The Regions of Economic Well-being in Italy and Spain

MURIAS P., NOVELLO S. and MARTINEZ F. The regions of economic well-being in Italy and Spain, Regional Studies. When analysing economic performance, regional studies highlight the limits of income-level indicators and recommend the use of multidimensional notions. This paper proposes a composite indicator of regional economic well-being based on data envelopment analysis, including income distribution, legacy for future generations or economic security, and which respects the distinctiveness of every region. Studying Italy and Spain, the findings challenge the historical dual map of rich and poor regions. The issue of scale in terms of regional economic well-being is thus equally important. While not claiming the superiority of administrative regions in the explanation of economic well-being, it is concluded that the scale of social-economic processes underlying it remains essentially territorially based.