The new regional map of Europe

Abstract

This paper examines patterns of production and population change at the regional level across the whole of Western Europe between 1960 and 1990. It is based largely on the analysis of a regional dataset containing details of GDP, economic structure, employment and population change. The main aims are to monitor the extent and nature of regional differentiation, to examine the trajectories of the different types of regions and to explore the degree of correspondence between the regional economic trends and the changing patterns of population distribution. A 13-fold regional typology is derived from an examination of the production structures of 516 regions. This typology is used alongside country-level analyses to explore the trends towards convergence and divergence in regional economies since 1960 and to examine the degree of linkage between each structural features and the patterns of population redistribution. The relative lack of sensitivity of migration to the continuing economic differentials in the 1980s is linked to several factors, including more general unemployment, changes in labour-market processes and the increasing role of non-employment factors in decisions about where to live. These, together with the emergence of new economic, demographic and political developments, suggest that the forces now operating on the regional map of Europe are now very different from those of 30 years ago. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.