Centralised states bad for economy, study shows

European countries where regions have more powers and responsibilities in terms of taxation, legislation and education policies tend to do better economically than centralised ones, a Swiss study shows.

"Centralism hammers development of countries at the cost of its citizens," Klaus Klipp, secretary general of the Assembly of European Regions, an umbrella network of regions from 33 European countries, said on Monday at the launch of the study, which was commissioned by his organisation....