REGIONS IN A GLOBAL MARKET - THE EXPERIENCES OF WALES AND BADEN-WURTTEMBERG

This article sets the question of globalization of economic coordinati on (which it briefly criticizes) in the context of how such coordinati on is managed 'on the ground'. The region, the sub-state administrativ e entity found in most advanced economies, is argued to be a crucial e lement not least because evolving processes of economic coordination i ncreasingly depend upon regional economies. Increasingly, too, such ec onomies come to depend for key functions on the governance powers of r egional administrations. The more progressive of these operate a 'dece ntralized industry policy' which promotes institutional learning, ofte n through associational practices. An empirical study of two members o f a recently developed European regional economic partnership, the 'Eu ropean Motor Regions', Wales and Baden-Wurttemberg, illustrates the ev olutionary processes in question.