ABSTRACT
To understand the development of a country’s regional policy it is important to appreciate its internal regional geography as well as its position in the international economy. This is clear in the Netherlands, given its open economy and location on Europe’s largest river delta. The processes of global trade liberalisation and convergence of macro-economic policy on the road to EMU reinforce the importance of region-specific factors in international competition and impose fresh requirements on the conduct of regional policy (Kleyn and Oosterwijk 1992).
