Which European regions actually influence each other? Instead of assuming that only bordering regions matter, we let growth data for 90 European regions from 2001 to 2019 reveal who the real neighbors are. This R tutorial comes with an interactive app that runs in your web browser.
Our results highlight the joint importance of structural change and spatial dependence in the formation of convergence clubs. Specifically, the notion of spatial structural change deserves further attention, as it appears to play a major role in the evolution of regional disparities in the European Union.
Divergence in learning outcomes is increasing over time. Institutional and learning spillovers are decisive for whether an EU Member State is on a high or low human capital trajectory.