Territorial Concentration of the Economy and Population in European Union Countries and Russia and the Role of Global Cities

Abstract—The aim of the study is to identify common trends in the spatial concentration/deconcentration of the population and economy (according to GRP) in the European Union (EU) countries and Russia in 2007–2015. An attempt was made to identify the role of so-called global cities in the process. The study was performed for the EU at two spatial levels: statistical division grids NUTS2 and NUTS3; for Russia, at the federal subject level. The degree of concentration and its dynamics are estimated from an analysis of the Theil index, and the contribution of global cities, through its decomposition. It is shown that the demographic concentration at the NUTS3 level is faster than at the NUTS2 level, in almost all countries. The decrease in territorial economic inequality at the NUTS2 level in the period under review did not lead to convergence at the NUTS3 level, but in the period 2009–2015, there is economic divergence. These results confirm trends previously identified by other researchers. It has been established that the contribution of global cities to economic and demographic concentration processes in both cases is positive. It is stronger than the contribution of other territories to concentration of the population, and in the economy it is almost equal, but opposite to the deconcentration observed in other territories. It is concluded that global cities in Russia make a multidirectional contribution to population concentration and deconcentration of the economy, which is atypical for the EU and similar to states that are also experiencing economic difficulties (e.g., Greece and Portugal). © 2020, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.