Abstract
Regional economic inequalities within the European Union are more than twice those in the United States when measured by the standard deviation of regional per capita income. We look at the evolution of a variety of indices of regional economic inequality in the European Union and show that inequality in per capita income, unemployment and labor productivity has not decreased during the last 17 years.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Armstrong, H.W. (1995a) “Convergence Among Regions of the European Union, 1950–1990”, Papers in Regional Science, 74: 143–152.
Armstrong, H.W. (1995b) “An Appraisal of the Evidence from Cross-sectional Analysis of the Regional Growth Process within the European Union”, in H.W. Armstrong, and R.W. Vickerman (eds.), Convergence and Divergence Among European Regions, London: Pion Ltd.
Baldwin, R.E. (1998) “Agglomeration and Endogenous Capital.” D.P. 1845, CEPR, London.
Barro, R. J and X. Sala (1991) “Convergence across States and Regions”, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1: 107–182.
Barro, R. J and X. Sala (1992) “Convergence”, Journal of Political Economy, 100: 223–251.
Begg, I. (1995) “Factor Mobility and Regional Disparities in the European Union”, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 11: 96–112.
Boldrin, M. and D. Levine (1997) “Growth Under Perfect Competition”, mimeo, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and UCLA, October.
Boldrin, M. and A. Rustichini (1994) “Growth and Indeterminacy in Dynamic Models with Externalities”, Econometrica, 62: 323–343.
Boldrin, M. and A. Rustichini (1995) “La crisi italiana. Note sul Federalismo possibile”, in Giavazzi, F. et al. (eds.), La Costituzione Fiscale, Mulino, Bologna, Italy.
Cambridge Econometrics (1997) “Aggregate and Regional Impact. Regional Growth and Convergence”, The Single Market Review, VI:I: 1–158.
Canova, F. (1998) “Testing for Convergence Clubs: A Predictive Density Approach”, mimeo, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, March.
Canova, F. and A. Marcet (1995) “The Poor Stay Poor: Non-Convergence Across Countries and Regions”, Discussion Paper No. 1265, CEPR, London, November.
Cecchini, P. (1988) The European Challenge: 1992, Aldershot, Wildwood House.
Ciccone, A. (1997) “Dynamic Externalities and the Spatial Distribution of Wages in the US”, mimeo, UC Berkeley.
Ciccone, A. and K. Matsuyama (1996) “Start-up Costs and Pecuniary Externalities as Barriers to Economic Development”, Journal of Development Economics, 49: 33–60.
Ciccone, A., G. Peri and D. Almond (1999) “Capital, Wages and Growth: Theory and Evidence”, mimeo, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) and UC Berkeley, May.
Cuadrado Roura, J.R. et al. (1998) Convergencia regionalen España. Hechos, tendencias y perspectivas, Fundación Argentaria, Madrid.
De la Fuente, A. and X. Vives (1995) “Infrastructure and Education as Instruments of Regional Policy: Evidence from Spain”, Economic Policy, 13–51.
Delors, J. (1989) Report on Economic and Monetary Union in the European Community, report to European Council by a Committee chaired by J. Delors, Brussels, Commission of the European Community.
Durlauf, S. and D. Quah (1998) “The New Empirics of Economic Growth.” N.B.E.R. w.p. no. 6422, February.
Economic and Social Cohesion Laboratory (1997) Study of the Socio-Economic Impact of Projects Financed by the Cohesion Fund, The European Institute, LSE, London.
Emerson, M. (1990) The Economies of 1992, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
European Commission (1991a) Las Regiones en la Dècada de los Noventa, Brussels, Commission of the European Community.
European Commission (1991b) Fourth Periodic Report on the Social and Economic Situation and Development of the Regions of the Community, Brussels, Commission of the European Communities, July.
European Commission (1994a) Fifth Periodic Report on the Social and Economic Situation and Development of the Regions of the Community, Brussels, Commission of the European Communities, July.
European Commission (1994b) First Periodic Report on Social Protection in Europe, 1993, Brussels, Commission of the European Communities, April.
European Commission (1996) First Cohesion Report, Brussels, Commission of the European Communities, November.
European Commission (1999a) Sixth Periodic Report on the Social and Economic Situation and Development of the Regions of the Community, Brussels, Commission of the European Communities, February.
European Commission (1999b) Draft. Annual Report on the Cohesion Funds. 1996, Brussels, Commission of the European Communities; available at http://www.inforegio.cec.eu.int/
European Commission (1999c) Annual Report on the Cohesion Funds. 1997, Brussels, Commission of the European Communities; available at http://www.inforegio.cec.eu.int/
European Council (1999a) Presidency Conclusions, European Council. 24 and 25 March 1999, available at http://www.inforegio.cec.eu.int/
European Council (1999b) “Council Regulation (EC) No. 1260/1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds”, Official Journal of the European Communities, 26/6/1999.
