Healing the economic and social wounds inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic will take time, but the long road to recovery presents a unique opportunity to build back better. To catalyze change and succeed in the post-pandemic era, economic development policy and practice must see the crisis as an opportunity to rethink and redesign regional economic systems. This will involve creating a shared understanding of – and policies to address – the differential impacts of the pandemic across occupations, industries, and socioeconomic groups.

Rethinking how existing economic development tools, frameworks, and practices can be optimized has never been more compelling. Special attention must be given to interventions capable of accelerating desirable trends that will shape the next normal in our contemporary discussions on the COVID-19 pandemic. This book explores the challenges and opportunities heralded by the virus in the broadest sense and presents case studies on equitable and inclusive economic recoveries.



Regional Economic Systems after COVID-19 offers actionable insights for regional policymakers, business leaders, investment and trade promotion agencies, site selectors, students, scholars, researchers, and organizations involved in tourism, foreign direct investment, and economic development.