Tag: European Union

PLACE-BASED POLICY RESPONSES TO SPATIAL INEQUALITIES

Daniela- Luminița CONSTANTIN

Professor at the Department of Administration and Public Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies; Bucharest, Romania

danielaconstantin_2005@yahoo.com

Clara-Alexandra VOLINTIRU

Professor at the Department of International Business and Economics, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies; Bucharest, Romania

clara.volintiru@gmail.com

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute a review of the recent literature on spatial inequalities at subnational level, building on the main foundations of regional studies and specific preoccupations with this subject. The overview of the literature has sought to derive key trends and to identify current knowledge frontiers and debates. It has been deployed on a comprehensive and systematic research of the relevant sources of the past decades and has been structured into three main parts, namely: (1) basic contributions and recent and state-of-the-art literature, (2) current debates, open issues or questions and (3) policy implications. The undertaken inquiries point to a variety of approaches, from those which bring into the spotlight the ‘left-behind places’, the ‘places that don’t matter’ (and their revenge), the ‘geography of discontent’, etc. to those proposing an entire typology for the lagging regions, revealing the interest of both academic community and policy-makers in this subject. The policies gravitate around place-based solutions, which, without neglecting the strongest European regions, aim to support the weaker regions as well. They go beyond simple compensatory measures, concentrating on the turning to good account of the untapped potential of the left-behind places. Moreover, building on the up-to-date findings and useful lessons, the current orientations regarding the future of the Cohesion Policy and the European growth model point to the need of a deeper integration of place-based and people-based approaches, in accordance with the spatial justice desideratum, as well as to the ambition “to bring EU closer to citizens and to leave no one behind” (European Commission, 2023, p.5), in the complex context generated by the ongoing transitions – energy, digital, industrial ones – and COVID-19 recovery.

Keywords: spatial inequalities, European Union, spatial justice, place-based solutions, people-based approaches

JEL classification: R10, R11, R28, R58,

 pp. 43-62

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DOES EUROPEAN UNION MEMBERSHIP RESULT IN QUALITY-OF-LIFE CONVERGENCE?

Joel I. DEICHMANN*¹

Professor of Global Studies

jdeichmann@bentley.edu

Dominique HAUGHTON¹

Professor of Mathematical Sciences

dhaughton@bentley.edu

Mingfei LI¹

Professor of Mathematical Sciences

mli@bentley.edu

Heyao WANG¹

Graduate Research Assistant

wang_heya@bentley.edu

*Corresponding Author

¹Members of the Data Analytic Research Team (DART)

Bentley University Waltham, MA 02452 USA

Abstract

This paper employs European Quality-of-life Survey (EQLS) responses from 2003, 2008, 2012, and 2016 to examine whether European Union (EU) enlargement helps meet the objectives of improved living standards and overall quality-of-life across the continent. The data set includes responses to forty questions across nine dimensions for all twenty-eight pre-Brexit EU member states, along with eight non-member states. Insights are captured through the systematic comparison of self-reported perceptions pooled at the country level before and after accession, as well as between member states and non-member states. Special attention is paid to the eleven post-communist countries that joined the EU in 2004, 2007, and 2013, which together represent the addition of one hundred million EU citizens. These include Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia. Based upon these findings, the paper concludes with speculation upon popular support for further enlargement in the wake of the 2007-08 Global Financial Crisis, the 2016-2020 Brexit process, and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: European Union, Central and Eastern Europe, economic integration, European convergence

JEL classification: O10, O47, P20, P48, R11

 pp. 31-46

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SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE: HOW WOULD IT AFFECT THE COUNTRY’S FOREIGN TRADE?

Lucie COUFALOVÁ

Specialist, Faculty of Business and Administration, Masaryk University, Czech Republic

174064@mail.muni.cz

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to identify the main determinants of Scotland’s foreign trade and, above all, the EU’s role in the volume of the country’s exports, as its EU membership is one of the key arguments in the political discourse about independence. The article highlights the results of opinion polls in the country, as well as the relationship between economic integration and political disintegration. The methodological approach adopted is the gravity model of international trade. Given the large number of zero flows present in the data sample, the Tobit model proved to be a more suitable technique for the estimation. The Random effects model estimates are also provided in order to prove the robustness of the estimates. The results of the study allow for more substantiated conclusions about the main determinants of Scotland’s foreign trade, as well as they provide arguments for discussing the implications of Scottish independence.

Keywords: Scotland, independence, European Union, international trade, gravity model

JEL classification: F13, F47, F15, R15

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