It is observed that regional economic policies, which are applied to reduce the regional imbalances and to improve the income and employment in underdeveloped regions, tend to change in time. This change in turn brings out the concept of regional competition. This change also reflects the state’s policy tools, while the concept of regional efficiency becomes to be determinative in state’s regional economic policies in addition to the concept of regional equality. In this context the public policies of regional level can be said as following: first to develop regional infrastructural investments, second; to support the small and medium sized firms and the clusters around them which can stimulate internal potential of the region, and to develop the technological and innovative frames of the firms. Similar changes occur in Turkey as well together with the European Union membership process, while the concept of regional competition begins to shape the regional economic policies with the legal and institutional arrangements. In this study, we tried to assess the changing role of the state, especially from the point of Turkey, in the regional development policies.