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The long‐term relationship between economic development and regional inequality: South‐West Europe, 1860–2010
Author(s) -
DíezMinguela Alfonso,
GonzálezVal Rafael,
MartinezGalarraga Julio,
Sanchis M. Teresa,
Tirado Daniel A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
papers in regional science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.937
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1435-5957
pISSN - 1056-8190
DOI - 10.1111/pirs.12489
Subject(s) - inequality , industrialisation , economics , agrarian society , per capita , economic geography , geography , development economics , agriculture , demography , mathematical analysis , population , mathematics , archaeology , market economy , sociology
This paper analyses the long‐term relationship between regional inequality and economic development. Our data set includes information on national and regional per capita GDP for four countries: France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, compiled on a decadal basis for the period 1860–2010. Using parametric and semiparametric regressions, our results confirm the rise and fall of regional inequalities over time although in recent decades they are on the rise again. Finally, we identify structural change as being a significant transmission mechanism of the inverted‐U relationship. The arrival of technological shocks, beginning during the onset of industrialization, and the transition from agrarian to industrial economies, would explain this result.