REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REGIONAL POLITICS

It has become clear that the spatial elements within economics, which entered the field with a delay—as opposed to the factor of time, which the economics adopted long ago—are becoming an increasingly important economic category.
 
Expressing aggregate economic values typical of macroeconomics is necessary; however, it is not enough for the management of the national economy. Today, regional politics is a constituent and an important part of EU's development policy, and consequently also Croatia's development policy. The need for the amalgamation of newly-joined countries and economies, the opposition toward processes such as urbanization and the economic weakening of rural areas is obvious.
 
Regional politics is directed toward a specific space and the events within the space with the aim of coordinating and balancing the development of individual spatial economic units–regions. It emphasizes the benefits of two main goals: an increase of the efficiency of the national economy, one the one hand, and an increase of a balanced development of particular areas, which represents an important factor of traditional regional politics, on the other hand. Problems of regional development, politics and planning demand an interdisciplinary, intersectional approach and cooperation between different subjects.
 
Our researchers are focused on the examination of spatial patterns, the disbalance on a local and regional level, researching for opportunities and obstacles to regional development, regional and demographical processes, the analysis of regional economies and specific strategic economic sectors. What has proven to be of particular research challenge within the conditions of the latest economic crisis was the analysis of the effects recession exerted over regional disparities in Croatia and a way to determine which regions and sectors have proven to be more resistant to recession. Researchers are also focused on classifications and indications necessary for the measurement of regional development, establishing an integral approach to regional development and decentralization. Gaining importance as of late is also the subarea of the analysis of public policy evaluation effects and measures regarding regional development.
 
Researchers within this area also carry out analyses and evaluations of policies, programs and strategies of local and regional development. In addition to research, our work is also focused on consultancy for the private and public sector with the aim of gaining a better insight into the economic effects of the existing and proposed programs and policies, as well as on consultancy during the formulation of local politics, programs and strategies. In our research, we cooperate with other research institutions, with relevant participants of local development, ministries, regional self-government units, regional development agencies, international institutions, civil society organizations etc.

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WOS PAPERS (CC)

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  1. Međuzavisnost rodne zastupljenosti i postignutih rezultata u tijelima državne uprave u Republici Hrvatskoj Mateljak, Željko and Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, 2023,  Revija za socijalnu politiku, 30(2), pp. 223-241.
  2. The spatial impact of entrepreneurial zones: firm, city and inter-city evidence Stojčić, Nebojša, Korneliusz Pylak and Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, 2022, Regional Studies, paper published online April 4, 2022. DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2022.2046264
  3. The efficiency of regional government expenditure in smart tourist destination: the case of Croatia Hodzic, Sabina i Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, 2019., ToSEE – Tourism in Southern and Eastern Europe, 5, pp. 307-318.
  4. Spatio – temporal determinants of structural and productive transformation of regions in Central and East European Countries Stojčić, Nebojša, Ivan-Damir Anić and Zoran Aralica, 2019, Economic systems, 43(3-4), pp.1-12.
  5. Measuring efficiency at the regional level : a data envelopment analysis approach Slijepčević, Sunčana, 2019, Lex localis - Journal of Local Self-Government, 17(39), pp. 679-696.
  6. The impact of the economic crisis on regional disparities in Croatia Đokić, Irena, Zlatan Fröhlich and Ivana Rašić Bakarić, 2016, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 9 (1), pp. 179–197.
  7. Demographic resources as an indicator and factor of the regional development disparity in Croatia Pejnović, Dane and Željka Kordej-De Villa, 2015, Društvena istraživanja: časopis za opća društvena pitanja, 24 (3), pp. 321–343.
  8. Croatia’s potential for polycentric development Bačić, Katarina and Jelena Šišinački, 2014, Društvena istraživanja: časopis za opća društvena pitanja, 23 (2), pp. 327–347.
  9. Regional development and decentralization – two options to overcome lack of funding Jurlina Alibegović, Dubravka, Željka Kordej-De Villa and Sunčana Slijepčević, 2014, Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences, 43, pp. 146–167.
  10. A proposal for a new administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Croatia Rašić Bakarić, Ivana, 2012, Ekonomska istraživanja (Economic Research), 25 (2), pp. 397–411.

