The paper aims to assess the evolution of the development disparities (output, employment, overall and by sectors) in the regions and counties of Romania. Using classic and spatial shift-share analysis tools, we investigate the extent to which the existing interregional and, especially,...

Development gaps are a common feature throughout the regions of the European Union, and Romania is no exception. Despite all the political and financial efforts, the convergence process is lengthy and complex, and the gaps with the deepest economic and social roots are the most difficult to be...

Human resources are the key factor in the development of countries and regions. They affect the prosperity and competitiveness of the countries and regions. The purpose of the study was to assess the human resource potential in the V4 countries and to identify the groups of regions that share...

The knowledge–based economy requires that research–development activities contribute to the creation of added value. Innovation, another important component of this type of economy, constitutes, in turn, an indicator of global competitiveness. In the national and supranational processes and...

Italy has been characterized, throughout its history as a unified country, by large regional differentials in the levels of income, industrialization and socio-economic development. This paper aims at testing the New Economic Geography hypothesis on the role of market access in explaining these...

Several regions across the EU, including the Netherlands, face the challenges of population decline, which entails changing demographics and related social and economic implications. Social ties are disrupted by continuous out-migration, causing a decrease in support systems which may adversely...

This paper discusses alternative measures of cultural diversity to be used in subsequent investigations of the impacts of cultural diversity on regional development in Europe. It derives indicators for the measurement of cultural diversity from the literature and describes possible adjustments...

Given its unpredictable nature, urban sprawl in the Mediterranean region is considered an intriguing (and intricate) socioeconomic issue. Since the 1970s, urban dispersion advanced rapidly in southern Europe-irrespective of a city's size and morphology-with urbanization rates growing faster than...

The economic crisis has affected the EU regions very differently over the last five years, depending on the region's strengths or weaknesses, its sectoral structure and the response of national and regional governments. In some countries, downturns can lead to narrower interregional disparities,...

We investigate regional differences of the effect of new business formation on employment growth in West Germany. We find an inverse 'u'-shaped relationship between the level of start-up activity and employment change. The main variables that shape the employment effects of new businesses in a...