Theories of regional development, overview of the main concepts from the 17th to the 20th century Urbanization and the aging of the population represent a new challenge for most local governments in Europe and in the world. The challenge lies not only in providing public service in a situation of decreasing budgets, but also in promoting business development. Naturally, the quality of the provision of public services by the local administration is one of the components of the ability to attract new residents, investors, tourists and businesses. By providing good living and business conditions, local governments try to attract jobs and capital, which could be called local public goods. Due to the fact that people move towards the capital and larger centers (regions), there is also a greater concentration of businesses in these regions. Therefore, for local governments outside the capital and for central governments interested in balanced economic development across the country, it is necessary to think about how to promote economic development in those regions that do not have excellent preconditions for attracting labor and capital. Otherwise, those regions lose the funding needed to invest in infrastructure and human capital, hire the best specialists, develop businesses, etc. In this literature overview, I try to find theories of regional development across different time periods. So it is possible to see how the theories explained the dynamics of regional development, what were the main factors that made the difference between the regions and their development. There is literature on the reasons why business development differences between regions have emerged. For example, there are two… in the middle of the document…, which focus only on influences within the region, and there are others, which add a broader overview of different factors external to the region. The theory of regional development could not be separated from the main concepts introduced by Karl Marx, i.e. from the theories that explain the overall economic growth of companies. Early in the emergence of regional development theories, in the late 19th century, the theories sought to show how businesses choose their locations and how markets emerge, leading to regional disparities. Now theories try to add concepts that are more dynamic than static. Furthermore, new waves of regional development theory are now seen, led by the work of Paul Krugman in which he seeks to add a more macroeconomic and mathematical approach and to summarize the previous works of economic theorists (regional)..