Spatial Inequalities as a Problem of Political Integration

• In Event: Regional Inequality in the Knowledge Economy in Europe and North America

Abstract

Economic inequality is one of the key challenges facing many rich democracies. Much of the spotlight has been cast on national-level interpersonal inequality. This paper, by contrast, focuses on inequalities between economically prosperous and stagnating peripheral places and conceptualizes spatial inequalities as a problem – and ultimately failure – of political integration. I argue that cross-national variation in regional inequality is the result of two trends.

First, some cities have abandoned ties to peripheral regions and become closely connected to other (global) cities. This concentrates economic gains in fewer places and shifts redistribution to the political level. Second, whether the political system enables territorial equality depends on the alignment between boundaries of political control and economic activity. When local autonomy is high or when electoral rules undermine national incentives to promote equality-enhancing policies, inequality increases as peripheral outsiders are excluded. As a result, “participatory distance” across places increases, promoting opportunity hoarding and social closure, undermining political efficacy, and skewing electoral representation. I provide evidence for these claims using fine-grained income data, corporate network data, and original cross-national survey data.

The findings have implications for how to politically reconcile the desire for greater competitiveness of metro regions while ensuring equity across regions and equal access to the gains of the knowledge economy.

Author

• Andreas Wiedemann, Princeton University