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The promotion of R&D carries the risk that economically strong regions will benefit to a greater extent and that regional disparities will increase by focusing the economy on high technology. However, this is expected to depend on the specific sectoral and technological composition of R&D funding. R&D funding for a bio-based economy in Germany is particularly illustrative for a shift in funding focus from a narrow concept of biotechnology to a broader concept of bioeconomy. Along with this shift, an impact on the spatial distribution of R&D funding is assumed. Against the background of inclusive innovation policy, this study examines the potential of the bioeconomy for a reduction of regional disparities in public R&D funding. Based on a database containing publicly-funded R&D projects in Germany and further regional data, comparative regressions are conducted in order to identify spatial patterns. The results demonstrate distinct funding mechanisms in the different areas of the bioeconomy. The broadening of R&D funding for bio-based activities from the biotechnology vision towards bioresources and bioecology leads to a greater participation of rural and lagging regions which is expected to be the result of the inclusion of more traditional industries as recipients of R&D funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial is intended to provide a brief overview of the evolution of a selection of European space economies and policies introduced to mitigate the devastating effects of at least five crises most have faced in the past decade or more. In a time of great fragility in economy, politics and society, concatenations of the five crises and more have challenged planners to come up with new solutions to long-standing urban and regional problems (otherwise 'opportunities'). The five crises focused on here are: Green Transition; Great Financial Crisis; Euro Crisis; Migration and Refugee Asylum Crisis; COVID-19 Crisis. Occasional papers in the Special Issue that follows refer to other crisis effects such as; Ukraine resistance to its war against the Russian invasion; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of October 2023; Austerity policies and associated urban and regional disparities with inter-regional tensions; and the socio-economic effects of liberalization of Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation is one of the most meaningful references of unsustainability in regional urban areas. This difficulty is stimulating urban planners and decision-makers to introduce the concept of sustainability into their policy design at multiple levels. Contextually, through exploratory tools, the present study aims to analyze the impacts over the socio-economic sphere that those new plans could bring to the region and the local populations of Portugal Mainland. Also, analyses of regional disparities in Portugal focused on the socio-economic aspects and analyses on territorial cohesion concept where indicators organized in policy-oriented territorial objectives and then combined with an analytical framework. Besides, the study especially intends to cover sustainable accessibility (also one of the components of territorial cohesion), which aims to help regional planners determine the inherent obstacles and design possible alternatives at the strategic planning level for sustainable regional transport and land-use arrangement. The study shows that exist inequalities in the distribution of absolute accessibility. Value of accessibility in category "very high" in 192 towns (68,57%) settlements, in the central, coastal territory along the dual carriageway and national road corridors, live 81,7% population. Nevertheless, the regional inequalities pattern did not vary considerably in Portugal's last decade of funding policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional disparities and inequalities have been a key concern in the EU. This paper develops a concept of spatial justice to examine the European Union policy of territorial cohesion and its reforms. It identifies three key dimensions of spatial justice that distinguish it from social justice: spatiality, which draws attention to spatial aspects of justice; integration of distributive and procedural justice, which goes beyond this controversial dichotomy in social justice; and inclusion, which crosses the boundaries and addresses both inter-regional and intra-regional inequality. This concept of spatial justice is then used to analyse the EU's territorial cohesion approach, a turning point in cohesion policy focusing on spatial imbalances in an enlarged EU. Critical analysis of the seven treaties since 1951 and seven cohesion reports since 1996 shows that this spatial emphasis has been added to, rather than integrated with, social and economic cohesion. It moves from inter-regional redistribution to intra-regional development and from distributive to procedural concerns. Rather than integrating society and space, distributive and procedural justice, and inter-regional and intra-regional cohesion, it moves from one pole to the other. Therefore, its contribution to spatial justice has been limited, providing necessary but insufficient responses to spatial imbalances and social inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Germany, the debate on economic challenges and strategic orientation is strongly focussed on the industrial sector as the backbone and anchor of the German economy. In relation to the digitalization of the manufacturing industry, the term Industry 4.0 is used. The concept focuses primarily on possibilities for optimizing processes of production and product innovation. It thus aims at incremental rather than disruptive developments. Incremental digital development that enables synergies between existing regional strengths and the potentials of Industry 4.0 bears the danger of increasing rather than reducing regional disparities. The expansion of Industry 4.0 can especially be found in strong industrial centres. Many implementation examples are located in the vicinity of university towns, in regions with high population density as well as high expenditure on research and development by large industrial companies. As a result, there are hardly any shifts between the existing industrial centres and the periphery with its weak industrial base. So far, Industry 4.0 seems to have contributed little to reducing existing regional disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the allocation of regional assets has been theoretically