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We analyse how spatial disparities in innovation activities, coupled with migration costs, affect economic geography, market structure, growth and regional inequality. We provide conditions for existence and uniqueness of a spatial equilibrium, and for the endogenous emergence of industry clusters. Spatial variations in knowledge spillovers lead to spatial concentration of more innovative firms. Migration costs, however, limit the concentration of economic activities in the most productive region. Narrowing the gap in knowledge spillovers across regions raises growth, and reduces regional inequality by making firms more sensitive to wage differentials. The associated change in the industry concentration has positive welfare effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using regional data encompassing 155 Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) regions across the EU-28 member states, we estimate the effect of tourist arrivals (total, domestic, and foreign) on regional growth over 2000-2018. Our empirical strategy tackles three data properties that cripple common econometric approaches: cross-section dependence, nonstationarity, and the endogeneity of the regressors. In addition to "pooled" models that assume common parameters across regions, we run "heterogeneous" models where parameters are allowed to differ between regions. Results of the pooled estimations show that domestic and total tourism inflows have positively and significantly contributed to growth, and the positive effect of foreign tourism is statistically discernible in regions that are mainly destinations for foreign tourists. Findings based on region-specific regressions reveal that the average impact on regional growth of tourist inflows is positive and significant, and large regional disparities in terms of the growth impact of domestic/foreign tourism exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desmet, Gumpert, and Ortίn have analyzed regional development using the Ricardian model or the Heckscher–Ohlin theorem. However, aspects such as consideration of combined wages, substitution elasticities, marginal costs, fixed costs, and number of companies were completely ignored. This study investigates the underdevelopment of regions in light of Krugman's core–peripheral model. The extension of the model is intended to analyze the aspects that have so far been ignored and their influence on the benefits of the two regions. The following aspects characterize the model. Two regions with two sectors are considered for the model. The regions are characterized by different technological equipment. The first region is industrial. The second region has an agricultural character. When a new technology is available, both regions can benefit under certain conditions. The financial transfers lead to a convergence of wages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The employment and population growth equilibrium model is extended to allow for differentiated linkages between rural and urban regions and among rural regions. The model is applied to examine the regional disparities within the rural economy of Northern Ireland between 2001 and 2007. To represent the theoretical idea of commuter shed, commuting data are used to construct the spatial weighting matrix. The results reveal positive rural-urban but negative rural-rural linkages, suggesting that rural regions benefit from economic growth in urban regions but compete with each other. The direct and indirect spillover effects are shown using simulation examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we estimate the technical efficiency of Mexican states using stochastic production frontier models. The empirical section uses panel data over the period 1988-2008. A distinctive feature of the paper is the use of socioeconomic and location data in order to control for the heterogeneity of the states. We find that crime rate negatively affects the efficiency of the states and that its effect is only significant after a certain level. Our results also show that education and productive specialization shift the production frontier upwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unbalanced spatial distribution of industries has always been linked with regional economic disparities in the literature. So, the information about the spatial concentration of industries is essential for the purposes of regional development policies. Therefore, the present study examines the trend and pattern of concentration of major two-digit industries across the 20 states during 2001-02 to 2011-12. Using location quotients, we find that geographical concentration exhibits a great deal of variation across the states. Specifically, the results show that northern states of India like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh display an upward trend in concentration for majority of the industries. On the other hand, eastern states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha have experienced a declining concentration of these industries. Therefore, these states need to formulate and effectively implement the industrial policies that attract more industries in these states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to examine the intra-state concentration of unorganized manufacturing enterprises in India. Using a unique data-set of 394 districts of 16 states, drawn from Enterprise Survey data of National Sample Survey (NSS) 1994-95 and 2005-06 'thick' rounds, we have ranked the districts based on a composite index of district level development of unorganized manufacturing enterprises and measured the intra-state concentration by employing the Herfindahl index. The findings reveal that the most 'lagging' industrial districts are present not only in backward states but in developed states also. Intra-state concentration is found to be highest in Maharashtra, followed by Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, whereas relatively low in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal. Between 1994-95 and 2005-06, intra-state concentration has declined in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Bihar and Odisha, whereas it has increased in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. However, there is evidence for within state β-convergence in all the states, except Himachal Pradesh. Our analysis also shows that intra-state concentration of unorganized manufacturing enterprises is positively associated with the level of economic and industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper intends to document the process of economic convergence of Romanian regions based on the entropy approach. Entropy indexes were calculated based on regional GDP per capita and studied their components (within and between regions). The main findings show a divergence process of the economic performance of regions, confirmed by other statistical measures of regional disparities (standard deviation and coefficient of variation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is a federal union of 28 states. The states are further subdivided into districts. Andhra Pradesh is one of the largest states in India. This article examines how regional disparities in Andhra Pradesh have developed since its formation in 1956. A large urban centre (Hyderabad) which acts as a hub for economic activities, has attracted factors of production, and has stimulated income and employment opportunities in the surrounding local economy, but its impact on the peripheral districts is limited. There is a need for policy intervention in these peripheral districts in order to reduce regional disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Beenstock M. and Felsenstein D. Regional heterogeneity, conditional convergence and regional inequality, Regional Studies. The paper stresses the importance of accounting for regional heterogeneity in the dynamic analysis of regional economic disparities. Studies of regional growth mainly presume that regions are homogeneous in their socio-demographic composition. It is argued that the analysis of regional convergence needs to be tested conditionally, i.e. conditional upon the socio-demographic structure of the workers in the various regions. To this end, various measures of conditional regional earnings inequality are estimated using Israeli regional data for the period 1991-2002. The results show that about half of regional earnings inequality may be accounted for by the conditioning variables. Conditioning also makes a large difference to estimates of Gini and beta-convergence... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which evaluates China's provincial de jure and de facto population data from 1990-2006 in order to remap the country's regional inequalities. It focuses on the trends in China's regional inequality during the 1990s and argues that the view about the increase of inequality during this period is based on faulty interpretation and application of de jure provincial population statistics. China's regional economic disparities and the role of long-distance migration in regional inequalities are discussed.

