1. Global linkages and territorial imbalances in Europe and beyond
Prof. Riccardo Crescenzi, London School of Economics, UK
Prof. Ayda Eraydın, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Dr. Margherita Gerolimetto, Università Ca’ Foscari, Dorsoduro, Italy
Dr. Dieter Kogler, University College Dublin, Ireland
Dr. Vlad Mykhnenko, University of Oxford, UK

2. Why may different levels of prosperity persist in the long run?
How can regions and cities catch-up through improving their global connectivity and leveraging international flows of capital, skills and knowledge?

3. Regional convergence in the EU, Member State level, 1990s-2010s
Annual change in real GDP per capita: the new EU-13 growing 1.6 times faster in and 3.4 times faster in
Accumulation of foreign direct investment: the new EU-13 FDI stock grew 7.6 times faster v. the old EU-15.
The EU-13’s % share of EU-28 total GDP (Euro, current prices) has doubled.
The EU-13’s % share of EU-28 total labour-force has declined by 1.5pp.

4. Regional catching-up (β-convergence) in the EU, NUTS Levels 1–3, 2000-2015 (EUROSTAT, EU-28).

5. Dispersion of regional GDP per capita (regional σ-convergence) in the EU
NUTS Levels 1-3, (EUROSTAT-based time-series).
Note: Scale is between 0 and 100, where 0% = identical GDP per capita values in all regions of the country / economic area.

6. Urban growth, shrinkage, and stability in Europe ( ): cities with 5000 residents and above (n=7585)

7. Municipal growth, shrinkage, and stability in Europe, 1990-2010
Across Europe, 65% of cities registered strong population growth over the period 1990–2010, a further 15% maintained their population levels and only 20% experienced shrinkage.
Whilst only 30% of cities in the formerly communist Eastern Europe reported population growth during the period 1990–2010, 73% of their counterparts in Western Europe appeared in that category.
Amongst all municipalities, both urban and rural, 62% enjoyed a rise in population between 1990 and 2010; 38% registered population loss.
Data cover absolute population figures for 92,773 municipalities inhabited by 511,924,257 people across the EU, EEA, and associated countries, with 7585 of these local authorities being cities with 5000 residents and above

8. Dispersion of regional GDP per capita (regional σ-convergence) in Europe and beyond
OECD Territorial Level 2 regions (c. NUTS-1),
Note: Scale is between 0 and 100, where 0% = identical GDP per capita values in all regions of the country / economic area.

9. Regional inequalities in Europe, North America, and BRICS economies, 1980-2015
The gap between Europe's haves and have-nots has been narrowing over the past 35 years. Since 1980, cities and regions across the EU have been converging economically, becoming increasingly similar in per capita incomes and real growth rates.
The aggregate decline in regional income inequalities across 28 EU member states (EU-28) from amounts to at least 7.2%. This refers to the average spread of regional gross domestic product (GDP) per capita across the EU, meaning regional per capita levels across Europe are over 7% more similar today than they were in 1980.
Furthermore, Europe's regional convergence trends have become much stronger since 2000, coinciding with the eastward enlargement of the EU. Between 1995 and 2015, the gap in regional GDP per capita levels decreased by 10.6% on average.

10. Middle-income trap:
Cities and regions that do not move into the higher value added activities face growing competition from less developed regions
Innovation remains spatially concentrated
Competitive regions in the east generate few spill-overs

11. Global linkages and territorial imbalances in Europe and beyond
Prof. Riccardo Crescenzi, London School of Economics, UK
Prof. Ayda Eraydın, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Dr. Margherita Gerolimetto, Università Ca’ Foscari, Dorsoduro, Italy
Dr. Dieter Kogler, University College Dublin, Ireland
Dr. Vlad Mykhnenko, University of Oxford, UK