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The Spatial Dimension of Inequality

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Spatial Economics Volume II

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on spatial inequality defined as inequality in the living standards between people located in different geographical areas (city, region, country). The aim is to describe and explain the research on spatial inequality addressing different issues. The first part of the study is devoted to the measurement of spatial inequality considering income as a proxy for living standards. The second part of the chapter focuses on regional inequality mainly in Europe, highlighting specific aspects of different methodologies used to assess spatial inequality. The chapter also discusses the causal relationship between spatial inequality and economic activity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The elephant chart, as well as its interpretation, has been at the center of an economic and political debate. See Ravaillon (2018) for a discussion on this issue.

  2. 2.

    For further details, see Bellù and Liberati (2006, p. 50).

  3. 3.

    The ten countries that joined EU in 2004 are: the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Poland.

  4. 4.

    The NUTS classification is a hierarchical system for dividing up the economic territory of the EU.

  5. 5.

    Venables (2005) provides the following definition of the New Economic Geography: “The New Economic geography provides an integrated and micro-founded approach to spatial economics. It emphasizes the role of clustering forces in generating an uneven distribution of economic activity and income across space. The approach has been applied to the economics of cities, the emergence of regional disparities, and the origins of international inequalities.”

  6. 6.

    Equations (6.2) and (6.3) correspond to equations (3) and (4), respectively, in the original paper.

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  1. DEMS, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    Alessandra Michelangeli

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  1. Alessandra Michelangeli
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Correspondence to Alessandra Michelangeli .

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  1. Dept of Economics & Finance, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy

    Stefano Colombo

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Michelangeli, A. (2021). The Spatial Dimension of Inequality. In: Colombo, S. (eds) Spatial Economics Volume II. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40094-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40094-1_6

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