Regional development

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Regional development refers to a broad category of policies aimed at reducing regional disparities within an economy or across economies by devoting resources to underdeveloped areas. Regional development can be national or international in nature. Therefore, the implications and scope of regional development may vary according to the definition of a region and how the region and its boundaries are perceived internally and externally.

In the past, regional development tended to center mostly on inward investment within national economies (OECD,2020). In recent decades, however, regional development has taken on an increasingly international character. For example, organizations such as the OECD, UN, and IMF have stepped up various forms of economic assistance to less developed regions.