Facts and Myths of Regional Development

Abstract

The article is devoted to a critical discussion of several widely accepted principles of regional development and regional policies. It is argued in the current development paradigm that it is impossible to achieve regional convergence, which should lead to a deep change in understanding the very assumptions of the EU’s Cohesion policy. It is indicated that external impulses do not lead to an accelerated growth in lagging regions, which is especially true in the case of infrastructural projects, and in particular those which are related to incidental events, like expositions of sport championships. One of the most broadly used models for an ex-ante evaluation – the HERMIN model – is also discussed.