Advanced Search
MyIDEAS: Login

Growth, Integration and Regional Inequality in Europe

Contents:

Author Info

  • George Petrakos

    ()

  • Andres Rodríguez-Pose

    ()

  • Antonis Rovolis

    ()

Abstract

This paper challenges the ability of the conventional literature initiated by Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1991, 1992) to detect actual convergence or divergence trends across countries or regions and suggests an alternative dynamic framework of analysis, which allows for a better understanding of the forces in operation. With the use of a SURE model and time-series data for eight European Union (EU) member-states, we test directly for the validity of two competing hypotheses: the neoclassical (NC) convergence hypothesis originating in the work of Solow (1956) and the cumulative causation hypothesis stemming from Myrdal?s theories (1957). We also account for changes in the external environment, such as the role of European integration on the level of inequalities. Our findings indicate that both short-term divergence and long-term convergence processes coexist. Regional inequalities are reported to follow a pro-cyclical pattern, as dynamic and developed regions grow faster in periods of expansion and slower in periods of recession. At the same time, significant spread effects are also in operation, partly offsetting the cumulative impact of growth on space. Similar results are obtained from the estimation of an intra-EU model of inequalities at the national level, indicating that the forces in operation are independent of the level of aggregation. Our findings challenge the conventional wisdom in the European Commission about the evolution of regional inequalities and have important policy implications.

Download Info

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
File URL: http://www-sre.wu-wien.ac.at/ersa/ersaconfs/ersa03/cdrom/papers/46.pdf
Download Restriction: no

Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by European Regional Science Association in its series ERSA conference papers with number ersa03p46.

as in new window
Length:
Date of creation: Aug 2003
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa03p46

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Web page: http://www.ersa.org

Related research

Keywords:

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
as in new window
  1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-37, October.
  2. Henderson, J. Vernon, 1986. "Efficiency of resource usage and city size," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 47-70, January.
  3. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-99, June.
  4. Robert J. Barro & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 1991. "Convergence across States and Regions," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(1), pages 107-182.
  5. repec:fth:eeccco:142 is not listed on IDEAS
  6. Andrew Dickerson & Heather Gibson & Euclid Tsakalotos, 1998. "Business Cycle Correspondence in the European Union," Empirica, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 49-75, January.
  7. Krugman, Paul, 1993. "On the number and location of cities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 293-298, April.
  8. Baumol, William J, 1986. "Productivity Growth, Convergence, and Welfare: What the Long-run Data Show," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 1072-85, December.
  9. Henderson, Vernon, 2000. "How urban concentration affects economic growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2326, The World Bank.
  10. Petrakos, George & Brada, Josef C, 1989. "Metropolitan Concentration in Developing Countries," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 557-78.
  11. Barro, Robert J & Sala-i-Martin, Xavier, 1992. "Convergence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(2), pages 223-51, April.
  12. K.H. Midelfart & H.G. Overman & S.J. Redding & A.J. Venables, 2000. "The location of European industry," European Economy - Economic Papers 142, Directorate General Economic and Monetary Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

Citations

Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Growth, Recession and Geographical Inequality
    by Brian Ashcroft in Scottish Economy Watch on 2012-07-12 21:40:27
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
as in new window

Cited by:
  1. Angelos Liontakis & Christos T. Papadas & Irene Tzouramani, 2011. "Regional Economic Convergence in Greece: A Stochastic Dominance Approach," ERSA conference papers ersa10p1188, European Regional Science Association.
  2. Salvador Barrios & Eric Strobl, 2005. "The dynamics of regional inequalities," European Economy - Economic Papers 229, Directorate General Economic and Monetary Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
  3. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Roberto Ezcurra, 2009. "Does decentralization matter for regional disparities? A cross-country analysis," Working Papers 2009-04, Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados (IMDEA) Ciencias Sociales.
  4. Mark V. Janikas & Sergio J. Rey, 2005. "Spatial Clustering, Inequality and Income Convergence," Urban/Regional 0501002, EconWPA.
  5. Dimitris Kallioras & George Petrakos & Georgios Fotopoulos, 2005. "Economic integration, regional structural change and cohesion in the EU new member-states," ERSA conference papers ersa05p383, European Regional Science Association.

Lists

This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.

Statistics

Access and download statistics

Corrections

When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa03p46

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Gunther Maier).

If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.

If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.