GY413 Half Unit
Regional Development and Policy
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Andres Rodriguez-Pose
Availability
This course is available on the MPhil/PhD in Economic Geography, MSc in Development Management (Political Economy), MSc in Environment and Development, MSc in Environmental Policy, Technology and Health (Environment and Development) (LSE and Peking University), MSc in Inequalities and Social Science, MSc in Innovation Policy, MSc in Local Economic Development, MSc in Public Policy and Administration, MSc in Regional And Urban Planning Studies and MSc in Urban Policy (LSE and Sciences Po). This course is freely available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. It does not require permission. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: Priority: MSc Local Economic Development then other students. Priority is typically for students enrolled in Geography and Environment programmes, or joint degree programmes, however course specific availability is indicated via the 'Availability section' on the LSE course guide webpages. Guidance on how to apply to individual controlled access courses can also be found on LSE for You in the Graduate Course Selection system.
Please note: The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If a course is over-subscribed, places will be allocated at the Department's discretion and a waiting list may be created. It is advised to have an alternative course in mind as a back-up in case you are unable to secure your first-choice course selection.
Deadline for application: Further guidance and information on course selection for Geography and Environment courses (GY4xx) will be available on the Geography and Environment Course Selection Moodle page which will go live from Monday 8 September and will be updated with course availability information daily throughout the course selection period. This page includes information on the timeline for course selection decisions in the Geography and Environment Department as well as the individual course application processes and requirements
A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on LSE's course guide webpages.
For queries contact: geog.led@lse.ac.uk
The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If the course is over-subscribed, places will be allocated at the Department’s discretion and a waiting list may be created. For further details, please contact your relevant Programme Coordinator.
Requisites
Additional requisites:
A good background is required in one of the fields of management, economics, economic geography, development, regional and urban studies.
Course content
This course examines the management and institutions that drive local and regional economic development worldwide. It explores the socio-economic implications of local and regional governments and institutions emerging as key actors in designing and implementing economic development strategies.The first part of the course analyses the consequences of the gradual but relentless shift of development responsibilities from national and supranational levels to local and regional scales. We examine how this shift, linked to political and fiscal decentralisation, affects both economic efficiency and equality. The second part takes both theoretical and empirical perspectives to investigate the strategies implemented by subnational governments worldwide to address and redress development challenges. These strategies include infrastructure development, attracting foreign direct investment, supporting local production, and promoting local human resources. Case studies are drawn from diverse institutional and governance contexts across Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Asia.
Teaching
20 hours of seminars and 20 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
In the Department of Geography and Environment, teaching will be delivered through a combination of classes/seminars, pre-recorded lectures, live online lectures and other supplementary interactive live activities.
Formative assessment
Students will be expected to participate in group debates throughout the course, with written presentation slides required. Feedback is provided in the sessions.
Indicative reading
N Brenner, New state spaces: Urban governance and the rescaling of statehood, Oxford University Press, 2004; P Dicken, Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy (7th edition), Sage, 2021; J D Donahue, Disunited States, Harper Collins, 1997; R Kanbur and A J Venables, Spatial inequality and development, Oxford University Press, 2005; P. McCann, The UK regional-national economic problem: Geography, globalisation and governance, Routledge, 2016; A Pike, A Rodríguez-Pose and J Tomaney, Local and regional development (2nd edition), Routledge, 2017; A Pike, A Rodríguez-Pose & J Tomaney, Handbook of Local and Regional Development, Routledge, 2011; R J Putnam, Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community, Simon & Schuster, 2000; A J Scott, ed., Global city-regions, Oxford University Press, 2001; J Rodden, Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide, Basic Books, 2019; M Storper, The Regional World: Territorial Development in a Global Economy, Guilford Press, 1997. A number of more specialised texts will be recommended at the beginning of the course; M Storper, Keys to the city: How economics, institutions, social interaction, and politics shape development, Princeton University Press, 2013.
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Assessment
Exam (100%) in the Spring exam period
Key facts
Department: Geography and Environment
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 72
Average class size 2024/25: 72
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Leadership
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Specialist skills