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Cross-border
economic
development 9
Preamble
The present document aims to give the players involved in cross-
border cooperation a better understanding of the issues involved in
the economic development of cross-border territories and the links
between economy and employment. It is designed to facilitate the
economic development of cross-border territories by contributing to
the removal of obstacles, to the search for and dissemination of tools
and good practices, while also helping to strengthen exchanges and
partnerships between cooperation players.
This project is also aimed at contributing to changes in the
framework conditions in place in cross-border territories with respect
to economic development and employment. However, it does not
aim to produce detailed analysis or recommendations, which can
only be formulated for each border individually.
The place-based approach
to cross-border economic
development
This research is located firmly within the “place-based approach”,5 which,
in contrast to a sectoral approach, aims to address simultaneously the
issues of employment, economic development and regional planning,
by focusing on the territories in which policies are implemented. Based
on certain options with respect to territorial economic development that
are the subject of a degree of consensus among the experts and will
not be rehearsed here, we are proposing to bring out the constraints
and opportunities that are specific to cross-border territories, which
these experts do not generally look at.
Productive and “presential”
economies
Another hypothesis underpinning our work is that of the distinction
between productive and “presential” economies. Traditionally, territorial
economic development is looked at from the point of view of the
productive economy, i.e. places of production (for the primary, secondary
and tertiary sectors across the board). In general, public action consists
in fostering the development of productive activities within a territory.
More recently, economists such as Laurent Davezies have developed
an analysis of the territorial economy based on the population present
in a territory, which fluctuates over the course of the day: residents,
including the non-working population (pensioners, unemployed people,
etc.), working people who do not work in this territory (commuters) and
people passing through the territory (tourists, etc.), who consume private
and public services in this territory and sustain a “presential” economy
5 See in particular: OECD, Territorial Outlook, 2001; Barca Report, An Agenda for a Reformed
Cohesion Policy: A Place-based Approach to Meeting European Union Challenges and
Expectations (an independent report prepared at the request of Danuta Hübner, Commissioner
for Regional Policy), 2009.
P Veltz, La grande transition, Seuil, 2008; Paris, France, Monde. Repenser l’économie par le
territoire, L’Aube, 2013.
Sales day, rue du vieux marché aux poissons in Strasbourg
© Jean Isenmann, ADEUS
that is just as real as the productive economy. This approach takes
account of a part of the population whose income does not necessarily
come from the territory in question (public-sector employment, financial
transfers linked to pensions and other welfare benefits, tourists, residents
whose work is located in another territory, etc.). From a statistical point
of view, INSEE now refers to two economic spheres: the “presential”
and the “non-presential”. The first comprises the goods and services
produced locally in order to be consumed locally, while the second
consists of other production of goods and services that are produced
locally and mainly consumed outside of the area concerned.