Prerequisite:

Second-cycle Bologna degree in the relevant track or a university (level VII) degree.

Content (Syllabus outline):

• regional development and regional policy: definitios, goals, strategies, instruments
• regional development theories ((neo)classical and endogenous theory of economic growth, …)
• concepts of regional development
• regional management and regional governance
• government vs. governance
• regional capital
• development cycle in regional planning: programming, implementation, monitoring, evaluation
• regional policies in Slovenia and comparable countries (Finland, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, …)
• Institutions
• Quadraple helix
• regional/local labour markets
• regional innovation strategies (smart specialization)
• Industry 4.0
• digitalization (ICT, new technologies, new business models, impact on regional development)
• active ageing and silver economy
• regional resilience

Readings:

●       Sotarauta, M., Beer, A. (eds.) 2021: Handbook on City and Regional Leadership. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. (selected chapters)

• Dutt, A. K., Mookherjee, D., Thakur, R. R., Sommers, B., Benhart, J. 2020: Regional Development and Planning: An Overview. Urban and Regional Planning and Development pp 23-58. Cham: Springer.

●       Passi, A., Harrison, J., Jones, M. 2018: Handbook on the Geographies of Regions and Territories. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. (selected chapters)

●       Clark, J. 2014: Working Regions. Reconnecting Innovation and Production in the Knowledge Economy. Routledge.

●       Huggins, R. (ed.), Thompson, P. (ed.) 2017: Handbook of Regions and Competitiveness: Contemporary Theories and Perspectives on Economic Development. Edward Elgar.

●       Pike, A.; Rodriguez-Pose, A., Tomaney, J. 2017: Local and Regional Development: second edition. Routledge.

●       OECD, 2018: Rethinking Regional Development Policy-making. OECD.

●       OECD, 2018: Job Creation and Local Economic Development 2018: Preparing for the Future of Work. OECD.

• Cooke, P. (ed.), 2014: Re-framing Regional Development. Evolution, Innovation and Transition. Routledge.
• Jones, M. (ed.), Paasi, A. (ed.) 2015: Regional Worlds: Advancing the Geography of Regions. Routledge..
• Rodríguez-Pose, A. 2009: Do institutions matter for regional development in the EU? London School of Economics.
• OECD, 2011: OECD Territorial Reviews: Slovenia 2011.
• OECD, 2012: Promoting Growth in All Regions: Lessons from across of OECD.
• OECD, 2014: Regional Outlook 2014: Regions and Cities: Where Policies and People Meet. OECD.
• Bellini, N., Danson, M., Halkier, H. 2013: Regional Development Agencies: The Next Generation? Networking, Knowledge and Regional Policies. Routledge

Objectives and competences:

The course will direct the students into studying development processes in regions, where the students will be able to recognise main actors, policies, and tendencies and explain them in relation to contemporary development concepts and theories. The study will cover structural and processual aspects of development and will raise students’ capacity to analyse, interpret and use available good practices and development tools.

Intended learning outcomes:

• knowledge on theories, concepts, models and methods in the field of regional studies
• capacity to define key development tendencies in region and to interlink them with contemporary theories
• capacity to recognise key development actors and to include them into the development processes
• identification and effective use of methodological approaches for analysing, planning and managing regional processes.

Assessment:

Oral exam (100 %).