Geografie 2024, 129, 61-90
The foundational economy and the economic resilience of Czech and Slovak regions during four recessions
, Jaroslav Rusnák2, Adam Červenka1
1University of Ostrava, Faculty of Science, Department of Human Geography and Regional Development, Ostrava, Czechia
2Comenius University Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Economic and Social Geography, Demography and Territorial Development, Bratislava, Slovakia
Received May 2023
Accepted December 2023
In this paper, the authors analyze the relationships between the foundational economy and the economic resilience of Czech and Slovak regions during four different waves of economic recession. The effects of specialization in the material and providential foundational economies, the automotive industry, and business services on short-term regional resistance measured by relative unemployment changes were tested during the global economic crisis (“the Great Recession”), the austerity crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Russo-Ukrainian War. The association between current and past recessions and the type of regions (old industrial, rural) and regional resilience were also examined. Spatial lag regression models showed that regional economic resilience patterns varied significantly from one economic shock to another. The effects of the foundational economy were weaker than expected and non-significant in case of the material foundational economy.
Keywords
industrial structure, foundational economy, regional economic resilience, pandemic, Russo-Ukrainian War, Czechia, Slovakia.
Funding
This work was supported by project SGS07/PřF/2023 Economic resilience of old industrial regions.
