The pervasive process of globalisation means that any development project, whether focused on a large or small territorial unit, must take into account both international and domestic socio-economic trends, as these are decisive both in terms of the opportunities and the way in which they are exploited. This is particularly true of areas that are economically underdeveloped or areas that have been the base of heavy industry and are in decline as a result of economic restructuring, which have been hardest hit by the crisis. In this study, these are collectively referred to as disadvantaged areas. In order to address the growing territorial disparities after the change of regime, regional development policy has tried to provide various benefits to these lagging regions, and therefore laws have been passed to determine which areas can be included in the list of beneficiaries. Law No XXI of 1996 distinguished between socio-economically backward areas, areas affected by long-term unemployment, areas affected by industrial restructuring, and agricultural and rural development areas. According to Parliamentary Resolution 24/2001 (20.4.2001), the beneficiaries were: socio-economically backward areas, areas undergoing industrial restructuring, agricultural and rural development areas (RARDI).