Economic geography and European integration: The effects on the EU's external border regions

Abstract

The new European economic space is characterised by growing levels of economic integration among EU members and their neighbouring countries in the East. By and large, East-West integration implies increasing interaction across the external borders of the EU. This paper investigates the impact of integration dynamics on the development prospects of border regions, which are traditionally characterised as low opportunity areas, hosting less advanced local economies. The paper investigates the integration experience of external border regions, as well as the role of distance, market size and agglomeration economies in the process of cross-border interaction. The findings of the analysis have important implications for theory and policy. Copyright © 2008, Inderscience Publishers.