Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to find and discuss the data that fit the assumptions of the theoretical model within Europe, as well as to present some noteworthy statistics. Section 9.1 explores the European integration process, while Sect. 9.2 discusses the appropriate variable selection. Section 9.3 presents an explorative analysis and some initial conclusions that accompany the subsequent econometric analysis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
In fact, the world economy offers a number of possibilities for testing the superordinate economy, one of which could be the world economy itself, where in the age of globalisation the national economies would represent the superordinate economy’s regions.
- 2.
There have been two additional territorial changes: in 1985, when Greenland departed from the EC, and in 1990, when Germany unified.
- 3.
The European Single Market was extended to the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway via the European Economic Area (EEA), but not to Switzerland; Switzerland is, however, linked to the EEA via Swiss-EU bilateral agreements.
- 4.
These are vividly reflected in the ever-fluctuating exchange rates of British pound and continental currencies.
- 5.
To illustrate a somewhat extreme example, due to political events in 1997 a methodological change in quantifying output of Austria’s hospitals became necessary; as a consequence Austria’s real and nominal GDP growth in 1997 measured in euros were almost equal, while at the same time small changes in the exchange rate led to a statistical decrease in Austria’s GDP when measured in ECU.
- 6.
The number of gainfully active persons is identical to the number of persons who are either employed or self-employed.
- 7.
The case is similar for the Netherlands; in addition, data is missing for Norway and Switzerland for all years, and the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom for some years.
- 8.
Some small countries are an exception here, the most relevant example being Luxembourg.
- 9.
The subsidies for the region of Lüneburg, which borders Hamburg, is the most famous (or infamous) example of this.
- 10.
This issue has been taken up in a number of noteworthy contemporary novels such as “Indecision” by Benjamin Kunkel (2005, Random House) and “Generazione Mille Euro” (“Generation 1,000 Euro”) by Antonio Incorvaia and Alessandro Rimassa (2006, Rizzoli).
- 11.
Note that when taking the ratio of working-age population with tertiary education to people working within the region, a value of over 100% is possible.
- 12.
This rather rough statement can be checked by comparing the respective countries’ output levels: for instance, the ratio of Hungary to Austria of GDP per capita at current prices stood at 30% in 1970 and fell to 15% in 1995 (data: United Nations), in PPP stood at 58% in 1900, 52% in 1970, and 32% in 1995 (data: Maddison 2003).
- 13.
This rounded number corresponds to the number given in the first column, fourth row in Table 9.2.
- 14.
Due to the fact that economies usually grow, one should take logarithms of measures: If N regions have differing initial output levels but all grow at the same rate during observation period, one will observe an increase in the variance although the relative gaps remain the same. In contrast, if one takes logarithmised values, the variance will stay equal as well.
- 15.
See the introduction to Chap. 4 for a discussion.
References
European Council (1996) Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community. Official Journal of the European Communities L 310
European Council (2006) Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006. Official Journal of the European Union L 210/25
Eurostat (2007) Eurostat regional yearbook 2007. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg
Maddison A (2003) The world economy – historical statistics Reprint 2006. OECD, Paris
Mankiw NG, Romer D, Weil DN (May 1992) A contribution to the empirics of economic growth. Q J Econ 107:407–437
Schürmann C, Talaat A (2000) Towards a European peripherality index. Berichte aus dem Institut für Raumplanung 53,
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sardadvar, S. (2011). Regions, Variables and Data. In: Economic Growth in the Regions of Europe. Contributions to Economics, vol 1. Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2637-1_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2637-1_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Physica-Verlag HD
Print ISBN: 978-3-7908-2636-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-7908-2637-1
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)