Module Objectives

The aim of regional development is to study the socio-economic development of a region or a group of regions. Regional development differentiates itself from national development in terms of the spatial reference frame. Since the 1980’s, there has been a clear shift in interest for regional development, at the expense of national development.

This interest is particularly obvious on a European Union level. The emergence of new types of problems and opportunities such as the establishment of the European Common Market, the emergence of supranational organizations, the internationalization of competition and cooperation, not only on a national but also a regional level, have oriented academic debates and policy towards a regional scale.

Course Contents

The course is organized around two sections. The first section examines the geography of inequalities in the EU. It studies the evolution over time, shape and characteristics of the economic and social disparities in the EU regions. The discussion will be based on the data drawn from several official EU sources and databanks.

The second section investigates the dynamics and limits of the contemporary developmental efforts as proposed by scholars and adopted by the EU in its policies; it also presents a general discussion about the main EU policies, focusing on the human factor and sustainability.

Teaching and Assessment

The teaching methods include lectures, case studies and class discussions. Assessment methods will be based on class participation, a research paper, a class presentation based on the paper, as well as two short tests.