de La Macorra Y Cano, Luis Fernando

English

Research Papers in Economics

40th ERSA CONGRESS
European Monetary Union and Regional Policy
Barcelona 2000
Regional Disparities in Portugal & Spain (1986-1996)
De La Macorra y Cano, Luis Fernando
Universidad de Extremadura
Badajoz
España
lmacorra@unex.esIntroduction
Spain and Portugal are two european peripheral countries that in politic and economic
ways have been leading a nearly symmetric course of development all through the time,
been added at the same time at the European Communities (1986). Geographically, they
reach specially the known Iberic Peninsula, in the southeast limit of the european
continent with some archipelagos: “Islas Baleares” in the Mediterranean sea and “Ilhas
Açores”, “Archipelago de Madeira” and “Islas Canarias” in the Atlantic Ocean.
Administrativelly, the territorial units NUTS2 are associated to both of the countries with
regions or “Comunidades Autónomas” with a different step of politic and financial
autonomy. In this way, the  Spanish “Comunidades Autonomas” have an independency
grade pretty high in relation to the portuguese regions, although the Madeira and Açores
archipelagos have regional Parliament.
In this communication will treat the position and the absolute and relative dispersion  of
the territorial disparity, if we compare them among themselves and in relation to the
States they belong to. In the other hand, will describe facts and tendencies in the
development and recient convergence not only of the regional and national countries but
also of the production measured in a common homogenean and comparable unit,
calibrating the sigma convergence and the weighted sigma convergence.
1. Area and population
The total area of Spain and Portugal is of 597.897 Km², representing Spain the 85% and
Portugal the 15%. There is a bigger disparity in area measures in Spain than in Portugal
among the different NUTS II. Whereas in Spain we have “Comunidades Autónomas”
that reach nearly the area of Portugal, as Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-León or
Andalucía, another ones are very small, as Baleares, La Rioja, Murcia or the places, in
the North of Africa, Ceuta or Melilla; Portugal keeps a nearly homogeneity in the area of
its continental regions, except Algarve, which is smaller; and the only smaller regions are
the  insular ones. From the start, this lack of homogeneity among the different iberic
NUTS II, where some Autonomic Communities are so big as Portugal and the
archipelagos and the Autonomic Communities with only one province are very small, itgives it a bias that we will should have in mind when we analyse the population or the
product distribution. So, Spain and Portugal in its whole show a sigma
divergency of 1,64 in relation to area measures; if we include Ceuta and Melilla
( that have a small area, 32 Km2)  or 1,16 if we don´t incorporate it. So, will have to
consider for the divergency in the other variables this disparity to obtain a more real
convergence.
Table 1. Iberian NUTS II areas
NUTS II AREA
AREA    (Km2) log      %
Norte 21278 9,96542895 3,56
Centro 23668 10,0718792 3,96
Lisboa e Vale do Tejo 11931 9,38689533 2,00
Alentejo 26931 10,2010333 4,50
Algarve 4988 8,51479031 0,83
Açores 2330 7,75362355 0,39
Madeira 779 6,65801105 0,13
Andalucía 87600 11,3805363 14,65
Aragón 47720 10,7731059 7,98
Asturias 10604 9,26898657 1,77
Baleares 4992 8,51559191 0,83
Canarias 7447 8,91556655 1,25
Cantabria 5321 8,57941653 0,89
Castilla La Mancha 79462 11,2830342 13,29
Castilla León 94224 11,4534302 15,76
Cataluña 32113 10,3770162 5,37
Extremadura 41635 10,6366964 6,96
Galicia 29574 10,2946509 4,95
Madrid 8028 8,99069071 1,34
Murcia 11314 9,33379618 1,89
Navarra 10391 9,24869533 1,74
Pais Vasco 7235 8,88668564 1,21
La Rioja 5045 8,52615293 0,84
Valencia 23255 10,0542754 3,89
Ceuta y Melilla 32 3,4657359 0,01
SPAIN 505992 84,63
PORTUGAL 91905 15,37
PORTUGAL & SPAIN 597897 100,00
Sigma C. Mean Variation C.
