Economic convergence and polarisation: towards a multi-dimensional approach
Abstract
The current increase of regional inequalities in Europe, and in particular in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has led to the reconsideration and revival of the concepts of "polarisation" and "convergence" in academic fields like regional economics, economic geography and spatial planning as well. In contrast to the classical view on these concepts determined by functionalism and topology, the new theoretical and empirical perspectives are emphasising a multidimensional perspective. In addition, there is an important debate about the relation between economic inequalities and growth. This article provides a critical overview and assessment of the theoretical and empirical work on regional inequalities with special emphasis on theories of economic and social polarisation, regional economic growth, convergence, and social inequalities. We attempt to combine two powerful concepts of polarisation and convergence, emphasising their relational and multi-scalar nature. Building on this basis, we propose a multidimensional concept of socio-economic polarisation, which comprises processes of convergence and divergence, growth and mobility in economic and social dimensions.
References
Ács, J.Z. and Varga, A. 2000. Térbeliség, endogén növekedés és innováció. (Geography, endogeneous growth and innovation). Tér és Társadalom 14. (4): 23-38. https://doi.org/10.17649/TET.14.4.605
Amarante, V. 2014. Revisiting Inequality and Growth: Evidence for Developing Countries. Growth and Change 45. (4): 571-589. https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.12057
Barro, R.J. and Sala-i-Martin, X. 1995. Economic Growth. New York, McGraw-Hill, 539 p.
Baumol, W.J. 1986. Productivity Growth, Convergence, and Welfare: What the Long-Run Data Show. American Economic Review 76. (5): 1072-1085.
Becker, G.S., Philipson, T.J. and Soares, R.R. 2005. The Quantity and Quality of Life and the Evolution of World Inequality. American Economic Review 95. (1): 277-291. https://doi.org/10.1257/0002828053828563
Benedek, J. 2004. Amenajarea teritoriului i dezvoltarea regională. (Spatial planning and regional development) Cluj-Napoca, Presa Universitară Clujeană, 310 p.
Benedek, J. and Kocziszky, Gy. 2015. Paths of Convergence and Polarisation in the Visegrád-Countries. In Understanding Geographies of Polarization and Peripheralization. Eds.: Lang, T., Henn, S., Ehrlich, K. and Sgibnev, W. Basingstoke, Palgrave/MacMillan, 217-234. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137415080_12
Benedek, J., Cristea, M. and Szendi, D. 2015. Catching Up or Falling Behind? Economic Convergence and Regional Development Trajectories in Romania. Forthcoming in Romanian Review of Regional Studies 11.
Bond, P. 1999. What is Uneven Development? In The Encyclopedia of Political Economy. Ed.: O'Hara, P. London, Routledge . Last accessed on 10.06.2015.
Castells-Quintana, D. and Royuela, V. 2014. Agglomeration, Inequality and Economic Growth. Annals of Regional Science 52. (2): 343-366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-014-0589-1
Castro, J.W. 2003. Regional Convergence, Polarisation and Mobility in the European Union, 1980-1996. Journal of European Integration 25. (1): 73-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/0703633031000077172
Copus, A. 2014. TiPSE - The Territorial Dimension of Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe. Final Report, Part B Main Report. Last accessed on 23.02.2015
Dollar, D. and Kraay, A. 2002. Growth Is Good for the Poor. Journal of Economic Growth 7. (3): 195-225. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020139631000
Domar, E.D. 1946. Capital Expansion, Rate of Growth, and Employment. Econometrica 14. (2): 137-147. https://doi.org/10.2307/1905364
Duro, J.A. 2008. Cross-country Inequalities in Welfare and Its Decomposition by Sen Factors: The Virtues of the Theil Index. Applied Economics Letters 15. (13): 1041-1045. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504850600993507
EAPN 2014. Poverty and Inequality in the EU. EAPN Explainer #6. European Anti-Poverty Network. Last accessed on 10.02.2015.
Easterly, W. 1999. Life During Growth. Journal of Economic Growth 4. (3): 239-276. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009882702130
Easterly, W. 2001. The Middle Class Consensus and Economic Development. Journal of Economic Growth 6. (4): 317-335. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012786330095
EC 2004. A New Partnership for Cohesion: Convergence, Competitiveness, Cooperation. Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion. Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
EC 2007. Growing Regions, Growing Europe. Fourth Report on Economic and Social Cohesion. Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
EC 2010. Investing in Europe's Future. Fift h Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion. Luxembourg, Offi ce for Official Publications of the European Communities.
