1st Edition

The Emerging Economic Geography in EU Accession Countries

By Peter Nijkamp, Iulia Traistaru Copyright 2003
    480 Pages
    by Routledge

    480 Pages
    by Routledge

    This title was first published in 2003. Since 1990, Central and Eastern European countries have experienced increased economic integration with the European Union. The spatial implications of this process have been little investigated so far. Have patterns of regional specialization and industrial concentration changed during the 1990s? How does regional specialization relate to economic performance? How has access to Western markets affected the regional wage structure? What types of regions are winners and what types of regions are losers? This book poses and answers such policy relevant questions. It is organized into three parts. The first introduces the main features of economic integration and transition processes in Central and Eastern Europe and discusses the theoretical and methodological framework of the research. The second part examines the cases of five countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia, and the final part includes three comparative analyses which explain the underlying factors that determine the changing patterns of location of manufacturing activity, the adjustment pattern of regional wages and adaptation processes in border regions in the five countries.

    Contents: Part I: Analytical Framework: Spatial implications of economic integration in EU accession countries, Laura Resmini and Iulia Traistaru; European integration, regional specialization and location of industrial activity: a survey of theoretical and empirical literature, Peter Nijkamp, Laura Resmini and Iulia Traistaru; Data and measurement, Iulia Traistaru and Anna Iara. Part II: Country Studies: The emerging economic geography in Bulgaria, Julia Spiridonova; The emerging economic geography in Estonia, Grigory Fainshtein and Natalie Lubenets; The emerging economic geography in Hungary, Alessandro Maffioli; The emerging economic geography in Romania, Iulia Traistaru and Carmen Pauna; The emerging economic geography in Slovenia, Joze P. Damijan and Èrt Kostevc. Part III: Comparative Analysis and Lessons: Specialization of regions and concentration of industries in EU accession countries, Iulia Traistaru, Peter Nijkamp and Simonetta Longhi; The impact of European integration on the adjustment pattern of regional wages in accession countries, Joze P. Damijan and Èrt Kostevc; The implications of European integration and adjustment for border regions in accession countries, Laura Resmini; The emerging economic geography in EU accession countries: concluding remarks and policy implications, Iulia Traistaru, Peter Nijkamp and Laura Resmini; Index.

    Biography

    Iulia Traistaru is a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI) at the University of Bonn, Germany. Peter Nijkamp is a Professor within the Department of Spatial Economics at the Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Laura Resmini is a Lecturer at the Institute of Economics at the University "Luigi Bocconi", Milan, Italy.

    'A very important book that covers new ground on the spatial implications of economic integration in Eastern European accession countries. It represents applied regional economics at its very best, an absolutely essential reading for serious students and scholars in European Integration.' Professor Manfred M. Fischer, University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna. 'This is a valuable book shedding light into the spatial implications of East-West integration in Europe. It is a requirement for policy makers and students in the fields of integration, transition and regional development.' George Petrakos, Associate Professor, University of Thessaly, Greece, Director, South and East European Development Center