Specialisation and concentration from a twofold geographical perspective: evidence from Europe

Abstract

The paper investigates European location patterns during a period of economic integration, seeking to identify the distinct roles played by the different geographical levels. The evolution of localisation in Europe proved much more complicated empirically than the predictions based on the Krugman's hypothesis. Using Eurostat regional data for the period 1985-2001, the paper shows that while manufacturing employment trickled down among regions, after the completion of the European Single Market a slight agglomeration occurred, but only across national boundaries. National specialisation has emerged particularly in the EU founding member states. Moreover, there is evidence of an increasing polarisation of the North/South divide closely connected with the growing concentration of high-tech sectors. Despite these apparently contradictory findings – that domestic developments are diverging from international ones – the paper shows that, since relative measures were used, specialisation and concentration have moved in parallel on each single geographical scale.