Spatially blind policies? Analysing agglomeration economies and European Investment Bank funding in European neighbouring countries

Policies promoting development need to take into account the fact that globalisation has made space more rather than less important. To take full advantage of agglomeration economies that come with urban concentration, infrastructure plays a key role. For a long time development policies have focused on the provision of infrastructure. In this work, we analyse: first how urban concentration and infrastructure interact with each other for encouraging economic growth; and second whether policies promoting infrastructure have considered the spatial distribution of economic activity. As a case study, we focus on the European Investment Bank (EIB) projects financing infrastructures, for both the European Union and the EU neighbourhood. We perform panel data analysis considering different measures of infrastructure, and we also analyse the EIB projects. Our results suggest a relevant role of connectivity infrastructure (i.e. transport and communications) for agglomeration benefits to take place in European Neighbouring Policy countries. Our results also suggest that EIB funding in ENP countries is mostly country specific and displays no spatial dimension.     

Long-run regional population disparities in Europe during modern economic growth: a case study of Spain

The objective of the present study is to analyze the disparities in long-run regional population growth in continental Europe. To this end, we propose a convergence equation for regional population distribution for eight Western European countries in the period 1850–2000. Our results show that divergence in economic growth at regional level has been a common pattern in Europe. We choose the case of Spain in order to depict the characteristics of this process of regional demographic divergence, studying the spatial dynamic of the Spanish population, focusing firstly on the processes of concentration–dispersion on a general scale. Finally, we establish a regional typology of long-term Spanish population growth, based on cluster analysis.     

Innovative potential for development of Europe’s neighbouring countries and regions

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is intended to promote development in bordering states and regions positioned along a broad arc from Morocco to Ukraine to become more friendly, stable, and prosperous. The policy offers limited but attractive terms of association with selected non-EU members concerning trade, mobility, innovation, and assistance in exchange for the adoption of important Western features that comprise the Community Acquis. The theme of this special issue hews closely to the economic development goals of the ENP by examining forces and factors that underlie the ability of neighbouring regions and countries to acquire and exploit innovative technologies, which are seen as the key element of a successful ENP.     

Behind the Eastern–Western European convergence path: the role of geography and trade liberalization

This paper proposes a 2-block 3-region economic geography model that can account for the most salient stylized facts experienced by Eastern European transition economies during the period 1990–2005. In contrast to the existing literature, which has favored technological explanations, trade liberalization is the only driving force. The model correctly predicts that in the first half of the period, trade liberalization led to divergence in GDP per capita, both between the West and the East and within the East. Consistent with the data, in the second half of the period, this process was reversed and convergence became the dominant force.     

International convergence and local divergence

This paper presents an East–West endogenous-growth model that reproduces recent stylized facts applicable to the trade liberalization process of many developing countries: convergence with the rest of the world, higher internal divergence, increasing spatial concentration of economic activity and higher growth rates. We claim that the ongoing reduction of manufacturing trade costs may generate a net inflow of global demand towards the industrialized cores of developing countries. This will induce a reallocation of labor from traditional to modern sectors. In turn, such a sectoral shift may enlarge the catch-up (imitation) potential of developing countries and raise global growth rates, due to Grossman and Helpman’s complementarity between imitative and innovative activities. Although advanced economies may become relatively worse off, the effect on growth rates may allow them to gain in absolute terms.     

Regional disparities in the European Union and the enlargement process: an exploratory spatial data analysis, 1995–2000

The aim of this paper is to study the space–time dynamics of European regional per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in the perspective of the enlargement of the European Union using exploratory spatial data analysis. We find strong evidence of global and local spatial autocorrelation as well as spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of regional per capita GDP in a sample of 258 European regions including regions from acceding and candidate European countries over the period 1995–2000. However, contrary to previous results obtained in the literature highlighting a North–South polarization scheme, the enlargement process leads to a new North–West–East polarization scheme. The economic dynamism of EU15 regions and acceding or candidate regions is also investigated by exploring the spatial pattern of regional growth. Implications for regional development and cohesion policies are finally suggested.     

