Taking a territorial perspective to identify the factors that determine economic performance enables to look at the specificities of a certain area (i.e. a territory), to consider the sedimentation of human practices and behaviour, to account for local organisational capacity and potential, and to describe the specific institutional context and its impacts.

Adopting such an approach allows to account for the natural and cultural assets of a certain area, and so differentiate between resources and barriers to economic development. When appreciated, not only do such differences nourish the rich variety of available development paths, but they also express different degrees of sustainability.

The combined analysis of historical, cultural and socio-economic factors helps explain why a territory generates positive externalities of a non-economic nature, while another may bear the weight of several reinforcing negative externalities. This leads to the identification of the territorial factors of quality that are essential to attract new investment and produce opportunities.

Altogether this enables to appreciate the mix of territorial differences and so express a rich palette of comparative advantages. Each territory may hence compete along its own specificities. To follow this route the most important aspect is that the territorial 'offer' must be clearly identifiable, which is the objective of work conducted in this young and promising field of economics.