The OECD Territorial Development Policy Committee held a High Level Meeting (HLM) in Martigny, Switzerland, on 25-26 June.
The High Level Meeting (HLM) of the Territorial Development Policy Committee in Martigny, Switzerland, on 25-26 June 2003 aimed to support and encourage a growing consensus among OECD countries on the need to shift territorial policies away from subsidies and towards a more open policy stance promoting regional competitiveness through private and public investment, entrepreneurship and reliance on local assets.
This new approach is relevant both for OECD countries and non-member economies confronted with increasing disparities between regions. It is driven by two main considerations:
Past policies have failed to significantly reduce regional disparities. Subsidies have proved only partially effective in helping individual sectors and lagging regions to catch up, and they will cause a drain on budgetary resources if they are continued.
Globalisation and the opening up of markets as well as political and demographic trends are leading to growing public interest in local initiative for economic development and decentralisation.
