European integration, foreign direct investment (FDI), and the geography of French trade, Regional Studies. An augmented gravity model is used to investigate whether the 1978-2000 process of European integration has changed the geography of trade within France, with a particular focus on border regions. It is found that once controlled for bilateral distance, origin- and destination-specific characteristics, French border regions trade on average 73% more with neighbouring countries than predicted by the gravity norm. The regions perform even better if they have good transport connections with these countries. However, French border regions at the periphery of Europe experienced a downward trend over the period that was partly due to the decrease in the propensity of Spanish and Italian foreign affiliates to trade with their home countries.
