Correlation between regional and aggregate GDP growth In this problem you are asked to compute the correlation between regional and aggregate EA12 GDP growth for your country (or for another country of your choice), as in Table 26.1 (which reports only a few European countries).

a. Go to the Eurostat website (http://epp.eurostat.ec.

europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/) and go to the section on Statistics and then to the section on Regions and Cities. In the Regional Economic Accounts, download the regional GDP growth for the regions of your country (NUTS 2 or 3 level) for the past ten years.

Now download, from the main Statistics section, the aggregate GDP growth for the Euro Area 12 (EA12) for the same years.

b. Compute the correlation between regional and national GDP growth for the two sub-periods, as in Table 26.1. Are regions in your country more or less similar to each other in terms of growth?

c. Now compute the correlation between regional and aggregate EA12 GDP growth for the two sub-periods, as in Table 26.1. Are the regions in your country more or less similar to the evolution of GDP in the EA12?

a. Plot the quarterly GDP growth rates from 2005 to 2010.
Did any quarters have negative growth? How did your country differ from the average EU27?
Now retrieve the monthly data series on the participation rate, employment, the employment-to-population ratio and the unemployment rate for the period 2007–2010. Make sure all data series are seasonally adjusted.