Regional Convergence in the European Community

This article assesses convergence in output per head across regions in the European Community, for the period 1975-90. We use three alternative methodologies to measure convergence, which yield consistent results. We observe that there are strong differences in the pattern of convergence across sub-periods and across subsets of regions. If the south of Europe seems to catch up in the early 1980s, it stagnates, at best, in the second part of the eighties. At the opposite end, the regions in the north of Europe tend to stagnate or diverge in the first part of the eighties but converge strongly thereafter. This pattern is consistent with the view that northern European countries have adjusted better to the main change in policy regime which occurred in the mid-1980s, namely the implementation of the internal market programme and the entry of the Iberian peninsula in the Community in 1985. This evidence also lends support to the view that trade liberalization can exacerbate disparities. Finally, our evidence indicates that the distinction between the north and the south of the EC is likely to be more relevant in the analysis of growth patterns than the distinction between the centre and the periphery. Preliminary evidence on migration indicates that the population of the southern regions responds much more slowly to wage and unemployment differences. This may explain partly why southern regions have not converged after 1985. Copyright 1995 BPL.

Regional Convergence in the European Community

This paper assesses convergence in output per head across regions in the European Community (EC), for the period 1975 90. We use three alternative methodologies to measure convergence, which yield consistent results. We observe that there are strong differences in the pattern of convergence across sub-periods and across subsets of regions. If Southern Europe seemed to catch up in the early 1980s, it stagnated, at best, in the second part of the 1980s. The regions in Northern Europe, on the other hand, tended to stagnate or diverge in the first part of the 1980s but converge strongly thereafter. This pattern is consistent with the view that North European countries have adjusted better to the main change in policy regimes which occurred in the mid-1980s, namely the implementation of the Single Market programme and the entry of Spain and Portugal into the EC in 1985. This evidence also lends support to the view that trade liberalization can exacerbate disparities. Finally, our evidence indicates that the distinction between the North and the South of the EC is likely to be more relevant in the analysis of growth patterns than the distinction between the centre and the periphery. Preliminary evidence on migration indicates that the population in the Southern regions responds much more slowly to wage and unemployment differences. This may partly explain why Southern regions have not converged after 1985.Convergence; European Community; Regions

European Integration and Regional Growth

European integration and regional grow This objective of this paper is to assess whether the process of European integration bas reduced income disparities among regions in the Community. We observe that if the South of Europe seems to catch up in the early eighties, it stagnates, at best, in the second part of the eighties. At the opposite, the regions in the North of Europe tend to stagnate or diverge in the first part of the eighties but converge strongly thereafter. This pattern is consistent with the view that Northern European countries have adjusted better to the implementation of the internai market programme and the entry of the Iberian peninsula in the Community in 1985. This evidence also lends support to the view that trade liberalisation can exacerbate disparities. Preliminary evidence suggests that a lack of adjustment in regional labour markets may explain this pattern.European Integration and Regional Growth L'objectif de cette contribution est d'évaluer le processus de convergence entre les régions de la Communauté et d'essayer de mesurer l'impact du process d'intégration sur les disparités régionales de revenu par tête. Nous observons un processus de rattrapage dans le Sud de l'Europe au début des années quatre-vingt qui semble cependant s'arrêter à partir de 1985. À l'inverse, les régions du Nord de Europe, qui semblent stagner au début de la décennie, amorcent un processus de convergence rapide à partir de 1985. Il semblerait donc que les régions du Nord de l'Europe se sont mieux adaptées à la mise en œuvre du marché intérieur et à l'accession des pays du Sud à partir du milieu de la décennie. Ces observations semblent confirmer l'hypothèse selon laquelle la libéralisation des échanges et du mouvement des facteurs peut exacerber les disparités régionales. Une absence d'ajustement sur les marchés régionaux du travail semble pouvoir expliquer en partie la dichotomie Nord-Sud que nous observons.Neven Damien, Gouyette Claudine, Pisani-Ferry Jean. European Integration and Regional Growth. In: Revue économique, volume 45, n°3, 1994. pp. 703-713

European Integration and Regional Growth

[fre] European Integration and Regional Growth. . L'objectif de cette contribution est d'évaluer le processus de convergence entre les régions de la Communauté et d'essayer de mesurer l'impact du process d'intégration sur les disparités régionales de revenu par tête. Nous observons un processus de rattrapage dans le Sud de l'Europe au début des années quatre-vingt qui semble cependant s'arrêter à partir de 1985. À l'inverse, les régions du Nord de Europe, qui semblent stagner au début de la décennie, amorcent un processus de convergence rapide à partir de 1985. Il semblerait donc que les régions du Nord de l'Europe se sont mieux adaptées à la mise en œuvre du marché intérieur et à l'accession des pays du Sud à partir du milieu de la décennie. Ces observations semblent confirmer l'hypothèse selon laquelle la libéralisation des échanges et du mouvement des facteurs peut exacerber les disparités régionales. Une absence d'ajustement sur les marchés régionaux du travail semble pouvoir expliquer en partie la dichotomie Nord-Sud que nous observons. [eng] European integration and regional grow. . This objective of this paper is to assess whether the process of European integration bas reduced income disparities among regions in the Community. We observe that if the South of Europe seems to catch up in the early eighties, it stagnates, at best, in the second part of the eighties. At the opposite, the regions in the North of Europe tend to stagnate or diverge in the first part of the eighties but converge strongly thereafter. This pattern is consistent with the view that Northern European countries have adjusted better to the implementation of the internai market programme and the entry of the Iberian peninsula in the Community in 1985. This evidence also lends support to the view that trade liberalisation can exacerbate disparities. Preliminary evidence suggests that a lack of adjustment in regional labour markets may explain this pattern.

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

BackgroundWe previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15-20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in similar to 80% of cases.MethodsWe report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded.ResultsNo gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5-528.7, P=1.1x10(-4)) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR=3.70[95%CI 1.3-8.2], P=2.1x10(-4)). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR=19.65[95%CI 2.1-2635.4], P=3.4x10(-3)), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR=4.40[9%CI 2.3-8.4], P=7.7x10(-8)). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD]=43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P=1.68x10(-5)).ConclusionsRare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60 years old