Changing Patterns of Economic Development in a Developed Country

(Belgium)

  • Industrial development in any region changes over time. Industries typically experience growth, mature and decline. The life cycle of a manufacturing industry may last for several decades or until all the natural resources are depleted

  • The coalfields in the Sambre-Meuse valley in Wallonia in southern Belgium were a major source of energy and the basis for industrial development between the 19th and mid-20th centuries. They are now in decline, primarily as a result of over-exploitation during the Industrial Revolution

  • Coal mining took off in the early 1800s, with about 250 coal mines producing over 300 million tonnes per year at their peak

  • Not only as this coal a source of energy but it was also a primary component for the chemical and synthetic textile industry. The coal seems also contained iron ore which was the raw material for the iron and steel industries. In the 19th and early 20 centuries, the concentration of coal mining, steel production, engineering chemicals, glass and textiles made the Sambre-Meuse valley one of the most heavily industrialised regions in the world. A continuous line of industrial centres developed along the coalfields at Mons, Namur, Charleroi Liege and La Louviere

  • By 1955, the best coal seams were exhausted, with the production declining steadily until the last kind closed in 1984. Industries associated with coal mining also went into decline, with many eventually forced to cease operations, causing widespread unemployment

  • Many of the young people migrated to Brussels and Flanders in search of better and more stable job opportunities

  • As a result , the core region of Belgiums economy shifted from Wallonia to Flanders

  • Since the 1960s, Flanders has experiences significant economic growth. It has enticed many modern footloose industries such as electronics and pharmaceuticals and high value service industries such as business, finance and decent transport and telecommunications infrastructure, links to other EU countries, easy access to Antwerp (Europes third largest port), a young, highly-educated workforce and the decision to open a major steel industry in Zelzate, making it the main steel producing region in Belgium