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Productivity growth reflects the efficiency and the improvements in prosperity of economies. The productivity slowdown that has emerged in many advanced countries jeopardizes their economic potential and social cohesion. This paper attempts to analyse the complex problem of productivity and detect the culprits in the European Union's productivity slowdown. From a holistic viewpoint, the paper explores a multidimensional context of socio‐economic and institutional factors, as well as the existence of spillover effects through a regional‐aspect compound analysis. Studying the productivity slowdown of NUTS 2 regions for the period 2000–2019 the analysis discerns four categories of factors that lead to valuable policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geographical indication (GI) scheme of the European Union guarantees visibility and protection to high‐quality agri‐food products associated with a demarcated region of origin. This paper estimates the impact of the scheme in attracting agri‐food foreign direct investment (FDI) in European NUTS3 regions, using a novel dataset and a generalized propensity score matching approach. Areas endorsed with GIs attract more FDI in agri‐food‐related activities than their non‐GI counterparts. Positive effects, estimated for FDI inflows, related job creation and inter‐sectoral spillovers on local employment, involves territories with lower institutional quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the role of tourism demand and cultural World Heritage Sites on the regional economic resilience among European Union countries. The results pinpoint to the importance of cultural World Heritage Sites in keeping the regional economic resilience. The results on tourism demand are not unambiguous—domestic tourist arrivals play a significantly positive role while inbound tourist arrivals negatively affect regional economic resilience. Cultural tourism, defined as the joint effect of tourism and cultural sites, decreases the negative effect of inbound tourism, pinpointing that the cultural sites play an essential role in attracting inbound tourists in the less prosperous periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While considerable attention has been directed to the national‐level impacts of global value chains, far less attention has been focused on the way in which global production fragmentation has affected regional economies. Using some measures derived from a multiregional, multisectoral input–output model, this paper analyzes the position and share of EU regions in Global Value Chains (GVC). The spatial determinants of these two dimensions are explored using spatial econometric methods to capture the influence of neighboring regions on these outcomes. Empirically, the focus is on a set of NUTS2 European regions for the most recent year (2010) of the EUREGIO database. Our results confirm the hypothesis of spatial dependence between regions conditioning the engagement and position GVCs, suggesting that global production processes are influenced by regional and local factors. In particular, spatial spillover effects play a significant role conditioned by both geographical proximity and similarity of production structures. The results show that sharing certain characteristics, some of them associated to their degree of proximity and the neighbouring situation of regions condition their specialization, participation and positioning in GVC, generating some important insights informative for the formulation of regional development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial interactions among regional units may influence the geographical distribution of economic activities. Many traditional measures of geographical concentration fail in capturing this aspect, being insensitive to permutations of the spatial position of regions. This paper proposes an approach to the measurement of geographical concentration of economic activities that accounts for spatial interactions among regions. The locational Gini is split into spatial and non‐spatial components, so that a new interpretation of the index is presented. The measure is applied to evaluate the geographical concentration of different economic sectors for 1,323 NUTS 3 regions in the European Union over the period 2001–2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite seven decades of development of the European Union project, on 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom, Europe and the rest of the world were surprised when the Leave campaign won the Brexit referendum, offering an extraordinary case study for researchers. We spatially disaggregate the vote share data, which allows us to explore where anti‐European sentiment took root in the UK and why. In this paper, a spatial dependence model is applied to clarify and quantify the relevance of the different dimensions—demographic, cultural/educational and economic—that play a role in explaining the rise of support for the Leave campaign. The analysis is conducted at the local level, using local authorities (LAs) as the spatial unit of analysis due to the combination of official datasets with newly generated data in the context of an EU H2020 project. A new indicator capturing the affluence of each local area relative to its close neighbours is proposed and included in the model. In general, we observe that most of the main conclusions obtained by large regions or at the national level also hold at the local scale. However, it is particularly interesting that inequalities by LAs are clearly significant, indicating a marked influence on voters' decisions that have thus far been unaccounted for. This result provides further support for the existence of, to use Andrés Rodriguez‐Pose's terminology, an even more intense "revenge of the places that do not matter" at the local scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Works on regional resilience have at times borrowed from the engineering and ecological framing of system resilience. In ecological contexts, system resilience is rooted in network structure and