CROSS-border opportunities to boost the Kent economy will be explored at the University of Kent this month.

Professor Roger Vickerman will argue that the county is not taking full advantage of its unique geographical position and could benefit from a greater awareness and openess.

In his talk, titled Kent as a Border Region Economy: A Drain or a French Invasion, he will summarise his own research and illustrate how there has been little exploitation of the opportunities across the border.

He will also show how there has been less development of commuting to the continent than in other regions not so well-placed.

A dearth of information on the opportunities and poor language skills are blamed for the lack of uptake.

Prof Vickerman studied economics at Cambridge and Sussex before holding positions at universities in Germany, Australia and Canada.

He is currently the visiting professor in the department of economics at the Central European University, Budapest.