2. Spatio-Temporal Dimensions of Economic and Social Change in Europe  

2000 pp 76 £6.50; also available online with password (click here)

Editor: Louise Appleton

Contributors: Dieter Eißel, Maurice FitzGerald, Alec Hargreaves, Tess Kay, Ágnes Kende, Jerzy Kryzyszkowski, Dagmar Kutsar, Jeremy Leaman, Devi Sacchetto, Ene-Margit Tiit, Wielisława Warzywoda-Kruszyńska

The aim of this collection of papers is to highlight the spatio-temporal differences both within and between nations, the challenges they pose for cross-national research teams, and for policy formulation and implementation. In the first paper, Louise Appleton considers general questions associated with spatio-temporal diversity for researchers engaged in cross-national comparative research. She provides an overview of the theoretical and methodological issues associated with spatio-temporal dimensions of socio-demographic change. The remainder of the papers are arranged according to their geographical level of enquiry, starting with discussion of continental scale, through the national and regional levels to subnational diversity and the local level. In the second paper, Alec Hargreaves concentrates on continental scale ethnic diversity and its implications for understanding socio-demographic trends, and for formulating and implementing policies. The third paper by Tess Kay is concerned with continental scale differences with regard to gender differentiation in employment patterns. Dagmar Kutsar and Ene-Margit Tiit examine the problems inherent in comparative analysis of socio-demographic indicators between developed and transition countries, using the example of Estonia to illustrate the problems of comparability over time within transition countries. In two papers concerned with regional diversity, Dieter Eißel and Jeremy Leaman examine the two Germanies (East and West), and the impact of economic, political and social upheaval associated with unification based on the federal system. Devi Sacchetto considers the north/south division in Italy in terms of economic, social, cultural and political factors, the effect it has on national demographic trends and the implications for collecting and analysing national statistical data, and formulating and implementing policy. In the seventh paper, Ágnes Kende focuses on within-nation ethnic diversity. She considers the Gypsy and non-Gypsy populations in Hungary, highlighting the problems of defining and measuring the Roma presence in Hungary in the 1990s. The theme of rural versus urban differences is developed by Wielisława Warzywoda-Kruszyńska and Jerzy Krzyszkowski in the eighth paper with reference to Poland. The authors discuss the problems of declining fertility rates and increasing population ageing from both a spatial and a temporal perspective in Poland, highlighting the deterioration of the situation in rural areas. The final paper by Maurice Fitzgerald examines the implications for social life of the phenomenal economic growth that has taken place in Ireland since it joined the EU. The author argues that the benefits of economic growth have not been evenly distributed between rural and urban areas, social categories and women and men, and suggests that the changes have created important challenges for policy formulation as well as for implementation.