Regional dynamics in EU11

This chapter analyses the dynamics of regional disparities in the member states that joined the European Union in or after 2004, excluding Cyprus and Malta (EU11). The analysis shows that while differences between countries have been shrinking, regional disparities in GDP per capita and employment rates within countries have been increasing. In particular, there is evidence of a strong and growing divide between urban and rural areas, at least until the 2008 crisis. Consistently, population dynamics also point to increasing within-country agglomeration, with the areas that had lower income per capita in 2000 (prevailingly rural) experiencing very sizeable population outflows over the subsequent 15 years. While a region's prosperity depends on and affects that of neighbour regions, this spatial dependency has been declining over time, with geographical clusters of prosperous (poor) regions breaking up into more a granular spatial organisation.