Regional economic resilience: the role of national and regional policies

TLDR

Economic resilience has become a popular concept, yet regional economies vary widely in vulnerability, and the policy and governance aspects of resilience remain underdeveloped. The study investigates how national and subnational policies shape regional economic resilience, focusing on Greece’s West Macedonia. The authors conduct a historical case study of West Macedonia over the past 30 years to trace how various policies have affected its response to economic slumps. The analysis shows that national protectionist policies largely account for West Macedonia’s resilience to past crises and its vulnerability to the current economic crisis.

Abstract

In recent years, economic resilience has become a popular term in both theory and policy practice. This interest was triggered by the fact that some regional economies were extremely vulnerable, while others have managed to overcome, more or less effectively, the worse consequences of the current economic crisis. Within this context, questions arise regarding the role that policies at both the national and subnational levels can play in shaping regional economic resilience. Although high in the academic and political agenda, understanding the policy and governance aspects of resilience still remains a relatively underdeveloped area. The paper contributes to this debate focusing on an area which has been most severely hit by crises, the Region of West Macedonia, in Greece. The case study builds on the historical trajectory of the region in order to explain how different types of policies have influenced the ability of West Macedonia to respond to economic slumps and crises of the last 30 years. Evidence suggests that national protectionist policies largely explain not only resilience of the region against previous crises, but also its vulnerability towards the still ongoing economic crisis.