The aim of this paper is to study the regional inequalities in the enlarged European Union using Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis applied to per capita GDP for 258 European regions over the period ...1995-2000. Strong evidence in favor of global and local autocorrelation as well as spatial heterogeneity is found for the wealth distribution. We also show that the enlargement process leads to a new North-West/East polarization scheme instead of the previous results obtained in the literature highlighting a North/South polarization scheme. Implications for regional development and cohesion policies are finally explored.
The convergence of European regions has been largely discussed in the empirical literature during the last decade. Two observations are often emphasized. First, the convergence rate among European ...regions appears to be very slow (Barro and Sala-i-Martins 1991, 1995; Armstrong 1995, Sala-i-Martin 1996a,b). Second, the tools used in the regional science literature show that the geographical distribution of European per capita GDP is highly clustered and characterized by global and local autocorrelation (Armstrong 1995; Ertur et al. 2007; López-Bazo et al. 1999; Le Gallo and Ertur 2003 with a UE15 regional database and Ertur and Koch 2006, with a UE27 enlarged regional database). Many other studies also provide evidence of global and local spatial autocorrelation as Rey and Montouri (1999) for US State data on per capita income throughout the period 1929–1994, Ying (2000) for growth rates of production in the Chinese provinces since the late 1970s, and Conley and Ligon (2002). These authors also develop an empirical approach that explicitly allows for interdependence among countries, and they underline the importance of cross-country spillovers in explaining growth using an international database.
The aim of this paper is reconciliating spatial autocorrelation often observed in the world distribution of wealth and its effects on development gap. Neglecting spatial autocorrelation potentially ...biased our vision on the role of physical capital in development process. We therefore show that the total contribution of physical capital account almost 90% of differences between developing countries and the most richest countries.
Recent theoretical and empirical work generally often focus on the interdependence of nations and regions underlying that the economy of one country or region is not independent of the economies of ...others. However, these models generally ignores the impact of location and neighborhood in explaining growth. This paper presents an augmented Solow model that includes spatial externalities and spatial interdependence among economies. I obtain a spatial econometric reduce form which allows testing the effects of the rate of saving, the rate of population growth and the location on income per capita and on the conditional convergence process in Europe.
Recent theoretical and empirical work generally often focus on the interdependence of nations and regions underlying that the economy of one country or region is not independent of the economies of ...others. However, these models generally ignores the impact of location and neighborhood in explaining growth. This paper presents an augmented Solow model that includes spatial externalities and spatial interdependence among economies. I obtain a spatial econometric reduce form which allows testing the effects of the rate of saving, the rate of population growth and the location on income per capita and on the conditional convergence process in Europe.
The aim of this paper is reconciliating spatial autocorrelation often observed in the world distribution of wealth and its effects on development gap. Neglecting spatial autocorrelation potentially ...biased our vision on the role of physical capital in development process. We therefore show that the total contribution of physical capital account almost 90% of differences between developing countries and the most richest countries.
