Endogenous approaches to local and regional development policy

Abstract

Indigenous and endogenous approaches to local and regional development policy were introduced in the late 1970s and have become prominent since then both in advanced economies and in developing countries (see e.g. Stohr 1990, Garofoli 1992, OECD 2003, Pike et al. 2006, VazquezBarquero 2006). They are based on the idea that local and regional development should be driven in a bottom-up manner by indigenous and endogenous forces and factors. There is a certain difference, however no clear borderline, between indigenous and endogenous development concepts. Pike et al. (2006: 155) refer to indigenous development as being based upon naturally occurring and/ or socially produced sources of economic potential growing from within localities and regions. They regard indigenous approaches as a means of nurturing such ‘home-grown’ assets and resources that may be more locally and regionally embedded, more committed and more capable of making enduring contributions to local and regional development. Such resources and factors include land, natural resources, the resident local labour force, historically rooted skills, and localentrepreneurship. Endogenous approaches are more broadly defi ned in comparison, referring to those that focus more on internal factors and processes of local and regional development instead of external ones (Stohr 1990). Included here are also factors which are intentionally created or upgraded by policy makers and related institutions, such as infrastructure investments, schools, training organisations, universities and research organisations. Created endogenous factors, thus, refer to a highly educated workforce, and to knowledge and technologies developed in the region, which might lead to new products, processes or other new solutions. Endogenous forces include also social and political factors such as the engagement of social agents and civil society which trigger processes of self-help, local initiatives, and social movements aiming at the improvement of living conditions in a particular region. Due to the strong role of local forces and factors, such a development strategy has often also been called the “bottom-up approach”. This refers to the idea that regional development is initiated and carried by local and regional actors and agents instead of central government or external agencies, and that it is oriented to the needs and objectives of the regional population.

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