Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Regional Economic Resilience: Review and Outlook

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Economic Resilience in Regions and Organisations

Part of the book series: Studien zur Resilienzforschung ((STRE))

Abstract

This chapter aims, first, to trace the advancement of resilience thinking in regional science and economic geography. Second, to highlight the achievements but also some shortcomings of past research on regional economic resilience, and third, to outline elements of a future research agenda suited to contemporary challenges. The in-depth analysis of the literature suggests, that much progress has been made in defining regional resilience and in identifying determinants. However, the paper proposes that future research may benefit greatly from diversifying the focus of empirical studies and incorporating socio-economic differences between urban and rural areas and urbanisation externalities into the analysis of regional resilience.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) is a hierarchical system for dividing up the economic territory of the EU in three spatial levels in order to create coherent European regional statistics.

  2. 2.

    The urban-rural divide is an oversimplification of the spatial economy. In reality, we observe an urban-rural continuum and linkages in space, which make areas interdependent (Partridge et al. 2007). Being aware of this oversimplification, this paper still uses the urban-rural dichotomy as a metaphor to distinguish between two types of economic space.

  3. 3.

    Discussing the sociological literature on urban and rural differences, albeit interesting to explore with regard to regional economic resilience, is beyond the scope of this paper.

References

  • Adger, W. N. (2000): Social and ecological resilience: are they related? Progress in human geography, 24 (3). 347–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amin, A. (1999): An institutionalist perspective on regional economic development. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 23 (2). 365–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balland, P.-A., Jara-Figueroa, C., Petralia, S., Steijn, M., Rigby, D., Hidalgo, C. A. (2018): Complex economic activities concentrate in large cities. arXiv preprint arXiv:1807.07887.

  • Balland, P.-A.; Rigby, D. (2017): The geography of complex knowledge. Economic Geogra- phy, 93 (1). 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balland, P.-A., Rigby, D., Boschma, R. (2015): The technological resilience of US cities. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 8 (2). 167–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barca, F., McCann, P., Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2012): The case for regional development intervention: place-based versus place-neutral approaches. Journal of Regional Science, 52 (1). 134– 152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boschma, R. (2015): Towards an evolutionary perspective on regional resilience. Regional Studies, 49 (5). 733–751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosworth, G.; Venhorst, V. (2017): Economic linkages between urban and rural regions– what’s in it for the rural? Regional Studies, 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brakman, S., Garretsen, H., van Marrewijk, C. (2015): Regional resilience across Europe: on urbanisation and the initial impact of the great recession. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 8 (2). 225–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bristow, G. (2010): Resilient regions: re-’place’ing regional competitiveness. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 3 (1). 153–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bristow, G.; Healy, A. (2014): Regional resilience: an agency perspective. Regional Studies, 48 (5). 923–935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bristow, G.; Healy, A. (2018): Innovation and regional economic resilience: an exploratory analysis. The Annals of Regional Science, 60 (2). 265–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cainelli, G., Ganau, R., Modica, M. (2018): Industrial relatedness and regional resilience in the European union. Papers in Regional Science. 