ESPON Territorial Observation - Trends in Economic Performance of European Regions

ESPON has recently published the third edition of "Territorial Observations". This latest publication is looking into Trends in Economic Performance of European Regions. The publication, including maps and datasets, is now available.

www.espon.eu


Piera Petruzzi from the ESPON CU informs us :

ESPressON: Latest News for ECPs, July 2010

According the Draft Final Report of DEMIFER, decisions on competitive-oriented policy or a cohesion-oriented policy may influence demographic developments in Europe

The aim of ESPON DEMIFER - DEmography and MIgratory Flows for European Regions - is to assess future changes in population growth, the size of the labour force and the ageing of the population, and to explore different policy options aiming at regional competitiveness and social cohesion.

The project has developed four sets of population scenarios that take into account alternative future economic developments in combination with alternative policy options. Each of these scenarios is associated with a set of policies that may impact, to a greater or lesser degree, future patterns of mortality, fertility and migration.

The scenarios show that there is a complex interrelationship between implications of one policy option and another. Policy makers may have to make difficult trade-offs between different goals. Demographic developments will be influenced by policy decisions such as whether to pursue a competitive-oriented policy or a cohesion-oriented policy. At the same time demographic developments are also affected by long-term economic growth rates and environmental developments. The effects of alternative policy options therefore will vary by economic and environmental developments.

The scenarios show what may be expected to happen if certain policy combinations are followed within the drivers of mortality, fertility, migration and labour markets.

ESPON DEMIFER, produced by Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) as Lead Partner, University of Vienna, International Organization for Migration/Central European Forum for Migration and Population Research, University of Leeds, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, NORDREGIO, National Research Council (CNR) as Project Partners shall deliver its Final Report on 30 September 2010.

Read the Draft Final Report as well as all background documents at the ESPON Website.


The ESPON 2013 Database is now online

The ESPON 2013 Database, designed and developed by the ESPON Database 2013 Project, is now available at the ESPON website. This database provides fundamental regional information (NUTS 3, NUTS 2, NUTS 1 and NUTS 0) provided by ESPON projects and EUROSTAT. The data and indicators included in the ESPON 2013 Database cover the entire European Union plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (ESPON space) and uses the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) references: Version 2006.

Please note that this is the first version of the ESPON 2013 Database. This means that on the one hand this version is still under development and therefore not completely bug-free and not completely filled. On the other hand all users can influence the further development of the ESPON 2013 Database by testing it and giving feedback. More information on the testing can be found on the webpage.

Download from the ESPON 2013 Database is free and can be done upon your acceptance of the pre-defined terms and conditions of use.


Calls for Proposals 3 May 2010 / Facts & Figures

Latest ESPON Calls attracted 24 proposals and 138 partners from 30 countries

The Calls for Proposals closed on 28 June 2010 and generated 24 project proposals involving 30 European countries and 138 partners. All the project themes in the Calls received proposals.

The distribution by the Priorities of the ESPON Programme was as follow: 6 proposals for Applied Research Projects under Priority 1, 15 for Targeted Analyses under Priority 2 and 3 for Transnational Networking Activities under Priority 4.

Of the applicants, 12%came from Italy, 9% from Germany, Spain and the UK, 5% from France and Slovenia, 4% from Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Sweden. Applicants came from all countries involved in the ESPON 2013 Programme, except Liechtenstein.

Evaluation of the 24 project proposals will run during July 2010 and the results will be tabled for the Monitoring Committee meeting in September. More reading


ESPON Annual Report 2009

The Annual Report 2009 was approved by the Monitoring Committee on 7-8 June 2010 in Alcalá de Henares and submitted to European Commission on 30 June 2010 for approval.

The Annual Report has the purpose to summarize the activities implemented by the Programme during the specific year and to give further information on projects and Programme implementation.

More reading: ESPON Annual Report 2009


TeDI - The Final Report and the Handbook are now online

The Targeted Analysis “ESPON TeDi” deals with the territorial diversity of the European territory. The project explores the development opportunities in territorial diverse regions in. Based on a series of case studies, including regions from Cyprus, Finland, Romania, Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, the study explores the capacity of regions with geographic specificities to contribute to the achievement of the Lisbon and Gothenburg Strategies. As such it focuses on the comparative advantages and development opportunities, and the policies that need to be applied to trigger them.

The Final Report includes an analyses based on European wide ESPON data. On this basis the report formulates a characterization of the so-called TeDi regions and indicates the relevance of the geographic specificities for economic growth and social sustainability.

The ESPON TeDi Handbook deals with the social and economic development of areas characterised by geographic specificities, i.e. islands, mountain ranges and sparsely populated areas. Much of the debate on these Territorial Diversity or “TeDi” areas is limited to the identification of structural constraints and obstacles to development. However, the purpose is to introduce alternative approaches, focusing on their growth opportunities and on the policy measures that could help contribute to the full exploitation of their development potential.

Read the Final Report as well as all background documents at the ESPON Website.

CAEE - The Draft Final Report is now online

The CAEE draft Final Report sets out the emerging project findings. The primary purpose of the project has been to examine the relationship between agglomeration economies and city-regional/metropolitan governance.

As noted in the study team’s inception and mid-term reports, any attempt to examine this relationship has to address significant conceptual as well as empirical challenges. However these challenges are worth facing because of the importance of linking together two vigorous debates that have taken place, in academia and policy-making circles, largely independently, in recent years. The first focuses on the importance of ‘new’ agglomeration economies to patterns of European spatial economic change and especially the apparent ‘stretching’ of national and international urban hierarchies (i.e. growing differences in the economic performance of urban areas). The second concerns claims that are made for the emerging importance of governance arrangements for ‘natural economic areas’ in facilitating effective adaptation to economic change.

Read the Draft Final Report as well as all background documents at the ESPON Website.

Map of the month : Economic Performance 2006

For comments on the map, please click on it