Uncovering norway’s regional disparities with respect to natural riches

Abstract

This study investigates regional development differences in the natural resource-based activities that take place in Norway’s NUTS 3 regions. Norway’s natural riches range from agricultural and forest resources to fisheries, mines, petroleum, and gas. Considering the possible spatial links among regional characteristics of the Norwegian economy, this study not only reveals the wide-ranging distribution of resource-based activities, but also sheds light on divergent income and population patterns in the Norwegian regions. These patterns are investigated through a number of fixed and random effects panel data models that test the impact of employment, investment, and value added in natural resource sectors on regional differences for the period 1997–2007. The main findings suggest that mining and quarrying, as well as oil and gas extraction activities, generate significant advantages for regional income generation and population density depending on employment, investment, and value added of the industries. Additional analysis indicates that oil and gas extraction activities also have some influence on the growth of population density – unlike other resource-based activities in Norway. © 2015, European Regional Science Association. All rights reserved.