Devolving responsibility to regions and local authorities to encourage economic growth and tackle deprivation are important areas of policy development for the UK Government.

The OECD thematic and regional reviews explore and contrast regional and city economic development practices between countries and regions. The work includes rural and urban studies, with a principle theme of how best to ascertain and maximise sustainable economic growth within different territorial structures and spatial levels.

A current ongoing study compares and contrasts the differing fiscal arrangements in countries between national, regional and local levels.