its characteristics. Here, we empirically investigate the relationship between regional economic resilience and regional trophic characteristics across regional and national boundaries. We consider 249 NUTS2 regions across 24 countries during the 2000–2010 period. We observe strong links between regional resilience and trophic metrics borrowed from the ecological literature. Our results further highlight regional trophic characteristics as a spatially heterogeneous intermediary for feedback effects between economic structure and output of regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contains the methodology and main results related to the update and extension of the widest interregional input–output tables for the entire EU27, UK and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. This work continues the outstanding effort developed in the past years regarding the estimation and analysis of different multiregional input–output (MRIO) databases at the country level (world input–output database, EXIOBASE, ICIO, FIGARO, etc.) and the MRIO tables developed for the European Union (EU) at the NUTS2 level. The main contribution consists of updating and extending the current EUREGIO collection to obtain a EUREGIO table for 2017, which will be referred (NUTS‐2 Rev.2016) for all the EU27 + UK + EFTA countries and will be embedded in the new FIGARO multicountry 2017. Such effort was developed in the context of the ESPON‐IRIE project. This article summarises the methodology used and compares the results obtained with the ones of the main benchmarks, providing an analysis of the national and regional participation in the global value chains (GVCs). The main results suggest that, on average, 65% of value added is embodied in the goods and services sold to the same NUTS‐2 region, 16% is embodied in the ones sold to regions in the same country and the remaining 20% is exported (to other countries). Exploring the heterogeneity within these figures can also be seen that the variety is higher across regions than across sectors. Our analysis suggests that, to a large extent, the heterogeneous participation of EU27 + UK + EFTA regions in the GVCs is explained by their sectoral structure more than by the regional idiosyncratic characteristics. Such results open the floor for the correct design of industrial policies, embedded in the smart specialisation paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse firms' location decisions when faced with Brexit. We combine evolutionary game theory and spatial agent‐based simulation approaches with input–output analysis to evaluate two different sectors: (i) crop and animal production; (ii) financial service activities. We separate the European Union in manifold regions and consider the following factors in the decision making: (i) market potential; (ii) productive integration; (iii) labour costs and (iv) displacement cost. Firms assign weights to each of these factors. Our results suggest that in traditional sectors firms tend to seek unsaturated markets. In sectors related to services, the greater the uncertainty, the greater the likelihood that firms will move. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates how the Regional Entrepreneurship and Development Index (REDI) can be used to optimize local entrepreneurial discovery processes, in a manner which can support smart specialization strategies (S3). While S3 industry prioritization is based on the identification of local strengths, regional improvement can be achieved by improving the weakest features of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. REDI based suggestions are place‐based and offer rationale for tailor‐made regional policy interventions. We found that without optimizing the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the industry specialization alone may not be successful because of the inability of the ecosystem to nurture high growth ventures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wave of recent cross‐national research has pointed to the positive consequences for countries with high levels of "quality of government" (QoG), broadly defined, such as corruption, impartiality, and quality of public services. Yet the question of how QoG varies at the sub‐national level is still widely overlooked, in particular with measures that are available over time. To address it, we present the third round of data from the regional European Quality of Government Index (EQI) survey corruption (D73), Europe (N44) governance (H11); sub‐national (R50), time series (C22), collected in 2017 and built upon the opinions of 78,000 respondents in 193 regions from 21 European countries. The data provides several contributions to the literature. First, while the majority of QoG‐type indices rely on expert assessments, the EQI relies on the assessments of citizens, who are the on‐the‐ground consumers of public services. Second, the data begins to show trends on QoG variation over time, as well as across European regions. Consequently, this data is the most comprehensive sub‐national data to date; mapping of QoG within and across EU countries over the past decade. Building on previous rounds of data collected in 2010 and 2013, the 2017 EQI, which is published free for scholarly use, builds on both perceptions and experiences of citizens in public service areas such as health care, education, and law enforcement. This paper presents the results of the latest survey, improved with respect to the previous ones, discussion of trends across space and over time, as well as interesting avenues for future research that we detect across European regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the resilience of British cities to major economic shocks. Using a novel data set for 85 cities, it analyses their resistance to and recovery from the last four major recessions, over the period 1971 to 2015. It reveals a distinct shift in the relation between resistance and recovery between these shocks, as well as major differences between northern and southern cities. Some possible factors shaping these patterns are explored, and tentative