Introduction. Concepts, Theory and Methods: The Liability of Smallness -- Country Size in Regional Economics -- Measures of Regional Inequality for Small Countries -- Investigating Spatial Patterns of Income Disparities Using Coordinate Transformations and GIS Mapping. Empirical Evidence: Regional Employment Disparities in Belgium -- Regional Income Convergence and Inequality in Boom and Bust (Finland) -- Regional Disparities in Ireland -- The Persistence of Regional Unemployment Disparities in the Netherlands -- The Dynamics of Regional Disparities in a Small Country (Slovenia) -- Interregional Disparities in Israel -- Does Decentralisation Matter to Regional Inequalities? Regional Inequalities in the EU Enlargement Countries. Policy Issues: Has the Financial Economy Increased Regional Disparities in Switzerland over the Last Three Decades?- Regional Policy Lessons from Finland -- The Globalisation of Austrian Regions -- Innovation Policy
Summary
This book challenges the common perception that significant regional disparities do not exist in small countries. As small developed countries become increasingly competitive and their economic structures resemble those of the large, a re-assessment of the regional consequences of these changes is of timely importance. Regional Disparities in Small Countries presents a systematic discussion of the unique theoretical, methodological and measurement challenges in analyzing regional inequalities in small countries and a series of empirical analyses addressing the issue of regional convergence and divergence in these countries. With contributions from leading regional scientists and economists, this book also examines the policy experience of small countries in closing regional gaps and the effectiveness of public interventions in this field. see Reviews