Portugal & Spain 1,64 9,30 17,68
Portugal 1,25 8,94 13,98
Spain (- C y M) 1,02 9,80 10,37
Spain 1,75 9,44 18,58
Portugal & Spain (- CyM) 1,16 9,54 12,12
S.T.D. Mean Variation C.
Portugal & Spain 26484,01 23915,88 110,74
Portugal 10034,40 13129,29 76,43
Spain (- C y M) 29569,72 29762,35 99,35
Spain 29532,52 28110,67 105,06
Portugal & Spain (- CyM) 26568,20 24911,04 106,65Table 2.    Iberian NUT´s II population. (thousand inh.)
NUTS II 1986 % 1996 %
Norte 3577 7,32 3538 7,19
Centro 1777 3,64 1711 3,48
Lisboa e Vale do Tejo 3439 7,04 3312 6,73
Alentejo 556 1,14 522 1,06
Algarve 338 0,69 346 0,70
Açores 253 0,52 242 0,49
Madeira 268 0,55 258 0,52
Andalucía 6724 13,76 7128 14,49
Aragón 1206 2,47 1180 2,40
Asturias 1135 2,32 1071 2,18
Baleares 669 1,37 730 1,48
Canarias 1433 2,93 1563 3,18
Cantabria 525 1,07 527 1,07
Castilla La Mancha 1682 3,44 1694 3,44
Castilla León 2616 5,35 2510 5,10
Cataluña 6060 12,40 6066 12,33
Extremadura 1089 2,23 1075 2,18
Galicia 2842 5,81 2724 5,54
Madrid 4863 9,95 5016 10,20
Murcia 999 2,04 1084 2,20
Navarra 518 1,06 527 1,07
Pais Vasco 2186 4,47 2069 4,21
La Rioja 258 0,53 261 0,53
Valencia 3739 7,65 3913 7,95
Ceuta y Melilla 125 0,26 133 0,27
PORTUGAL 10208 20,89 9929 20,18
SPAIN 38669 79,11 39271 79,82
PORTUGAL & SPAIN 48877 100,00 49200 100,00
1986
S.T.D. Mean Variation C.
Portugal & Spain 1821,28 1955,08 93,16
Portugal 1386,28 1458,29 95,06
Spain (- C y M) 1921,10 2267,29 84,73
Spain 1930,38 2148,28 89,86
Portugal & Spain (- CyM) 1819,32 2031,33 89,56
1996
S.T.D. Mean Variation C.
Portugal & Spain 1871,26 1968,00 95,08
Portugal 1354,78 1418,43 95,51
Spain (- C y M) 1989,86 2302,24 86,43
Spain 1996,61 2181,72 91,52
Portugal & Spain (- CyM) 1871,20 2044,46 91,53
Refering to the population, it only has increased in one million of inhabitants in the whole
or the two countries, between 1986 and 1996 and the percentages of participation of the
portuguese and spanish population mantain themselves very steady in relation to thetotal, being only one fifth of the iberic population of portuguese origin; and, the
remaining one, spanish population. The population disparities are strong in Portugal and
in Spain. In Portugal, two regions (Norte and Lisboa e Vale do Tejo) gather 14% of the
iberic population, specially, due to the big metropolitan areas of Lisboa & Porto; while
the remaining ones, except Região Centro, keep very desert. In Spain, the mediterranean
area (Andalucía, Valencia, Murcia and Cataluña) and Madrid ( the capital) show more or
less a 45% of the iberic total, it means a very high percentage. In ways of media, the
average of inhabitants that have some of the iberic  NUTS II is of nearly two millions of
inhabitants, but the standard deviation is nearly two millions too.
In the tables number 2 & 3 we can study the evolution of the iberic population
composition at level NUTS II between years 1986 and 1996, in percentage differences
and in taxes of percentage variation of their differences. Independently of the departure
position some NUTS II win participation quotes and another ones loose it, but, in its
whole, the percentage variations are very short, so the interregional movility is also low.
Between countries, Portugal looses very slowly and Spain wins. And, by NUTS II, the
main ones are: Andalucía and Valencia, Madrid and Canarias ; and the main loosers are:
Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, País Vasco, Castilla León and Galicia.Table 3.   Evolution of Iberian NUT´s II population composition. (%).