estimates of the likely impact of the Brexit shock (Britain's withdrawal from the European Union) are also provided. A key implication is that differences in resilience to major shocks can contribute to the long‐run growth paths of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper looks at the results of the referendum on the United Kingdom membership to the European Union in order to test the link between the internationalization of the local economy and the openness of the local society as factors associated with the Leave vote (Brexit). The paper compares a number of alternative explanations put forward in the public debate after the referendum. The empirical analysis suggests that the outcome of the referendum can be linked to an increasing tension between the ever increasing internationalization of local firms and the ‘localistic’ attitude of their employees. Brexit can be seen as the result of a process of ‘split Europeanization’ whereby Euroscepticism is triggered by the increasing mismatch between internationalized economies (and corporate economic interests) and localistic societies (and workers’ attitudes and cultural preferences). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between quality of government and regional resilience in the European Union during the Great Recession. The results show that the quality of government is an important factor when shaping the regional reaction to the crisis. Our estimates reveal that higher quality of government is associated with greater regional resilience over the Great Recession. This is partly due to the role played in this context by spatial spillovers induced by the quality of government in neighbouring regions. The observed link between governance and regional resilience is robust to the inclusion in the analysis of different explanatory variables that may affect both government quality and regional resilience. Likewise, our findings do not depend on the specific dimension of governance considered, the estimation method or the econometric specification employed to capture the nature of spatial spillovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2008 Great Recession prompted interest in the concept of regional resilience. This paper discusses and empirically investigates the relationship between industrial relatedness and economic resilience across European Union regions over the 2008–2012 crisis period. The analysis focuses on two types of industrial relatedness: technological and vertical (i.e., market‐based). The empirical analysis is performed on a sample of 209 NUTS 2 regions in 16 countries. Our results highlight a positive effect of technological relatedness on the probability of resilience in the very short run (i.e., the 2008–2009 period), while the negative effect of vertical relatedness seems to persist for longer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the components of aggregate labour productivity inequality between Italian regions from 2000 to 2013. The Gini index of inequality in aggregate labour productivity is decomposed, showing the extent to which sector productivity differentials and differences in industry‐mix contribute to regional productivity inequality. In addition, the contribution of the interaction between differences in industry‐mix and sector productivity differentials is revealed by the decomposition. Each of these contributions to inequality is measured by considering the spatial dimension of regional inequality, since the contributions of inequality between non‐neighbouring regions and inequality between neighbouring regions are separated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional governments' discretion in allocating structural funds is limited by the competences of the European Commission to control fiscal activities of decentralized governments. Regional political behaviour and the complexity of the implementation process shape the policy outcome. Who benefits from structural funds? In this paper, we analyse implementation of ERDF funds in East Germany in the financial perspective 2007 to 2013. We find that less rural regions and some economic sectors benefit by more than others. A few beneficiaries control the highest share of the funds. The Gini coefficients vary by group of actor and show high inequality in the distribution of the funds. This indicates that a few actors have better access to the funds than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Austria and Sweden were both relatively unaffected by the economic crisis, challenges of the provision of welfare still exist, at least in peripheries. Economic downturn and outmigration have limited demands and increased the costs for services of general interest. This paper aims to discuss welfare policy and planning strategies for peripheries from a planning cultural sensitive perspective. It will answer how much the value of territorial cohesion is under pressure for peripheries in traditional welfare states, identifying a mismatch between policy levels. The results indicate a stepwise mainstreaming of competitiveness goals in favour of urban regions, leaving the challenges of peripheries to policy responses of single municipalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the role of the associational activity dimension of social capital in regional innovation for 257 EU 28 regions in the pre‐crisis (2000–2007) and the crisis (2008–2012) period. The analysis is carried out using flexible non‐parametric kernel regressions, which allow for exploring heterogeneity across space and over time. The results show that effects widely differ across regions, but no differences are found between periods. In particular, the largest effects are found for less developed and transition regions from the periphery. In contrast, for most of the developed regions in the core of Europe the impact is non‐significant. These results might be useful for policy design in the H2020 framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While R&D activities are known for being unevenly distributed across space, how EU policy contributed to their regional dynamics is less explored. Since