Category: Published

GEOGRAPHY OF MICRO-STATES: MAIN ARISING ISSUES

Sidiropoulos George
Department of Geography, University of the Aegean
University Hill, 81100 Mytilene, Greece

Abstract:
News is often interspersed with reports from small islands. Reference is often made to them due to their small size, or due to their administrative autonomy or financial regime; usually attracting the common interest. Actually, what are the so-called microstates, virtual lands, unrecognized state entities, or ephemeral states? Their de facto distance from the centers of socio-economic developments contributes to the conservation of both their traditional social web and their natural environment, but at the same time,  it deprives them the opportunities to keep in pace with the modern developments and renders them under the status of isolation.  On the one hand, the barrier resulting from natural obstacles acts like a filter that bars the introduction of opportunistic innovations, and on the other hand geographical proximity would make contact with progress feasible. In other words, situation acts as an immune system which secures the better health of microstates. read more

Keywords:  Microstate, micronation, small economies, insular space, quasi-state, sovereignty, development.

THE INCOME INTER-REGIONAL REDISTRIBUTION AND THE INCOME SPATIAL STABILIZATION EFFECTS: AN APPLICATION TO PORTUGAL

Pedro N. Ramos,
Faculdade de Economia da Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal)

Carla Coimbra,
Instituto Nacional de Estatistica (Portugal)

Abstract:

The main idea of this paper is that although the per capita regional GDP is a good indicator of regional income according to its place of generation, it cannot take into account the redistribution process that comes after production, and that may be very significant at the regional level. The paper focuses then on the transformation of the regional product on the adjusted disposable income of the households, and on the different redistributive flows that proceed with that transformation. It has two distinct parts. Firstly we adopted a synchronic analysis where we deal with the so-called income inter-regional redistribution process. In this part we wonder how the regional income inequalities, that are the outcome of the different locations of production, are smoothed when the income falls into the hands of the households (or if the contrary happens, how they are amplified). The identification and the estimation of the weights of the different channels through which that lessening (or amplifying) process acts is an essential part of the work. In a second part ahead we turn to a dynamic approach where we focus on the spatial stabilization of the income effect. At this point our purpose is rather to look at the shocks on the regional product, and to discuss how they can be absorbed (or not) when the production income is transmuted into the regional adjusted disposable income of the households. The degree and the channels of risk sharing (as this absorption process is named too) are also estimated.

read more

Key Words: Inter-regional redistribution; spatial stabilization; risk sharing; cross-sectional variance

LESSONS AND EVIDENCE FROM PRODUCTIVITY AND REGIONAL GROWTH IN EUROPE

George M. Korres
Department of Geography, University of the Aegean,
University Hill, Mytilene: 81100

Constantinos Tsamadias
Harokopio University, Athens, Greece.

Abstract:

This paper investigates the relationship between productivity and technological change. The question that we shall address in this paper, is whether the recent slow down in productivity can be explained by the slow-down of innovation activities. This paper measures the effects from productivity and technical change in regional growth for European member states. The paper concludes by summarizing some of the major findings of the discussion and pointing to some directions for future research activities. read more

Keywords: Innovation, technical change, productivity, economic growth.