ABSTRACT
During the past decades regional economies have been influenced by various structural forces. A major force is globalization. Economic activities tend to take place more and more at the international level. A good number of rich countries in the world are facing considerable difficulties in absorbing immigrants from poorer countries such as the developing countries and Eastern Europe. These migration flows have led to particular spatial patterns of inflow and diffusion of ethnical groups, especially impacting urban economies. This chapter discusses to what extent changes in political systems (Eastern Europe) or changes in the regulatory regime in sectors may be expected to lead to changes in the relative position of regions. Despite many structural changes in economies there is a remarkable constancy in the relative positions of cities and regions in spatial systems. This suggests that the development of a region does not only depend on the forces being active, but also on the initial conditions.
