Sara Davies

Interactions Between National and Regional Development

Williamson (1965) argued that catching up countries experiencing strong national growth tend also to see a widening in regional disparities, whereas in more developed economies strong national growth and falling regional disparities could go hand in hand. We find some evidence of a trade-off between national growth and regional dispersion in the EUs Cohesion countries, notably in Spain and Ireland. We also find some evidence of spread effects in some richer EU Member States, although no inevitable link between lower regional disparities and stronger national growth. The potential policy implications of this analysis are also examined.

Metropolitan misery: why do Scots live in ‘bad places to live’?

Abstract This paper uses data from the Scottish Household Survey to investigate urban–rural variations in life satisfaction in Scotland. It reviews the previous literature on spatial differences in life satisfaction and develops an econometric model that includes a range of factors previously shown to affect life satisfaction. Holding these factors constant, Scottish rural dwellers are found to have a significantly higher life satisfaction than city residents. Possible reasons for higher life satisfaction in rural areas are explored before finally drawing policy conclusions.