MARGINALISED ZONES AS STATISTICAL INSTRUMENTS TO NAVIGATE PERMACRISIS IMPACTS IN EUROPEAN REGIONS

Cristina Lincaru (), Gabriela Tudose (), Adriana Grigorescu (), Speranța Pîrciog () and Cristina Stroe ()
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Cristina Lincaru: PhD, FeRSA, Department of Labour Market, National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, Bucharest, Romania
Gabriela Tudose: PhD, Senior Researcher, II-nd degree, National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, Bucharest, Romania
Adriana Grigorescu: PhD Full Professor, SNSPA; Director of Global Economy & Governance Interdisciplinary Research Platform; AOSR; INCE; LEAD Cambridge, MA; UCLM Spain
Speranța Pîrciog: PhD, Scientific Director, National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, Bucharest, Romania
Cristina Stroe: Senior Researcher II-nd degree, National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, Bucharest, Romania

Regional Science Inquiry, 2025, vol. XVII, issue 1, 155-165

Abstract: In the context of overlapping and interrelated crises—economic, ecological, social, and geopolitical—European regions are confronted with new governance challenges. Marginalised zones, often treated as residual spaces in policy discourse, must be reimagined as analytical and governance instruments in the transition toward sustainability and territorial resilience. This article explores how marginalised areas can be conceptualised and operationalised through spatial statistical methodologies and policy frameworks that support just transition processes. Drawing on a critical review of empirical studies and strategic European and Romanian documents, we synthesise the main tools used to identify territorial disparities, such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA), clustering algorithms, fuzzy logic, spatial econometrics, and machine learning. We confirm that these methods allow for more nuanced territorial diagnostics and typologies, which are essential for evidence-based and place-based policies. The article advances a transdisciplinary framework that repositions marginalised zones as strategic levers in adaptive territorial governance. Ultimately, we argue for a paradigm shift: from periphery to policy, where marginalised regions evolve from passive recipients of aid to active instruments of just transition.

Keywords: Marginalised regions; Just transition; Spatial inequality; Territorial resilience; Governance instruments; PCA; Clustering; Fuzzy logic; Regional typologies; Permacrisis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C38 O18 Q56 R11 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hrs:journl:v:xvii:y:2025:i:1:p:155-165

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