Trends of centre-periphery polarization in Sverdlovsk region between 2008 and 2015

The significant imbalances in the economic space of a region, particularly between the centre and the periphery, present a serious challenge for economists, politicians and policy makers. Which measures are to be taken to remedy this situation? What should they be aimed at? These are the main questions to be addressed by the researchers and the government. To develop a competent policy it is essential to understand the dynamics of intra-regional variations in a long-time period. This article seeks to describe the trends in the centre-periphery polarization dynamics of a Russian region by analyzing the indicators of socio-economic development of its constituent municipalities. In their calculations the authors used the coefficient of centre-periphery variation and the methods of statistical analysis. The comparative analysis of the contribution made by peripheral and central municipalities to the key socio-economic indicators of the region in the period of 2008-2015 has shown that there is a growing centre-periphery polarization within Sverdlovsk region. The authors calculated the coefficient of centre-periphery variation for specific municipalities and the periphery in general by using the average volume indices of the retail turnover, investments in the main capital, new housing supply, the turnover of organizations and average monthly salary. The dynamics of this coefficient and that of the GRP in the given period demonstrates that while the centre-periphery gap is narrowed during the recession, it widens when the economic situation stabilizes. The scientific novelty of this research is achieved through identifying the main trends in the centre-periphery polarization within Sverdlovsk region at various stages of its socio-economic development. These research results can be applied to develop a regional policy aimed at reducing the centre-periphery differences and polarization of the regional economic space.This research was supported by RFBR, research project No.17-32-00016 ‘Responses of Peripheral Urban Districts to Changes in the Parameters of Regional Economy during the Implementation of the Local Government Reform’

Centre-periphery tensions regarding Central and Eastern Europe

Security issues have played an important role in widening the European Union with eight Central and Eastern European economies. The time since have proved these concerns to be correct. The present North-South tension within the Euro-zone highlights even more the West-East tensions inherent in the international relations since the Eastern enlargement. Various divisions – political and economic alike – have already been felt throughout the whole period of 2004-20122 (Balázs, J.1985, 1993, 1995, 1996). The worldwide economic crisis of 2008, however, has revealed even more the hidden tensions in these relations. The political events after the 2010 election in Hungary, those in Romania in 2012, the continuous anti-EU declarations of the Czech president present ample evidence to the fact: the enlargement has been based more on political wishes and will than on firm economic reasoning. The outcome is constant struggle between the parties to keep face and save the state of the European Union. Ongoing political and economic struggles around Greece, Portugal and Spain are other forms of fundamental problems within the European Union. It is worthwhile, hence to study the almost forgotten centre – periphery relations in this respect

Centre-Periphery Analysis About the Hungarian Public Road System

Although the European Union prefers and supports mostly railways in terms of transport investments, the public road network – with a special regard to motorways – is rather underdeveloped in Hungary. Motorway construction has recovered after the change of regime. It is important not only to simply construct motorways but to work on the improvement of accessibility by validating the aspects of regional development, and thus the amounts invested have much more benefits. This view has been gaining ground mainly in the past period in Hungary. This paper analyses the accessibility conditions in 2005 by applying geographical information science methods, and examines if a favourable accessibility implies clearly a favourable level of development. The study also analyses which areas need new transport investments taking into consideration the circumstances of accessibility in 2005. By comparing the level of economic development and accessibility, the article seeks to answer at last how much favourable basis the present economic situation is for new public road investments.

