ABSTRACT

The foundational economy approach to economic development suggests that the production of goods and services that are critical to human welfare (e.g., water, energy, education and elderly care) should be the central concern for policymaking. This paper examines whether this approach could address three core challenges for regional development: social polarization, interregional inequality and environmental sustainability. It concludes that the foundational economy approach is particularly promising in addressing challenges relating to social polarization, but could benefit from further engagement with alternative theories on innovation, work in political science on policy for improving government quality, and various literatures on environmental sustainability.

摘要

经济发展的基础经济方法表明，对人类福利至关重要的商品和服务的生产（例如水、能源、教育和老年人护理）应该是决策的核心问题。本文研究了这种方法是否可以解决区域发展的三个核心挑战：社会两极分化、区域间不平等和环境可持续性。它的结论是，基础经济方法在解决与社会两极分化相关的挑战方面特别有前途，但可以受益于进一步参与有关创新的替代理论、政治学关于提高政府质量的政策的工作以及有关环境可持续性的各种文献。