98 (2). 755-778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capello, R., Caragliu, A., Fratesi, U. (2015): Spatial heterogeneity in the costs of the economic crisis in Europe: are cities sources of regional resilience? Journal of Economic Geography, 15 (5). 951–972.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassiers, T.; Kesteloot, C. (2012). Socio-spatial inequalities and social cohesion in European cities. Urban Studies, 49 (9). 1909–1924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cellini, R.; Torrisi, G. (2014): Regional resilience in Italy: a very long-run analysis. Regional Studies, 48 (11). 1779–1796.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christopherson, S., Michie, J., Tyler, P. (2010): Regional resilience: theoretical and empirical perspectives. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 3 (1). 3–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crespo, J., Suire, R., Vicente, J. (2013): Lock-in or lock-out? how structural properties of knowledge networks affect regional resilience. Journal of Economic Geography, 14 (1). 199–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuadrado-Roura, J. R.; Maroto, A. (2016): Unbalanced regional resilience to the economic crisis in Spain: a tale of specialisation and productivity. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 9 (1). 153–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, D.J. (2010): The applicability of the concept of resilience to social systems: some sources of optimism and nagging doubts. Society and Natural Resources, 23 (12). 1135–1149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, S. (2011): Regional resilience in the 2008–2010 downturn: comparative evidence from European countries. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 4 (3). 369–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Caro, P. (2017): Testing and explaining economic resilience with an application to Italian regions. Papers in Regional Science, 96 (1). 93–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dijkstra, L., Garcilazo, E., McCann, P. (2015): The effects of the global financial crisis on European regions and cities. Journal of Economic Geography, 15 (5). 935–949.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diodato, D.; Weterings, A.B. (2014): The resilience of regional labour markets to economic shocks: Exploring the role of interactions among firms and workers. Journal of Economic Geography, 15 (4). 723–742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doran, J.; Fingleton, B. (2013): US metropolitan area resilience: insights from dynamic spatial panel estimation. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. 50 (1). 111-132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duranton, G.; Puga, D. (2004): Micro-foundations of urban agglomeration economies. In: Henderson, J.V.; Thisse, J.F. (eds.): Handbook of regional and urban economics, Vol. 4. Elsevier: 2063–2117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim, E. (1893): The division of labor in society. Trans. WD Halls. New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eraydin, A. (2015): The role of regional policies along with the external and endogenous factors in the resilience of regions. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 9 (1). 217– 234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (2014): Investment for jobs and growth: Promoting development and good governance in EU regions and cities. Sixth report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion. Luxemburg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, R.; Karecha, J. (2014): Staying on top: Why is Munich so resilient and successful? European Planning Studies, 22 (6). 1259–1279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evenhuis, E. (2016): The political economy of adaptation and resilience in old industrial regions: A comparative study of south Saarland and Teesside. Dissertation. University of Southampton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evenhuis, E. (2017): New directions in researching regional economic resilience and adaptation. Geography Compass, 11 (11).

