Regional inequalities in the Visegrad Group countries, Serbia and Croatia (original) (raw)

Measuring Regional Inequality: An Index of Socio-Economic Pressure for Serbia

2012

This paper analyses the Serbian socio-economic spatial differentiation via a purely quantitative approach. In Serbia, huge development disparities between north and south, urban and rural as well as central and peripheral areas are obvious. Getting to the bottom of these spatial differences is one of the fundamental scientific and planning challenges of the region. This question of unevenly distributed living conditions is examined on the basis of factor analyses of secondary statistical data of the Serbian municipalities. The intention thereby was to identify the distribution of regional or spatial inequality by correlating an amount of 25 reliable variables. Combining the spheres of population structure, economy, employment, infrastructure, pre-school education and medical care an overall Index of Socio-Economic Pressure is proposed to detect patterns of regional development on the Serbian territory.

Regional disparities and the ways of their measurement: The case of the visegrad four countries

2011

Real convergence of countries within European Union is measured mostly at the national level by the indicator of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Generally, countries with relatively low GDP per capita should catch-up with richer ones and this has become the main objective of post-communist countries at the beginning of the transition process. However, when we look at the regional level and regional GDP per capita data in these countries one can assume that the intensity of real convergence strongly differs among regions and disparities between regions still prevail. The paper attempts to identify factors responsible for persistence of regional disparities in the Visegrad Four countries. In the paper, available Eurostat NUTS 3 statistical data were used for analysis of economic disparities development in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. The paper has two main parts. In the first theoretical part approaches to regional disparities and their measurement on the basis of indexes are provided. The second, empirical, part contains description of the main trends in regional development of Visegrad Four countries. This is followed by comparison of these trends in the Visegrad Four regions. Calculations suggested conclusion that the regional disparities between regions are growing.Tikroji Europos Sajungos šalių konvergencija nacionaliniu lygiu dažniausiai matuojama bendruoju vidaus produktu (BVP), tenkančiu vienam gyventojui. Apskritai pagrindinis pokomunistinių šalių tikslas pereinamojo proceso pradžioje – pasivyti turtingesnes šalis pagal BVP vienam gyventojui. Tačiau pažvelgus į duomenis, matyti, kad regioninių skirtumų vis dar yra. Straipsnyje siekiama nustatyti veiksnius, nuo kurių priklauso keturių Vyšegrado šalių regioniniai skirtumai. Šiame straipsnyje, naudojant ”Eurostat“ NUTS statistinius duomenis, buvo analizuojami Čekijos, Vengrijos, Lenkijos ir Slovakijos ekonominio vystymosi skirtumai. Straipsnis padalytas į dvi pagrindines dalis: pirmojoje dalyje išdėstyti regioninių skirtumų matavimo pagrindai, antrojoje, empirinėje, dalyje aprašomos pagrindinės keturių Vyšegrado šalių regioninės plėtros tendencijos. Šios tendencijos palygintos. Skaičiavimai atskleidė, kad regioniniai skirtumai didėja.

Dynamics of regional disparities in Slovakia in 2001 and 2011

Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, 2018

This paper is focused on the presentation of developmental tendencies of regional disparities in Slovakia in 2001 and 2011 from the point of view of selected and relevant socio-economic and demographic indicators. To test the divergence hypothesis of the regional disparities at a district level, these are evaluated by using multidimensional analysis of 14 indicators. The overall level and development of regional disparities are measured with the help of the methods of descriptive statistics and multi-criteria assessments (integrated index). The results confirm the hypothesis of divergence development as the basic tendency of regional development in Slovakia. The presented research has documented evident time shortening of significant changes in regions drifting towards divergent development. Rapid and, up to now, unprecedented changes (employment and wages growth, enterprise development, foreign investments increase, etc.), are evident and reflected in the majority of indicators – h...

Regional inequalities within the Visegrad group over the years 2000–2018

European Spatial Research and Policy

In the present study the authors examined the spatial disparities of the Visegrad four countries to see whether the lasting cooperation of the four countries resulted in harmonious economic development or increasing gaps between the years 2000 and 2018. Based on the research results it can be concluded that regional disparities between core and periphery regions of V4 countries still have not been eliminated to a significant extent. Despite the fact that the Visegrad Group has been in the EU for 18 years, the catching-up of its regions occurred with various speed, and no harmonised development can be observed within the Group.