Other papers

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  1. Urban–rural differences in youth engagement in Croatia Botrić, Valerija. 2023.  Regional science policy & practice, 15 (2023), 4
  2. Fiskalna (ne)samostalnost lokalne i regionalne samouprave Jurlina Alibegović, Dubravka, 2022. in Prilika ili prijetnja? Reforma lokalne i regionalne samouprave u Hrvatskoj / Jurlina Alibegović, Dubravka; Markić Boban, Aleksandra; Fiesinger, Klaus (eds.). Zagreb: Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung;  Ekonomski institut, Zagreb, pp. 145–154.
  3. "Prilika ili prijetnja? Reforma lokalne i regionalne samouprave u Hrvatskoj" Eds. Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović, Markić Boban, Aleksandra and Klaus Fiesinger. October, 27-28, 2021. Zagreb : The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung. 2022.
  4. Porezna autonomija hrvatskih gradova prije svibanjskih lokalnih izbora (Tax autonomy of Croatian cities before local elections in May) Jurlina Alibegović, Dubravka, 2021. Informator : tjednik za pravna i ekonomska pitanja, (6671), pp. 2-4
  5. Institutional trust in the case of Croatian regions Alibegović, Dubravka Jurlina and Katarina Marošević, 2020. Pravni vjesnik, 36(3-4), pp. 25-42.
  6. Assessment of Local Councillors’ Attitudes Towards Energy Efficiency Projects in Croatia Kordej-De Villa, Željka i Sunčana Slijepčević, 2019., Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 21(4)
  7. County councillors: between revenue shortfalls and growing responsibilities Jurlina Alibegović, Dubravka and Sunčana Slijepčević, 2016, in Policy making at the second tier of local government in Europe. What is happening in provinces, counties, departements and Landkreise in the on-going re-scaling of statehood? / Bertrana, Xavier; Egner, Björn; Heinelt, Hubert (eds.), London and New York: Routledge – Taylor and Francis Group, pp. 54–74.
  8. Efficiency of Public Expenditures: The Case of Croatian Counties Hodžić, Sabina, Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović i Emira Bečić, 2017, Innovation Governance in the Public Sector, Kazan, Rusija:: NISPAcee Press. 
  9. Does the cohesion policy decrease economic inequalities in the European Union? Jovančević, Radmila, Tomislav Globan and Vedran Recher, 2015, Zagreb international review of economics & business, 18(1), pp. 1-20.
  10. Proposed planning areas of Croatia in terms of regional policy Kordej-De Villa, Željka and Dane Pejnović, 2015, Hrvatski geografski glasnik, 77 (1), pp. 47–69.
  11. Regional policy and spatial development in Croatia Kordej-De Villa, Željka, Ivana Rašić Bakarić and Nenad Starc, 2014, in Republika Chorwacji – Polityka wewnetrzna i miedzynarodowa / Jagietto-Szostak, Anny (ed.), Wrocław: University of Wrocław, pp. 89–111.
  12. No island is an island: participatory development planning on the Croatian islands Starc, Nenad and Paul Stubbs, 2014, International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 9 (2), pp. 158–176.
  13. How to connect the collective processes of participatory strategic planning and the political (self)will of the leadership? Sumpor, Marijana and Zdravko Petak, 2013, 4. Forum for Public Administration / Musa; Anamarija (ed.), Zagreb: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Institute for Public Administration, pp. 27–46.
  14. Prospects of Croatian regions in Western Balkan territorial cooperation Sumpor, Marijana, Irena Đokić and Gabrijela Žalac, 2013, in Territorial cohesion in Europe / Pálné Kovács, Ilona; Scott, James; Gál, Zoltan (eds.), Institute for Regional Studies: Centre for Economic and Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs, pp. 503516.
