In recent years, foreign labour has become an essential issue in Western Europe. Recent research suggests that foreign labour has implications for regional growth patterns and employment opportunities of native workers. Yet, few studies go into the dimension of the regional determinants of...

Population changes are decisive for growth performances. This has been shown in a number of country studies, using time series data. The analysis is here extended in two dimensions: 1) the importance of demographics for growth is taking in to account a regional dimension allowing for spatial...

Regional imbalances caused by and effecting demographic change are unevenly spread between the Nordic countries. A common threat is that of labour shortage, which is already experienced in certain sectors in particular regions and forecasted on a broader scale in the future. The also common...

It has been argued, that economic integration casts serious doubts on the efficiency of welfare state policies and the ability to finance these. As integration proceeds, factors of production become more mobile and less vulnerable to local shocks, and integration at the same time results in a...

New public economics has emphasized the importance of using market solutions in the public sector. Public-private partnerships and marketization through tender calls have been among the instruments of this policy trend. The regional and local effects of such policies are highly relevant for...

National governments often choose to delegate tasks and burdens to lower levels in a comprehensive system of administration. Local and regional governance thereby becomes an important factor in policy implementation. This paper focuses on the incentive problem that follows from such a delegation...