Unveiling vertical state downscaling: identity and/or the economy?

State rescaling may take a variety of shapes although scant research has been carried out into the mechanisms and economic incentives that underpin rescaling processes. Recent literature in economics, economic sociology and political economy has identified at least two broad rescaling mechanisms, namely the development of regional identity - operating at the cultural level and proxing preference heterogeneity-, and the heterogeneity in levels of economic development, which influence the extent of regional redistribution. This paper empirically examines the mechanisms of vertical state rescaling by drawing upon empirical evidence from Catalonia and the Basque Country, to explore the evolution of sub-state identity and the rise of inter-territorial fiscal grievances - weakening intraregional economic solidarity. Findings corroborate the idea that the combination of widening sub-national identity raises the costs of managing heterogeneous spatial identities and strengthens support for vertical state downscaling. Similarly, ending regional fiscal solidarity it is found to increase the average income of Catalonia by 37% and even 17% in the Basque Country. However, the effect of regional identity exceeds that of regional redistribution in explaining state rescaling support in the magnitude of one to seven. These findings speak to the debate on the formation of Europe, in that they reveal limits to regional redistribution and highlight the importance of a common spatial identity

Giving meaning to identities. A case-study for the Romanian Banat region

This research is focussed on the ethnic identities from Banat maintained till nowadays under different cultural forms. Identity starts from the feeling of ‘social space’, with a specific language for each ethnic group and a specific culture evolving through time. These local ethnic identities have determined the appearance of a regional identity. A questionnaire was launched among over 500 students and many interviews were conducted, reaching the conclusion that the spirit of ‘banaţean’native of Banat) is still alive among young people, albeit with a lower. Politically, local actors participate in projects to maintain regional identity, while at the central government level seem to embrace the Banat cultural identity.ethnic and regional identity, cultural symbols, Banat, Romania

Development stakeholders and territorial identity in Portugal

The need to reaffirm the diversity of places and regions in order to make them economically and culturally “more competitive” on the globalised market of goods and services has been widely accepted in regional and local development policies in Portugal, but much more so rhetorically than in operational terms. This largely reflects the fact that policies, as well as their instruments, do not rely on empirical evidence of the changing character of territorial identity. In particular, there are virtually no records regarding representations of territorial identity features and issues by local/regional development stakeholders, both individual and institutional ones. The problem is that appropriate conceptualisations and analytical tools for comprehensive identification and assessing of various dimensions local/regional identity have been lacking. Since it has not been clear what the identity of places and regions means in factual and verifiable terms to different development stakeholders, it is has not been possible to determine what aspects of the identity need to be strengthened, preserved, diversified, or made “more competitive” in regional and local development policy design and implementation. This paper brings forward a methodological framework for the study of the changing character of local identities and the role of local development stakeholders in this change. The region-specific evidence obtained from a nation-wide field survey of Portuguese local development agents’ knowledge, attitudes and practice in relation to the territorial identity as a regional development issue is presented and discussed.

INFRASTRUCTURES AND PROCESSES - EUROPE'S SUPRANATIONAL CULTURES

The subject of our study is the possibility of establishing a new regional identity and European identity through the means of culture, creativity, education, through the implementation of ethno-cultural dialogue and transnational cooperation. The main idea of this paper is to substantiate the need for design and implementation of joint creative initiatives to create supranational community cultural values through applying the method of ethno-cultural dialogue and organizing joint inter-cultural artistic and educational initiatives. The goal is the successful implementation of supra-regional and supra-national ethno-cultural dialogue through the exchange of art and creativity promoting the development of new mutual cultural and historical traditional values in modern Europe through the ethnic diversity of the peoples.regional identity, European identity, creativity, creative collaboration.

BRANDING REGIONAL IDENTITY AS A DRIVER FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Within the globalizing world, regions and their identities are subjected to great pressure. At present, places are engaged in a process of “territorial competition” in an integrated world economy. The identity of the region can be used as a starting point to brand a region and differentiate it from others. In the regional branding process, the region as a whole becomes a product or brand and offers a “basket” of regional products and services. This paper discusses the possibility of regional identity as a mobilizing force for rural development, by studying best practice examples of regional branding. Using the grounded theory approach, we conducted interviews in three case regions: West Cork (Ireland), Groene Woud (the Netherlands) and Pajottenland (Belgium). The study of these cases led to the formulation of critical success factors on the organization of regional branding.Identity, Region formation, Regional branding, Rural development, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development,

Mapping the Dynamics of European Culture - Pressure and Opportunities from the European Enlargement

