Patterns of industrialisation and deindustrialisation in Europe

The aim of the article is to analyse the performance of the manufacturing sector in Europe in order to check whether there is a relationship between the level of development and the share of the industrial sector, and whether the manufacturing sector plays a key role in the economic growth and catching-up processes in European countries. The results of the study show that the evolution of the manufacturing sector is very different between countries, not only between countries at different levels of development but also between similar countries. The results also show the key role played by the Global Financial Crisis in explaining the fall in manufacturing output and employment and the deindustrialisation processes detected in certain countries.