The firm geography of Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans

Abstract

Over the past three decades, significant socio-economic transformations have reshaped the post-socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe. This study examines the geography of firms with over 10 employees across 15 countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Using data from over 300,000 firms, the analysis focused on firm size categories, turnover, and activity distribution. The research highlighted disparities between post-socialist and other countries, and it employed descriptive statistics and the framework of agglomeration economies to uncover nuanced spatial patterns. The findings revealed significant differences in business concentration and the functions of small and medium-sized cities, particularly in the regions without a European-scale metropolis, emphasising their role in regional economic and demographic sustainability.