RESEARCH INTO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The department's research into regional development is grounded in a strong orientation for examining regions and the functional entities constituted by them. Work in this field may be divided into two aspects, that carried out at home and that carried out abroad. The department has long traditions in both.
Research into regional development and regional policy in Finland normally covers either the whole country or individual regions, such as South-Western Finland, or areas, such as the archipelago. Individual projects may be concentrated on topics ranging from the occupational structure of rural areas or questions of economic or political geography to systems of public administration or the implementation of environmental conservation measures. Many of these have direct practical applications and the findings are not only of academic interest but frequently make significant contributions to public discussion.
The research carried out abroad is concerned mainly with conditions in the developing countries of Africa and Latin America, often in the form of assessments of the local and regional impacts of national and international development programmes in particular countries. The results of these can help us to understand the nature of development problems and are applicable to the planning of further developmental collaboration both regionally and locally. This research is closely connected with the department's teaching programme and is usually carried out in collaboration with universities in the countries concerned.
Contact person for research into regional development:
Professor Jussi Jauhiainen, jussi.jauhiainen@utu.fi, +358 2 333 5581