The origins of economic growth and regional income inequality in Latin Europe, 1870-1950

Abstract

Regional income inequality in Latin Europe (France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal) showed a distinctive pattern between 1870 and 1950. Data about population on a decadal basis and Gross Domestic Product (gdp) for 171 regions (84 French départements, 22 Italian regioni, 18 Portuguese distritos, and 49 Spanish provincias) shows that regional inequality increased from 1870 to 1910 but gradually flattened out thereafter until 1950. Current regional disparities in per-capita income throughout Latin Europe are essentially the result of a long-term evolution that traces back to the origins of modern economic growth. Moreover, this study shows the emergence of the core-periphery pattern that characterizes much of Latin Europe today.