The spatial impact of economic changes in Europe

The economies of Europe are changing rapidly. More and more employment and output comes from the service sector: less employment is to be found in agriculture, mining and manufacturing although output has been sustained. Economies have deindustrialised, the environment has improved, the large factories have been broken up into networks of smaller enterprises; products, production and labour have all become more flexible.

This book examines these processes of economic change in western Europe, in southern Europe and in east-central Europe.

These changes bring problems as well as opportunities. Unemployed manual workers are not re-employed in the service sector; there is increased social and economic polarisation; Europe has suffered from the increasing levels of international competition. The final section of the book concerns policy intervention to tackle some of these problems. Policies for equity, efficiency and environmental protection are examined as are the policy framework and the political basis for policy.