  15. Regional convergence in the European Union, new member states and Croatia Mikulić, Davor, Željko Lovrinčević and Andrea Galić Nagyszombaty, 2013, South East European journal of economics and business, 8(1), pp. 7-19.
  16. Strategic planning as a tool for better public policy governance – the case of Croatia Sumpor, Marijana and Irena Đokić, 2012, in An enterprise odyssey: corporate governance and public policy – path to sustainable future / Galetić, Lovorka, et al. (eds.), Zagreb: University Press, pp. 1027–1038.
  17. Regional development and technology convergence in Croatian manufacturing industry Mikulić, Davor, 2009, Ekonomski pregled: mjesečnik Hrvatskog društva ekonomista Zagreb, 60 (11), pp. 570–592.
  18. Introduction to development planning, sustainable development and coordination Sumpor, Marijana, 2009, in Participatory governance for sustainable development / Kordej-De Villa, Željka; Stubbs, Paul; Sumpor, Marijana (eds.), The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, pp. 83–106.
  19. Making collaborative advantages by coordination of regional development activities Sumpor, Marijana, 2009, in Participatory governance for sustainable development / Kordej-De Villa, Željka; Stubbs, Paul; Sumpor, Marijana (eds.), The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, pp. 107–132.
  20. Institutional capacities for integral regional development and new approaches to development management in Croatia Sumpor, Marijana, 2009, in Participatory governance for sustainable development / Kordej-De Villa, Željka; Stubbs, Paul; Sumpor, Marijana (eds.), The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, pp. 133–146.
  21. Regional governance in Croatia’s new European regions Đokić, Irena and Marijana Sumpor, 2008, in Bridging the divide: celebrating the city, book of abstracts / Hibbard, Michael; Ache, Peter; Davoudi, Simin; Winkle, Curt (eds.), AESOP, Paper 714, p. 389.
  22. Guidelines and recommendations for more effective vertical coordination in integrated coastal zone management in Croatia Fuerst, Dietrich and Marijana Sumpor, 2008, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), study, pp. 1–57.
  23. Coordination of development policies towards an integrative regional development policy Sumpor, Marijana, 2007,
    Seventh International Conference on Enterprise in Transition / Reić, Zlatan; Fredotović, Maja (ed.), Split; Vienna, Faculty of Economics, University of Split; DAAAM International, Paper s31–26, pp. 1–22.
  24. Uncovering regional disparities – the use of factor and cluster analysis Rašić Bakarić, Ivana, 2006, Privredna kretanja i ekonomska politika, 15 (105), pp. 53–76.
  25. Methods of multivariate analysis to uncover socio-economic differences among spatial-economics entities Rašić Bakarić, Ivana, 2006, 46th Congress of the European Regional Science Association: Enlargement, Southern Europe and the Mediterranean / Panayotis, Pantazis (ed.) / ERSA (ed.), Volos, Greece: Paper 56.
  26. How to regionalize Croatia optimally? Lovrinčević, Željko, Zdravko Marić and Edo Rajh, 2005, Ekonomski pregled: mjesečnik Hrvatskog društva ekonomista Zagreb, 56(12), pp. 1109-1160.
  27. The spatial dimensions of development in Croatia – from theory to policy vacuum Kordej-De Villa, Željka, Ivana Rašić-Bakarić, Nenad Starc, Paul Stubbs, Marijana Sumpor and Jelena Šišinački, 2005, 65th Anniversary Conference of the Institute of Economics, Zagreb / Lovrinčević, Željko; Mervar, Andrea; Mihaljek, Dubravko; Nušinović, Mustafa; Radas, Sonja; Starc, Nenad; Švaljek, Sandra; Teodorović, Ivan (eds.), Zagreb: The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, pp. 611–647.
  28. Croatian regional policy fostering competitiveness Maleković, Sanja and Zlatan Fröhlich, 2005, Transition Studies Review, 12 (1), pp. 129–143.

