A Regional Core, Adjacent, Periphery Model for National Economic Geography Analysis

39

region. Agricultural employment increases in regions more distant from the core, as von Thünen’s
(1842) concentric circle theory predicts.

9 Conclusions on National Regional Geography

This paper has developed and presented an empirical model of national economic geographic
centrality based on von Thünen’s (1842) concentric circle theory. The model is significant because it
defines and categorises national regions according to predefined and accepted criteria. The model
allows for the application of the Eurostat definition of an urban agglomerate to administrative regions.
This application facilitates the identification of core regions within a country. The core region, by
definition, is a measure of centrality, representing a degree of localised geographic urbanisation and
concentrated demand. Since manufacturing locates where demand is highest, we have found these core
regions to show the highest levels of manufacturing employment concentration. This fact supports the
theory that the core is an attraction region. The identification of the core regions is significant for the
further study of agglomerations and industry concentration.

The regional CAP classification has permitted a preliminary analysis of the endogenous forces
of economic geographic theory (Krugman, 1991b) on a regional level that departs from the
conventional national aggregate empirical analysis of Forslid et al. (1999), Davis and Weinstein
(1998), and Midelfart et al., (2000). The CAP model is an extension on the research of Davis and
Weinstein (1999) and provides a more tangible regional analytical framework because it defines the
economic characteristics of the regions and empirically classifies them.

The classification procedure identifies the border periphery regions that will receive direct
economic impulses from trade liberalisation. This is especially true for periphery regions that border
on foreign core regions. The identification of these regions will facilitate the study of the degree of
income convergence or divergence of these regions because of integration (Krugman and Venables,
1996), which is also of interest for the border regions of the East European nations that will join the
European Union.

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