How administrative degradation affects middle-sized cities

In a recent paper, Dr Paula Nagler and Prof Frank van Oort, together with IHS alumnus Borys Cieślak, looked into the impact of Poland’s 1998 regional reform on local socioeconomic development of middle-sized cities. This reform, which substantially reduced the number of regions, divided cities into those retaining regional capital status and those losing it. It also provided a unique opportunity to analyse its effects on socioeconomic disparities. The full paper in Regional Studies can be found here: How administrative degradation affects middle-sized cities: lessons from Poland’s 1998 regional reform.