西北地区中小城市空间扩展及其动力机制研究

本文分析了西北地区中小城市空间扩展的现状特征及其动力机制,并通过与英国城镇空间扩展和人口集聚特征的对比分析,提出中国西北地区城市空间扩展范式,即：不同类型城市规模均持续扩大背景下的空间形态结构分异,迁往主要中心城市大背景下的中小城市人口集聚,大城市及特大城市仍处于能量集聚背景下的城镇区域＂虚多中心＂发展。     

European cities in the process of economic integration: towards structural convergence

The process of economic integration has triggered complex territorial dynamics in Europe. Basically, opposite dynamics appears to prevail for national and regional economies. The convergence process of the national economies of the EU coexists with a process of divergence between the regional European economies. The process of economic integration occurs in a context of increased importance of permanent innovation and of resulting increased territorialisation of activities where the metropolitan areas seem to embody the main issues at stake on European scene, particularly regarding its regional dimension. Different theoretical literatures have been developed, regarding both income convergence and regional specialisation in Europe. This paper is a first step towards a simultaneous resolution of the different dimensions of regional dynamics induced by the European integration: it focuses on the concept of structural convergence applied at the regional level and adopting the Wacziarg (2001) framework empirically establishes the existence of structural convergence of European metropolitan areas. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Road pricing and agglomeration economies: a new methodology to estimate indirect effects applied to the Netherlands

A congestion charging scheme may be a good alternative for infrastructure investment to improve the allocation of road usage over different user groups, thereby enhancing economic welfare. However, a congestion charge also increases the costs of traveling, thereby possibly inducing agglomeration effects (Arnott in Congestion tolling with agglomeration externalities, paper presented at Conference in Honor of Kenneth A. Small, University of California, Irvine, 2007). Agglomeration effects in relation to infrastructure investment can be substantial (Venables in J Transp Econ policy, 2007) and they can be estimated using a spatial computable general equilibrium model (Bröcker in Ann Reg Sci 32, 367–387, 1998). Agglomeration effects of congestion charging are, however, difficult to assess using this approach because the government revenue from the congestion charge should be redistributed to the population. This redistribution of government revenue may be either agglomeration- or dispersion-augmenting and thereby change the agglomeration effects significantly. In this paper, we propose a methodology based on a spatial computable general equilibrium model to estimate the agglomeration effects of congestion charging with an agglomeration-neutral redistribution effect. In this manner, we do take the redistribution effect into account without letting it interfere with the effect of the congestion charge. This is important because we only want to evaluate the congestion charge, independent of the chosen redistribution scheme. In our application of the proposed methodology for the Netherlands, agglomeration benefits are found to be substantial and have, in general, the opposite sign as the relative cost change.     

城市群综合客运枢纽整体发展规划研究——以苏南城市群为例

综合客运枢纽的建设对于引导和支撑区域城镇空间结构、促进区域社会经济发展、提升区域整体竞争力具有重要的意义.目前,我国关于综合客运枢纽的发展、规划研究多从城市层面进行探讨,缺乏从城市群层面探讨的案例.苏南城市群有发展区域综合客运枢纽的需求.从城市群层面建设综合客运枢纽要充分分析城市群内部综合客运枢纽现状存在的问题,进行城...     

Regional economic dynamics and convergence in the European Union

This paper uses an alternative approach to convergence analysis, which, in our opinion, is richer than those traditionally proposed. We believe that the evolution of the whole regional distribution is what matters, not that of an average or representative economy, implicit in the or convergence concepts. Moreover, when analyzing inequality among regional economies, geographic space acquires a preeminent role. We therefore apply spatial association tests recently developed in the spatial econometrics literature and relate them to convergence analysis. Specifically, we apply this methodology to the analysis of regional dynamics and convergence in the European Union (EU). In this context, the progress made in the integration process has highlighted the question of economic disparities at regional level. The process of convergence came to an end in the late seventies, coinciding with major changes in economic activity. This paper shows how these factors appear to have provoked a regionally differentiated response which, though significant, did not, in all likelihood, exacerbate the decrease in regional inequalities.     

