Spatial distribution of natural resources and their contribution to regional development. The case of Greece

Abstract

Traditionally, according to many regional development theories, the contribution of natural resources is considered of definitive importance to economic regional development and to the existence or lack of regional inequalities. Gradually, however, economic and technological evolution has altered the significance of natural resources to regional development and has brought other to the forefront more important factors that greatly affect the level of economic development in each region. This article studies the contribution of natural resources to the economic development of the prefectures of Greece, a country characterised by strong inequalities both on prosperity and spatial concentration levels. More specifically, the resources are initially distributed into basic categories, followed by an examination of the correlation that exists between each resource and the whole group of resources and five different indicators of prosperity related to the prefectures of Greece.