Throughout the world today we are seeing former nation-states, as different as Yugoslavia, Somalia, and Canada, breaking up, or threatening to break up, into regions. The conflicts are economic, social, ethnic, linguistic, religious, political, and cultural. Regional Development Theories and Their Application analyzes the reasons for these conflicts and shows why attempts to eliminate regional disparities within nations have been largely unsuccessful.

Part I of the book is an exposition, analysis, and critique of various theories of regional development. Part II presents case studies in the United States, Great Britain, the European Community, Australia, and less developed countries. Part III outlines the lessons learned from past experience and sketches a new political economy of regional development.

Higgins and Savoie demonstrate that new knowledge is more likely to be discovered if social scientists work at the regional and community levels, rather than exclusively at the macrolevel (national economy, society, and polity) or the microlevel (the household, firm, industry, and local government).

Regional Development Theories and Their Application provides a readable, comprehensible survey of the literature and current debates in the fields of regional economics, development, policy, and planning. It lays the foundation for improved social and economic policy and theoretical synthesis that will be of interest to sociologists, economists, professionals working in regional development, and political scientists and theorists.