Regional inequality in the European Union: Does industry mix matter?

Abstract

Ezcurra R., Gil C., Pascual P. and Rapún M. (2005) Regional inequality in the European Union: does industry mix matter?, Regional Studies 39 , 679–697. The aim of this paper is to test for the respective roles of regional and sectoral factors in productivity convergence in the European Union between 1977 and 1999. The methodology used for this is a new one that combines an alternative version of shift–share analysis with various results quoted in the literature on personal income distribution. The empirical evidence suggests that regional disparity in productivity in the European Union is closely related to intrinsic differences between regions. Whatever the case, the results that emerge also reveal the fundamental role of the country effect in accounting for regional disparities in income per worker in Europe. In addition our empirical results support the relevance of one‐sector growth models to explicate per‐capita income disparities in the European regions.