EC 2014. Investment for Jobs and Growth. Sixth Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion. Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Ertur, C., Le Gallo, J. and Baumont, C. 2006. The European Regional Convergence Process, 1980-1995: Do Spatial Regimes and Spatial Dependence Matter? International Regional Science Review 29. (1): 3-34. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160017605279453
Ezcurra, R. 2007. Is Income Inequality Harmful for Regional Growth? Evidence from the European Union. Urban Studies 44. (10): 1953-1971. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420980701471877
Ezcurra, R. and Pascual, P. 2005. Is There Convergence in Income Inequality Levels among the European Regions? Applied Economics Letters 12. (12): 763-767. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504850500245669
Fagerberg, J. 1995. Convergence or Divergence? The Impact of Technology on "Why Growth Rates Differ". Journal of Evolutionary Economics 5. (3): 269-284. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01198307
Friedmann, J. 1973. A theory of polarised development. In Urbanisation, Planning, and National Development. Ed.: Friedmann, J. Beverly Hills, Sage, 41-67.
Gerschenkron, A. 1962. Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective, a Book of Essays. Cambridge, MAS, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 468 p.
Gottdiener, M. and Budd, L. 2005. Key Concepts in Urban Studies. London, Sage Publications, 188 p. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446279120
Hamnett, C. 2001. Social Segregation and Social Polarisation. In Handbook of Urban Studies. Ed. Paddison, R. London, Sage Publications, 162-176. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848608375.n10
Harrod, R.F. 1939. An Essay in Dynamic Theory. The Economic Journal 49. (193): 14-33. https://doi.org/10.2307/2225181
Harvey, D. 1996. Justice, Nature and the Geography of Difference. Oxford, Blackwell, 480 p.
Hirschman, A.O. 1958. The Strategy of Economic Development. New Haven, Yale University Press, 230 p.
Kaldor, N. 1957. A Model of Economic Growth. Economic Journal 67. (268): 591-624. https://doi.org/10.2307/2227704
Keim, K.D. 2006. Peripherisierung ländlicher Räume - Essay. Last accessed on 25.03.2015.
Korzeniewicz, R.P. and Albrecht, S. 2013. Thinking globally about inequality and stratifi cation: Wages across the world, 1982-2009. International Journal of Comparative Sociology 53. (5-6): 419-443. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020715212474286
Kreckel, R. 2004. Politische Soziologie der sozialen Ungleichheit. Frankfurt, Campus, 412 p.
Krugman, P.R. 1991. Geography and Trade. Cambridge, MIT Press, 156 p.
Krugman, P.R. 2011. The New Economic Geography, Now Middle-Aged. Regional Studies 45. (1): 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2011.537127
Kühn, M. 2015. Peripheralisation: Theoretical Concepts Explaining Socio-Spatial Inequalities. European Planning Studies 23. (2): 367-378. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2013.862518
Lang, T. 2012. Shrinkage, Metropolisation and Peripheralisation in East Germany. European Planning Studies 20. (10): 1747-1754. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2012.713336
Lang, T., Henn, S., Ehrlich, K. and Sbignev, W. 2015. Introduction. Forthcoming. Understanding New Geographies of Central and Eastern Europe. Socio-Spatial Polarisation and Peripheralisation in a
Rapidly Changing Region. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan,
Lasuén, J.R. 1973. Urbanisation and Development. The Temporal Interaction between Geographical and Sectoral Clusters. Urban Studies 10. (2): 163-188. https://doi.org/10.1080/00420987320080281
Lefebvre, H. 1991. The Production of Space. Blackwell, Oxford, 464 p.
Li, G. and Fang, C. 2014. Analyzing the Multi-Mechanism of Regional Inequality in China. Annales of Regional Science 52. (1): 155-182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-013-0580-2
Liargovas, P. and Fotopoulos, G. 2009. Socioeconomic Indicators for Analyzing Convergence: The Case of Greece: 1960-2004. Social Indicators Research 93. (2): 315-330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-008-9319-3
Maestri, V. 2015. A Measure of Income Poverty Including Housing: Benefi ts and Limitations for Policy Making. Social Indicators Research 121. (3): 675-696. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0657-z
Malecki, E.J. 1997. Technology and Economic Development. Harlow, Longman, 460 p.
Mankiw, N.G., Romer, D. and Weil, D.N. 1992. A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics 107. 407-437. https://doi.org/10.2307/2118477
Massey, D. 1990. American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. The American Journal of Sociology 96. (2): 329-357. https://doi.org/10.1086/229532
Mollenkopf, J. and Castells, M. 1991. Dual City: Restructuring New York. New York, Russell Sage Foundation, 492 p.
