How to assess what works among programmes and policies

Policy evaluation poses conceptual, technical and institutional challenges, particularly in the case of local development. Data is often inadequate and multiple forms of policy can interact to obscure the effects of individual initiatives. Many external factors can affect the economy of a local area, and positive policy impacts in one location can even cause undesirable effects in another. Furthermore, individuals targeted by policy may move from one locality to another.  These are other complexities need to be considered when assessing which policies are truly effective and efficient. 

Evaluating Local Economic and Employment Development is one of the few books to examine best practices in evaluating programmes for local and regional economic and employment development.  Appropriate for a non-technical readership, it is essential reading for central and local governments who want to improve the practice of evaluation, enlarge the evidence base for policy and develop a culture of evaluation.

Read Evaluating Local Economic and Employment Development

Contents

1. Introduction and Summary. Evaluating Programmes for Local Economic and Employment Development: an Overview with Policy Recommendations
2. Policy Learning through Evaluation: Challenges and Opportunities
3. Evaluation: Evidence for Public Policy
4. Evaluating the Impacts of Local Economic. Development Policies on Local Economic Outcomes: What has been done and what is doable?
5. Four Directions to Improve Evaluation Practices in the European Union: A Commentary on Timothy Bartik’s Paper
6. The Evaluation of Programs aimed at Local and Regional Development: Methodology and Twenty Years of Experience using REMI Policy Insight
7. A Commentary on the Frederik and George Treyz’s Paper and the Workshop “Analysis Policies for Local Development Using Forecasting Models”
8. Area-based Policy Evaluation
9. A Commentary on Brian Rubson’s Paper and the Workshop “Area-based Policy Evaluation”
10. Evaluating Business Assistance Programs
11. Evaluating Training Programs: Impacts at the Local Level
12. Evaluating Local Economic Development Policies: Theory and Practice
13. Evaluation and Third Sector Programmes
14. Methodological and Practical Issues for the Evaluation of Territorial Pacts. The Experience of Italy
15. Evaluating Territorial Employment Pacts – Methodological and Practical Issues. The experience of Austria
16.  A Commentary on the Workshop “Evaluating Territorial Employment Pacts”
17. A Review of Impact Assessment Methodologies for Microenterprise Development Programmes
18. An Overview of the Panel Discussion: Evaluating Local Economic and Employment Development
19. About the Authors and Contributors