The impact of the European Union integration on the city size distribution of the Member States

Abstract

This paper analyses the relation between socio-economic and institutional factors and the dynamics of city populations, the hierarchy of city systems and the urbanization. Particular attention is devoted on the integration process that several European Countries, often structurally so different, have experimented from the beginning of ’90s. Results show that the hierarchical structures of Member States is more even than expected. Moreover, the analysis have provided evidence that the integration process of the European Union had a mixed impact on the way in which people gathered across the territory of the EU. In details, the entry into force of the Schengen treaty has promoted a process of agglomeration of the population in the larger cities. On the contrary, the introduction of euro has led people to spread over the territory.