Centralność i peryferyjność w badaniach rynku pracy

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to compare the concepts of centrality and peripherity with labour market problems. If a labour market is a constituent of social-economic sphere showing spatial and temporal changes, these changes include also labour market from local level, through regional one, to national level. The aim of the paper is to show centrality and peripherity of regional labour market with special reference to Katowice conurbation and selected urban labour markets in this conurbation, and also to reveal changeability of this dualism in the succeeding stages of transformations of these labour markets. The most important feature of the regional labour market model in the area of Katowice conurbation is fact that since the 1750s to the 1930s a centripetal model of labour market occurred, whereas in the 1950s and 1960s decentralizing trends occurred connected with realization of regional plan of the Silesian Province (1951–1953) including deglomeration ideas. This caused differentiation of job market development in individual towns of Katowice conurbation leading to greater complexity of centre-peripheries system. At the contact zone of the centre and peripheries a new area of subcentre originated showing dynamic development. The decade of the 1970s intensified the labour market, especially in the eastern part of the conurbation. Further development of the subcentre took place and this area divided into two parts: the western part which is composed of coal-mine centres located west and south of Gliwice, and the eastern part including a large labour market in Dabrowa Górnicza and coal-mine centres in Bierun and Ledziny. Economic transformation of the Katowice conurbation diminished development of centres of the northern fringe of the conurbation. Both models of regional and urban labour markets indicate changeability of centre-peripheries system of labour market functioning.