Oleksij Kelebaj

Despite long-term transformation and development processes, unemployment remains one of the key socio-economic challenges in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The aim of the study presented in the article is to assess the influence of the lagged unemployment rate and regional GDP dynamics on the geographical variation in the unemployment rate in Czechia and Slovakia. The study employed descriptive statistics, the unemployment rate growth equation, ordinary least squares (OLS), generalised method of moments (GMM) and fixed effects models. The analysis was based on data for the years 1995–2022 from statistical offices of Czechia and Slovakia. Prague recorded the highest GDP and the lowest unemployment; Bratislava could also boast high GDP and low unemployment rates. In both the OLS- and GMM-estimated unemployment growth equations (with some exceptions), the previous unemployment rate had a statistically significant impact on its increase. GDP growth in Czech and Slovak regions generally reduced the increase in unemployment rates. The results of the analyses provide a basis for formulating practical recommendations regarding the directions of the development of regional and economic policies.

The aim of the paper is to assess the causes of spatial variations in labour productivity of Italian regions using the gravitational model of economic growth. The model is an extension of Robert Solow’s economic growth model. The model parameters are calibrated using historical data and numerical simulations of the long-run equilibrium states of the model are carried out. The scenarios considered in the paper vary in forecast investment rates, employment growth rates and urbanisation rates. Based on the results of numerical simulations, it is claimed that to achieve the full convergence in labour productivity, it is necessary to maintain higher investment rates in the south of the country than in Lombardy (by about 4%–11%), and to keep invest-ment rates in central and northern Italy at a similar level as in Lombardy.

Determinants of Unemployment in Peripheral Regions of Eastern Poland in 2008–2019