The paper concerns selected theoretical and empirical aspects of the decomposition of income inequality by spatially defined subgroups. Special consideration is given to the implications for measurement and comparison of regional inequality. The decomposition by the Theil coefficient is applied at global and European levels including estimates of historical development. Additionally, the empirical evidence on the decomposition of inequality in a number of countries is reviewed, regional inequality for 46 countries is estimated, and a simple method of cross-country classification according to relative importance of spatial dimension of inequality is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly a half of property crimes in major cities of Israel are committed by offenders who live outside these cities, with the numbers of crime-perpetrators dropping steadily as distances between the places of criminal residences and the central city increase. However, the situation is different for localities in which offenders reside. In many cases, property offenders travel considerable distances to their targets, showing no monotonic distance decay in their journey-to-crime patterns. The explanation proposed is that interurban income disparities, and not only travel distances, influence journey-to-crime areas, thus suggesting that the spatial unevenness of urban development (i.e., geographic proximity of affluent and poor towns) may spur property crime rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the “credit view” theory at the state level, which suggests that state-level banking sector health influences state-level real economic performance. Specifically, we extend typical analysis of the credit view theory, applying relevant state-level economic variables to consider whether the health of a state’s banking system affects capital investment loans and, in turn, whether growth of these loans affects a state’s economic performance. We develop a two-equation state-level model, use more refined measures of capital investment loans, and apply advanced dynamic pooled estimators to our panel of state data for the 1984–1993 period. Regression results support dynamic links among state bank health, state investment-oriented bank loans, and state economic performance, thus supporting existence of a state-level credit channel effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes empirical findings and results from the author's most recent research publication in Chinese: China's Unbalanced Economic Growth. It studies China's economic growth with a special emphasis on its regional disparities. It provides an analysis of China's overall economic landscape as well as an empirical study of China's unbalanced regional development. Based on its quantitative findings and results, the author predicts the emergence of ten Chinese metropolitan economies in the early twenty-first century and recommends a regional development strategy as well as implementation policies for China's future development. The major empirical findings, results and conclusions of this research are outlined in three sections: the first describes China's economic future—the emergence of ten regional metropolitan economies, the second reports the empirical findings of China's national and regional economic disparities and discusses policy implications, and the third investigates China's future economic growth and discusses its growth limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing countries such as Mexico, in which profound processes of economic liberalization have taken place over the last few decades, offer fertile terrain for studies of regional disparities. Mexico has experienced a history of polarization between regions, the industrialized north and the underdeveloped south, which have seen their differences widen, exacerbated through recurrent crises and liberalization processes. This paper looks at the convergence process among regions, examining which factors might affect regional growth, tracking the evolution of single units and identifying winners and losers. The evidence shows that northern states, bordering the USA, moved from a condition that might be described as `falling-behind' prior to liberalization to that of a `winner' after that process, while southern states went from the position of `catching-up' to that of `loser'. Regional disparities in human capital would appear to be playing a decisive role in the existence of differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyse some relevant aspects of regional disparities in the EU. The paper departs from standard analysis of convergence by tracking the evolution of the entire distribution, both by using nonparametric techniques and spatial econometric techniques. The main results confirm that: (a) regional disparities across the EU are large and persistent; (b) the ranking among the European regions is very stable; (c) there is a noticeable regional income polarization in Europe. [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 article examines regional variations in functional limitations of older Americans, considering models for those who currently live in their region of birth and those who live in a different region. A multinomial logit model is used to assess the geographical disparities in functional status while controlling for socioeconomic status (SES) and other characteristics. The study concludes that the regional differentials are persistent. Simulations based on estimated models suggest that improving individual SES can substantially increase the disability-free life span, but it cannot completely negate geographical influences.

