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EUROPEAN PATTERNS OF UNEMPLOYMENT: A Spatial Analysis of Regional Unemployment in Europe

Källström, John LU (2011) NEKK01 20111
Department of Economics
Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the structural evolution and spatial pattern of regional unemployment rates in the EU for the period 1999-2009. Several previous studies have found large disparities across Europe’s regions, contrary to what neoclassic theory predict would be the effect of regional integration. Moreover, some literature finds that these differences seem to increase over time – polarizing into high- and low-unemployment clusters. We employ entropy indices to measure the dispersion of unemployment across a panel of EU-regions over the period 1999-2009, a period so far unexplored in this respect. Results indicate that disparities are mainly persistent for this period. However, results differ if we look at specific... (More)
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the structural evolution and spatial pattern of regional unemployment rates in the EU for the period 1999-2009. Several previous studies have found large disparities across Europe’s regions, contrary to what neoclassic theory predict would be the effect of regional integration. Moreover, some literature finds that these differences seem to increase over time – polarizing into high- and low-unemployment clusters. We employ entropy indices to measure the dispersion of unemployment across a panel of EU-regions over the period 1999-2009, a period so far unexplored in this respect. Results indicate that disparities are mainly persistent for this period. However, results differ if we look at specific groups of EU Member States. The older members show much more persistence than the newer members, who seem to have in some cases lessen both regional unemployment and unemployment disparities over the period. We discuss the implication of regional integration and the emergence of regional unemployment, contrasting more traditional theoretical approaches with that of New Economic Geography, and try to give some tentative answers to why, in some cases, disparities persist and why not in other cases. (Less)
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author
Källström, John LU
supervisor
organization
course
NEKK01 20111
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
New Economic Geography, Entropy Indices, Regional Unemployment, Economic Integration
language
English
id
2155044
date added to LUP
2011-09-27 13:06:24
date last changed
2011-09-27 13:06:24
@misc{2155044,
  abstract     = {{The aim of this thesis is to investigate the structural evolution and spatial pattern of regional unemployment rates in the EU for the period 1999-2009. Several previous studies have found large disparities across Europe’s regions, contrary to what neoclassic theory predict would be the effect of regional integration. Moreover, some literature finds that these differences seem to increase over time – polarizing into high- and low-unemployment clusters.  We employ entropy indices to measure the dispersion of unemployment across a panel of EU-regions over the period 1999-2009, a period so far unexplored in this respect. Results indicate that disparities are mainly persistent for this period. However, results differ if we look at specific groups of EU Member States. The older members show much more persistence than the newer members, who seem to have in some cases lessen both regional unemployment and unemployment disparities over the period. We discuss the implication of regional integration and the emergence of regional unemployment, contrasting more traditional theoretical approaches with that of New Economic Geography, and try to give some tentative answers to why, in some cases, disparities persist and why not in other cases.}},
  author       = {{Källström, John}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{EUROPEAN PATTERNS OF UNEMPLOYMENT: A Spatial Analysis of Regional Unemployment in Europe}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}