Paradigm change in regional policy: Towards smart specialisation? Lessons from flanders (Belgium)

Abstract

Due to the changing role of "the region" in economic development, it appears that policies targeted towards regions underwent significant changes in objectives, geographical scope, governance and policy instruments. This paper challenges three main questions related to recent changes in regional policy. Firstly, what are the fundamental characteristics of the "old" regional policies ? Secondly, did the "old" paradigm evolve into a new paradigm of regional policy ? And if yes, how did these changes materialized and what characteristics where affected ? Lastly, we consider how these changes were integrated in Flemish regional policies. © SRGB.