European Council (1999c) “Regulation (EC) No. 1783/1999 of the European Parliament and the Council of 12 July 1999 on the European Regional Development Fund”, Official Journal of the European Communities, 13/9/1999.
European Council (1999d) “Council Regulation (EC) No 1264/1999 of 21 June 1999 amending Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 establishing a Cohesion Fund”, Official Journal of the European Communities, 26/6/1999.
European Council (1999e) “Council Regulation (EC) No 1265/1999 of 21 June 1999 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 establishing a Cohesion Fund”, Official Journal of the European Communities, 26/6/1999.
European Parliament (1993) “The Efficiency of Regional Policy in the European Union: Evaluation of Direct and Indirect Impacts of the Structural Funds”, w.p. no. 7, Regional Policy Series, Brussels, Commission of the European Communities, December.
Eurostat (1995) Regions, Nomenclature for territorial unit for statistics, NUTS, March.
Faini, R. (1984) “Increasing Returns, Nontraded Inputs and Regional Development”, Economic Journal, 94: 308–323.
Fundación Banco Bilbao y Vizcaya (various years) Renta Nacional de España y su distribución provincial, Fundación BBV, Bilbao.
Fundación Banco Bilbao y Vizcaya (1995) El Stock de Capital en España y sus Comunidades Autonomas, Fundación, BBV, Bilbao.
Fujita, M., P. Krugman, and A. Venables (1997) The Spatial Economy: Cities, Regions and International Trade, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Grossman, G.M. and E. Helpman (1991) Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Grossman, G.M. and E. Helpman (1994) “Comparative Advantage and Long-run Growth”, American Economic Review, 80: 796–815.
Hannequart, A. (ed.) (1992) Economic and Social Cohesion in Europe, London: Routledge, Chapman and Hall Inc.
Harberger, A. (1998) “A Vision of the Growth Process”, American Economic Review, 84: 1–32.
Krugman, P. (1991) “Increasing Returns and Economic Geography”, Journal of Political Economy, 99: 483–499.
Krugman, P. and A. Venables (1995) “Globalization and the Inequality of Nations”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110: 857–880.
Mankiw, G., D. Romer and D. Weil (1992) “A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, CVII: 407–437.
Martin, P. (1997) “Can Regional Policies Affect Growth and Geography in Europe?” forthcoming, World Economy.
Matsuyama, K. (1995) “Complementarities and Cumulative Processes in Models of Monopolistic Competition”, Journal of Economic Literature, 33: 701–729.
Murphy, K., A. Shleifer and R. Vishny (1989) “Industrialization and the Big Push”, Journal of Political Economy, 97: 1003–1026
National Institute of Economic and Social Research (1992) A New Strategy for Social and Economic Cohesion after 1992. (The McDougall Report), London: NIESR.
Padoa-Schioppa, T. (1987) Efficiency, Stability and Equity: A Strategy for the Evolution of the Economic System of the European Community, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Parente, S. and E. Prescott (2000) Barriers to Riches, forthcoming, Cambdrige, MA: MIT Press.
Prescott, E. (1998) “Needed: A Theory of Total Factor Productivity”, International Economic Review.
Putnam, R. D. et al. (1993) Making Democracy Work, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Quah, D. (1993a) “Empirical Cross-section Dynamics in Economic Growth”, European Economic Review, 37: 426–434.
Quah, D. (1993b) “Galton’s Fallacy and the Convergence Hypothesis”, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 95: 427–443.
Quah, D. (1996) “Twin Peaks: Growth and Convergence in Models of Distribution Dynamics”, Economic Journal, 106: 1045–1055.
Rodrigues-Pose, A. (1996) The Socio-Political Bases of Regional Growth in Western Europe, Florence, European University Institute.
Romer, P. (1986) “Increasing Returns and Endogenous Growth”, Journal of Political Economy, 94: 1002–1037.
Romer, P. (1990) “Endogenous Technical Change”, Journal of Political Economy, 98: S71–S102.
Sachs, J. and A. Warner (1995) “Economic Convergence and Economic Policies”, N.B.E.R. w.p. No. 5039, February.
Solow, R. (1956) “A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70: 65–94.
Swan, T. (1956) “Economic Growth and Capital Accumulation”, Economic Record, II: 334–361.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Boldrin, M., Canova, F. (2001). Regional Economic Convergence: Is European Regional Policy Worth Keeping?. In: von Hagen, J., Widgren, M. (eds) Regionalism in Europe. ZEI Studies in European Economics and Law, vol 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1643-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1643-9_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5656-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1643-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive