Type: Project Other Data - June 23, 2022, 4:09 p.m.
To introduce more elaborate indices, here we use the simplest index of flow magnitude, called intensity. By considering only the cumulative top 25% of flows (let's call it the Super League), we can tell a lot about the spatial concentration and length of flows (to be discussed in more detail with concentration and distance indices).
The Super League in the goods/services/capital basket is highly diversified between flows. For example, Capital FDI is a very concentrated flow; over a dozen relations account for 25% of all flows within ESPON space. These are mainly international flows between the most important capital centres, which include the largest cities in the European core. These flows form an FDI network metropolis within the European core. Relationships within the remaining flows are much less concentrated and are often limited to domestic flows. Goods freight flows are significant within Poland, while in states that joined the EU before 2004 goods trade and services flows are mainly domestic. For goods trade, exceptional large international flows exist between the regions of Norway and the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. For services, many flows exist about tourist centres (the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Sicily).
The synthetic index of Super League flows for the goods/services/capital basket perfectly illustrates the most important relations within the ESPON space, where flows within the network of metropolises dominate in the European core (Luxembourg, London, the Benelux states, and Switzerland), followed by the domestic networks of goods/services/capital in the western and northern EU states. The new EU countries (enlargements in 2004, 2007, and 2013) and Greece stand apart from the Super League (with some exceptions). Luxembourg is the hub of the strongest economic linkages in Europe. The position of relations between the southern Italian regions (Sicily) and some units in Scandinavia is also surprisingly high. A dispersed polycentric structure of strong multidirectional internal linkages is found in Germany. The opposite is true for France and the United Kingdom, where the many strong internal economic linkages that exist are all directed towards Paris and London respectively. Elements of polycentric strong internal economic systems are also evident in Italy and Spain.
The Super League in people basket is even more varied between flows. For air passengers, there are no major inter-regional flows in Central and Eastern Europe. There is a strong presence in the largest European hubs, led by the London airports. Air passengers are the only analyzed flow for which the cumulative top 25% of flows are primarily international over long distances, and exist primarily between southern Europe and London. In turn, tourist flows within the Super League are also realized over long distances, but these are mainly domestic connections in large countries of western and southern Europe, with France, Spain, and Italy dominating. The largest migratory flows and greatest labour mobility are mainly short-distance relations in agglomerations between a city's core and the surrounding NUTS 2 area or, in exceptional cases, intra-agglomeration migrations between the capital and major cities in France, Spain, and Italy. The flow of labour mobility, in particular, is much more dispersed, and in the cumulative top 25% of flows, there are only single short-distance flows, mostly in metropolitan areas.
The synthetic index of the Super League of flows for the people basket underscores the crucial role of links between the capitals of the largest European countries and the largest cities in these countries. This is particularly the case in France. Elements of polycentric systems appear only in Germany. An international network of metropolises is also observed between London, Madrid, and Paris, as well as between London and Munich and Frankfurt am Main. Relations inside Italy seem to be more concentrated on the internal market. Because of the great importance of tourism and numerous passenger flights, relations with tourist centres on the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and Sicily are visible again. The distribution of the strongest flows of people reflects the direction of migration and tourist travel from Western Europe to Mediterranean regions and islands. In Central and Eastern Europe, there are only single relations, indicating the lesser importance of this part of the continent in the flow of people.
The basket where the Super League is most dispersed is knowledge. Few relations stand out. Patent flows are the most spatially concentrated and focused mainly on the western part of Germany. H2020 flows concern mainly countries that joined the EU before 2004, and the greatest relations are those linking Paris with Madrid and Rome, although the network is quite dense and also includes many smaller academic centres in states that joined the EU before 2004. Regions of the new Europe also take part in Erasmus linkages, although mainly through capital cities such as Warsaw and Bucharest. The strongest Erasmus relations in the ESPON space are between Spain and Italy, where student exchange is the most intense. Spain is the country with the greatest participation in the Erasmus Super League.
The synthetic index for the knowledge basket lacks large dominant relations over the rest of the relations, as we see in other baskets. The network of metropolises is once again observed between the most important academic centres of western and southern Europe. The lack of domestic links within Erasmus flows results also in the dominance of international links in the synthetic indicator. The strong position of certain Scandinavian cities (Stockholm, Helsinki) is evident. In Central and Eastern Europe, relations are much weaker and all but limited to national capitals.
The synthetic index of the Super League for 11 flows shows the key importance of linkages between the capitals of Western European countries. In the case of Germany and the Scandinavian states, networks of internal connections are also clearly visible. In the Nordic countries, they are centred on the capitals of these countries, while in Germany these links are more polycentric. There is a dense network of relations between the EU member states that joined the EU before 2004, and relatively weak relations, with some exceptions, between new EU countries (2004, 2007 and 2013 enlargements) and Greece. In peripheral countries, the strongest relations are found between the largest metropolitan areas and the NUTS 2 units directly surrounding them. This is indirect evidence of the dynamic development of local flows. The synthetic index also enables us to list the nodes that concentrate the strongest flows (within the group of 11 analysed). These are London, Paris, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Ham-burg, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Milan, and Stockholm.