Regional Policy and Planning in Europe explores the ways regional policy and planning systems across Europe have been influenced by: * economic and monetary union * the impending enlargement of the European Union * the devolution of administrative power from central government to regional authorities * the increased importance of environmental and urban issues. Presenting a comprehensive overview of the economic basis of integration, this book examines the evolution of various systems of government, planning and forms of devolution.

No detailed description available for "Polarized Development and Regional Policies".

First published in 1999, this volume combines the theory and practice of regional economic policy in Europe. Six main topics are covered as follows: theory of regional economic development and policy; Regional policy at the national level; Regional disparities in the EU – past and present; Impact of the integration on regions; Regional policy in the EU 1975-1999; The structural funds 2000-2006 and openness to Eastern European countries. The book also includes an up-to-date bibliography on the topic covered.

This title was first published in 2002: Regional planning and government in the UK is undergoing a period of tremendous activity, with a wide range of new policies, innovative techniques and experiments being tested. This volume provides an overview of developments, describing and analyzing the legislative, political and economic contexts within which changes are occurring, and assessing the continuing difficulties that face planners and others operating in the new arrangements for regional planning

He goes on to tell the story of his advisory missions to Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and the South Pacific. Higgins weaves anecdotal accounts of his adventures in these regions, and gives his personal reactions to these environments along with analysis of the development efforts in which he participated. He explains how professional thinking about economic and social development evolved as experience and knowledge accumulated. The book also includes accounts of the author's experiences with, and reactions to, a variety of multicultural and bilateral aid agencies, thus providing an intimate picture of their operation. In his final chapter Higgins sums up his own views on the current state of economic development, development economics, economics in general, and the role of political and cultural factors in the development process.

The ideological foundations of the contributors range from personalized neo-Marxism, through "extreme centre" neo-Keynesianism, to hard-line neoclassical mathematical economics. Despite this diversity there is a surprising degree of consensus. No contributor advocates centralized planning and none expects a free market to cure all economic ills. Opinions vary as to how well the market actually works, but all agree that equity and efficiency are essential goals which most consider to be complementary rather than mutually exclusive. In the concluding chapter it is suggested that current economic problems are caused not so much by government intervention as by the nature of that intervention. The authors believe that the recent ideological convergence may lead to a new paradigm, a theory of the optimal blend of market and management that will be flexible enough to deal with the varying conditions of diverse societies, thus simplifying the task of creating a smooth-running global economy. The contributors are Irma Adelman, Mark Blaug, Kenneth Boulding, Irving Brecher, Albert Breton, John S. Chipman, André Gunder Frank, Martha Fuentes Frank, Niles Hansen, Murray C. Kemp, Robin Marris, Richard Musgrave, Walt Rostow, Donald J. Savoie, Nicholas Spulber, and Paul Streeten. Higgins himself contributes a chapter on basic concepts and collaborates with Donald Savoie on the final chapter.