We use value-based DEA in the efficiency assessment of structural funds.•We address the specific case of the competitiveness of SMEs across different EU beneficiary regions.•National inefficient ...programmes mainly need to reduce their dependence on EU co-funding to become efficient.•Almost all inefficient regional programmes need to improve their capacity of execution.•Differences were found on the factors that require adjustments when considering regions’ categories.
The funds dedicated to the cohesion policy are aimed at attaining the convergence of wealth levels across the European Union (EU) member states. These constitute the second-highest group of expenditures in the EU budget and thus their evaluation assumes a prominent role. Their assessment can be carried out through different tools and methodologies, all of them with their own merits and flaws. For instance, macroeconomic models allow assessing the potential impact of EU funds on economic growth, but disregard management issues. Other modelling approaches consider direct econometric estimations which might bring biased estimates of the impacts of Structural Funds if some variables are omitted. A different possible tool is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is a non-parametric method to measure the relative efficiency of Decision-Making Units (DMUs), allowing for the consideration of multiple inputs and outputs in global performance evaluation. In this work we employ the Value-Based DEA approach, which combines DEA with Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) and enables performing a robustness analysis of the results in face of uncertain information, considering the main factors that might influence the efficiency of the implementation of Structural Funds. Specifically, we address the assessment of its application in the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in different beneficiary regions of the EU. Our analysis helped in the identification of best practices, sources of inefficiency and gaps regarding the benchmark regions/countries, thus leading to shape opportunities for improvement. Overall, we were able to ascertain that national inefficient programmes mainly need to reduce their dependence on EU co-funding to become efficient, whereas almost all inefficient regional programmes need to improve their capacity of execution. Nevertheless, differences were found on the factors that require adjustments when considering regions’ categories.
Purpose. The purpose of the research is to determine the degree of implementation of specific regional policies in rural areas in the context of Bulgaria’s integration into the European Union through ...the prospects of the changing economic situation and new trends in the implementation of regional policy. Methodology / approach. The focus of the research is the need for a working regional policy that gives importance to the development of rural areas and influences the demographic and socio-economic processes in Bulgaria. The study is defined by comparative analysis, reference to expert assessment, use of statistical data, and analysis of strategic documents and programs related to regional development. Results. This research has shown that the applied regional development policies within the European Union have partial success. At the same time, the problems and emerging deficits are successfully defined, but it is more difficult to find optimal solutions that can be applied in more than one municipality. In this direction, regional policy has its achievements in its development, but new solutions are still being sought for several spatial and territorial problems in connection with integration into a common European market. This means a comprehensive process of functional impacts in the socio-economic development of nearly 281 regions. In Bulgaria, the situation is even more complicated, because it is necessary to have a dual approach in regional politics. On the one hand, the development of the most urbanised regions, and on the other hand, the development of the rural areas, which are decisive for the development of the greater part of the territory of Bulgaria. Originality / scientific novelty. The regional development policy carried out in the years after 2007 has a static and spontaneous character, the new approach of the measures and programs after 2023 are based on new concepts and elements in line with information technologies, development of intelligent systems, economic connectivity to overcome the backward development of rural areas. New approaches and moments are proposed in the construction of a regional policy, which has a new framework and provisions for the development of the European economic space. In this direction, the need for expert decisions related to the management of regional development comes to the fore. Practical value / implications. It is necessary to make regional development a national priority. In addition, governments should facilitate access to young people and medium-sized businesses for the use of inputs and the promotion of projects. Access to financing, strategic, and planning activities, which have their characteristics at different levels, must be further developed.
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