Towards regional renewal: a multilevel perspective for the EU

Abstract

The 2008 financial crisis reopened the debate on regions’ ability to deal with shocks within the European Union. We identify the spatial dimension of the renewal capacity, among the dimensions of economic resilience, and estimate its main drivers. We investigate the variables that determine the regional renewal capacity using different model specifications focusing upon several socioeconomic factors at two geographical scales: national and regional. The results highlight the fact that regional renewal has to be analysed including both local and contextual (national) factors. This multilevel perspective is useful for policy strategies in terms of reorienting their targets to the proper geographical and socioeconomic dimensions.