AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF SUB-NATIONAL REGIONAL AND URBAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS APPLIED TO THE CITYOF CASEY, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

This paper aims to contribute to an understanding of the role of government policy in regional economic development of a peripheral urban region. This is attempted by using a framework of analysis based on the integrated model of sub-national regional and urban economic development, developed by the author in previous published research. This framework applied to a peripheral urban region of Melbourne, Australia, namely the City of Casey. The City of Casey was formed in 1994 and has been expanding on the strength of its population growth since. The paper examines the usefulness of current government policies and business association programs in Casey aimed at developing self-sustaining regional development. This is achieved by examining perceptions and evaluating extent of adoption of these policies by manufacturing and home-based businesses. This research found that current government policy and business association programs are not sufficient for the development of self-sustaining businesses in peripheral urban regions such as The City of Casey.