The Economic Geography of Languedoc-Roussillon Region

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Introduction
This paper is aimed at examining the economic geography of the French region Languedoc-Roussillon with regards to the region’s performance, urban patterns, employment structures and the effects of globalisation.
Languedoc-Roussillon is a NUTS2 region, consisting of five departments, in the south of France and it borders with Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur,Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées and it is also bordered with the Mediterranean-Sea, Andorra and Spain. Its total area is 27 376 km2 with a total population of 2 727 286 as of 1 January 2013, with a population density of 94/km2.

The performance of the region
I chose to measure the regions performance in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita at purchasing power standards (PPS) and compared its rate to the EU28 and French averages. GDP per capita is the value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year divided by the middle-aged population of the country . Measurement in PPS helps because according to the definition given by Eurostat it is “a common currency that eliminates the differences in price levels between countries” which eliminates the differences between the prices of different countries and currencies. It is useful to compare the region’s performance to performance of the whole France in order to assess, whether the performance is below or above the French average. To get an even better picture of this performance one needs to compare the numbers to the European Union (28 countries) average as well.
From the PPS comparison chart it can be seen that Languedoc-Roussillon performs in this regard below the EU and French averages. The GDP development of the region generally follows that of the EU28 and the French average, although it is alwa...

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...nd involving over 4000 other ones in innovation and R&D. The main priorities are to develop innovation and the knowledge-based economy, in which this region is already at an advanced stage, reducing the vulnerability of the region by making it appealing to companies and entities and maintaining balance in regional development (ec.europa.eu). The programme is overseen by the French General of Regional Affairs and the Languedoc regional council. This further indicates that the region is going to develop further in the upcoming years thanks partly to the EU funding and the planned development that comes with it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Languedoc-Roussilon is, as of now, behind in performance to the French average, but it has good education, a growing population, a good location and a booming tourism industry that will help tremendously to improve its performance.

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