Balanserad regional tillväxt? En fallstudie av regionala kärnor och omland i nordöstra Skåne

Sammanfattning: This essay aims to study the effects of regional development policy containing growth poles or “regional cores”. In order to do this, the case of northeastern Scania has been chosen as an example of this type of regional development policy in practice. By comparing different factors related to population and labor market, as well as analyzing various official public documents, the goal is to showcase how cumulative growth affects not only the regional core of Kristianstad, but indeed also the surrounding areas of Bromölla and Östra Göinge. The findings of the study have then been compared to theories related to the subject, such as growth pole theory and cumulative growth. This has been done in order to come to the conclusion that Kristianstad as a regional core, while it does promote education and certain other aspects in the region, mainly gives rise to backwash-effects and siphons growth from surrounding municipalities.