Spatio-sectoral heterogeneity and population–employment dynamics: some implications for territorial development

Abstract

Grounded in the general equilibrium framework of regional adjustment models, this paper studies how the spatial distribution of sectoral employment can affect the intra-regional spatial location of population, and so affect territorial development. Although spatial interactions, spatial heterogeneity and sectoral heterogeneity have been introduced in these models, no empirical studies can be found that reveal how spatio-sectoral heterogeneity affects the intra-regional distribution of population and jobs. This paper explores this effect through a complex set of interdependencies among the regional population, the employment in the regional economic sectors and their respective regional neighbours within the different regional typologies (urban, semi-urban and rural areas), as suggested by the concept of proximity developed by (58). We use a system of simultaneous equations to focus on the phenomenon of rural depopulation for the 542 municipalities of the Valencian region (Spain). The results provide evidence for the relevance of spatio-sectoral dynamics, suggesting that reversing depopulation in rural areas depends strongly on the services sector.

Spatial Heterogeneity and Spillovers of Employment in the EU Regions

“…Majchrowska and Strawiński (2021) analysed the spatial dependencies in the relationship between employment and minimum wage for local Polish labour markets revealing significant heterogeneities in the model. The spatio-sectoral heterogeneity and population-employment dynamics was studied by Alamá-Sabater et al (2022) who presented some implications for territorial development in Spanish region. Wu and Hua (2023) used the SDM model to study the impact of different variables on employment in Chinese provinces and draws some interesting conclusions.…”