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This thesis investigates the processes and influences that have driven regional economic development in Romania during the period 1945-95. One of the central aims is to examine whether the change from a planned to a market economy has significantly influenced the spatial distribution of economic activity. The initial part of the thesis examines the theoretical perspectives of Romanian regional development challenging the neo-classical hypothesis and proposing that Romanian development patterns, under both the socialist and free market, are best placed within the context of cumulative growth and agglomeration economies. The thesis presents an investigation of the patterns of national and regional development during 1945-95. One of the central messages that emerges is the importance of national and regional industrial structures to overall economic performance. It is argued that while the transition of the socialist economy to the market model may involve a fundamental change in the national and regional economic framework, both systems prioritised national growth over regional concerns through the focus on economic efficiency at the expense of equity considerations. The empirical results presented in the thesis reveal that economic growth within Romania is concentrated on previously developed regional centres. Both the socialist and free market systems failed to generate any fundamental change in the distribution of regional economic activity, although the introduction of the market economy is found to be marginally divergent. This is itself a rejection of the argument that the introduction of market forces will lead to a greater convergence in regional economic activity.