The re-emergence of left-behind regions: The end of spatial equity and the rise of dynamic movements in Slovakia, 1990–2020
The re-emergence of left-behind regions: The end of spatial equity and the rise of dynamic movements in Slovakia, 1990–2020

Summary/Abstract: This study explores the spatial and economic shifts in Slovakia over the past three decades in the spatial organization of industrial economic activities. The economic industrial complexity approach is employed to examine the impact of market forces and historical legacies on the crash of the centrally controlled spatial equity organization of jobs and industries and the shift to a more uneven economic landscape. A long time series of data spanning more than 30 years in Slovakia revealed how the artificial territorial organization of job creation policies in each district, enabled by central state planning, has gradually disintegrated. The results display significant spatial divergence and inequality between the capital city and the rest of the country, as well as between urban and rural areas. Two contrasting cases of Bratislava and Košice, the two largest cities in the country, show different spatial relationships with their surrounding regions, explainable using backwash and spread effects. Since spatial and sectoral dynamics are interconnected, spatial shifts and industrial change occurred together. The emergence of creative and knowledge-based economic activities took place against the backdrop of old industrial policies. Košice, the second largest city in Slovakia, faces growing intraregional disparities, so it is worth examining at a micro level how its sectoral trajectory has shifted away from heavy industry thanks to investment in information and communi-cation technology (ICT) and the successful European Capital of Culture project. The microscale of the city reveals patterns of the gradual occupation of territory by the creative sector, particularly by culture and arts, ICT firms and research and development (R&D) entities, exhibiting different locational behaviors.

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