This title was first published in 2001. In the framework of the EU, a number of policies have been devised for regions in order to facilitate their balanced economic development. The author argues that the focus on regional planners and their actions in academic literature has obscured the importance of regional elites in this process. The author compares Western Scotland and the west of Crete, focusing on the wider regional political and business elites within these regions, and attempting a comparison of elite attitudes within regions and between regions.