Varieties of extra-regional relations and local agency: a framework for tailored regional development work

Recent studies provide insights about local agency in regional development. While acknowledging non-local actors and drivers, these studies have not systematically discussed the link between extra-regional relations and local agency. This paper first discusses three key arguments in the literature on extra-regional relations covering context-specific dependencies, strategic coupling and open innovation. It then proposes a theoretically informed typology linking extra-regional relations and local agency. The typology considers local actors’ autonomy and ability to influence the extra-regional relation, and whether global actors are invested locally. The four types of relations enable or constrain local agency in different ways.