and empirically analysed in regional growth theories, the subsequent logical step on how such allocation affects regional inequalities has not found direct quantitative validation. This paper tries to fill this gap by presenting an original simulation able to capture the relative weight of each economic resource in the process of decreasing regional disparities. Results witness that not all resources play the same role and that inequalities are better overcome when growth assets fit the regional productive specialization. The former result represents a guide for raising policymakers' awareness on resource priority investments, while the latter proves once again that the local productive vocation is dramatically relevant, and that Cohesion Policy cannot be designed without considering local specificities, in line with the theoretical arguments of the Smart Specialization Strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Territorial, economic and social cohesion in European Union (EU) regions are major challenges that regional policies are aimed at. These policies have a strong focus on innovation-driven models as key processes for reducing disparities and promoting regional development. Since the 1980s, innovation and technology policies have gained momentum and legitimacy to stimulate multiple development patterns and growth models, mainly from national economic dynamics to well performing regional systems. Theories of knowledge and learning have been developed in more successful places, producing concepts that seem unattainable for less successful ones. Given that less developed regions have been overlooked in innovation studies, this paper reviews the literature on territorial innovation models in Europe in order to understand theoretical and practical gaps for these regions and to identify trends that support the need to redirect conceptual, political and instrumental attention of territorial innovation systems. It debates the different forms of innovation in regions, the variety and role of actors, the quest for geographical and place-based resources, the determinants for innovation and the 'how' and 'for what' demands of regional development. The discussion anticipates critical questions that try to promote a 'normative turn' in innovation policy, propose research avenues and discuss policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, major planning agendas in Europe steer the future of territorial organization towards an urban polycentric perspective. The accessibility to services of general interest (SGI), a significant source of spatial inequality in Europe, is one of the key challenges to address. However, instruments needed to support the implementation and monitoring of territorial policy measures regarding the distribution of, and accessibility to SGI are still under-developed. Studies generally relate to the (intra)regional and not the national scale. When they do so, they lose local specificity as they often consider the existence/availability of services at a given scale and not the actual capacity to reach their (often just estimated) location through the transport network. In the context of the revision of Portugal's National Plan for Territorial Planning Policies, this paper presents a comprehensive multi-criteria location-based approach for measuring the factual accessibility to a representative range of SGI at the national Portuguese scale. Results are evaluated considering the dichotomy between centrality and periphery, high and low density, and the regional disparities found. High accessibility values do not necessarily mean greater territorial cohesion. Contributions to the development of national planning policies that respond to cohesion challenges are also debated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sheds light on the debate on regional resilience to crisis in Greece, a country long suffering from insufficient planning mechanisms and recently hit by a severe economic crisis. In the paper, we discuss the spatialities of employment flexibilization vis-à-vis the devaluation of regional productive structures between 2005 and 2016. The paper critically builds on previous accounts of regional resilience, but also seeks to develop the concept through engaging in: (i) how different employment patterns, namely part-time work, present a powerful adaptive mechanism that is related to path-dependent regional production profiles; and (ii) why regions with less favourable pre-crisis production structures and anaemic growth seem to have been less affected by recession and may witness a faster recovery in its aftermath. The paper adopts a multi-layered methodology, using a variety of measures, offering an empirically grounded theorization of contemporary labour market changes within the Southern EU. The results indicate some key reasons for radically reformulating established regulatory and planning practices in order to promote a pattern of resilience that is more friendly to good and well-paid jobs. A prerequisite for the latter is the promotion of territorially cohesive strategies that reduce regional disparities and harness 'unregulated flexibilization'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of the economic crisis has been highly asymmetric across the European regions. The objective of this paper is to investigate the determinants of resilience to economic crisis across European regions. Regional economic resilience was assessed based on employment changes during 2008-2013, while socioeconomic determinants were analysed pre-crisis (2002-2007). A highly heterogeneous pattern of resilience was observed within countries, while significant differences were also revealed between the continental northern-central regions and the southern periphery. A multilevel logistic regression model indicated the magnitude of country-effects on the performance of regional employment during crisis periods. Both EU-referenced and country-referenced regional resilience identified the positive effect of accessibility and the negative effect of a large manufacturing sector in the ability of regions to withstand recessionary shocks. Education and economic development level positively affected the resilience of both large and small regional European economies. Investing in education enhances the spatial homogeneity across Europe in terms of its ability to react to economic shocks. The results reveal the importance of narrowing disparities among regions and formulating targeted and differentiated regional development policies at country level, taking into consideration