Luisa Alamá Sabater (p), Miguel Angel Márquez, Julia Cravo, Emili Tortosa-Ausina

Carles Méndez-ortega

In this paper it is studied to what extent linkages among rural, intermediate and urban areas could contribute to stimulate the development of those areas affected by depopulation. To do this we develop a spatial econometric model, based on simultaneous system techniques where both population and employment are endogenous variables. We apply the model to 278 continental municipalities in Portugal during the period 2010-2018, to detect how the spread or backwash effects among urban, intermediate and rural regions could enhance the local development of Portuguese municipalities. The results obtained suggest policies aimed to promote urban-rural diffusion in order to revert a severe problem which affects specific European regions: depopulation.

Carles Méndez-ortega (p), Grzegorz Micek, Martijn Smit

Luisa Alamá Sabater

Location patterns and factors behind the emergence of new working spaces have been widely studied in European countries. However, they have been mainly investigated in a national context and at very local scales. Hence, in the paper, we widen this perspective to a regional one and conduct a cross-country study of location patterns and determinants of the main form of new working spaces, specifically coworking spaces (CSs) that facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing. These CSs are traditionally associated in the literature with vibrant urban places, but they are also encountered in peripheral regions. Based on a unique dataset on CS locations in four of the larger European countries (Spain, France, Germany and Poland), we test how demographic, economic, structural, technological, and accessibility-related determinants affect the location of CSs. We then investigate whether the identified determinants vary between urban and peripheral regions, and between countries, controlling for spatial effects.