East-west integration and the economic geography of Europe

Bericht

Implementation of the European internal market and East-West integration has been accompanied by a dramatic change in the spatial distribution of economic activity, with higher growth west and east of a longitude degree through Germany and Italy. In the east, income growth has been accompanied by increasing regional disparities within countries. We examine theoretically and empirically whether European integration as such can explain these developments. Using a numerical simulation model with 9 countries and 90 regions, theoretical predictions are derived about how various patterns of integration may affect the income distribution. Comparing with reality, we find that a reduction in distance-related trade costs combined with east-west integration is best able to explain the actual changes in Europe's economic geography. This suggests that the implementation of the European internal market or the Euro has made Europe smaller”. In Central Europe, capital regions grow faster and there are few east-west growth differences inside countries. There is no convincing support for the hypothesis that European integration had adverse effects on nonmembers.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: CASE Network Studies & Analyses ; No. 379

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation ; Economic Integration ; Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity ; Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
• Thema: Income distribution ; regional inequality ; economic growth and convergence ; European integration ; Europäische Integration ; Regionale Einkommensverteilung ; Räumliche Verteilung ; Wirtschaftliche Konvergenz ; Europa

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Melchior, Arne
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE)
• (wo): Warsaw
• (wann): 2009

Weitere Informationen

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/128183
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 12.07.2024, 13:22 MESZ