Spatial Heterogeneity and Spillovers of Employment in the EU Regions

Abstract

This paper focuses on the employment problem in the context of EU regions. Two main hypotheses were verified. The first hypothesis was related to the spatial heterogeneity problem, i.e., we hypothesised that relationship between the employment rate and the explanatory variables (GDP per inhabitant, educational attainment level and compensation of employees) may vary spatially. The second hypothesis dealt with the spatial autocorrelation, i.e., we assumed that the regional employment process is not isolated and that the neighbourhood of the regions also plays a significant role. As the main methodological tool the spatial regime models were applied. Spatial analysis of employment rate data indicated two spatial regimes. The results revealed the spatial instability of estimated parameters across the two regimes. Also, the spatial regional interconnections within both regimes were confirmed. Statistical significance of spillover effects of considered employment factors outlines the high importance of spatial spillovers.