This paper tries to give a better understanding of the convergence process among the regions of the EU. It focuses on the role of structural change and infrastructures in this process. First we analyse the convergence of production, labour and productivity among the European Union (EU) regions for the period 1980-96. We then study the impact of structural change in this process. The second part of this article deals with infrastructure, which - since the beginning of the application of EU regional policy - has been one of the main instruments for generating cohesion among EU countries and regions, and was one of the determinants of regional growth and convergence for three periods, namely: 1970-80, 1980-86 and 1988-94. The main findings are: first, that convergence seems to be a complex process, in which structural change is a relevant force; and, second, that infrastructure could be one of the factors that fosters regional growth and convergence.
Abramovitz, M.
(1986) ‘Catching Up, Forging Ahead and Falling Behind’, Journal of Economic History46: 385-406.
2.
Armstrong, H.
(1995) ‘An Appraisal of the Evidence from Cross-sectional Analysis of the Regional Growth Process within the European Union’, in H.W. Armstrong and R.W. Vickerman (eds) Convergence and Divergence among European Regions, European Research in Regional Science, No. 5, pp. 40-65. London: Pion.
3.
Aschauer, D.A.
(1989) ‘Is Public Expenditure Productive?’, Journal of Monetary Economics23: 177-200.
4.
Barro, R.
and Sala-i-Martín, X. (1991) ‘Convergence Across States and Regions’, Brooking Papers of Economic Activity1: 107-182.
5.
Barro, R.
and Sala-i-Martín, X. (1992) ‘Convergence’, Journal of Political Economy100(2): 223-251.
6.
Berndt, E.
and Hansson, B. (1992) ‘Measuring the Contribution of Public Infrastructure Capital in Sweden’, The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Supplement: 151-168.
7.
Biehl, D.
(1980) ‘Determinants of Regional Disparities and the Role of Public Finance’, Public Finance1(35): 44-71.
8.
Biehl, D
(dir.) (1986) The Contribution of Infrastructure to Regional Development. Luxembourg: Commission of the European Communities.
9.
Biehl, D. (1988) ‘Infraestructuras y desarrollo regional’, Papeles de Economía Española 35: 293-310.
10.
Button, K
, (1998) ‘Infrastructure Investment, Endogenous Growth and Economic Convergence’, The Annals of Regional Science32: 145-162.
11.
Cazzavillan, G.
(1993) ‘Public Capital and Economic Growth in European Countries: a Panel Data Approach’, Working Paper 93.11. Venice: Dipartamento di Scienze Economiche, Universita degli Studi di Venezia.
12.
Commission of the European Communities (CEC)
(1987) Third Report on the Socio-economic Situation and Development in the Regions of the Community (Third Periodic Report). Brussels: CEC.
13.
Commission of the European Communities (CEC)
(1988) Peripheral Regions in a Community of Twelve States. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
14.
Commisssion of the European Communities (CEC)
(1993) New Location Factors and Mobile Investment in Europe. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
15.
Crowder, W.
and Himarios, D. (1997) ‘Balanced Growth and Public Capital: an Empirical Analysis’, Applied Economics29: 1045-1053.
16.
Cuadrado, J.R.
, Mancha, T. and Garrido, R. (2000) ‘Regional Productivity Patterns in Europe: an Alternative Approach’, The Annals of Regional Science34: 365-384.
17.
De La Fuente, A. (1996) ‘Notas sobre la economía del crecimiento, II: ¿Convergencia?’, WP 51.96. Barcelona: Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona and CSIC.
18.
Dewhurst, J.H.L.
and Mutis-Gaitan, H. (1995) ‘Varying Speeds of Regional GDP Per Capita Convergence in the European Union’, in H.W. Armstrong and R.W. Vickerman (eds) Convergence and Divergence among European Regions, European Research in Regional Science, No. 5, pp. 40-65. London: Pion.
19.
Eberts, R.
(1986) ‘Estimating the Contribution of Urban Public Infrastructure to Regional Growth’, WP 8610. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
20.
Esteban, J.M. (1994) ‘La desigualdad interregional en Europa y en España: descripción y análisis’, in Crecimiento y convergencia regional en España y Europa, Vol. 2, pp. 13-82. Barcelona: Instituto de Análisis Económico-CSIC and Fundación de Economía Analítica.
21.
Evans, P.
and Karras, G. (1994) ‘Are Government Activities Productive? Evidence from a Panel of U.S. States’, The Review of Economics and Statistics76 (1): 1-11.
