ABSTRACT
Researchers, politicians and companies (let alone the population) have always focused only certain measures of regional policy. Their analysis is based on three questions: who should provide the assistance, who should be assisted, and how should they be assisted? The existence of a variety of approaches in the countries under study, even for the development of the same type of region, permits a comparative analysis of methods with the aim of identifying the most effective ones. It should be remembered, however, that unequivocally badorgoodapproaches do not really exist - all of them have plus and minus points. The state, in its choice between them, frequently bases its decisions on political or ideological reasons, rather than on the sole motive of identifying how best to resolve particular socio-economic territorial problems.
