ABSTRACT
The chapter provides an introduction to the volume “Regional Economic Development and History”. It elaborates on the three aims of the book: (1) to seek to stimulate the study of regional development and its accompanying policies across disciplinary boundaries; (2) to connect the study of history with the social sciences through examples that both illustrate its usefulness and give directions for the future; (3) to show how understandings of the past (history) is vital for shaping policies for the present and the future. The authors outline the key content of each chapter in the book and connect them to these aims.