the 1980s, the EU Framework Programmes (FP) have promoted and supported transnational R&D projects through open and highly competitive calls for funding driven by 'scientific excellence' regardless of location. This paper aims to show the drivers of this spatial distribution and evolution of FP participations, arguing that this depends on cumulative effects of regional economic development and growth, while scientific specialization rarely is the best strategy to improve regional competitiveness in terms of FP participations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the geographical mobility of graduate students and their skill matching in the labour market. The paper assesses the impact of a learning mobility grant scheme funded by the European Social Fund in Sardinia (ex- Objective 1 region in the Italian Mezzogiorno). The scheme aims to foster regional human capital and increase the employability of local graduates by covering the cost of post-graduate studies in other regions or countries. The econometric analysis is based on a unique dataset that combines administrative data on beneficiaries with information from a dedicated survey. The results suggest that learning mobility grants can reinforce skill matching only if the problem of self-selection of the beneficiaries is properly addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although the debates about access to services of general interest have been at the core of the EU territorial cohesion discourse since the late 1990s, the impact of unequal accessibility to living conditions has yet be the subject of close inspection. The paper examines the relationship between the accessibility of services of general interest and demographic and socio‐economic conditions in a specific Czech region. The analysis reveals inter‐municipal disparities and identifies spatially excluded areas. Despite the negative association of insufficient access with education and depopulation characteristics, the results suggest that demographic and socio‐economic development stems from a more complex set of factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we employ an extension of the World Input‐Output Database (WIOD) with regional detail for EU countries to study the degree to which EU regions and countries are exposed to negative trade‐related consequences of Brexit. We develop an index of this exposure, which incorporates all effects due to geographically fragmented production processes within the UK, the EU and beyond. Our findings demonstrate that UK regions are far more exposed than regions in other countries. Only regions in the Republic of Ireland face exposure levels similar to some UK regions, while the next most affected regions are in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and France. This imbalance may influence the outcomes of the negotiations between the UK and the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates the different growth patterns of islands and mainland regions by looking at their tourism and territorial characteristics differences. We considered per capita income and employment growth patterns in a panel data model focused on 74 regions in seven European countries from 2008 to 2019. The results show how the importance of some growth factors, especially those related to tourism and environmental sustainability, varies between islands and mainland regions. The article suggests specific policy implications for island regions in line with the European Union guidelines. Our findings support the need to pursue different approaches to sustain growth in islands and mainland regions, particularly for the tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyses the effect of creative service industries on labour productivity of the regions. Creative service industries offer services that increase a region's capacity to generate and combine new ideas, resulting in an increased production of innovations which raise productivity. The paper proposes an analytical framework and compares findings in 250 regions in 24 countries of the European Union in 2008. We find that creative service industries increases labour productivity of the regions and their effects are as important for regional productivity as scientific research or highly qualified human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper analyses the impact of the EU funds, for the European region of Azores, as they affect GDP, employment, and the wellbeing of families in different income levels, using a dynamic, multi-sector, computable general equilibrium model ( CGE) - Azor Mod. Simulating the impact of a total cut in transfers and comparing with a base business as usual scenario, it is concluded that the elimination of the EU transfers could cause a sharp permanent fall on public demand and an immediate 2 per cent fall in GDP. The fall in public demand causes a fall in consumer and investment prices which will foster a sharp increase in investment demand that gradually causes GDP to grow back to its initial levels within a ten year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a balanced dataset extracted from the European Community Household Panel data survey for 94 regions over the period 1995–2000 to examine the relationship between income and educational inequalities in the regions of the European Union. It highlights the importance of geography and institutions in accounting for the economic performance of the European regions. The regression results suggest a positive relationship between income and educational inequalities, which have evolved differently across welfare regimes. Using different designs of spatial weights matrices which concern not only distance, but also the welfare regime, this paper shows that both spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity matter for inequalities. Resumen. Este artículo utiliza datos equilibrados extraídos de la encuesta del Panel de Hogares de la Unión Europea (PHOGUE) para 94 regiones durante el periodo 1995–2000 para examinar la relación entre la renta y las desigualdades educativas en las regiones de la Unión Europea. Resalta la