Analysis on the spatial distribution of logistics industry in the developed East Coast Area in China

Based on the theory of location quotient (LQ) and the characteristics of regional logistics, we apply methods of exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to examine variation in logistics industry in the East Coast Area (ECA) in China. This paper investigates the regional disparities at city level in ECA by global and local spatial autocorrelation analysis, with the support of ArcMap and Geoda software. It visualizes the regional distribution of logistics industry by box map, and analyzes the statistical data of China logistic industry by Moran’s I scatter plots and local indicators of spatial association (LISA) map. Then we briefly discuss regional economic development in relation to the spatial distribution of logistics industry. The results show that the Moran’s I for per capita GDP is higher than that for logistics industry in ECA. Some logistics clusters have been formed in the developed strip-shaped region—confirming the existence of agglomeration economics. The paper has derived some implications for policy makers at the end.     

长三角城市群人口老龄化时空变化分析

人口老龄化是城市发展和城市管理考虑的重要因素。长三角城市群是人口老龄化的高峰地区。根据第五次、六次人口普查数据,分析了长三角城市群人口老龄化的空间分布特征与变化情况。研究表明,老年人口数量在长三角地区呈现北高南低的分布特点。沿沪宁、沪杭甬发展轴,人口老龄化空间分布呈逆核心边缘结构。人口老龄化水平区域差异的直接原因是人口迁移和老年人口的自然增长。经济发展水平、政府政策、城市规划、社会保障和文化等是重要影响因素。     

Demand for information and communication technology-based services and regional economic development

The relationship between the uptake of Information and Communication Technology-based services (ICT) and regional economic development is examined here; we address in particular the idea that ICT will promote regional economic convergence. We argue that ICT can generate contradictory trends of regional convergence and divergence and that, under conditions of non-regulated market supply, the effects leading to divergence can be dominant. The approach is based on the development of a regional demand model, which is the combination of two sub models, one dealing with the effects of network externalities and the other based on the concept of potential demand for ICT. The main conclusion is that less populous, more peripheral and poorer regions with weaker existing social and economic networking will encounter problems of insufficient demand. This in turn will delay the launch of new services and slow the rate of uptake. Negative dynamic effects of low ICT use on economic performance will generate a vicious circle of cumulative disadvantage. Received: 2 October 2000 / Accepted: 6 December 2001 RID="*" ID="*" Thanks are due to Miguel Jardim and Jo?o Marques for technical assistance with the graphics.     

Planning trajectories in post-socialist cities: patterns of divergence and change

This article explores the new planning regimes and planning processes in post-socialist countries and their ability to influence the spatial transformation of cities. It views planning institutions as culturally embedded in the overall process of economic, social, and political transition, while recognizing the power of specific local imperatives and market pressures to shape their response. The research draws on empirical evidence in four countries and their capital cities to highlight the links between the transition to democracy, markets, and decentralized governance on the spatial transformation in post-socialist cities. The main argument is that the new planning institutions have different ability to direct these processes of change, depending on the legal framework, the availability of plans, and the institutionalization of the plan-implementation process. Despite the diverse mosaic of urban experiences in Prague, Riga, Belgrade, and Tirana, planning institutions are viewed as path dependent, influenced by a common socialist legacy. Further, changes in the exogenous environment – economic, social, and institutional – are perceived to be important sources of convergence, but tend to shape different planning responses and policy choices. The research explores these differences as well as the new patterns of spatial transformation in three principal domains: (1) spaces of production/consumption reflecting the economic transition; (2) differentiation in residential spaces associated with the social transition; and (3) new approaches to planning and service delivery resulting from the transition in governance. Central to the arguments in the article is that transition of this magnitude has created a complex urban world in which the patterns of divergence are going to become more explicit in the future, producing spatial and temporal differentiation among post-socialist cities.     

