LECTURE 3

Regionalism and economic development

The main theme of the lecture and of the subsequent discussion touched upon the role of geographical and cultural factors in economic development. Based on facts drawn from recent research projects conducted by the Department of Social Studies of Partium University in the trilateral Hungarian-Romanian - Ukrainian border region, the lecturer discussed the potential positive or negative effects of government policies for the development of ethnically and culturally linked, but territorially-politically divided border regions.

The students from the two countries reacted to some extent differently to the issues raised during the lecture. Students from Hungary, while acknowledging the necessity and importance of regional development in the border areas, nevertheless expressed concerns that by the implementation of integrated development policies the more developed and prosperous sub-regions might loose economically in favor of the less developed territorial sub-units. By contrast, Romanian students emphasized exclusively the potential positive impact of the envisaged cross border regional development schemes, particularly in view of the possibility to attract European Union funds through promoting regional cross-border partnership. They argued that there are already some EU projects running in the Romanian-Hungarian border region. These projects were made possible through cross border partnership agreements. Te outcome of these projects are beneficial for the communities in both sides of the border.

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