Are cities the real engines of growth in the EU?

Dijkstra, Lewis, Kompil, Mert and Proietti, Paola (2025) Are cities the real engines of growth in the EU? Geography and Environment Discussion Paper Series (52). Department of Geography and Environment, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

Text (Paper 52 Dijkstra et al (2)) - Published Version Download (2MB)

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Abstract

Between 2001 and 2021, capital metro regions had the fastest productivity growth in the EU, followed by non-metro regions, while it was much lower in other metro regions. Capitals reduced their sectoral concentration, while the other regions increased it. Our shift-share analysis confirms that capitals relied entirely on productivity growth within sectors, while the other two types benefitted also from shifting jobs to more productive sectors. Our regression analysis showed that convergence and being a capital boosted productivity growth. Population density also strengthened productivity growth, but not enough to prevent other-metro regions from lagging behind the non-metro regions.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://www.lse.ac.uk/geography-and-environment/re...
Divisions:	Geography and Environment
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
JEL classification:	E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment > E24 - Macroeconomics: Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (includes wage indexation) O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O18 - Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development > O32 - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D P - Economic Systems > P2 - Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies > P25 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics; Housing; Transportation R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R12 - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade
Date Deposited:	02 Oct 2025 07:27
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2025 07:27
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/129664

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