Regional Development in South Africa's West Coast

‘Dividends on the Process Side’

Bibliographic Data

ID10832385
AuthorsDavid Bek (0000-0003-1503-3609, University of Sussex, corresponding author), Tony Binns (0000-0003-1803-7218, University of Otago, corresponding author), Etienne Nel (0000-0002-8401-3698, Rhodes University, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume96
Issue2
Pages168-183
Publication date2005-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0040-747X • E-ISSN: 1467-9663
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9663.2005.00448.x
OpenAlexW2126993901
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited25

Academics, policy‐makers and consultants have been increasingly focusing upon the ‘region’ as the crucible of economic development. This regionalist approach places institutions at the centre of the process of stimulating growth. Much debate has been ongoing in academic circles, particularly those inhabited by economic geographers, about the veracity of the regionalist approach and the explanatory power of the terminology associated with it. This paper analyses explicit efforts to engender regional economic development in the West Coast of South Africa. Our empirical evaluation indicates that policy actors have sought to upgrade the institutional infrastructure of the region and that some significant achievements are evident within this realm. However, these achievements are yet to be associated with sustained regional economic takeoff. The paper concludes by asking searching questions about the ability of the regionalist approach to deliver meaningful socio‐economic transformation

Economic geography · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Explanatory power · Political science · Realm · Terminology · Economic Zones and Regional Development · Local Economic Development and Planning · Urban and Rural Development Challenges

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