    Google Scholar 

  • Faggian, A., Gemmiti, R., Jaquet, T., Santini, I. (2018): Regional economic resilience: the experience of the Italian local labor systems. The Annals of Regional Science, 60 (2). 393–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fingleton, B., Garretsen, H., Martin, R. (2012): Recessionary shocks and regional employment: evidence on the resilience of UK regions. Journal of Regional Science, 52 (1). 109–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Florida, R. (2003): Cities and the creative class. City & Community, 2 (1). 3–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Florida, R., Gulden, T., Mellander, C. (2008): The rise of the mega-region. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 1 (3). 459–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, K.A. (2007): A case study approach to understanding regional resilience. Berkeley Institute of Urban and Regional Development. Working Paper 2007–08. University of California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fratesi, U.; Perucca, G. (2018): Territorial capital and the resilience of European regions. The Annals of Regional Science, 60 (2). 241–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fratesi, U.; Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2016): The crisis and regional employment in Europe: what role for sheltered economies? Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 9 (1). 33–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gertler, M.S. (2010): Rules of the game: the place of institutions in regional economic change. Regional Studies, 44 (1). 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gherhes, C., Vorley, T., Williams, N. (2017): Entrepreneurship and local economic resilience: the impact of institutional hysteresis in peripheral places. Small Business Economics, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giannakis, E., Bruggeman, A. (2015): Economic crisis and regional resilience: evidence from Greece. Papers in Regional Science, 96 (3). 451–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giannakis, E.; Bruggeman, A. (2017): Determinants of regional resilience to economic crisis: a European perspective. European Planning Studies, 25 (8). 1394–1415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E. (2011): Cities, productivity, and quality of life. Science, 333 (6042). 592–594.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E.L. (2005): Reinventing Boston: 1630–2003. Journal of Economic Geography, 5 (2). 119–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E.L. (2012): The challenge of urban policy. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 31 (1). 111–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, E.L.; Steinberg, B. M. (2017). Transforming cities: does urbanization promote democratic change? Regional Studies, 51 (1). 58–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gong, H.; Hassink, R. (2016): Regional resilience: The critique revisited. Chapter prepared for the edited book by T. Vorley and N. Williams (eds): Creating resilient economies: entrepreneurship, growth and development in uncertain times.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grabher, G. (1993): The weakness of strong ties; the lock-in of regional development in the Ruhr area. In: Grabher, G. (ed.): The Embedded Firm: On the Socioeconomics of Industrial Networks, London & New York: Routledge, 255–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groot, S. P., Mohlmann, J. L., Garretsen, J., de Groot, H. L. (2011): The crisis sensitivity of European countries and regions: stylized facts and spatial heterogeneity. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 4 (3). 437–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, Y., Goetz, S. J. (2019): Predicting US county economic resilience from industry input-output accounts. Applied Economics, 51 (19). 2019-2028.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, D. (1978): The urban process under capitalism: a framework for analysis. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 2 (1-3). 101–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassink, R. (2010): Regional resilience: a promising concept to explain differences in regional economic adaptability? Cambridge journal of regions, economy and society, 3 (1). 45–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hidalgo, C.A., Balland, P.-A., Boschma, R., Delgado, M., Feldman, M., Frenken, K., Glaeser, E., He, C., Kogler, D.F., Morrison, A., Neffke F., Rigby, D., Stern, S., Zheng, S.; Zhu, S. (2018): The Principle of Relatedness. In: Morales, A.J. et al. (eds.): Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Complex Systems. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holling, C. S. (1973): Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 4 (1). 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, X.; Hassink, R. (2017): Exploring adaptation and adaptability in uneven economic resilience: a tale of two Chinese mining regions. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 10 (3). 527–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudec, O., Reggiani, A., Å iserová, M. (2017). Resilience capacity and vulnerability: A joint analysis with reference to Slovak urban districts. Cities. 73. 24-35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iammarino, S., Rodríguez-Pose, A., Storper, M. (2018): Regional inequality in Europe: evidence, theory and policy implications. Journal of Economic Geography. 19 (2). 273-298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kakderi, C.; Tasopoulou, A. (2017): Regional economic resilience: the role of national and regional policies. European Planning Studies, 25 (8). 1435–1453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitsos, A.; Bishop, P. (2018): Economic resilience in Great Britain: the crisis impact and its determining factors for local authority districts. The Annals of Regional Science, 60 (2). 329–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitsos, A., Carrascal-Incera, A.; Ortega-Argilés, R. (2019). The Role of Embeddedness on Regional Economic Resilience: Evidence from the UK. Sustainability, 11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lagravinese, R. (2014): Regional resilience and rising gaps north-south: the case of Italy. Department of Economics, Roma Tre University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, T. (2012): How do cities and regions adapt to socio-economic crisis? towards an institutionalist approach to urban and regional resilience. Raumforschung und Raumordnung, 70 (4). 285–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D.; Derickson, K. D. (2013). From resilience to resourcefulness: A critique of resilience policy and activism. Progress in Human Geography, 37 (2). 