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Should central government leave regional development to local policy makers? Would giving local authorities and agencies more power and autonomy create more jobs and boost economic growth?

Employment ministers from OECD countries, including Finland, Italy, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, addressed such questions at a conference in Venice, Italy, from 17-19 April 2008. The conference, Decentralisation and Coordination :  The Twin Challenges of Labour Market  Policy, was organised by OECD and the Senate and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Italy.

This conference was open to the media.

Participants included Stephen Timms, UK Minister of State, Department for Work & Pensions; Elaine Chao, US Secretary of Labor; Cesare Damiano, Minister of Labour & Social Security, Italy; Xavier Prats-Monné, Director, DG Employment, Social Affairs & Equal Opportunities, European Commission; Jan Andersson, Chair of the Committee on Employment & Social Affairs, European Parliament; and Aart de Geus, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD.

Further information, including the conference agenda, is available at www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/venice