Objectives
Among the few studies examining patterns of COVID-19 spread in border regions, findings are highly varied and partially contradictory. This study presents empirical results on the spatial and temporal dynamics of incidence in 10 European border regions. We identify geographical differences in incidence between border regions and inland regions, and we provide a heuristic to characterise spillover effects.
Study design
Observational spatiotemporal analysis.
Methods
Using 14-day incidence rates (04/2020 to 25/2021) for border regions around Germany, we delineate three pandemic ‘waves’ by the dates with the lowest recorded rates between peak incidence. We mapped COVID-19 incidence data at the finest spatial scale available and compared border regions’ incidence rates and trends to their nationwide values. The observed spatial and temporal patterns are then compared to the time and duration of border controls in the study area.
Results
We observed both symmetry and asymmetry of incidence rates within border pairs, varying by country. Several asymmetrical border pairs feature temporal convergence, which is a plausible indicator for spillover dynamics. We thus derived a
border incidence typology
to characterise (1) symmetric border pairs, (2) asymmetric border pairs without spillover effects, and (3) asymmetric with spillover effects. In all groups, border control measures were enacted but appear to have been effective only in certain cases.
Conclusions
The heuristic of border pairs provides a useful typology for highlighting combinations of spillover effects and border controls. We conclude that border control measures may only be effective if the timing and the combination with other non-pharmaceutical measures is appropriate.
Cross-border integration is assumed to promote European cohesion. Yet the relationships between different forms of integration and the social and political outcomes they supposedly promote vary. In this paper, we investigate forms of cross-border integration in the Upper Rhine, comparing patterns of functional integration (socioeconomic indicators) with patterns of organizational integration (network ties between economic development organizations). Using network analysis techniques and qualitative interview data, we find that both forms of integration are driven by the presence of economic differentials between countries, but that spatial patterns of functional integration differ from those of organizational integration. We propose a typology of potential relationships between regions that explains these differing patterns of integration, and highlights how economic development actors respond to the effects of economic differentials on their regional economies. In addition, we highlight complex relationships between organizational and functional integration, institutional integration, and structural contexts.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a suspension of the Schengen Agreement within the European Union: national borders were partially controlled or closed. Especially in European border regions, where the idea of European integration is most evident, this led to limitations of cross-border linkages, putting the question of border-regional resilience into the focus of border studies. Based on the case study of German border regions, we operationalize the various impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the German border. Particularly interesting with regard to the concept of border-regional resilience are the results of a two-stage Delphi survey with border-regional experts. Even if the border closures as such were a political crisis, some of the long-term effects might be considered positive.
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