importancia de la geografía y las instituciones para explicar el rendimiento económico de las regiones europeas. Los resultados de la regresión sugieren una relación positiva entre la renta y las desigualdades educativas, las cuales han evolucionado de manera distinta bajo regímenes diferentes de asistencia social. Mediante la utilización de diseños diferentes de matrices ponderadas espaciales relacionadas no solo con la distancia sino también con el régimen de asistencia social, este artículo muestra que tanto la autocorrelación espacial como la heterogeneidad espacial influyen en las desigualdades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response by regional and national economies to exogenous impulses has a well-established literature in both spatial econometrics and in mainstream econometrics and is of considerable importance given the post-2007 economic crisis, which is characterized by a period of severe global instability resulting from unprecedented economic shocks. This paper focuses on dynamic counterfactual predictions and impulse-response functions derived from appropriate econometric models. These provide insight regarding the question of whether responses to economic shocks are transitory or whether they have a permanent effect. Analysis shows that output shocks have had permanent effects on productivity so that economies have tended not to return to the pre-shock path but rather adjust to new levels. This suggests that the current recession will be embodied permanently within the memory of some of Europe's leading economies as a hysteretic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport infrastructure has represented one of the cornerstones of development and cohesion strategies in the European Union (EU) and elsewhere in the world. However, despite the considerable funds devoted to it, its impact remains controversial. This paper revisits the question of to what extent transport infrastructure endowment - proxied by regional motorways - has contributed to regional growth in the EU between 1990 and 2004. It analyses infrastructure in relationship to other factors which may condition economic growth, such as innovation, migration, and the local 'social filter', taking also into account the geographical component of intervention in transport infrastructure and innovation. The results of the two-way fixed-effect (static) and difference GMM (dynamic) panel data regressions indicate that infrastructure endowment is a relatively poor predictor of economic growth and that regional growth in the EU results from a combination of an adequate 'social filter', good innovation capacity, both in the region and in neighbouring areas, and a region's capacity to attract migrants. The meagre returns of infrastructure endowment on economic growth raise interesting questions about the opportunity costs of further infrastructure investments across most of Western Europe. Resumen La infraestructura de transporte ha venido siendo una de las piedras angulares de las estrategias de desarrollo y cohesión en la Unión Europea ( UE) y el resto del mundo. Sin embargo, y a pesar de los considerables recursos que se le ha dedicado, su impacto es un tema controvertido. Este artículo revisa el interrogante de hasta que punto ha contribuido la dotación de infraestructura de transporte - representada por las autopistas regionales - al crecimiento regional en la UE entre 1990 y 2004. Se analiza la infraestructura en relación a otros factores que podrían condicionar el crecimiento económico, como la innovación, la migración, y el 'filtro social' local, teniendo en cuenta asimismo el componente geográfico de la intervención en la infraestructura de transporte y la innovación. Los resultados de las regresiones de datos de panel de efectos fijos (método estático) de doble vía y MGM por diferencias (método dinámico) indican que la dotación de infraestructura es un pobre indicador del crecimiento económico y que el crecimiento regional en la UE tiene su origen en una combinación de un 'filtro social' adecuado, en una buena capacidad innovadora tanto en la región como en áreas vecinas, y en la capacidad de la región de atraer migración. Los escasos retornos para el crecimiento económico de la dotación de infraestructura suscitan cuestiones interesantes sobre los costos de oportunidad de futuras inversiones en infraestructura para la mayoría de Europa Occidental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the spatially dynamic income process among 228 regions of the extended European Union 25 on the basis of the augmented Solow model. In particular spatial autocorrelation effects are taken into account. Although a lot of empirical work has been done recently on the convergence process in EU, the importance of pure spatial interactions is still largely underestimated. In this paper a spatially dynamic approach is considered to describe the driving forces present in the economic system rather than the actual movements through time. The spatial error-correction and other related models are presented and used to explain the process of regional convergence observed at the level of the EU25 NUTS 2 regions in 2004. Resumen. Este estudio investiga el proceso espacialmente dinámico de renta entre 228 regiones de la Unión Europea de los 25 en base al modelo de Solow aumentado. En particular se toman en cuenta los efectos de autocorrelación espacial. Aunque recientemente se ha realizado mucho trabajo empírico sobre el proceso de convergencia en la UE, la importancia de las interacciones espaciales puras está aun subestimada en gran parte. En este artículo se considera un enfoque espacialmente dinámico para describir las fuerzas impulsoras presentes en el sistema económico en vez de los movimientos en el tiempo. La corrección de error espacial y otros modelos relacionados se muestran y utilizan para explicar el proceso de convergencia regional observado para las regiones NUTS2 de la UE (25) en el 2004. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic disparities between the regions of the European Union are of constant concern both for policy and economic research. In this paper, we examine whether there are overlapping trends of regional development in the EU: overall convergence, on the one hand, and persistent or even increasing spatial concentration (agglomeration), on the other. Kernel density estimation, Markov chain analysis and cross-sectional regressions provide evidence that convergence of regional per-capita income in the EU15 has become considerably stronger in the 1990s. The reduction of income disparities, however, is a phenomenon between nations but not between regions within the EU countries. European integration (and possibly European regional policy) fosters the catching-up of lagging countries but at the same time forces towards agglomeration of economic activities tend to increase disparities within the EU member states. Resumen. Las disparidades económicas entre regiones de la Unión Europea son una preocupación constante para la investigación relacionada con políticas y con economía. En este artículo examinamos si existen tendencias superpuestas de desarrollo regional en la UE: convergencia en términos generales, por un lado, y por otro una concentración espacial (aglomeración) continua o incluso en aumento. La estimación por núcleos ( kernel) de la función de densidad, el análisis mediante cadenas de Markov y las regresiones transversales aportan pruebas de que la convergencia de ingresos regionales per cápita de la UE15 se ha fortalecido considerablemente en la década de los noventa. La reducción en la disparidad de ingresos, sin embargo, es un fenómeno entre naciones pero no entre regiones dentro de países de la UE. La integración europea (y quizá la política regional europea) fomenta la puesta al día de los países rezagados pero al mismo tiempo las fuerzas conducentes a la aglomeración de actividades económicas tienden a aumentar las disparidades dentro de los estados miembros de la UE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The territorial capital of regions is an important determinant of growth, but also of the impact of EU Cohesion Policy. First, because it can act as a filter, enhancing the impact of regional policies. Second, the latter can help building territorial capital which, in turn, will foster regional development. This work analyses the medium and long‐run relationship between the territorial capital of EU NUTS 3 regions and Cohesion Policy using data from the programming period 2000–2006. Results point out complementarities between different territorial assets of regions and the impact of EU regional policy: Cohesion Policy effectiveness is higher when investments are focused on the assets complementary to those already abundant in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Regional development is one of the main EU spending priorities through its Cohesion Policy. Brexit is among several influences on the future of the policy, whose evolution is part of a wider reshaping of the principles and practice of regional policy in Europe. In the context of emerging policy challenges and recent contributions to the regional policy literature, the article highlights innovation, human capital and effective institutions as three crucial dimensions of future policy. It argues that a shift in regional policy priorities, governance and territorial focus is underway – partly influenced by place‐based policy thinking ‐ at EU level under Cohesion Policy as well as under national regional policies in the EU27 and the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we argue that the capacity of regions to attract FDI is affected by the own-country effect, which can take two different forms: the first relates to the relative performance of the country of which the region is part (the between-country effect); the second concerns the relative performance of regions within their own countries (the within-country effect). By using spatial econometrics techniques we demonstrate that the own country effect exists. However, while the within effect is always positive, the between one may be either positive or negative. This means that successful regions in unsuccessful countries generally enjoy an extra- FDI premium, while regions in successful countries do not necessarily do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increasing share of the EU budget devoted to Regional Policy, several studies have tried to identify the impact of structural funds on economic growth. However, so far no consensus has been reached. We assess Regional Policy effects through a non-experimental comparison group method, the regression discontinuity design, and a novel regional dataset for the 1994-2006 period. We exploit the allocation rule of EU transfers by comparing regions with a per capita GDP level just below the eligibility threshold (75% of EU average) with those just above. Our findings show a positive impact of EU Regional Policy on economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborations are particularly important for the development and deployment of technology. We analyse the influence of organizational, technological and geographical proximity on European nanotechnology collaborations with the help of a publication dataset and additional geographical information. While organizational proximity influences the output of collaborations only indirectly, geographical and technological proximity do so directly. Geographical proximity is most significant in statistical terms and technological proximity has the highest magnitude of effect. Consequently, the latter lends itself most for management and policy interventions, for example, by providing information on technological specialization of potential partners. Resumen Las colaboraciones son especialmente importantes para el desarrollo y el despliegue tecnológico. Se analiza la influencia de la proximidad organizacional, tecnológica y geográfica en colaboraciones europeas en nanotecnología, con la ayuda de un conjunto de datos publicados e información geográfica adicional. Si bien la proximidad organizacional influye en el resultado de las colaboraciones solo de manera indirecta, las proximidades geográfica y tecnológica influyen