Zoltán Elekes (p), Gergő Tóth, Rikard Eriksson

Beitske Van der Mark

In this paper we set out to study how the skill-relatedness network structure of industries conditions the economic resilience of regions across 72 local labour markets in Sweden. Drawing on recent advancements in network science we stress-test skill-relatedness networks constructed from local labour flows between industries against the elimination of some of their nodes. We then validate the connection between such network robustness and employment growth in the context of the 2008 economic crisis. We find marked heterogeneity across regions in terms of network robustness. Our results from regression analysis support that regions endowed with more robust local skill-relatedness networks of industries experience higher employment growth particularly in the resistance stage of the unfolding crisis and its aftermath.

Barbara Martini (p), Marco Platania

Zoltán Elekes

Gender is acquiring an interest in economics, but regional science still neglected the topic. Our contribution aims to contribute to the limited debate by merging three strands of literature. The first one regards regional specialization, the second one concerning gender segregation, and the third one about resilience. Females and males are not employed in the same industries, and regional specialization can be advantageous for only one gender. Our first goal is to explore the relationship between gender segregation and regional specialization.
Furthermore, we aim to explore the relationship between gender segregation and resilience. Our results highlight a positive relationship between gender segregation and regional specialization. The higher is the regional specialization in sectors in which the females' share is low, the higher is the dissimilarity. Moreover, our findings show a positive relationship between resilience and gender equality. The higher is the gender equality in a region the higher is the resilience. A ri-equilibrium in terms of gender between sectors is desirable to reduce the dissimilarity.
Nevertheless, tacking sectoral occupation is not an easy task. Regional specialization and sectoral occupation result from a process involving social values, cultural components, education, and soft skills. Policies should also address their effort to enhance the social component and break down gender stereotypes. Gender equality enhances social inclusion and enhance resilience

Beitske Van der Mark (p), Arjen Edzes, Jelly Zuidersma, Jouke van Dijk

Barbara Martini

The shortage of personnel in the Netherlands is expected to increase in the healthcare sector. One of the important ways to diminish this effect is to educate. It is expected that collaboration is needed to organize education whereas an important part of their education in vocational training are internships. Educational institutes and internship institutes have to agree on the terms for internships. The aim of this study is to determine the research question: ‘what is a successful way to arrange networks in regard to achieving their goals?’. We know structural collaboration does not come naturally; conditions at start, governance and reciprocal behaviour can be decisive during several stages in the process of collaboration and the outcome of the collaboration. These factors have been taken into account in case studies of these ‘internship networks’ in four regions in the Netherlands. Structured interviews will be conducted with key figures, documents will be analysed, a questionnaire will be conducted and open source data will be analysed. By comparing the networks in several regions insight will be provided on how this collaboration is organized in several regions of the Netherlands and if there are signs that this is effecting the amount of internship possibilities per student. Results and conclusions will follow after completing this research.