Regional Interests and Regional Actors: Wales and Saxony As Modern Regions in Europe (The Cass Series in Regional and Federal Studies)

221 Pages·2004·2.88 MB·English

by  Jorg Mathias

REGIONAL INTERESTS IN EUROPE
THE CASS SERIES IN REGIONAL AND FEDERAL
STUDIES ISSN 1363–5670
General Editor: John Loughlin
This series brings together some of the foremost academics and theorists to
examine the timely subject of regional and federal studies, which since the
mid-1980s have become key questions in political analysis and practice.
1. The Political Economy of Regionalismedited by Michael Keating and John
Loughlin
2. The Regional Dimension of the European Union: Towards a Third Level in
Europe?edited by Charlie Jeffery
3. Remaking the Union: Devolution and British Politics in the 1990sedited by
Howard Elcock and Michael Keating
4. Paradiplomacy in Action: The Foreign Relations of Subnational
Governmentsedited by Francisco Aldecoa and Michael Keating
5. The Federalization of SpainLuis Moreno
6. Local Power, Territory and Institutions in European Metropolitan
Regionsedited by Bernard Jouve and Christian Lefevre
Regional Interests in Europe
Wales and Saxony as Modern Regions
Jörg Mathias
Aston University
FRANK CASS
LONDON • PORTLAND, OR
First Published in 2004 in Great Britain by
FRANK CASS PUBLISHERS
Crown House 47 Chase Side, Southgate
London N14 5BP
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of
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and in the United States of America by
FRANK CASS PUBLISHERS
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Portland, Oregon, 97213–3786
Website http://www.frankcass.com
Copyright © 2004 Jörg Mathias
British Library Cataloging in Publication Data:
Mathias, Jörg
Regional interests in Europe: Wales and Saxony as modern regions
1. European Union—Wales 2. European Union—Germany—Saxony
3. Wales—Economic conditions 4. Wales—Economic policy 5. Saxony (Germany)—
Economic conditions 6. Saxony (Germany)—Economic policy
I. Title
338.9'429
ISBN 0-203-49790-2 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-58251-9 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-7146-5583-X (Print Edition)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Mathias, Jörg
Regional interests in Europe: Wales and Saxony as modern regions/Jörg Mathias.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7146-5583-X (cloth)—ISBN 0-7146-8467-8 (pbk.)
1. Regional planning—Wales. 2. Regional planning—Germany—Saxony.
3. Regional planning—European Union countries. I. Title.
HT395.G72W325 2003
307.1'2'09429–dc22
2003055416
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or
v
introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written
permission of the publisher of this book.
Contents
Preface by John Loughlin viii
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgements xi
List of Abbreviations xii
Introduction xv
1 Regions and Regional Development in the Competitive 1
Environment of the European Union
2 Regional Socioeconomic Conditions, Interests and Strategies: 27
Wales and Saxony
3 Public Actors in Regional Development 73
4 New Forms of Public-Private Interaction in Wales and Saxony 1 02
5 Conclusions: What Makes a Modern Region? 1 26
Appendices
A. The REGE Wales Project 1 49
A1. The International Framework of the Project, and European 1 49
Comparison
A2. Return Ratios and Composition of the Welsh Panel of Respondents 1 55
A3. Text of the REGE Wales Questionnaire 1 57
B. Overview of Interviews 1 77
B1. Interview Methodology 1 77
B2. Standard Interview Structure 1 78
B3. Institutions Interviewed in Wales 1 79
B4. Institutions Interviewed in Saxony 1 79
vii
Bibliography 1 82
Index 1 93
Preface
Jörg Mathias is part of the second generation of scholars who have pushed
forward the analysis of the regional question from a political science perspective.
The great merit of these scholars’ work is that it has an important empirical
focus, while it is also grounded in the theoretical debate on territorial politics
which has developed over the last fifteen years or so. One part of the research
presented here by Mathias has its origins in one of the few broadly based
empirical regional research programmes (REGE), led by Beate Kohler-Koch of
Mannheim and including the present author, that have been conducted in
Western Europe. Mathias, working in collaboration with myself, was responsible
for much of the evidence collection in the Welsh case. However, Mathias’s
research project led him to expand on this initial research by also studying the
region of Saxony The outcome has been a highly impressive comparison of the
two regions. As a native of that region but also with a near perfect command of
English and an impressive knowledge of the Welsh scene, the author was
particularly well-placed to carry out this comparison.
The emphasis in this work, as in the original REGE project, was on regional
‘actors’. Mathias places these in the context of considerable change in both
Saxony and Wales over the past fifteen or twenty years. Among his most
important insights is the emergence of ‘Europe’ as a factor structuring new forms
of public-private interaction in both Wales and Saxony. In the case of Wales, this
restructuring has received a further boost following the devolution reforms and
the setting up of the Welsh Assembly in 1998. Although the Welsh empirical
research was carried out before devolution and, indeed, devolution was still only
a twinkle in the eye of some parts of the Opposition, it demonstrates that the
ground was already being laid for this. Finally, Mathias offers some valuable and
interesting reflections on the meaning of what is a ‘modern region’, which will
provide further stimulus to this increasingly important debate.
John Loughlin
Cardiff
October 2003
List of Tables
2.1 Distribution of Employment in Wales, 1989–94 35
2.2 Regional Development Funding Available in the Industrial South Wales 36
(Objective 2) Area, 1994–96
2.3 Gross Domestic Product in Saxony, 1991–99 39
2.4 Employment in Saxony, by Sector, 1991–99 41
2.5 Use of ERDF Funds in Saxony, 1991–93 43
2.6 Regional Development Funding Available in Saxony, 1994–99 44
2.7 Welsh Local Government Reform: Territorial Changes, 1996 50
2.8 Distribution of Welsh Westminster Seats among the Parties in the 1992, 57
1997 and 2001 General Elections
2.9 Membership of Parties in Saxony, 1990–99, and Distribution of Saxon 63
Landtag and Bundestag Seats in the 1990, 1994 and 1998/99 Elections
3.1 Regional Development Funding for the New Länder, 1991–93 94
4.1 Public Accountability of Quangos in the UK, 1995 1 07
4.2 REGE Panel Perceptions of Relative Overall and Networking 1 15
Importance of Actors in Regional Development in Wales, 1996
4.3 REGE Panel Perceptions of Relative Influence of Actors on Various 1 17
Stages of Regional Development Projects in Wales, 1996
4.4 Volume of Saxon Foreign Trade with Selected Countries, 1995 and 1 21
1999
A1.1 Composition of the European Panel 1 50
A1.2 The Importance of Regional Government in General, and with Regard 1 50
to Regional Development Policy and R&D Policy in Particular
A1.3 Should Regions have a Greater Influence Within the EU in General, and1 51
Should Regions have More Direct Say in the Shaping of EU R&D
Policy?
A1.4 Expected Features of a ‘Europe of the Regions’ 1 51
A1.5 Views on the Economic Impact of Establishing the Single European 1 52
Market, in Particular Whether it Would be Useful to Follow the Market-
oriented Trend within the Single Market, and Whether EU Competition
Regulations have Harmful Effects on the Regional Economy
A1.6 How are Structural Funds from the EU Reaching the Region Perceived 1 52
by Those Whom They are Destined For?
A1.7 General Perceptions of the Political Climate in the Region 1 53
A1.8 The Role of Public Actors in Public-Private Relationships: Does the 1 53
Regional Government Usually Set the Right Priorities? Is the Regional