Mora, T. 2005. Evidencing European Regional Convergence Clubs with Optimal Grouping Criteria. Applied Economics Lett ers 12. (15): 937-940. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504850500119120
Myrdal, G. 1957. Economic Theory and Underdeveloped Regions. London, Gerald Duckworth, 168 p.
North, D. 1955. Location Theory and Regional Economic Growth. Journal of Political Economy 63. (3): 243-258. https://doi.org/10.1086/257668
Perroux, F. 1950. Economic Spaces: Theory and Application. Quarterly Journal of Economics 64. (1): 89-104. https://doi.org/10.2307/1881960
Perroux, F. 1988. The Pole of Development's New Place in a General Theory of Economic Activity. In Regional Essays in Honor of Francois Perroux. Eds.: Higgins, B. and Savoie, D.J. Boston, Unwin Hyman, 48-76. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315103242-3
Plummer, P.S. 2000. The Modeling Tradition. In A Companion to Economic Geography. Eds.: Sheppard, E. and Barnes, T.J. Oxford, Blackwell, 27-40. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470693445.ch3
Quah, D.T. 1995. Regional Convergence Clusters Across Europe. Centre for Economic Performance Discussion Paper, Nr. 274. Last accessed on 18.06.2015.
Quah, D.T. 1996. Empirics for Economic Growth and Convergence. European Economic Review 40. (6): 1353-1375. https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-2921(95)00051-8
Quah, D.T. 1997. Empirics for Growth and Distribution: Stratification, Polarisation, and Convergence Clubs. Journal of Economic Growth 2. (1): 27-59. Richardson, H.W. 1973. Regional Growth Theory, London, Macmillan.
Rodríguez-Pose, A. and Tselios, V. 2010. Inequalities in Income and Education and Regional Economic Growth in Western Europe. Annals of Regional Science 44. (2): 349-75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-008-0267-2
Rodríguez-Pose, A. and Tselios, V. 2015. Toward Inclusive Growth: Is There Regional Convergence in Social Welfare? International Regional Science Review 38. (1): 30-60. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160017613505201
Romer, P.M. 1986. Increasing Returns and Longrun Growth. Journal of Political Economy 94. (5): 1002-1037. https://doi.org/10.1086/261420
Rostow, W.W. 1971. The Stages of Economic Growth. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 428 p.
Royuela, V. and García, G.A. 2015. Economic and Social Convergence in Colombia. Regional Studies 49. (2): 219-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2012.762086
Sala-i-Martin, X. 1996. Regional Cohesion: Evidence and Theories of Regional Growth and Convergence. European Economic Review 40. (6): 1325-1352. https://doi.org/10.1016/0014-2921(95)00029-1
Sassen, S. 1991. The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 480 p.
Schatz, H. and Venables, A.J. 2000. The Geography of International Investment, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, Nr. 2338. Last accessed on 18.06.2015.
Schätzl, L. 1998. Wirtschaft sgeographie 1. Theorie. F. Schöningh, Paderborn, 232 p.
Smetkowski, M. and Wójcik, P. 2012. Regional Convergence in Central and Eastern European Countries: A Multidimensional Approach. European Planning Studies 20. (6): 923-939. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2012.673560
Solow, R.M. 1956. A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics 70. (1): 65-94. https://doi.org/10.2307/1884513
Sternberg, R. 2001. New Economic Geography. Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie 45. (3-4): 159-180. https://doi.org/10.1515/zfw.2001.0010
Stiglitz, J., Sen, A. and Fitoussi, J.P. 2010. A Bizottság jelentése a gazdasági teljesítmény és a társadalmi fejlődés méréséről (Report by the Commision on the measurement on economic performance and social progress). Statisztikai Szemle 88. 305-320.
Thiry, G. 2015. Beyond GDP: Conceptual Grounds of Quantification. The Case of the Index of Economic Well-Being (IEWB). Social Indicators Research 121. (2): 313-343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0650-6
Tselios, V. 2009. Growth and Convergence in Income per Capita and Income Inequality in the Regions of the EU. Spatial Economic Analysis 4. (3): 343-370. https://doi.org/10.1080/17421770903114711
Tselios, V. 2014. The Granger-Causality between Income and Educational Inequality: a Spatial Cross-Regressive VAR Framework. Annals of Regional Science 53. (1): 221-243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-014-0626-0
Wacquant, L. 2007. Territorial Stigmatisation in the Age of Advanced Marginality. Thesis Eleven 91. 66-77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0725513607082003
Wallerstein, I. 1974. The Modern World-System. Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York, Academic Press, 410 p.
Copyright (c) 2015 József Benedek, Aura Moldovan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