Projects

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  1. Challenges facing local and regional development in Croatia, 2024–2027 Commissioned by: The Institute of Economics, Zagreb
    Project manager: Ivana Rašić
  2. Enhanced Strategic Planning at Regional and Local Levels in Croatia, 2024 Commissioned by: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
    Project manager: Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović
  3. Ex-ante evaluation of the Karlovac County Development Plan 2021–2027, 2021–2023 Commissioned by: The Karlovac County
    Project manager: Tanja Broz
  4. Ex Ante Evaluation of the Territorial Strategy of Sibenik-Knin County, 2023 Commissioned by: Šibenik-Knin County
    Project manager: Ivana Rašić
  5. The role of local and regional units in achieving the sustainable development goals, 2019–2023 Commissioned by: The Institute of Economics, Zagreb
    Project manager: Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović
  6. Optimization of Local and Regional Self-Government System, 2021–2022 Commissioned by: Ministry of Justice and Public Administration
    Project manager: Ivana Rašić
  7. Perspectives on Local Governance across Europe, 2021–2022 Commissioned by: Technical University of Darmstadt
    Project managers: Sunčana Slijepčević, Dubravka Jurlina Alibegović
  8. Ex-ante evaluation of the Šibenik-Knin County Development Plan, 2021–2022 Commissioned by: Šibenik-Knin County
    Project manager: Ivana Rašić
  9. Ex ante Evaluation of the Development Plan of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (ex ante PGŽ​), 2020–2021 Commissioned by: Regional Development Agency of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
    Project manager: Nenad Starc
  10. Development of creative and cultural industries of the Istria County, 2021 Commissioned by: Istrian Cultural Agency
    Project manager: Ivana Rašić
  11. Elaboration of the analytical background for the preparation of the Report on the State Space of the Republic of Croatia for 2013–2016, 2018 Commissioned by: The Croatian Institute for Spatial Development
    Project manager: Irena Đokić
  12. Technical support in development of regional policy implementation monitoring system, 2018 Commissioned by: Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds
    Project managers: Marijana Sumpor, Irena Đokić
  13. Analysis of economy with projections and scenarios of economic development of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County until 2030 – PGŽ 2030, 2018 Commissioned by: Public institution Institute for Spatial Planning of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
    Project manager: Irena Đokić
  14. Preparation of analytical groundwork for the new Island Act, 2016–2017 Commissioned by: The Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia
    Project manager: Nenad Starc
  15. Definition of development priorities on the level of statistical NUTS II regions – MRRFEU NUTS II, 2016 Commissioned by: The Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia
    Project manager: Marijana Sumpor
  16. Review of the draft Development Strategy for the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County – PGC ex post, 2015 Commissioned by: The Institute for Physical Planning of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
    Project manager: Nenad Starc
  17. Ex-ante evaluation of the Međimurje County Development Strategy; Ex-ante RSMŽ, 2014–2017 Commissioned by: Međimurje County
    Project manager: Irena Đokić
  18. Analytical base for Regional development strategy of the Republic of Croatia, 2014–2015 Commissioned by: The Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia
    Project manager: Nenad Starc
  19. Forecasts and development scenarios of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County economy – inputs to the County physical plan, 2010–2011 Commissioned by: The Institute for Physical Planning of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
    Project manager: Nenad Starc
  20. Elaboration of Proposal of Guidelines with criteria/conditions for specific purposes of brownfield locations, 2012 Commissioned by: The Institute for Physical Planning of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
    Project manager: Irena Đokić
  21. Guidelines and recommendations for more effective vertical coordination in integrated coastal zone management in Croatia, 2008 Commissioned by: The Institute of Economics, Zagreb / Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)
    Project manager: Marijana Sumpor
  22. Regional Development Consulting, 2001–2005 Commissioned by: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
    Project manager: Nenad Starc
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