Centre – Periphery Relations Through the Trans-European Motorway in Turkey

European Spatial Development Perspective aims to decentralise the congestion from the centre of Europe to peripheral countries, by supporting development through urban corridors. ESDP also aims to decrease regional disparities to increase the overall competitiveness. Therefore urban corridors that connect the peripheral countries to European system have to be paid attention, to formulate policies of development in these countries, within harmony to European policies. Such a corridor in Turkey is the Trans – European Motorway (TEM) corridor. TEM, as a part of Trans European Networks (TENs) connects the two most important metropolitan centres of Turkey, Ankara and Istanbul to Europe, over an already existing route. The route also hosts many important industrial plants, universities and is one of the most heavily used inland corridor. This paper tries to analyse whether the development of the corridor is in accordance with the aims of the ESDP and other European Union spatial policies, and if the competitiveness of the centres in the corridor has increased and if centre-periphery disparities have decreased by using provincial level data such as the level of regional specialisation, GDP per capita, labour force, amount of public investment and other indicators, from present to year 1980, the date when Turkey changed its economic strategy and an integration to global system gained more importance.

The amazing synchronicity of the Global Development (the 1300s-1450s). An institutional approach to the globalization of the late Middle Ages

In a new approach to a long-ranging debate on the causes of the Late Medieval Debasement, we offer an institutional case-study of Russia and the Levant. Avoiding the complexity of the “upstream” financial/minting centres of Western Europe, we consider the effects of debasement “downstream”, in resource-exporting periphery countries. The paper shows the amazing synchronicity of the worldwide appearance of the early modern trading system, associated with capitalism or commercial society. The centre-periphery feedback loop amplified trends and pushed towards economic and institutional changes. This is illustrated via the Hanseatic-Novgorodian and Italian-Levantine trade – under growing market pressure of the exploding transaction costs, the oligopolies gradually dissolved and were replaced by the British-Dutch traders. In this case-study the late-medieval/early-modern monetary integration served as the transitional institutional base for reducing transaction costs during a dramatic global shift. Highlighting centre-periphery links, a new trading outpost of Arkhangelsk rose synchronously with Amsterdam

Testing economic geography: Italy, 1951-1991

A rural country in the 1950's, Italy is now a large industrial economy. In this paper we show through a joint analysis of spatial autocorrelation and concentration of employment that this development has not been driven by centre-periphery mechanisms.

How a 'top-performing' Asian school system formulates and implements policy: The case of Singapore

This article analyses the paradox inherent in the ‘top-performing’ yet tightly controlled Singapore education system. As government controls have increased in complexity, existing policymaking conceptual heuristics in accounting for centre-periphery relationships appear inadequate. It argues that more direct government control is being replaced by ‘steering through paternalism from close proximity’, reflecting a more subtle centre-periphery relationship in an Asian context.postprin

Medieval Novgorod in its Wider Context

Studies in centre/periphery relations

Centre?periphery model explaining the regional development of the informational and transitional society

This paper analyses regional development and uses centre-periphery models (CPM) of Friedmann, Gibbs and Hautamäki as a base for theoretical discussion. In general, these centre-periphery models foresee stabilisation and de-concentration of population and economic agents after the concentration stages. The spatial processes of 1970s and 1980s were rather well described by the CPM. However, the 1990s turned to a new concentration in several countries. Classical CPM that assumed the continuity of industrial society and relevant factors, both negative and positive for concentration, influencing regional structures and settlement became useless. Therefore, first topic in this paper analyses concentration-deconcentration factors of the informational society and tries to plant the classical approach in the new soil. Secondly, we set a hypothesis arguing that Baltic Countries have followed partly similar, but simultaneously rather different spatial development stages. If the Western economies enjoyed particularly after the World War II economic and political stability, then regional development of their Eastern counterparts has been influenced by several political convulsions. Besides, even the same results in urban development may have had rather different causes in the West and former East. The empirical part analyses the regional development of Estonia in a historic perspective. The description of past developments attempts to outline (1) influencial causal factors, (2) periods of concentration and deconcentration, and (3) particularities compared with Western countries. The discussion is supported mainly by population data of past censuses, but uses also a limited number of soft empirical materials like small case studies, interviews and observations. Finally, we attempt to design a comparison of different urban development stages in UK, Finland and Estonia. This paper prepares and tests an extensive analyse of census and labour market survey as well as enterprise development data of the transition period, the 1990s. Key words: centre-periphery model, urban development stages, political factors in urban development