INCOME DISPARITIES IN THE ENLARGED EU: SOCIO-ECONOMIC, SPECIALISATION AND GEOGRAPHICAL CLUSTERS.

ABSTRACT The paper contains a non-parametric analysis of regional convergence in the enlarged EU over the period 1998-2005. It finds overall convergence but growing within country disparities, especially due to the behaviour of newcomer regions. It also finds strong (but falling) spatial correlation of per-capita income. Starting from this evidence, the paper considers the role of socio-economic features, specialisation patterns and geographical factors in explaining within countries disparities. Overall we find that partly specialisation but more evidently socio-economic clusters have a good explanatory power while simple geographical factors do not explain within countries divergence. This does not mean that spatial factors are not important: rather it means that agglomeration alone cannot explain a complex and variegated pattern of growth where structural and socio-economic factors appear to be playing an important and increasing role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]