1. 1 REGIO gis Shifting to more decentralised and integrated policies? Preliminary results Lewis Dijkstra Deputy Head of the Analysis Unit DG for Regional Policy European Commission

2. 2 REGIO gis Main hypothesis Member States (especially high performing ones) are shifting to more integrated and de- centralised policies Tested in three policy domains: Innovation Transport Labour market Forthcoming study: Intralab by Ecorys

3. 3 REGIO gis Simple idea

4. 4 REGIO gis Difficult to define Sectoral (vertical) Focus mainly on goals within the policy domain Example Increasing the share of people aged 30 to 34 with a tertiary education to 40% Integrated (horizontal) Focus explicitly includes goals from other policy domains Example Linking education needs of the economy to education supply

5. 5 REGIO gis Centralised and decentralised Centralised (no regional involvement) National level designs and controls the policy implementation (regions may implement policy but with no discretion) De-centralised (high regional involvement) Regions or local level government can design and implement policy as they see fit (budget may be provided centrally) Multilevel governance is a hybrid of two types, but provides room for discretion at the subnational level

6. 6 REGIO gis Logic behind the study Integrated policies are more difficult to evaluate Even with very good framework conditions, obstacles to development remain Assessment of Member State policy practice may allow to review whether their mix –Is linked to their level of performance –Is shifting over time This study may contribute evidence to the EU discussion about when to use what type of policy

7. 7 REGIO gis Link to spatial blindness

8. 8 REGIO gis No policy type is intrinsically better Being spatially blind can be beneficial or even the only option, for example in the case of trade policy or Central Bank interest setting Regional involvement can help but can also distort a policy An integrated policy can find synergies, but it can also lead to confusion The goal is to identify the relative costs and benefits of each type of policy

9. 9 REGIO gis High-speed rail in France Started out as a national and sectoral policy in the 1950s Became more integrated and involved more regional and local authorities during the 1980s and 1990s Mostly produced clear synergies (for example in Lille) through this stronger involvement and better policy coordination In a few cases produced little synergy due to poor connections/frequency and insufficient critical mass (overshooting)

10. 10 REGIO gis Innovation

11. 11 REGIO gis Performance: Innovation Index

12. 12 REGIO gis Summary Innovation Index Based on 25 indicators covering: –Human resources (S&E, SSH) –Finance and support (R&D, VC) –Firm investments (R&D, IT, innovation) –Entrepreneurship –Throughputs (patents, trademarks…) –Innovators (product, process, market or organisational innovation) –Economic effects (hi-tech and KISS, new sales)

13. 13 REGIO gis What do the top performers do? Concentrate on a few core priorities and strategic issues First priority is investing in R&D cooperation between public/academic/non-profit research centres and enterprises (covers 18% of the innovation leaders spending in this field) Shift to more coordination and integration as well as decentralisation

14. 14 REGIO gis Changes in the policy mix Three broad types of policies: –Research (focus on universities and research centres) –Innovation (focus on entreprises) –Triple helix policies Trends: –The first two are centrally driven and sectoral but are shifting to more integrated –Triple helix is decentralised and integrated and becoming more so

15. 15 REGIO gis National policy mix

16. 16 REGIO gis Case studies 1.Finland: OSKE Centres of Expertise Programme 2.Sweden: VINNVAXT regional innovation systems 3.Spain: INGENIO 2010 (R&D&I and cooperation) 4.Belgium: Flemish SME Innovation Cooperation (VIS) 5.Poland: National Service system to SMEs (KSU) 6.Czech Republic: ROZVOJ investments in new equipment and processes (Development) 7.The Netherlands: WBSO R&D tax subsidy

17. 17 REGIO gis Case studies on the two dimensions

18. 18 REGIO gis Transport

19. 19 REGIO gis Performance: Four main groups EU-15 North (highest) SE, FI, DK, UK, IE, NL, DE, BE, LU, FR, AT EU-15 South (2 nd highest) IT, ES, PT, EL EU-10 East (3 rd highest) PL, HU, ZC, SK, EE, LV,LT, SI EU-2 (4 th highest) RO, BG EU-10 other MT, CY (some data gaps)

20. 20 REGIO gis Performance based on Quality of infrastructure Investments in infrastructure Modal split (passengers and freight) Car ownership Traffic fatalities

21. 21 REGIO gis What do top performers do? Rely mostly on central and sectoral policies, but are shifting towards more integrated and decentralised policies Traffic safety is an example of well performing sectoral and central policy Embedding changes to the rail, road and air network in the regional and urban fabric is done more and more with a strong regional/local involvement

22. 22 REGIO gis Policy trends A number policies such as use optimisation, transport operations and non-pricing policies are and remain sectoral and central Road and rail infrastructure provision is central and sectoral, but shifting Market regulation and pricing are more integrated as they (can) take on board other objectives, also at a regional level Transport and spatial planning and the development or regional airports are more integrated and decentralised

23. 23 REGIO gis Changes in the national policy mix

24. 24 REGIO gis Seven case studies 1.Sweden: road traffic safety 2.Slovenia: road corridor development 3.France: high speed rail 4.Spain: road network development 5.UK: London congestion charge 6.Poland: Krakow regional airport development 7.Denmark: land use and transport integration in Copenhagen

25. 25 REGIO gis Case studies on the two dimensions

26. 26 REGIO gis Labour Market

27. 27 REGIO gis Performance

28. 28 REGIO gis Performance is also related to: Global Competitiveness index Employment growth and rate Unemployment rate Integration of migrants Flexible labour markets (OECD) Education and training Active labour market Social security system

29. 29 REGIO gis What do top performers do? More decentralisation of policies More active labour market policies More responsive to regional/local needs and differences in the level of development Flexicurity relies more on an integrated approach and a decentralised approach

30. 30 REGIO gis Changes in the policy mix A shift from passive to active labour market policies and both are becoming more integrated and decentralised Public employment services are becoming more decentralised Centralised and sectoral policies rely on accompanying measures which are more decentralised and integrated

31. 31 REGIO gis The national policy mix

32. 32 REGIO gis Seven policies to study 1.Italy: regulatory framework 2.Germany: More employment through self-employment? 3.Poland: Active Labour Market Policy in Upper Silesia 4.Hungary: Integrated regional development policies in Western Pannonia 5.Spain: Decentralisation of Public Employment Services and more effective ALMPs in Catalunia 6.UK: Creating Advantage– a regional economic strategy for the West Midlands 7.Denmark: The Golden Triangle of Flexicurity

33. 33 REGIO gis Case studies on the two dimensions

34. 34 REGIO gis Conclusions

35. 35 REGIO gis Conclusions Centralised policies Economies of scale (faster and cheaper) Externalities beyond the region within the country Lower transaction costs Easier to set up Predominant in the EU-12 De-centralised policies Adaptation to local preferences and needs Externalities per region More innovation More accountability More difficult to set up More common in EU-15

36. 36 REGIO gis Sectoral and integrated policies Sectoral Simple and fast Can set uniform framework conditions Easy to evaluate But Does not consider externalities No policy coordination Integrated policies Incorporates externalities Can remove further obstacles to development Easier policy coordination Difficult to evaluate But Take more time Requires strong institutional capacity

37. 37 REGIO gis Overall Sectoral and central policies can deliver a swift improvement to framework conditions. This is useful when the regional impact and the synergies with other policies are not so important Integrated and de-centralised policies overcome specific obstacles to development by adapting to regional strengths and weaknesses, encourage more ownership and benefit from synergies with other policies. But they take more time to set up

38. 38 REGIO gis Thank you for your attention Questions?