22.
Everaert, G.
and Heylen, F. (2001) ‘Public Capital and Productivity Growth: Evidence from Belgium, 1953-1996’, Economic Modelling18: 97-116.
23.
García-Milá, T.
, McGuire, T. and Porter, H. (1996) ‘The Effect of Public Capital in State-level Production Function Reconsidered’, The Review of Economics and Statistics78 (1): 177-180.
Holtz-Eakin, D.
(1994) ‘Public Sector Capital and the Productive Puzzle’, The Review of Economics and Statistics76 (1): 12-21.
26.
López-Bazo, E.
, Vayá, E., Mora, A. and Suriñach, J. (1999) ‘Regional Economic Dynamics and Convergence in the European Union’, The Annals of Regional Science22 (3): 1-28.
27.
Lucas, R:
(1988) ‘On the Mechanics of Economic Development’, Journal of Monetary Economics22: 3-42.
28.
Lynde, C.
and Richmond, J. (1993) ‘Public Capital and Long-run Costs in U.K. Manufacturing’, The Economic Journal103: 880-893.
29.
Magrini, S.
(1999) ‘The Evolution of Income Disparities among the Regions of the European Union’, Regional Science and Urban Economics29: 257-281.
30.
Mankiw, N.G.
, Romer, D. and Weil, D.N. (1992) ‘A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth’, Quarterly Journal of Economics108 (3): 737-773.
31.
Marimón, R. and Zilibotti, F. (1996) ‘¿Por qué hay menos empleo en España? Empleo ‘real’ vs. empleo ‘virtual’ en Europa’, in R. Miramón (ed.)La economía española: una visión diferente. Barcelona: Antoni Bosch.
32.
Mera, K.
(1973) ‘Regional Production Functions and Social Overhead Capital: an Analysis of the Japanese Case’, Regional and Urban Economics3 (2): 157-186.
33.
Moreno, R.
and Artis, M. (1996) ‘Evidence of the Contribution of Infrastructure to Regional Growth: Spatial and Sectoral Effects in the Spanish Case’, paper presented to the 36th Congress of the European Regional Science Association, Zurich, August.
34.
Munnell, A.
(1990) ‘How does Public Infrastructure Affect Regional Economic Performance?’, New England Economic ReviewSeptember-October: 11-32.
35.
Paci, A.
and Pigliaru, F. (1997) ‘Structural Change and Convergence: an Italian Regional Perspective’, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics8: 297-318.
36.
Pérez, F., Mas, M. and Uriel, E. (1995) El ‘stock’ de capital en España y sus comunidades autonómas. Bilbao: Fundación BBV.
37.
Prud’homme, R.
(1996) ‘Assessing the Role of Infrastructure in France by Means of Regionally Estimated Production Functions’, in D.F. Batten and C. Karlsson (eds) Infrastructure and the Complexity of Economic Development. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
38.
Quah, D.
(1993) ‘Galton’s Fallacy and Convergence in Models of Distribution Dynamics’, Scandinavian Journal of Economics95: 427-443.
39.
Quah, D.
(1996) ‘Empirics for Economic Growth and Convergence’, European Economic Review40 (6): 1353-1376.
40.
Ratner, J.B.
(1983) ‘Government Capital and the Production Function for U.S. Private Output’, Economic Letters13: 213-217.
41.
Rodríguez-Pose, A. (1999) ‘Convergence or Divergence? Type of Regional Responses to Socio-economic Change in Western Europe’, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 90 (4): 363-78.
42.
Romer, P.
(1986) ‘Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth’, Journal of Political Economy94 (5): 1002-1037.
43.
Romer, P.
(1990) ‘Endogenous Technical Change’, Journal of Political Economy98: S71-S102.
44.
Sala-i-Martín, X.
(1996a) ‘Regional Cohesion: Evidence and Theories of Regional Growth and Convergence’, European Economic Review40 (6): 1325-1352.
45.
Sala-i-Martín, X.
(1996b) ‘The Classical Approach to Convergence Analysis’, The Economic Journal106: 1019-1036.
46.
Seitz, H.
and Licht, G. (1995) ‘The Impact of Public Infrastructure Capital on Regional Manufacturing Production Cost’, Regional Studies29 (3): 231-240.
47.
Vanhoudt, P.
, Matha, T. and Smid, B. (2000) ‘How Productive are Capital Investments in Europe?’, European Investment Bank Paper5 (4): 81-106.
