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I am now going to the pub. But before I go, since I've got all the numbers in one place having done that map of the weakest and strongest economies in Northern Europe,... here are some graphs.
The regional economies of the Netherlands are as strong as the strong half of the regional economies of the UK. GDP/capita for the Netherlands is higher because it doesn't have any regions that would be considered weak economies in the UK. The weakest (Drenthe) = West Yorkshire.
Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the same. Regional economies that are as strong as the UK's strongest (Cheshire, North East Scotland, Oxfordshire, Sussex, Bristol & Bath). And no regional economies as weak as the UK's struggling regions (Merseyside, Lincolnshire, etc...)
Our nearest neighbours, Belgium and France, have regional economies most like the UK. A big city (London, Paris, Brussels) with huge economic strength. Quite a few strong regions. And then post-industrial struggling economies. But the UK's post-industrial economies are weakest.
Last, Germany. Almost all German regions have stronger economies than most UK regions. A nation of Cheshires, Oxfordshires, Edinburghs, and Bristols. But then a very clear gap to former East Germany, whose regions remain weak, though now stronger than the UK's weak economies.
ps. the graphs really should look like this, with the width of each bar proportional to its population. Here's France vs. the UK like that, and it gives you an idea of just how big London and Paris are. They are enormous. Economies bigger than Sweden in a single city.
One of my biggest interests is this. France's big cities have stronger economies than the UK's big cities. Using my skills in MS Paint, I have drawn that on the graph. And now beer (which is significantly better in UK big cities than French big cities).
Can't even escape from local industrial strategy in the pub. Love these by @JenningsBrewery.
@JenningsBrewery Requests have come in overnight to look beyond Northern Europe. So I have (all the data's already processed, it's quick). I'll look at Italy, Spain, and Greece. My experience is that this surprises most Britons. Surprises them so much they struggle to believe it often,...
@JenningsBrewery The average Italian region has a stronger economy than the average UK region. There is a clear divide in the country, North Italy remains as productive and prosperous as the top performing parts of Germany. South Italy, similar to the worst performing parts of the UK.
@JenningsBrewery Greece is more straightforward. You have Athens (economy as strong as Greater Manchester) and then pretty much everywhere is a weaker regional economy than all of the UK.
@JenningsBrewery Spain's regional economies are pretty much equal to the UK's. Their poor South has a similarly weak economy to our poor North England. Their strong economies (Madrid, Catalonia, Basque Country, Navarra) are very strong.
@JenningsBrewery Last but not least, the big shocker, here's Czechia and Slovakia together. Because of the way PPS works (based on a national prices level) these are slightly exaggerated. But I don't think it's too bad. They are fully integrated with Northern Europe in terms of economic strength.
ps. Regional inequality of GDP is NOT national inequality of income. The UK and France have equally high regional inequality of GDP, but the UK has significantly higher national inequality of income.
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