This book reviews Finland's success in achieving balanced development over the past decade and assesses the challenges that it faces in maintaining this success. Given intense competition in both ICT and more traditional product markets, as well as rapid ageing of the population, it looks at how...

The province of Bergamo, located in Lombardy, is one of the most successful regions in Italy. The economy is highly competitive, diversified and export-oriented, productivity is above the national average, and unemployment is almost non-existent. The diversity of the region and its abundant...

One of the major challenges facing the Czech Republic is to preserve the role of the Capital city Region of Prague and its surroundings as growth engines for the national economy, while ensuring adequate development in other regions. This report examines the performance and potential of the...

OECD's territorial review of the Italian province of Siena. It finds that Siena, a predominantly rural province in central Italy, has enjoyed steady economic growth throughout the post-war period. This success has its roots in a diverse economy based on manufacturing, services, high-value-added...

Few other countries feature the combination of very low population densities and difficult topography that hinders communication, in addition to a variety of contrasting climates. But the “Nordic welfare model” strives, with a good degree of success, to offer equal living conditions to all...

OECD's comprehensive territorial review of Stockholm. It finds Stockholm to be on the the most successful - but not unchallenged - regions. While there is no crisis on the horizon, there are a number of weaknesses that could undermine the region’s competitiveness in the long run. These...

The Greater Helsinki Region emerged from the 1990s as an internationally competitive economy. This review examines the factors contributing to this success and the new development challenges it has created. One critical policy question is the Finnish dependence on the telecom/mobile industry....

The Champagne-Ardenne region in the north-east of France enjoys comparative advantages in a number of sectors, including mechanics, metalworking, packaging and agriculture, and of course Champagne. Although it still ranks fifth among French regions in terms of GDP/capita, Champagne-Ardenne lost...

Across the OECD, globalisation increasingly tests the ability of regional economies to adapt and exploit their competitive edge, as it also offers new opportunities for regional development. This review of Newcastle in the United Kingdom looks at a medium-sized metropolitan area that is the...

This review of Mexico evaluates emerging territorial development strategies as well as relevant changes in governance, such as new horizontal and vertical co-ordination mechanisms, being introduced in conjunction with improved federal arrangements. The review focuses on three policy objectives...