The document summarizes key points from the OECD Regional Outlook 2016 report and related research. It finds that simply compensating lagging regions does not promote development and creates dependency. Instead, place-based policies should focus on using regional assets, complementarities among sectoral policies, and multi-level governance. Productivity growth has diverged between frontier and other regions over time. Catching-up regions have stronger tradable sectors and structural change can boost productivity, but transitions may be costly. Effective regional policies require strategic investments across all regions, considering systems of cities and rural-urban linkages, with monitoring and evaluation of spending.