This document presents a detailed analysis of the regional development issue in Quebec. First, it includes an analysis of the available regional economic data, which confirms the relative decline of "peripheral"" regions versus ""central"" regions. A critical survey of regional policies enforced during the XXth century and of regional development theories that inspired them is then presented. The authors also survey contemporary regional policies and institutions in Quebec and provide an overview of the situation elsewhere in Canada and of some international experiences. Towards suggesting policy prescriptions, the authors introduce regional policy issues that are relevant at the beginning of the XXIst century and the multiple lessons that can be drawn from the economic literature. They discuss the ""regional-international"" paradigm and the two major approaches to regional development - ""place prosperity"" and ""people prosperity"". The authors conclude by proposing a regional policy that covers all Quebec regions, differentiating between ""peripheral"" regions, the metropolitan region of Montreal and the ""adjacent-metropolitan"" region of Montreal.

(Revised version on August 9th 2004 with a new Figure 14)"