Tag: R58

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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PRODUCTIVE SPECIALIZATION AND CLUSTERS IN THE AGRI-FOOD SYSTEM OF NORTHERN PORTUGAL

Ana Paula DELGADO

Retired Professor, Faculty of Economics (FEP), University of Porto (UP)

a.p.delgado@sapo.pt

Teresa SEQUEIRA

Assistant Professor, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD); Researcher at the Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD).

tsequeir@utad.pt (Corresponding author)

Abstract

The Região Norte of Portugal is a region where the primary sector has historically played a significant role. It is generally an aging region, with a large area considered as low-density and with a low level of purchasing power, revealing deep asymmetries in terms of economic and social cohesion. This study aims to analyse the profile of the agri-food industry, that is, the food and beverage industries, in the north of Portugal in terms of productive specialization. This work started by collecting a set of variables such as employment, people employed, GVA and value of sales and services provided, depending on the level of disaggregation of the classification of economic activities and the availability of data. Based on this statistical data, location and specialization indicators were calculated, namely the location quotient. Then, using statistical software, clusters were built that enabled us to draw a picture of the agri-food system. This work was relevant to identifying the relative specialization of Norte NUTs III regions, the relative location of activities and the outlining of productive areas. It is expected that it will contribute to the definition of effective policy instruments to be developed in the region by the responsible organisation for regional development, based on the region’s profile and with the aim of an intelligent specialization strategy.

Keywords: productive specialization, clusters, regional development

JEL classification: R12, R58

pp. 11-24

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USING ENTERPRISE ZONES TO ATTRACT THE CREATIVE CLASS: SOME THEORETICAL ISSUES

Amitrajeet A. BATABYAL

Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623-5604, USA

aabgsh@rit.edu

Seung Jick YOO

Associate Professor, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

sjyoo@sookmyung.ac.kr

Corresponding Author

Abstract

We study decision-making by a regional authority (RA) that uses enterprise zones to attract members of the creative class—referred to as entrepreneurs—to its region. The enterprise zones provide a local public good (LPG)  to entrepreneurs who become members. First, we compute the utility maximizing number of entrepreneurs  to attract and the optimal provision level of the LPG. Second, if the LPG  is chosen optimally, then, given  we determine an expression for the utility of an entrepreneur. Third, we calculate how much an entrepreneur would be willing to pay to become a member of an enterprise zone and then discuss the potential existence of an efficient and revenue-neutral equilibrium. Finally, we comment on some theoretical difficulties stemming from the twin facts that the number of enterprise zones created and the number of entrepreneurs attracted to these zones have to be integers.

Keywords: Creative Class, Enterprise Zone, Entrepreneur, Local Public Good, Membership

JEL classification: R11, R58

 pp. 13-19

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