Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP3999
Authors: Pierre-Philippe Combes; Henry Overman
Abstract: This Paper considers the spatial distribution of economic activities in the European Union. It has three main aims: (i) to describe the data that is available in the EU and give some idea of the rich spatial data sets that are fast becoming available at the national level; (ii) to present descriptive evidence on the location of aggregate activity and particular industries and to consider how these location patterns are changing over time; (iii) to consider the nature of the agglomeration and dispersion forces that determine these patterns and to contrast them to forces acting elsewhere, in particular the US. Our survey suggests that much has been achieved in the wave of empirical work that has occurred in the past decade, but that much work remains to be done.
Keywords: descriptive statistics; empirical studies; European Union; location
JEL Codes: F14; F15; R12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Accessibility (Y20) | GDP per capita (O49) |
| Accessibility (Y20) | Economic Activity (R11) |
| Core-Periphery Pattern (R12) | Economic Activity (R11) |
| Deeper EU Integration (F15) | Accessibility (Y20) |
| Core-Periphery Pattern Decline (R12) | Converging Incomes (D31) |
| Better Accessibility (Y20) | Higher Economic Activity (O49) |
| Core Regions Improving Accessibility (R11) | Reinforcing Inequalities (I24) |