An Approach to the Evaluation of Regional Inequalities: a Case Study of Lithuanian Counties

Intellectual economics, 2009

The indicators for the evaluation of regional development processes are influenced by a great number of interrelated factors. While investigating sustainable or unsustainable growth, the relation between employment and workplaces, the alternation of the quality of life and the status of health, etc. must be taken into consideration. It is quite complicated to find an appropriate evaluation mechanism for the recognition of regional inequalities. As the al¬ternation of the processes of restructuring and development is quite fast, new relationships, which are observed in the period of the contemporary crisis, influence new types of the consequences of economic development as well as the methods for its evaluation. The paper aims to assess the extent of regional inequalities by using an approach to the evaluation of some differences among developing regional areas based on the NUT 3 level. The results of the appli¬cation of the mentioned methodology are demonstrated by evaluating the pr...

Analysis of regional income inequalities in Hungary between 2010 and 2019

21st International Scientific Conference Engineering for Rural Development Proceedings

Research on social and economic development and regional competitiveness has long been a high priority area in the social sciences, both domestically and globally. Many dominant international models relate changes in regional competitiveness to the volume of investment, physical capital and improvements in the income situation of citizens. This suggests that the promotion and implementation of investment has the greatest impact on regional development, as it generates technological innovation and innovation in order to raise the skills of the available labour force, employ human resources at higher wages and thus raise living standards. In conclusion, the Hungarian regional competitiveness strategy should help improve the living standards of people living in local areas, so that life can become more attractive in regions that are currently less competitive from an economic point of view and can be considered peripheral. To achieve this goal, it is necessary not only to level out the living standards of those living in these areas and to improve certain competitiveness indicators, but also to change attitudes, so that income levels can be improved and territorial disparities reduced in the future. In this study, in order to show regional development disparities, we examine the population income inequality of the domestic districts (LAU1) for the period 2010-2019. Our aim is to show the income spatial structure and to explore the change in inequalities over time. In addition, in the context of the change in income relations, we delineate the competitive and less competitive income areas of Hungary and their interrelationships.

Anatomy of Regional Disparities in the Slovak Republic

IMF Working Papers, 2009

The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate. This paper examines economic growth and various dimensions of regional disparities in Slovakia. We find that regional disparities in the levels of GDP per capita, labor productivity, and labor utilization have widened since 2000, coinciding with the time that Slovakia initiated negotiations on EU accession. Notwithstanding σ-divergence in the levels, there was conditional β-convergence in the growth rates of GDP per capita and labor productivity. Improvements in total factor productivity were the main engine of growth of GDP in all regions. Sustaining growth and reducing disparities will require increasing the labor utilization ratio and improving the structural and policy determinants of productivity in the eastern regions. The main policy priorities are to improve transportation infrastructure, enhance cost competitiveness through greater regional differentiation in wages and further decentralization of collective bargaining, and increase accumulation of human capital. JEL Classification Numbers: O18, O47, O52

Regional Disparities and Their Mitigation in Slovakia: Selected Features and Approaches

Ro om mâ ân nă ă d de e G Ge eo og gr ra af fi ie e P Po ol li it ti ic că ă Year X XV VI I, no. 2 2, N No ov ve em mb be er r 2 Abstract: The presented paper pays attention to the regional disparities, which are one the current issues faced not only by geographically large but also smaller countries. Even though our study discusses regional disparities only in Slovakia, its main goal is to provide some general conclusions and recommendations, which could initiate a potential international discussion in terms of exchange of good practices solving the presented issue. The first part of paper deals with basic terminology and justifies the meaning of the examination of regional disparities. In the second part, based on selected indicators, we identify the rate of regional disparities in Slovakia and we examine the trends in the development of the rate of regional disparities during the years 2000-2012. The last part of paper examines the use of regional policy as a tool for mitigation of regional disparities in Slovakia.

Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Regional Economic Disparities at District Level in Serbia

Teme, 2021

Starting from the fact that pronounced differences in the level of development of regions within a particular country can have a serious and significant (negative) impact on its socio-political stability, as well as the performance of the national economy as a whole, it is very important to create conditions for ensuring balanced and sustainable regional development. Due to its pronounced multidimensional nature, the analysis of regional economic disparities is a very complex and statistically demanding task. In this paper, a multivariate methodological framework for the classification of districts in Serbia according to the achieved level of economic development, into internally-homogeneous / externally-heterogeneous groups, based primarily on the application of hierarchical agglomerative clustering procedure and examination of interdependencies between five selected relevant economic indicators, is presented. The statistical validity of the obtained "optimal" classification of districts is additionally tested and confirmed with the results of one-factor multivariate analysis of variance. The resulting categorization clearly and unequivocally confirms the presence of pronounced inequalities regarding the achieved level of economic development between NUTS 3 level territorial units in Serbia, and the existence of regional economic polarization, primarily in direction "developed northundeveloped south".