Unbalanced structural change in Europe. Implications for regional and industrial policies (Position Paper)

Uneven development, both across countries and within countries, is one of the most relevant economic challenges for the overall stability of Europe, together with the main political threats related to security, migration, and the mounting of Euroscepticism. However, the discussion on these phenomena and the future of the European Union is not always based on objective data, as it should be in an open, free and informed democracy. The debt crisis, with all its facets, disclosed the relevance of various real and structural asymmetries among countries in an incomplete and still fragile European Monetary Union. During the crisis, fiscal stabilization and the management of macroeconomic imbalances has become the main concern, in a context of low growth and deleveraging. But the long recession has significantly disrupted wealth and employment with heterogeneous effects across countries and regions. On this background, this contribution provides an overall picture of the evolving regional disparities and the related changing geography of industrial and service activities. It derives some basic policy implications for industrial and regional policies.