the size of the economy of the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The levels and characteristics of entrepreneurship differ widely across EU countries and regions. Taking as reference data provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor on entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial attitude, this paper analyses the disparities in entrepreneurship indicators among EU member countries in 2007 and 2013, highlighting the most significant changes that occurred during the Great Recession. Some of the major indices of inequality are calculated (Gini, Theil and Atkinson) and the change in the Gini coefficient between these two years is additively decomposed into mobility and progressivity components. Overall, we find that cross-national inequalities tend to increase in the procyclical aspects of entrepreneurial activity and attitude, while they tend to decrease in the countercyclical aspects. For entrepreneurial activity indicators, we reveal that heterogeneity increases in indicators such as opportunity-driven entrepreneurial activity and total entrepreneurial activity, while necessity-driven entrepreneurial activity becomes more homogeneous across countries. Regarding entrepreneurial attitudes, disparities among countries decrease in all indicators, except in perceived opportunities, for which cross-national inequality grows considerably during the crisis period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe 2020 is a 10-year EU strategy, promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Despite ambitious goals, its spatially blinded approach might seriously threaten its success. Actually, large territorial disparities still affect the EU, being the basis for a strong EU-wide cohesion policy and suggesting a general re-framing of sectoral policies on a regional basis. In this respect, the paper tackles the issue of regional disparities in achieving Europe 2020 Strategy targets. As the Strategy involves different targets, principal component analysis is applied to disentangle Europe 2020 domains and to describe major differences in EU-27 NUTS 2 regional performances. In particular, two components are returned: high-employment inclusive growth and smart growth. Territorial patterns of both components are analysed, by jointly considering some geographical features that may affect them. Both a rural and a spatial effect occur: rural and remote regions show poor performances whilst the presence of spatial autocorrelation may actually lock-in negative outcomes. When considering urban rural divides, also within-regions disparities matter. Results strengthen the idea that Europe 2020, as other sectoral policies, should be translated into a regional setting according to a place-based approach: although requiring large efforts, this represents the only way to fully achieve its own targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to discuss polycentrism and its implications. Polycentricity plays a key role in EU Cohesion Policy and has done so since 1999 when the notion was included in the European Spatial Development Perspective. Politically, it emerged as a key tool because of its ability to fuse together the two primary and conflicting perceptions of spatial-economic development, cohesion and competitiveness. No agreed definition of polycentricity exists. Furthermore, different actors and disciplines define polycentrism differently. The absence of a concise and coherent definition makes it difficult to measure polycentricity. Moreover, several studies have concluded that it is difficult to identify empirical evidence to support the positive claims made in its name. Polycentrism is assumed toolbox to reduce regional disparities, but polycentric countries display higher regional disparities than monocentric countries. Polycentric countries do not perform better than monocentric countries with regard to competitiveness and GDP/cap. As such, this paper concludes that not only does the political meaning of polycentricity struggle over aims with the inherit dichotomy at its heart, it also struggles in terms of basic credibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While EU regional policy has the ambitious objective of supporting lagging regions and promoting inter-regional convergence, its impact is dependent on the ability of regional policymakers to secure and use EU funding to meet the region's needs. This paper aims to show under which conditions politics has a defining influence on the distribution, allocation and utilization of structural funds (SF), specifically in Objective 1 regions. The empirical analysis focuses on the 2000–2006 programming cycle in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The results show that regions politically aligned with national governing coalitions tend to perform better in terms of received SF support and enjoy more flexibility in implementing SF. However, the influence of regional political behaviours on economic performances is very limited. The findings confirm the importance of politics in influencing SF implementation, but its limited influence on economic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

From the normative perspective of EU regional policy, polycentric spatial development has been seen as an effective tool to overcome regional disparities since the adoption of the European Spatial Development Perspective. However, the impact of a polycentric spatial structure on equal spatial development is ambiguous and still waits for its clarification. This paper examines the relationship by focusing on the local scale, where medium-sized towns play a crucial role as local centres in everyday human lives. Using functional regions of the Czech Republic, this paper defines polycentric urban systems at the micro-regional scale. Subsequently, the level of mono/polycentricity is compared with intra-regional disparities. Based on the results of the analysis, it can be argued that the connection of polycentricity with balanced spatial development is strongly determined by selected indicators. However, the findings do not provide evidence about the strictly positive impact of polycentricity on intra-regional disparities. In a light of these results, the conclusion is rather sceptical about the unique role of polycentricity in spatial development and due to the lack of similar studies, further research is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

