La nation: inégalités spatiales et transferts publics

Gérard Santi
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Gérard Santi: LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - ENTPE - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: The nation: spatial inequalities and public transfers. - This paper tries to define the nation according to an inequality/solidarity debate. Market mechanisms go along with concentration of activities and population and higher regional specialization. Nevertheless, market plays an other game, because it is able to spread this asymmetric growth thanks to exchange of goods for instance. Yet, this market propagation remains incomplete. It is especially due to public finance. Within a nation, public transfers (public finance and social insurance) involve an implicit redistribution of resources between regions. There is therefore no reason at all why the inhabitants of each region should get back from public expenditure or social welfare benefits exactly what they paid in. Some regions will benefit from positive transfers (the under-privileged), others will register negative transfers (the richest), as a result of the origin/destination of central public spending and receipts. Thus, there is a sort of conciliation between market requirements (efficiency and competition) and solidarity requirements (national cohesion). Firstly, this paper tries to measure interregional disparities in France and to deal with the questions of unbalanced development. Secondly, we will measure the spatial transfers in France and provide an economic analysis of transfers.

Keywords: increasing returns; optimum currency area; propagation; public goods; public transfers; spatial inequalities; specialization; vote with the feet; Biens publics; concentration; diffusion; inégalités spatiales; région; rendements croissants; spécialisation; transferts publics; vote avec les pieds; zone monétaire optimale (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996
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Published in Revue d'économie régionale et urbaine, 1996, 5, pp. 907-932

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00144809

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