Regional economic theories as drivers of the EU Cohesion Policy

This chapter reviews the regional economic theories, schools of thought and policy narratives used to motivate the EU Cohesion Policy. The chapter starts by explaining the purpose of a theoretical perspective and then how prominent theories were adopted and linked to policy challenges, contexts and narratives. The main regional economic approaches are discussed since the beginning of the European process. The discussion is extended to emerging and controversial narratives and theories on today’s challenges addressing inter-regional inequalities, populism, climate change, sustainability, changing demographics and post-pandemic recovery. The goal is to provide an overview for non-economists that helps navigate the complexity of regional economic theories, policy objectives and narratives.