Digital divide across the European Union and labour market resilience

Using a regional evolutionary perspective and a cross-regional data panel for 278 European Union regions, this study investigates the relationship between regional digital development and labour market resilience. To address a fundamental concern of regional studies, it proposes an analytical framework that assesses digital disparities in the spatial context and provides a nuanced understanding of digital dimensions impacting labour market resilience. The primary labour market outcome, the employment rate, was evaluated to investigate the regional resilience in the Great Recession. A gradient boosting method was used to identify the digital predictors in different resilience stages and to articulate policy-relevant conclusions.

Automated summary

This study examines the relationship between regional digital development and labor market resilience from a regional evolutionary perspective. By using a cross-regional data panel of 278 European Union regions, the study proposes an analytical framework to assess digital disparities in the spatial context and gain a nuanced understanding of how digital dimensions impact labor market resilience. The study evaluates the employment rate as the primary labor market outcome to investigate regional resilience during the Great Recession. A gradient boosting method is employed to identify digital predictors in different resilience stages and draw policy-relevant conclusions.