Policy path dependency in a less developed region: The evolution of regional innovation policy in Wales (UK)

Henderson, Dylan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1466-1315 2019. Policy path dependency in a less developed region: The evolution of regional innovation policy in Wales (UK). Revista Galega de Economia 28 (2) , pp. 39-52. 10.15304/rge.28.2.6155

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Abstract

The article discusses the concept of path dependency in policies and aims to examine how different paths in policy emerge and how they change over time. It refers to a case study of the development of regional innovation policies in Wales (UK), over a period of more than thirty years. Based on recent developments in regional studies and economic geography, the article notes that path dependency is an inevitable feature of the policy process at the regional level. Based on documentary analysis and interviews with policy makers, he finds that policy decisions made at the beginning of the trajectory phase (to support technological innovation) are crucial, despite attempts to expand the path to a more inclusive way of innovation policy in Wales. Although path dependence, most evident in basic technology policy and R&D instruments, has not prevented the experimentation of new avenues, the results suggest that rigidity and renewal coexist in the policy and policy process for regional innovation at over time. The findings contribute to the growing interest in the temporal dynamics of policy change at the regional level and in the complexity of policies, particularly in less developed regions.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	University of Santiago de Compostela
ISSN:	1132-2799
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 March 2019
Date of Acceptance:	5 October 2018
Last Modified:	02 May 2023 22:06
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/120927

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