Regional inequalities in Greece

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to study the regional inequalities among 51 Greek (NUTS III) regions during the period 1981-2004. The vast majority of studies that have examined this issue use GDP per capita as an indicator of regional welfare. However, an exclusive focus on this index is not very informative and could give a misleading picture of regional inequalities. As a result, an alternative Composite Indicator of Development and Prosperity (CIDP) has been developed in order for many dimensions of regional quality of life and well-being to be included. Two main conclusions can be drawn by the empirical analysis. Firstly, the level of regional inequalities of the composite indicator is always higher than the corresponding one of the GDP per capita. Secondly, strong evidence is presented that there is not a regional catching up process in motion for both indicators.