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The spatial evolution of regional GDP disparities in the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ Europe

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  • Maarten Bosker

Abstract

This paper studies the evolution of regional income disparities in Europe. Besides using a more complete data set that offers a more detailed look at the evolution of regional incomes in Western Europe than previous studies, it is the first to shed empirical light on regional income differences and their evolution in Eastern Europe during the transition phase from communism towards EU membership by means of a (spatial) Markov chain analysis. Regional income disparities in Western Europe are found to be decreasing over time and less persistent than reported in earlier studies. In the case of Eastern Europe some regions are likely to fall behind in terms of GDP per capita whereas a substantial number of other regions will be able to (slowly) catch up with their Western neighbours. Moreover in Western Europe localized regional conditions appear to be a main determinant of the observed income differences, whereas in Eastern Europe country‐specific factors are of bigger importance. Resumen Este artículo estudia la evolución de las disparidades de ingresos regionales en Europa. Aparte de usar un conjunto de datos más completo que ofrece una perspectiva más detallada que estudios anteriores de la evolución de los ingresos regionales en Europa occidental, es el primero en aportar algo de luz por métodos empíricos—mediante un análisis (espacial) de cadenas de Markov, sobre las diferencias regionales en ingresos y su evolución en Europa oriental durante la fase de transición del comunismo hasta ser miembros de la UE. Se encontró que las disparidades de ingresos regionales en Europa occidental disminuyen con el tiempo y son menos persistentes de lo reportado en estudios anteriores. En el caso de Europa Oriental, es probable que algunas regiones se queden atrás en términos de PIB per cápita mientras que una cifra numerosa de otras regiones será capaz de equipararse (lentamente) a sus vecinos occidentales. Además, ciertas condiciones regionales localizadas parecen ser en Europa occidental un determinante principal de las diferencias observadas en ingresos, mientras que en Europa Oriental tienen más importancia factores específicos de ámbito nacional.

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  • Maarten Bosker, 2009. "The spatial evolution of regional GDP disparities in the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ Europe," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(1), pages 3-27, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:presci:v:88:y:2009:i:1:p:3-27
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1435-5957.2008.00183.x
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