Die Dimension regionaler Arbeitsmarktdisparitäten in der EU

Abstract

"A series of recent studies deals with the effects of European Monetary Union (EMU) on regional labour market disparities in the EU. In this context concern has been expressed that EMU together with low labour mobility and inflexible wages will cause increasing regional disparities in the EU. However, the spatial dimension of labour market problems is largely neglected in the corresponding analyses. In contrast, the present paper focuses on the spatial structure of regional unemployment disparities. Regions are tightly linked by migration, commuting and interregional trade. These types of spatial interaction are exposed to frictional effects of distance, possibly causing spatial dependence of regional labour market conditions. The spatial association of regional unemployment is analysed by measures of spatial autocorrelation and spatial econometric methods for a sample of European countries between 1986 and 2000. The results point to a significant spatial dependence among regional labour markets in Europe. Regions marked by high unemployment as well as areas characterised by low unemployment tend to cluster in space. The empirical evidence also suggests that the change in regional unemployment between 1986 and 2000 was associated with an increasing concentration of labour market problems in spatial clusters." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Niebuhr, A. (2003): Die Dimension regionaler Arbeitsmarktdisparitäten in der EU. In: R. Caesar, K. Lammers & H.- E. Scharrer (Hrsg.) (2003): Konvergenz und Divergenz in der Europäischen Union : empirische Befunde und wirtschaftspolitische Implikationen (HWWA-Studien, 74), p. 53-72.