After outlining the overall scale and evolution of European Union (EU) public expenditure, this paper examines the mechanisms driving the allocation of Cohesion Policy resources. The analysis reveals the extent to which the outcome of the policy's principle- and formula-driven allocation mechanisms is modified by precedent and politico-economic considerations. In particular it shows that the consequent per capita final financial allocations (the intensity of aid) are greatest not for the poorest areas: up to 84% of EU GDP per head, aid increases as income increases. The analysis also emphasizes the on–off nature of the EU policy. In the light of these results a series of simulations are carried out. Attention is given first to a more economically sensitive treatment of transition regions, whose relative growth results in shifts from one category to another and to a mechanism capable of providing differentiated support to all disadvantaged regional economies. Attention is then given to ways of ensuring that final allocations are inversely proportional to income, and that most aid is concentrated on the most disadvantaged areas (Section 5). In the conclusions attention is paid to guidelines which might apply to the reform of the EU Cohesion Policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the most important economic and social facts concerning the European Union consists in the mismatch among its regions in terms of unemployment rates. The paper aims at examining and measuring the efficiency of Italian policies for labour market carried out in the last 10 years, in terms of reduction in the regional disparities in comparison with the whole European distribution of unemployment. We question whether these policies have been successful or the territorial dimension has still a relevant role on the unemployment in Italy. We try to answer to this question by calculating the Theil Index using data from 1996 to 2006 on unemployment and participation from Eurostat at NUTS 2 level, comparing Italian data with those of other EU countries. Our results show that Italy has still a prominent role in the geographical disparities among regions and that its contribution to the geographical concentration of unemployment is still high (especially if we consider female and youth unemployment). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines existing disparities in technical efficiency levels across the European regions over the period 1986-2002. The results reveal that technical efficiency is not randomly distributed across space in the European setting. On the contrary, the different tests performed highlight the presence of positive spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity in the distribution under consideration. In fact, we have detected several regional clusters characterized by similar efficiency levels distinguishing them from the rest of the sample. Nevertheless, the estimates carried out show the existence of a process of regional convergence in terms of technical efficiency during the study period. Our findings also reveal that factors such as the regional stock of capital per worker or the patterns of productive specialization are relevant in explaining the changes in technical efficiency experienced by the European regions between 1986 and 2002. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport infrastructure is considered one of the main policy instruments to achieve the cohesion goal, although the inclusion of cohesion effects in assessment methodologies is scarce and uneven. Although most cohesion studies are constrained to the analysis of regional disparities in economic indicators, this approach can be broadened to include other regional performance indicators. One of these indicators could be accessibility measures, from the point of view that accessibility, representing a competitive advantage of locations, constitutes a "desirable good" closely related to the welfare of each region. This paper suggests using changes in the spatial distribution of accessibility as a proxy to assess regional cohesion effects of transport infrastructure investments. However, as the conclusions taken depend heavily on the formulation of the accessibility measure, we recommend computing a set of accessibility indicators and analysing their results in a complementary way. The proposed methodology is tested by assessing regional cohesion effects of the large-scale road and rail transport infrastructure investments carried out in Spain in the period 1992-2004. The results obtained show that cohesion has improved for the road mode, while regional disparities have increased for the rail mode. This paper identifies the main factors driving this final cohesion effect and explores the strengths and weaknesses of the different accessibility indicators that were considered. The approach suggested in this paper has the potential to be applied in transport planning processes, and may eventually complement existing strategic assessment methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolution of territorial imbalances in per capita income in the Central and Eastern Europe regions between 1990 and 2001. In order to overcome the limitations of conventional convergence analysis, we have combined a non-parametric approach that allows us to study the dynamics of the entire cross-section distribution, with a series of theoretical results and measures taken from the literature on personal income distribution. The results obtained show an overall reduction in regional inequality over the study period. This process has been compatible with the simultaneous presence of between-country convergence and within-country divergence. Likewise, we have observed a reduction in the development gap between the sample regions and Western Europe. In any event, the polarization of the distribution under consideration has decreased, while the registered level of intra-distribution mobility is relatively low. Furthermore, the analysis highlights the important role played in explaining the distribution dynamics by factors such as the national component, spatial location, productive structure, agglomeration economies and the percentage of gross domestic product devoted to investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public sector relocation from capital cities to reduce costs and ameliorate regional disparities has been a high profile but little researched government policy. The paper outlines the reasons for the growth of interest in public sector relocation in Europe, and then compares UK and Irish relocation policies. It argues there appears to be a good case for public sector relocation, but there is less agreement on the precise means whereby dispersal should be achieved. The paper highlights successful aspects of public sector relocation policies in the UK and Ireland and indicates areas for further research. Successful public sector dispersal depends on a willingness on the part of government to take a long-term view, and historical evidence suggests it is difficult to move senior posts from the capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is concerned with regional disparities, the innovation gap and the polarization effects of innovation. The article proposes elements of an inclusive model of innovation. This involves a systemic view of innovation, learning and interactivity. It includes the concepts of learning, trust and social capital in the context of a dilemma between innovation and polarization at the territorial level. It describes the basic structure of a ‘new’ diamond model of innovation relevant to European Union (EU) regional policy, especially for the Accession countries. The German Land of Nordrhein Westfalen is taken as the laboratory for this new model. Problems arising from previous top-down approaches adopted to manage regional policy through innovation policy are commented upon, and the manner the new more inclusive model works is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in epistemology in biosciences are generating important spatial effects. The most notable of these is the emergence of a few 'Bioscience Megacentres' for basic and applied bioscience medical and clinical research (molecular, post-genomic, proteomics, etc.), biotechnology research, training in these and related fields, academic entrepreneurship and commercial exploitation by clusters of 'drug discovery' start-up and spin-off companies, along with specialist venture capital and other innovation system support services. Large pharmaceutical firms that used to lead such knowledge generation and exploitation processes are becoming increasingly dependent upon innovative drug solutions produced in such clusters, and megacentres are now the predominant source of such commercial knowledge. 'Big pharma' is seldom at the heart of megacentres such as those the paper will argue are found in about four locations each in the USA and Europe, but remains important for some risk capital ('milestone payments'), marketing, and distribution of drugs discovered. The embedding of these processes also creates major new regional disparities, which some regional governances have recognised, causing them to develop responsibilities for regional science policy and funding to offset spatial biases intrinsic in traditional national (and in the EU, supranational) research funding regimes. Responses follow a variety of models ranging from market-following to both regionalised (decentralising by the centre) and 'regionalist' (ground-up); in each case, the role of megacentres is justified in health terms. But their role in assisting fulfilment of regional economic growth visions is also clearly perceived and pronounced in policy terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 7 years Australia has been undergoing substantial economic reform under a collaborative Federal and State government program known as national competition policy. These reforms have increased the nation's productivity and international competitiveness, and are generally held responsible for Australia's increased growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita over the past decade. However, the reforms have been carried out against a background of increased interregional disparities, to which the reform program may have partly contributed. In this study we examine a number of Australian studies that have used computable general equilibrium modeling to uncover the regional economic consequences of national competition policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a prelude to a theme issue in 2003 on Australasian city and regional problems and policies. It considers the impact of economic restructuring on the level of inequality and disadvantage within Australian cities. Evidence is presented that Australian cities have become more unequal over the past two decades and this greater level of inequality has found concrete expression within the built environment. These patterns of inequality are distinct to Australia. It is argued that the Australian Government's reliance on tightly targeted income support policies and market-based solutions to economic disadvantage has contributed greatly to the concentration of low income and vulnerable households within certain sections of Australian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comparative account of important aspects of regional development in transition economies, on the basis of regional statistics available for Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. More specifically it examines the geographical pattern of disparities, the convergence/divergence trends that have taken place at the regional level and the relation of regional disparities to the process of transition. It is found that spatial adjustments under transition favour metropolitan and western regions, especially in countries sharing common borders with the European Union (EU) and being a short distance from the European core. In addition, disparities have increased at various rates and degrees in transition countries to levels that are higher than most of the EU countries. Given that the catch-up process, which favours more often efficiency than equity policies, has a long way to go, the regional problems in these countries may take alarming, by EU standards, dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The transformation of central and eastern Europe has created new spatial patterns of economic and social inequality including west-east, core-periphery and urban-rural disparities and industrial problem areas. This situation is increasingly demanding a regional policy response, evident in rearms to territorial and administrative structures, the drafting of regional policy legislation and the implementation of spatially targeted incentives, sometimes in specifically designated areas. Particular challenges face future progress in this field including prioritising between equity and efficiency goals and effectively managing the influence of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a framework for the discussion of the disparity issue in central and eastern Europe. From disorganized to regulated space; Typology of regions; Globally minded regional policies in central and eastern Europe.