The article discusses the contradictions and deficiencies of the economic policies, together with its neo-imperialist aspirations, provide the grounds for embarking upon an inquiry about the substance, indeed the existence of change in Australian strategic thought and practice. The starting point for this enterprise as well as the perspective from which it is viewed is that tradition of scholarship which is defined as the realist school of international relations although it should be noted that "realism" in the Australian context is a mutation: a perspective more deservingly described as "what-realism-has-become."

The article discusses the implications of the economic aspects of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) for Australia. 70% of Australia's trade in goods, exports plus imports in 1990-91, is with APEC countries, two thirds of this being on the side of the Pacific and one third across the Pacific. The proportion of Australia's trade with APEC is higher than the proportion of the world's trade with APEC countries, 40%. All but one of Australia's ten largest country markets are within APEC. To say that the APEC countries are of economic importance to the country is to state the obvious. However, to say that the APEC countries are important to each other and to Australia is not to say that an organisation to embrace the countries involved is needed.

The article discusses the questions about the role of knowledge and learning of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Australia. Contemporary exercises in economic cooperation building in the Pacific are what have been described as simple as opposed to complex exercises in learning. While the behaviour of most regional states, in their gradual receptivity to greater economic cooperation in the face of new circumstances, has changed, their values and aims have remained largely unaltered.

The article discusses the basic motives for regional economic cooperation, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation's (APEC) evolution and its fundamental objectives. It is followed by an evolutionary strategy to approach these objectives, outlining the way this can serve the interests of APEC's diverse constituency. The conservative motive for closer cooperation has been, and continues to be, important. There is a growing realisation that the recent record of growth and mutually beneficial interdependence in the region cannot be taken for granted: it will require regular high-level communications to identify emerging opportunities, to reduce obstacles and to defuse frictions.

The article deals with a study which examined regional variations of manual earnings per employee in engineering firms in Great Britain. Economist A. J. Brown examined regional variations in earnings per employee such that conclusions are drawn: (1) inter-industry variation in earnings is larger than the inter-region variation; (2) the range of regional variation in earnings is much smaller for earnings than for productivity; and (3) no region were earnings consistently above or below average in all industry groups. The author points out that it is difficult to discuss to one pattern of regional differentials among manual workers in engineering. Finally, the factors of regional differentials may appear in specialization in particular activities such that industries should focus on activities with some special source of advantage.

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The article provides information about the book "Societat Catalana d'Economia, Anuari," vol. 13, edited by Josep C. Verges. The book contains eight papers that discuss regional inequalities in Spain; Ibu Khaldun of Tunis as a precursor of economic science; auditors and auditing in Spain; social expenditure in Spain; the new Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, which exists in a virtual campus connecting students and professors through modem and computers; the need for private pension schemes to complement the public system; the need to reform the welfare state in Europe and the economic nature of the problems of the welfare state.