ABSTRACT
Norwegian regional policies are more than the specific measures of regional development policies which were introduced through the North Norway Development Programme in 1951-52. A comprehensive regional policy, which includes the various forms of governmental influence on regional development, can be dated back to the 1920s and 1930s. New economic policy legislation was at that time introduced, with the aim of strengthening the position of agriculture and fisheries on the domestic market. These and other economic policy measures had also an obvious regional policy profile. The same thing can be said about the government transfers which were introduced to relieve crisis-stricken municipalities, resulting in the establishment of a special Tax Equalisation Fund for municipalities in 1936.
