Evaluating Local Economic and Employment Development: How to assess what works among programmes and policies

Policy evaluation poses conceptual, technical and institutional challenges, particularly in the case of local development. Data is often inadequate and multiple forms of policy can interact to obscure the effects of individual initiatives. Many external factors can affect the economy of a local area, and positive policy impacts in one location can even cause undesirable effects in another. Furthermore, individuals targeted by policy may move from one locality to another.

These are other complexities need to be considered when assessing which policies are truly effective and efficient.  Evaluating Local Economic and Employment Development is one of the few books to examine best practices in evaluating programmes for local and regional economic and employment development.  Appropriate for a non-technical readership, it is essential reading for central and local governments who want to improve the practice of evaluation, enlarge the evidence base for policy and develop a culture of evaluation.

This publication is available. To purchase it, please visit the OECD Online Bookshop. You can contact the author at alistair.nolan@oecd.org