A cost-benefit approach to the assessment of regional policy

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of one of the major problems of our rapidly changing world: how is it that some cities and regions move from prosperity to economic decline and why is that some regions restructure quicker than others? The various chapters in this book show that this is often associated with the rise and fall of certain key industries. Yet, regional decline is not the end of the story. Even when these industries are mature or declining, the competences acquired in a specific territory offer the opportunity to start new adventures and to generate new jobs, income and well-being. This book provides an excellent tool-kit for analysts and policy-makers as to how such restructuring operates.