Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

The Reut team recently came back from a study visit to the EU and the OECD, which concluded a process of two years of research on regional development. Here are some important insights and findings relevant to the Israeli context.

• The world economy is an economy of regions – Globalization and the need for specialization has transformed the world’s economy into an economy of regions. Agricultural export to Europe, for example, has become more regionally oriented as Europeans have begun linking locality with excellence.
• Regional policy should focus on exploiting the economic potential of a community in a certain space – The EU and OECD policies postulate that an area’s geographic distance from the center of the country is not the only important indicator for regional competitiveness. Policies should also focus on regional competitive advantages, taking into consideration its geographic and demographic characteristics.
• Regional policy is thus also applicable to small states – Regional policy is also applicable to small states, as size does not imply the absence of unique geographic or demographic characteristics. Though small in size, Israel has regional diversity with the potential for fostering high economic growth.

Links to previous blogs such on regionalism, especially

• Regional Development (2): ‘The Bible Valley’ – A Unique and Global Regional Initiative
• Regional Development (6) Focusing on Strengths not Weaknesses