Territorial economic structure: an analysis of micro-regional disparities in France[Structure économique des territoires : une analyse des disparités micro-régionales à l'échelle des pays en France]

An understanding of economic and social disparities at the micro-regional level primarily involves relations between urban and rural areas. We examine the "pays" as established by legislation on territorial planning and development, drawing up an inventory of these areas which were set up on a political basis but which are large enough for development issues to be envisaged. This article draws on input from regional economics in an attempt to account for the diversity of local arrangements regarding "pays" on the basis of spatial structuring criteria which combine the rural/urban distinction and the occurrence of towns. Cluster thus established is submitted to a multinomial logit model to analyse the discriminant character of economic variables relating to the sectoral structure, the labour market, population services and social structures. Each class of "pays" is then characterised in terms of its development potential.