Regional Insights: A selection of articles providing a fresh take on regional studies

From decline to renewal: How anchor firms can transform regional economies

By Dr Christina Wolf (E-mail), University of Hertfordshire, UK This article examines how the presence or absence of locally rooted anchor firms shapes regional resilience, drawing on evidence from East Germany’s post-reunification experience. The piece highlights how rebuilding anchoring functions can help “unmake” uneven development and support place-based regional transformation. Reference to the original article: […]

Resilience in a Double-Insular Territory: Lessons from Gozo, Malta

By Juergen Attard, Senior Manager – Research & Policy Development, Gozo Regional Development Authority, Victoria, Gozo, Malta (email). Introduction Gozo, the second-largest island of the Maltese archipelago, offers significant lessons in how small territories cultivate resilience and sustainability within structural constraints. Situated just 25 minutes by ferry from Malta’s main island, Gozo is home to around 41,000 […]

Up Close and Inspired: Local Agency as Women-Led Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Rural Regions

By Robyn Eversole, Bucknell University, USA (e-mail) Describing rural regions as “left behind” has never sat comfortably with me. The term has become popular in policy circles over the past two decades as a way to articulate geographical inequalities, but it tends to be used uncritically, lumping together very different types of places and economic […]

Regional Competitiveness through Value Chains: The Flemish Chocolate and Ghanaian Cocoa Clusters

By Ries Anderson (e-mail), Nancy Agyeman, Lord Kainyah, Richard David and Prof Dr Pablo Collazzo*, Business & Tourism Unit, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Belgium.  Introduction When studying the microeconomics of competitiveness, we chose to focus on the Ghanaian cocoa cluster and the Flemish chocolate cluster due to their natural synergy. Our team, consisting […]

Design, Innovation, and Regional Competitiveness: Insights from the Milan Fashion Cluster

By Rania El Ghalbzouri (e-mail), Vida Asabea Ohene, Yasmine Didou, June Bunpha and Prof. Dr. Pablo Collazzo*, at the Business & Tourism Unit of Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Mechelen, Belgium. Introduction This article offers a comprehensive examination of Milan’s fashion and luxury goods cluster, concentrating on its economic performance, business environment, historical development, […]