This paper develops an analytic framework for the ESPON 1.3.3 project “The Role and Spatial Effects of Cultural Heritage and Identity”, started in December 2004 by a network of 12 European Universities under the leadership of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. The conceptual framework of this project lies on the assumption that the cultural heritage of Europe is not just an ensemble of tangible assets to be defended through passive conservation, but rather an element of dynamism of the territory, affecting trajectories of regional development. Thus the proper identification and valorisation of the cultural heritage of Europe is to be considered an integral component of regional planning, with the potential to increase cohesion within an enlarged European Union. The establishment of an “European identity”, gaining from difference and variety, is also part of this vision. In this light, the ESPON 1.3.3 project sets out to highlight the spatial expressions and effects of heritage assets and identify the (existing or potential) elements of territorial coherence at the regional and local scale, mapping the geographical aspects that are actually strengthening regional identities and networks. This paper introduces a list of regional indicators of the European cultural heritage and identity, reflecting elements such as heritage availability, concentration and diversity, spatial patterns at the local and cross-regional level, local embeddedness of intangible heritage assets, pressures on- and potential for the development of heritage, and the governance structure of the heritage management institutions. Parameters are quantitative and qualitative observation allowing the “ordering” of the territory and thus the identification of regional typologies from the elaboration of different ordering criteria. Indicators will cover multiple dimensions regarding the supply, the demand and the spatial organisation of cultural heritage. Data cover the whole NUTS III regional delimitation. The issue of the territorial cohesion of cultural heritage assets is also addressed, considering the following multiple “dimensions” of the interconnection between different “objects” or carriers of meaning: hardware (the infrastructural system), software (images and actual uses), orgware (organizational networks) and shareware (partnerships that support the process of development). These elements are compiled in a framework or model used to analyse the territorial expressions of cultural heritage and identity.

Language and regional identity

Europe is a continent of many languages. We all know that, but normally when we think about this fact, we focus on national languages, the type of language that shapes our political and our linguistic geography. But as natural as it may seem today, the idea of a language closely being interrelated with one's identity does not have a very long tradition. In fact it is only since the late 18th century that we think there is some type of intimate connection between the language spoken and the identity of a person as belonging to a nation. And even if the stabilization of European nation states was closely connected with this type of reasoning, European language communities differ considerably in their way of dealing with natural variation within their national language. For some of them, it is only the standardized national language that is relevant in this respect; for others, a certain amount of variation is a central part of their linguistic identity

Regional influences on U.S. monetary policy: some implications for Europe

This paper looks at the monetary policy decisions of the U.S. Federal Reserve and asks whether those decisions have been influenced solely by national concerns, or whether regional factors have played a role. All of the Federal Reserve''s policymakers have some regional identity, i.e., either their positions explicitly carry some regional affiliation or their region of origin is a factor that must be considered in the selection process. This research is relevant for the Fed, and it may also be relevant for Europe''s fledgling central bank in Frankfurt. Critics have asserted that ECB policymakers have an incentive to base policy on national developments and respond to national political pressures. We find that Fed policymakers do take into account developments in regional unemployment when deciding monetary policy, and that these regional developments are more important for central bankers at the hub than in the spokes. These findings are robust to a variety of different specifications of the voting equation

Vortex of a Regional Security Complex: The EuroMed Partnership and its Security Relevance. EUMA Papers, Vol. 5, No. 11 May 2008

[From the introduction]. Studying the Mediterranean as a geo-political region, Pace (2003, 161) states that “the study of regions must in some way include the study of meaning and identity”. Other authors, such as Shamsaddin Megalommatis (2007) are of the opinion that, pertaining to the Arabic and Islamic neighbors of the EU, only Turkey and Iran matter at all. In this paper I seek to assess security-related dynamics in the EuroMed Partnership (EMP). To re-think the Mediterranean region (Euro-Med) in a relational, political context, Pace (2003, 161) suggests focusing on agency and structure in the analysis of the “processual” (emphasis mine) aspects of region making. This paper focuses on the Euro-Mediterranean region and the role of the European Union (EU) and its southern Mediterranean neighbors in “constructing” this space, and hereby giving it meaning, as well as potentially leading to reciprocal “re-construction” of their self-identity in the context of a potential Euro-Mediterranean Regional Security Complex (EMRSC). This would contrast with the Middle Eastern Regional Security Complex (MERSC) which Buzan and Waever (2003) had suggested, but rather this paper suggests a slight theoretical shift to Buzan and Waever’s Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT)

Identity politics, core State powers and regional Integration: Europe and beyond

This article concentrates on the path from the development of collective identities to the integration of core state powers. Firstly, we focus on the European experience. We argue that the identities of political, economic, and social elites have been crucial for the evolution of European integration. With regard to mass public opinion, European integration has been made possible by a consensus of EU citizens with inclusive national identities. Most recently, the politicization of EU affairs in many member states has been driven by populist forces mobilizing minorities with exclusive nationalist identities. Secondly, we discuss the extent to which insights from Europe have travelled to other regions of the world. Elites involved in region‐building almost always develop identity narratives linking their national experience to the respective regions. Moreover, there is evidence that the difference between inclusive and exclusive nationalist identifications has also travelled beyond Europe