Brussels, 20/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - According to an independent survey commissioned by the Assembly of European Regions (AER) establishing the first "decentralisation index", the economies of decentralised countries are performing significantly better than those of centralised countries in Europe. This study, entitled "From Subsidiarity to Success: the impact of decentralisation of economic growth", is the result of two years of research and analysis carried out by BAK Basel Economics, an independent economic research institute based in Switzerland.
According to a press release issued by the AER, this study shows that: (1) the application of the principle of subsidiarity in the distribution of powers is a key to economic success, and that a country's economic performance can be improved with more influence of the regions at national level, more independence of the regions from the national level, financial competences and resources for the regions, as well as more competences in recreation and culture, infrastructure, education and research and health care; (2) the only exceptions to this trend are highly centralised transition countries that have experienced rapid economic growth in recent years. The findings also suggest, however, that those countries' economies could have performed even better with a decentralised distribution of powers.
There are three parts to the study: (1) the first, "Creating a Decentralisation Index", marked the first combined qualitative and quantitative analysis of decentralisation indicators ever conducted; (2) the second, "Decentralisation and Economic Performance", investigated via regression analysis the impact that decentralisation has on economic variables, according to indicators such as performance data (GDP per capita and GDP growth) and innovation output (universities, university research and patents); (3) the third, "Summary and Conclusions", brings together the key findings and explores a number of policy implications for decision-makers.
The study is available at http: //http://www.aer.eu/publications/aer-study.html (G.B./transl.fl)