Regional comparative evaluation: Synthetic regional development index (RDI) for Peru

Abstract

The objective of this research was to construct a new generation synthetic regional development index (RDI) that encompasses the four interdependent components of sustainable development (economic, social, environmental, and institutional). This index enables a comparative evaluation of regional development in Peru. The study employed rigorous methodologies, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for RDI construction, the Jenks Natural Breaks method for regional weighting, the sigma convergence analysis to examine regional disparities, and the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient to assess reliability. The results reveal that for the 2015-2019 period, certain regions (Callao, Ica, Moquegua, Lima) exhibit triple the level of development compared to others (Cajamarca, Huancavelica, Puno, Loreto), despite the latter possessing substantial development potential. One contributing factor is the limited progress observed in the institutional dimension. Furthermore, in hierarchical order, the dimensions with the greatest contribution to sustainable development are social (95.20%), environmental (85.98%), economic (84.78%) and institutional (49.42%). The proposed solution includes a prototype web platform that utilizes intelligent algorithms, big data, web scraping, and geospatial information to iteratively showcase regional development in Peru.