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Cross-border
economic
development
12
Preamble
In addition, cross-border cooperation “enlarges” the
territory for its inhabitants and businesses, which
can take advantage of economies of scale and
agglomeration in terms of market size, equipment and
public services.
One of the most important effects concerns the sharing of investment
costs related to public and private infrastructures (for example in terms
of research, which is often very expensive in innovative sectors). Joint
promotion of businesses and a joint presence at international trade fairs
make it possible to be more visible and to share costs.
For an SME, cross-border development constitutes a particular means
of opening up to the international arena, enabling it to expand so as to
break into local, European and global markets while remaining rooted
in a specific territory. By reaching out beyond the local context, the
cross-border approach can result in a “win-win” situation for territories
and their businesses and inhabitants.
Promoting cross-border
economic development
Highlighting the economic advantages specific to cross-border
territories constitutes both internal promotion
(for the economic
agents present in the territory) and external promotion (aimed at foreign
investors) that are necessary for their economic development. This is
the responsibility of territorial authorities, chambers of commerce and
industry and economic development agencies, which have competence in
the areas of territorial strategy and promotion and support for businesses.
However, it appears that they are fairly ill-equipped to carry out actions to
raise awareness about the benefits of designing the future of a business,
economic sector or territory in the neighbouring country.
The first obstacle stems from the difficulty in objectively evaluating
the concrete effects of cross-border economic cooperation. There
are very few territorial studies or analyses that make it possible to
identify the existence or potential of a cross-border market, notably
because of the above-mentioned divergences in national statistical
systems that hamper the use of common indicators that would allow
the quantification and description of cross-border economic flows. In
addition, the exploitation and media coverage of good experiences of
economic cooperation remain very limited.
At a time when the evaluation of public policies is
occupying a predominant place in their implementation
and/or continuation, the scarcity of information is
tending to reduce the efforts devoted to joint promotion
actions aimed at domestic and foreign economic agents.
The obstacles to cross-
border integration and
public action
Crossing the border is from the outset a source of additional difficulties:
the border is an administrative, cultural and often linguistic barrier, and
is even a source of mistrust.
In addition, while within the European Union capital, goods and people
move freely across borders, Member States make unilateral changes
to their policy in the area of taxation: border territories are the first to
feel the effects of the divergences that this can result in, and which for
businesses constitute both constraints (competition, instability, etc.)
and opportunities (for those that take advantage of the differentials).
As a result, the economic development
potential of cross-border territories is
insufficiently exploited:
– Unemployed people in border regions do not take advantage of job
vacancies that are available on the other side of the border;
– SMEs which do not succeed in forming cross-border partnerships
in spite of numerous potential synergies and opportunities for
international development;
– Businesses which experience strong competition, without
partnerships that would be beneficial for everyone being set
up (R&D, creation of networks with universities and research
laboratories, etc.).