253–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R. (2012): Regional economic resilience, hysteresis and recessionary shocks. Journal of Economic Geography, 12 (1). 1–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R.; Sunley, P. (2007): Complexity thinking and evolutionary economic geography. Journal of Economic Geography, 7 (5). 573–601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R.; Sunley, P. (2015): On the notion of regional economic resilience: conceptualization and explanation. Journal of Economic Geography, 15 (1). 1–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R., Sunley, P., Gardiner, B., Tyler, P. (2016): How regions react to recessions: Resilience and the role of economic structure. Regional Studies, 50 (4). 561–585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCann, P. (2013): Modern urban and regional economics. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD – Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (2011): Building resilient regions for stronger economies. OECD Publishing, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Östh, J., Dolciotti, M., Reggiani, A., Nijkamp, P. (2017): Social capital, resilience and accessibility in urban systems: a study on Sweden. Networks and Spatial Economics, 1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Östh, J., Reggiani, A., Galiazzo, G. (2015): Spatial economic resilience and accessibility: a joint perspective. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 49. 148–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Overman, H. G., Rice, P., Venables, A. J. (2010): Economic linkages across space. Regional Studies, 44 (1). 17–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Partridge, M., Bollman, R. D., Olfert, M. R., Alasia, A. (2007): Riding the wave of urban growth in the countryside: Spread, backwash, or stagnation? Land Economics, 83 (2). 128–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pendall, R., Foster, K. A., Cowell, M. (2010): Resilience and regions: building understanding of the metaphor. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 3 (1). 71–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrakos, G.; Psycharis, Y. (2015): The spatial aspects of economic crisis in Greece. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 9 (1). 137–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pike, A., Dawley, S., Tomaney, J. (2010): Resilience, adaptation and adaptability. Cambridge journal of regions, economy and society, 3 (1). 59–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pimm, S. L. (1984): The complexity and stability of ecosystems. Nature. 307. 321-326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. (2001): Social capital: Measurement and consequences. Canadian journal of policy research, 2 (1). 41–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reggiani, A., De Graaff, T., Nijkamp, P. (2002): Resilience: an evolutionary approach to spatial economic systems. Networks and Spatial Economics, 2 (2). 211–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2013): Do institutions matter for regional development? Regional Studies, 47 (7). 1034–1047.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2018). The revenge of the places that don’t matter (and what to do about it). Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 11 (1). 189–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez-Pose, A.; Crescenzi, R. (2008): Mountains in a flat world: why proximity still matters for the location of economic activity. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 1 (3). 371–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez-Pose, A.; Fratesi, U. (2007): Regional business cycles and the emergence of sheltered economies in the southern periphery of Europe. Growth and Change, 38 (4). 621–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romer, D. (2001): Advanced Macroeconomics. McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez-Zamora, P., Gallardo-Cobos, R., Cen ̃a-Delgado, F. (2014): Rural areas face the economic crisis: Analyzing the determinants of successful territorial dynamics. Journal of Rural Studies, 35. 11–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sassen, S. (2011). Cities in a world economy. Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sensier, M., Bristow, G., Healy, A. (2016): Measuring regional economic resilience across Europe: operationalizing a complex concept. Spatial Economic Analysis, 11 (2). 128–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmie, J.; Martin, R. (2010). The economic resilience of regions: towards an evolutionary approach. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 3 (1). 27–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen, J. F. (2016): Rural–urban differences in bonding and bridging social capital. Regional Studies, 50 (3). 391–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swanstrom, T. (2008): Regional resilience: A critical examination of the ecological framework. Working Paper, Institute of Urban and Regional Development 2008–07, Berkeley, California

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomaney, J. (2014): Region and place I: Institutions. Progress in Human Geography, 38 (1). 131–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tonnies, F. (1887): Community and society. Harper & Row. New York, NY, Gemeinschaft und Gemeinschaft, originally published in German.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wink, R. (2012): Economic resilience as the evolutionary concept for post-industrial regions: The case of Leipzig and Halle. Journal of Economics & Management, 10. 59–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D. A.; Bramwell, A. (2008): Innovation, creativity and governance: Social dynamics of economic performance in city-regions. Innovation, 10 (2-3).170–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2009): World development report: Reshaping economic geography. The World Bank, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, J., Boschma, R., Andersson, M. (2018): Resilience in the European Union: The effect of the 2008 crisis on the ability of regions in Europe to develop new industrial specializations. Industrial and Corporate Change, 27 (1). 15-47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

    Simone Maria Grabner

Authors
  1. Simone Maria Grabner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simone Maria Grabner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty for Business Administration and Industrial Engineering, HTWK Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Rüdiger Wink

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Grabner, S.M. (2021). Regional Economic Resilience: Review and Outlook. In: Wink, R. (eds) Economic Resilience in Regions and Organisations. Studien zur Resilienzforschung. Springer, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33079-8_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation