European regions have experienced a polarisation of their unemployment rates between 1986 and 1996, as regions with intermediate rates have moved towards either extreme. This process has been driven by changes in regional employment, only partly offset by labour force changes. Regions' outcomes...

Monetary union is likely to change the spatial structure of economic activity in the EU. This article reviews what is known about these effects and discusses the implications for EMU. We argue that EMU is likely to promote a modest increase in specialization amongst EU countries, although...