Demographic and economic concentration in the European Union countries and Russia and the role of Global Cities

Abstract

The aim of the study is to identify general trends in the process of spatial concentration / deconcentration of the population and economy (according to GDP) in the countries of the European Union and in Russia in 2007–2015. An attempt was made to identify the role of the Global Cities in this process. The study was performed at two spatial levels – the statistical division grids NUTS2 and NUTS3 (for the EU) and the level of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The degree of concentration and its dynamics were estimated based on the analysis of the Theil Index. The contribution of Global Cities was determined through Theil index decomposition. It is shown that the demographic concentration at the NUTS3 level was more intense than at the NUTS2 level and in almost all countries. The decrease in territorial economic inequality at the NUTS2 level in the period did not lead to convergence at the NUTS3 level. There was economic divergence in the period 2009–2015. These results confirm trends previously identified by other researchers. It has been established that the contribution of Global Cities to the processes of economic and demographic concentration turns out to be positive in both cases. It is stronger than the contribution of the others territories to the concentration of the population, and is almost equal, but opposite to the deconcentration in the economy, observed in others territories. It is concluded that global cities in Russia make a multidirectional contribution to the process of population concentration and economical deconcentration, which is atypical for the EU countries and similar to those states that also have economic difficulties (for example, Greece and Portugal).