Productivity convergence in the European regions, 1980-2003: A sectoral and spatial approach

Jose Villaverde (1) , Adolfo Maza (2)

1 Economics
2 Economics

This paper analyses the evolution of the EU productivity between 1980 and 2003, both across regions and sectors. By making use of various techniques (cross-section, non-parametric and spatial approaches) it concludes that: 1) the regional and sectoral dispersion of productivity is quite high; 2) the gains experienced in aggregate productivity are due entirely to the sectors productivity growth effect; 3) there is a weak beta-convergence process at the aggregate and sectoral levels; 4) the accounting decomposition of the aggregate productivity convergence process reveals the sectoral productivity growth effect to be the only responsible for regional catching-up; 5) finally, there are clear signs of spatial dependence which, when properly addressed, increase the speed of convergence at the aggregate level.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Jose Villaverde, Adolfo Maza. Productivity convergence in the European regions, 1980-2003: A sectoral and spatial approach. Applied Economics, 2008, 40 (10), pp.1299-1313. ⟨10.1080/00036840600771361⟩. ⟨hal-00582048⟩