Romanian Review of Regional Studies (Jan 2006)
Industrialisation and “Deindustrialisation” in the Land of Bârsa
Abstract
Starting from identifying the appearance, the maintenance, and the increase of industrial imbalance in the Land of Bârsa, in this study we focused on both the industrialisation process, with its four evolutionary stages (localisation, selective concentration, regional polarisation, and mobility) and on the existing industrial disparities. Year 1990 was the starting point for increasing these disparities with a significant impact on economy, population, the settlement system, and the environment. Some of the factories were shut down, others underwent bankruptcy, and industry changed its evolutionary trend to a rapid decline. The “deindustrialisation” syntagm covers the new path followed by industry during the transition period, from a centralised economy to a market-oriented one that was supported by industrial reorganisation and privatisation. Either for the former or for the latter, the main purpose was the same: diminishing and eliminating the present industrial imbalances.
