Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
6
GRZEGORZGORZELAK
Nevertheless,contactswithsomerepresentativesofbothcentraland
regionaladministrationand,quitesurprisingly,withresearchersspecialisingin
regionalstudies,showthatinmanycasesonecanencounteropinionswhichare
completelyatvariancewiththecontemporary‘standard,ofknowledgeinthis
area.Arguably,regionalstudies,justlikeanyothersocialscience,arefraught
withsubjectivityanddependenceontheadoptedsystemofvalues(usuallywith
someideologicalunderpinnings).Nevertheless,despiteincompleteobjectivity,
wecanidentifymanyexamplesofsituationswhen,onthebasisofresearch,the
causeandeffectrelationshipscanbedetailedquiteaccurately.This,inturn,
can,andbyallmeansshould,becomeapremisefordesigningregionalpolicy
objectivesandactionsinawaywhichwillensurethatthegoalsareattainable
andtheactionsefficientandeffective.Inadditiontothat,itispossibletoidentify
wide-ranginginternationalexperiencesonthebasisofwhichtherationalityof
thegoalsandtheefficacyofthetoolsmaybeevaluatedonascaleallowing
abroadercomparison.
Theaimofthispaperistoidentifythemostcommonmythsaboutregional
policy,unfounded‘fashions,andfallaciesconcerningitspossibilities,functions
andmechanisms.
1.Themythofconvergence
Viewedspatially(territorially),developmenttakesplacebetweenthetwo
polesofopposingtrends:concentrationanddeconcentrationofsettlement
andbusinessactivity.Nearlyalloftheoreticalliteraturedealingwithregional
developmentissuesfocusesonananalysisofforcesdrivingthesetwotendencies.
Internationalexperiences,corroboratedbytheoreticalworks,provethatthe
tendencyforconcentrationprevailsoverthatfordeconcentration.Naturally,
thisdoesnotmeanthatonecanentirelyeliminatetheother;onthecontrary,
wecanwitnessaconcurrentoperationofthesetwotendenciesinthesocio-
economicreality,albeitondifferentplanes,invariouseconomicsectorsandin
differentspheresofsocialandeconomiclife(thereasonsforthissituationwill
beexpoundeduponbelow).
Despitetheprevalenceofconcentrationoverdeconcentration,thestrivingto
equalisedisparitiesbetweenregionsstillremainsthemostcommonobjective
ofregionalpolicy,bothoneimplementedbygovernmentsandonepursuedat
asupranationallevel.Likewise,inmanycases,regionalauthoritiesseeimproving
theregion,sstandingvis-à-visotherregionsandthenationalaveragevaluesas
thekeytaskamongthedevelopmentgoalsfortheirregion2.
Equalisinginterregionaldisparitiesenshrinedastheover-archingpolicygoal
hasitsrootsintheoriginsofmodernregionalpolicy–aresponsetotheGreat
Depressionofthe1930s.Eventhewealthiestcountriesatthetimeexperienced
2Oneistemptedtothinkthatallofthemwouldhavetheambitiontogoabovethenational
average.
