Tag: E32

REGIONAL BUSINESS CYCLES SYNCHRONIZATION AND REGIONAL INEQUALITIES IN THE EU

Dimitris KALLIORAS

Professor, University of Thessaly

dkallior@uth.gr

ORCID: 0000-0003-3060-3745

Spyros NIAVIS

Assistant Professor, University of Thessaly

spniavis@uth.gr

ORCID: 0000-0001-9210-9190 

George PETRAKOS

Professor, University of Thessaly

petrakos@uth.gr

 ORCID: 0000-0001-6542-6799

Maria TSIAPA

Assistant Professor, University of Thessaly

mtsiapa@uth.gr 

ORCID: 0000-0001-5852-8156

Abstract

The paper examines the impact of the synchronization of regional business cycles on the evolution of regional inequalities in the EU. The topic is crucially important given that the relation between the synchronization of regional business cycles and the evolution of regional inequalities reveals whether (and to what extent) sectoral shocks are distributed evenly or unevenly within the integrated economic space. The analysis of the paper refers to 242 EU NUTS II regions and covers the period 1990-2020. Using sound and rigorous methods of empirical analysis, the paper presents clear-cut empirical evidence that shed light on academic theory and provide valuable insight to policy making.

Keywords: EU regions, business cycles synchronization, inequalities

JEL classification: E32, R11, R15

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding from the EU Horizon Program, project number 101061104 – ESSPIN “ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND SPATIAL INEQUALITIES IN EUROPE IN THE ERA OF GLOBAL MEGA-TRENDS”. The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the EU.

pp. 37-51

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REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT IN PORTUGAL: DIFFERENCES AND CYCLICAL SYNCHRONISATION

Leonida CORREIA

Assistant Professor Department of Economy, Sociology and Management (DESG), Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal. Tel: +351 259 350699;

lcorreia@utad.pt

Marina ALVES

Master’s degree in Economic and Management Sciences in UTAD

alves2_marina@hotmail.com

Abstract

This paper analyses the specificities of employment in Portuguese regions at a disaggregated level of NUTS III, comparing the differences of several indicators between the last two censuses. It also examines the synchronisation of regional employment cycles over the 2000-2014 period, using the information provided for the new nomenclature of NUTS. The comparison of several employment’s characteristics (total and by sex, age group, sector of activity and main occupation) across the 7 regions and 25 sub-regions allowed us to conclude that Portugal is marked by substantial regional specificities. The analysis of the evolution of employment ‘cycles highlight the substantial reduction in the employment rate since the beginning of the 2000s, with particular intensity in the period of the recent crisis, and considerable differences across regions and at the intraregional level. The results from the synchronisation reveal a great heterogeneity in the degree of correlation between the sub-national cycles and the national cycle. Additionally, they suggest that, in general, the cyclical pattern of the sub-regions is more closely related to the regions that they belong to than that of the Portuguese cycle. The paper concludes that this heterogeneity should be addressed in the context of policy making, by means to construct appropriate responses to counteract the regional differences.

Keywords: employment, disparities, cycles, Portuguese regions

JEL classification: E32, J21, R11, R12

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