Institutional change in cities and regions: a path dependency approach

This article aims to make significant advances in the development of a path dependency approach to understanding institutional change at the subnational level in the context of economic development. This approach allows for a differentiated treatment of various types of institutions. Moreover, the approach can also take account of the structures and processes at various levels of scale, as well as the role of agency in bringing about change. These points are illustrated and developed by an examination and comparison of institutional change in the governance arrangements in the city-regions of Saarland (Germany) and Teesside (United Kingdom) since the 1970s.