One of the most notable features of literature about "new economic geography" is a close association between theoretical and empirical work. In contrast to earlier research, theoretical studies are often much more strongly focused on real-world phenomena. At the same time, empirical work is...

Using a rich data set on the EU regions, we analyze the relevance of two possible determinants of a region's resilience to shocks, the degree of urbanization and specialization. We take the Great Recession, the economic and financial crisis that started in 2008, as our shock and then analyze how...