Bart Hoogeboom: Reviving the region. Bottom-up development in European rural areas, 1975-2020

Throughout modern history western European states have been involved in policies diminishing unequal development between different geographical entities within their borders. This research proposes a comparative historical analysis of the economic development and economic policies of three peripheral regions in Western Europe (Noordoost Friesland, Netherlands; Waldviertel, Austria; Meetjesland, Belgium) after the emergence of endogenous territorial policies and neoliberalism from the 1970’s onwards.  Regional policy in Western Europe shifted from top-down coordinated policies aimed at industrialisation towards more differentiated  bottom-up approaches.  Regional actors became responsible for selecting potential development opportunities and for the implementation of policies capitalizing on these competitive advantages.  The aim of this research is to identify the effects of these endogenous development policies on the economic, social and political structure of European rural regions from 1975 onwards.  The methodology will combine a quantitative analysis of the economic and social developments in these regions and a qualitative analysis of the implemented policies. To limit the scope and to focus on activities typical to rural areas in-depth analysis will mostly concern the agricultural and tourism sector.