{"id":1260,"date":"2026-06-29T15:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/?page_id=1260"},"modified":"2026-06-29T15:45:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:45:06","slug":"volume-20-no-1-article-no-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/index.php\/volume-20-no-1-article-no-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Volume 20, No. 1, Article no. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Title:\u00a0<\/strong>Mapping the spatial dynamics of innovation-driven socioeconomic inequality in the European Union<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Authors &amp; affiliations:\u00a0\u00a0<em>Thomas Krabokoukis, <\/em><\/strong>University of Thessaly, Volos,\u00a0 <strong><em>Dimitrios Tsiotas<\/em>, <\/strong>Agricultural University of Athens, Amfissa, <strong><em>Dimitrios Kantianis<\/em>, <\/strong>University of the Aegean, Chios, Greece<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Abstract:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The persistent nature of socioeconomic inequalities across the European Union, despite the institutional and non-institutional efforts given so far for their reduction, motivates this paper investigating the structural characteristics and spatial dynamics of regional inequality across 209 NUTS 2 regions of the European Union, utilizing the most recent harmonized Eurostat data (2023, 2024). A comprehensive four-stage analytical framework is employed, integrating statistical inequality metrics (Gini coefficient and Theil\u2019s index), correlation analysis, multivariate techniques (PCA and <em>k<\/em>-Means clustering), and Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (Global Moran\u2019s I and LISA). The results reveal that while social and demographic indicators exhibit strong convergence, economic output and R&amp;D intensity remain highly polarized. The clustering analysis identifies a multi-speed Europe, distinguishing a &#8220;Knowledge-Driven Core&#8221; in Northern and Western Europe from a vast &#8220;Labor-Intensive&#8221; cluster in transition economies that relies on manufacturing efficiency rather than endogenous innovation. Furthermore, spatial analysis confirms the existence of significant Spatial Poverty Traps in the Southern and Eastern periphery, while highlighting the phenomenon of capital cities that fail to diffuse prosperity to their hinterlands. The findings suggest that bridging the remaining gap requires a shift in regional policy, prioritizing the diffusion of technological capacity over simple income redistribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Keywords:\u00a0<\/strong>Regional Inequality, Knowledge Economy, Spatial Econometrics, Cluster Analysis, Cohesion Policy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>JEL Classification:\u00a0<\/strong>R11, R12, R58, O30, O38<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DOI:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.61225\/rjrs.2026.01\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.61225\/rjrs.2025.01\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.61225\/rjrs.2026.01<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rjrs.ase.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1-Grecia.pdf\">Download full article from here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Title:\u00a0Mapping the spatial dynamics of innovation-driven socioeconomic inequality in the European Union Authors &amp; affiliations:\u00a0\u00a0Thomas Krabokoukis, University of Thessaly, Volos,\u00a0 Dimitrios Tsiotas, Agricultural University of Athens, Amfissa, Dimitrios Kantianis, University&nbsp;[ &hellip; ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1260","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","list-style-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1260"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1274,"href":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1260\/revisions\/1274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rjrs.ase.ro\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}