Economic performance,social progress and institutional reform in European neighbouring countries

The objective of this article is to analyse the recent evolution of European neighbouring countries in different dimensions related to economic performance (measured in a broader sense), social progress and institutional reforms. With this aim, we design and build a composite indicator to measure these different dimensions. Next, the index is used to characterise the relative evolution of neighbouring countries compared to a wide sample of developed and developing economies. We also test whether a convergence process has taken place in these different dimensions controlling for the potential effect of the European neighbourhood policy. The obtained results show different trends according to the considered dimensions and heterogeneous effects at the country level. From a policy perspective, these results reinforce the validity of the bilateral action plans that have characterised ENP recognising the different starting point and particular characteristics of each neighbouring country.     

2000—2021年中国城市山地景观保护规划与立法中的界线划定模式

随着全球人口聚集增长,快速城市化地区的山地景观因市民生产和生活而变化,因而各国纷纷通过保护规划与立法保护景观特征及生态。现有研究已从4个切入角度揭示相关实践的广度和深度,但尚未就保护界线划定问题进行系统探讨。以当代中国内地城市为研究对象,基于内容分析法与空间制图法比较来自60个城市的76份山地景观保护规划或法规文本,分别从山地本体保护界线、山地内部管控强度、山地周边管控界线3个方面识别相关保护界线划定模式。研究发现:1)上述城市主要分布在东部低海拔地区,但其山地景观保护界线划定模式并不存在明显的地区性聚集规律;2)相关城市主要基于坡度、绝对高程、相对高程、山脊等地貌特征因子划定山地景观保护界线,同时根据行政区划、管控分区、特定用地类型与区位、视野及定性条件等经济社会因素进行修正。对中国部分城市山地景观保护界线划定问题进行系统总结,可为中国乃至世界其他城市的相关问题提供参考。     

Comparing China's city transportation and economic networks

The urban system has been a prevailing research issue in the fields of urban geography and regional economics. Not only do the relationships between cities in the city system exist in the form of rankings, but also in a more general network form. Previous work has examined the spatial structure of the urban system in terms of its separate industrial networks, such as in transportation and economic activity, but little has been done to compare different networks. To rectify this situation, this study analyzes and reveals the spatial structural features of China's urban system by comparing its transportation and economic urban networks, thus providing new avenues for research on China's city network. The results indicate that these two networks relate with each other by sharing structural equivalence with a basic diamond structure and a layered intercity structure decreasing outwards from the national centers. A decoupling effect also exists between them as the transportation network contributes to a balanced regional development, while the economic network promotes agglomeration economies. The law of economic development and the government both play important roles in the articulation between these two networks, and the gap between them can be shortened by related policy reforms and the improvement of the transportation network.     

Multinational enterprises and industrial spatial concentration patterns in the Red River Delta and Southeast Vietnam

In many Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, the appearance of multinational enterprises (MNEs) as a consequence of open and liberal market reforms is increasing the concentration process, especially in and around the capital regions. MNEs are attracted by positive externalities provided by the large agglomerations. Additionally, Vietnam introduced an open-door policy with the initiation of the transition process in 1986. The question arises of whether MNEs will contribute to a regional increase or decrease in the spatial concentration of economic activities. In short, the paper analyzes the locational pattern of MNEs and their spatial impact. Since the economic transition to a socialist-oriented market economy in 1986, a large inflow of FDI has come mainly to the two most important economic regions in Vietnam, namely the Red River Delta (RRD) and the Southeast. Historically, the business climate in the Southeast is more market-oriented, whereas the socialist heritage of the planning system is stronger in the RRD. At first sight, industry in the RRD is less highly concentrated compared to the Southeast because MNEs try to avoid the locations with socialist remains. However, by means of an analysis using the continuous spatial concentration index, we detect that industrial production is also becoming more concentrated in the RRD.