Abstract
More Similar and Less Equal: Economic Growth in the European Regions. — This paper examines the growth process of 109 European regions using a new data base. Applying various statistical tools, it concentrates on per capita income and labor productivity. The main results are the following: There has been a clear process of aggregate productivity convergence across the European regions over the 1980s. At the sectoral level, there has not been convergence in agriculture, while the industrial and services sectors show ß-convergence. Most crucially, the regional dispersion in per capita income has remained almost constant so that the differences in wealth conditions of the European citizens are still extremely high.
Zusammenfassung
Ähnlicher und weniger gleich. Wirtschaftswachstum in den europäischen Regionen. — Der Verfasser untersucht den Wachstumsprozeß von 109 europäischen Regionen unter Verwendung einer neuen Datenbasis. Er benutzt verschiedene statistische Maße, insbesondere das Pro-Kopf-Einkommen und die Arbeitsproduktivität. Die Hauptergebnisse sind : Bei der aggregierten Produktivität hat es zwischen den europäischen Regionen in den achtziger Jahren einen klaren Konvergenzprozeß gegeben. Auf Sektorebene gab es bei der Landwirtschaft keine Konvergenz, während der Industrie- und Dienstleistungssektor eine ß-Konvergenz aufwies. Bemerkenswert ist aber, daß die regionale Verteilung des Pro-Kopf-Einkommens fast gleich geblieben ist, so daß die Unterschiede in den Wohlstandsbedingungen der europäischen Bürger immer noch extrem groß sind.
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