directamente. La proximidad geográfica es la más significativa en términos estadísticos y la proximidad tecnológica tiene la magnitud del efecto más elevada. Consecuentemente, esta última se presta más a las intervenciones de gestión y de políticas, por ejemplo, facilitando información sobre la especialización tecnológica de socios potenciales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Difficulty in extracting scientific and research findings from EU universities and placing such knowledge at the commercial disposal of innovation-dependent firms and industries is a cause for grave concern in many European states and regions. We take stock of the evidence from the perspective of knowledge-seeking firms and knowledge-generating universities, an exercise that reveals striking asymmetries: firms presently seek mainly public science outputs of academics, while universities encourage their academics to pursue proprietary science opportunities more heavily in their dealings with business and industry, pursuit of which may provoke other academics to oppose greater commercialization of university research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data on 5,102 subsidiaries established in the period 1991–1999, we examine the location choice of multinational firms of different nationalities in 47 regions of five EU countries. In particular we estimate a nested logit model and find that European multinationals consider regions across different countries as relatively closer substitutes than regions within national borders. This is consistent with the hypothesis that European regions compete to attract foreign direct investments relatively more across than within countries. However, in line with previous studies, we also find that national boundaries still play some role in choices made by non-European multinationals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study is on cross-region R&D collaborations in Europe. We use data on collaborative R&D projects funded by the 5th EU Framework Programme (FP5). The objective is to identify separation effects – such as geographical or technological effects – on the constitution of cross-region collaborative R&D activities within a Poisson spatial interaction modelling framework. The results provide striking evidence that geographical factors are important determinants of cross-region collaboration intensities, but the effect of technological proximity is stronger. R&D collaborations occur most often between organizations that are located close to each other in technological space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to shed light on the dynamics of Spanish regional unemployment rates and determine the driving forces of their disparities. The Spanish economy has one of the highest unemployment rates in the EU and is characterised by severe regional disparities. We apply the chain reaction theory of unemployment according to which the evolution of unemployment is driven by the interplay of lagged adjustment processes and the spillover effects within the labour market system. Our model includes nationwide as well as region-specific variables, and takes into account the limited labour and firm mobility in Spain. We show that the degree of labour market flexibility differs between high and low unemployment regions, and find that investment has a major influence on the unemployment trajectory. In addition, we find that in bad times high unemployment regions are hit more severely than low unemployment regions, while in good times, high unemployment regions do not benefit as much as low unemployment regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the challenges that migration flows pose on policymaking aimed at fostering human capital accumulation in peripheral regions. We employ a unique data set generated through a postal survey designed and conducted by the authors. The focus of our analysis is on the micro-level location decisions of a sample of highly educated and skilled individuals residing in Basilicata, an Italian Mezzogiorno region, who have benefited from a locally funded human capital investment policy. Investigamos los retos que los flujos de migración imponen en la formulación de políticas dirigidas a acoger la acumulación de capital humano en regiones periféricas. Empleamos un único conjunto de datos generado a través de un muestreo postal diseñado y llevado a cabo por los autores. El punto focal de nuestro análisis es en las decisiones de ubicación a micro-nivel de una muestra de individuos altamente educados y capacitados residentes en la Basilicata, una región del Mezzogiorno italiano, que se han beneficiado de una política de inversión en capital humano financiada localmente. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comprises an analysis of the adjustment of regional labour markets of former (and present) EU candidate countries to asymmetric shocks. As in EU member states, a substantial part of the adjustment to changes in employment in candidate countries is carried by participation decisions, and migration plays a small role. Candidate countries, however, have experienced larger region-specific shocks to labour demand than member states, and these shocks lead to higher long-run changes in employment. Furthermore, adjustment mechanisms partly explain high regional unemployment. High unemployment regions exhibit a lower capability to absorb region-specific shocks through mechanisms other than higher unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The above article, published online on 4 December 2015 in Wiley Online Library (), has been retracted by agreement between the author, the journal Editor in Chief, Professor Roberta Capello, and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to overlap between this article and the following article published in Belgeo, 'Paradigm change in regional policy : towards smart specialisation? Lessons from Flanders (Belgium)' by Ties Vanthillo and Ann Verhetsel. Belgeo [Online], 1-2 | 2012, Online since 04 December 2012, connection on 29 January 2016. URL: . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]