Abstract

The article deals with cooperative modes of regulation of local economies. Increasingly, this mode of regulation takes in Europe the form of "concertation" ("partnership"): formalized agreement on common goals stated by collective actors with traditionally/potentially contrasting interests. This kind of agreements ("pacts") is increasingly institutionalized through the influence of national and supranational authorities. Recurrent forms of partnership are: public-private and public-public partnerships; "regionalized" industrial relations; "second generation" industrial districts; urban strategic planning; territorial pacts. A typology is proposed to order them on the basis of the dichotomy between exogenous/endogenous actors/resources. Three main constraints to an effective working of local concertation are then discussed: local presence of "global players"; excessive institutionalisation; lack of adequate implementation structures. Starting from the latter, some working hypotheses are proposed on a new "organisational population", namely the organisations of local development.