1986 1996 Variations
          (i)          (ii)  (iii)=(ii)-(i)  (iii)/(i)
Norte 7,32 7,19 -0,13 -1,78
Centro 3,64 3,48 -0,16 -4,40
Lisboa e Vale do Tejo 7,04 6,73 -0,31 -4,40
Alentejo 1,14 1,06 -0,08 -7,02
Algarve 0,69 0,70 0,01 1,45
Açores 0,52 0,49 -0,03 -5,77
Madeira 0,55 0,52 -0,03 -5,45
Andalucía 13,76 14,49 0,73 5,31
Aragón 2,47 2,40 -0,07 -2,83
Asturias 2,32 2,18 -0,14 -6,03
Baleares 1,37 1,48 0,11 8,03
Canarias 2,93 3,18 0,25 8,53
Cantabria 1,07 1,07 0,00 0,00
Castilla La Mancha 3,44 3,44 0,00 0,00
Castilla León 5,35 5,10 -0,25 -4,67
Cataluña 12,40 12,33 -0,07 -0,56
Extremadura 2,23 2,18 -0,05 -2,24
Galicia 5,81 5,54 -0,27 -4,65
Madrid 9,95 10,20 0,25 2,51
Murcia 2,04 2,20 0,16 7,84
Navarra 1,06 1,07 0,01 0,94
Pais Vasco 4,47 4,21 -0,26 -5,82
La Rioja 0,53 0,53 0,00 0,00
Valencia 7,65 7,95 0,30 3,92
Ceuta y Melilla 0,26 0,27 0,01 3,85
PORTUGAL 20,89 20,18 -0,71 -3,40
SPAIN 79,11 79,82 0,71 0,90
PORTUGAL & SPAIN 100,00 100,00
1986
S.T.D. Mean Variation C.
Portugal & Spain 3,73 4,00 93,15
Portugal 2,84 2,99 95,02
Spain (- C y M) 3,93 4,64 84,76
Spain 3,95 4,40 89,87
Portugal & Spain (- CyM) 3,72 4,16 89,57
1996
S.T.D. Mean Variation C.
Portugal & Spain 3,80 4,00 95,12
Portugal 2,75 2,88 95,59
Spain (- C y M) 4,05 4,68 86,45
Spain 4,06 4,43 91,54
Portugal & Spain (- CyM) 3,80 4,16 91,562. Production
Among 1986 and 1996 has been produced a process of approaching the level of the
economic development in the two Iberic States in relation to the remaining Actual
Communitary Europe (EU 15), measured in terms of GDPph in purchasing parity power.
This approach is reflected in table number 4 where the fore values are showed to the
analysis period 1986-1999 (where the last three years are projections). As we may
observe, in only one decade, the increase of our states has been very strong, mainly in the
case of Portugal, that starting from very low levels (55,1% in the communitary media for
EU 15) has been able to recover positions to find itself nowadays in a 70% in the media
approximately. In the case of Spain, although increasing, is less spectacular, because it
also has passed from 70% in the communitary media (that is, the position that has now
Portugal) to a nearly 80%. Moreover, in this convergence process  of the two countries
in relation to the communitary media, as speed has been different , it has brought as a
consequency, not only an approaching of the two countries but also a decrease of the
differences between them, what we can observe in the third column in table 4.
Table 4. Ten years Iberian GDP per inhabitant (PPS) evolution. (EUR15=100)
Difference Variation
Portugal Spain Spain-Portugal Portugal Spain
1986 55,1 69,8 14,7
1987 56,7 71,5 14,8 2,90 2,44
1988 59,2 72,5 13,3 4,41 1,40
1989 59,4 73,1 13,7 0,34 0,83
1990 58,5 74,1 15,6 -1,52 1,37
1991 63,8 78,7 14,9 9,06 6,21
1992 64,8 77,0 12,2 1,57 -2,16
1993 67,7 78,1 10,4 4,48 1,43
1994 69,5 78,1 8,6 2,66 0,00
1995 70,1 78,6 8,5 0,86 0,64
1996 70,5 78,7 8,2 0,57 0,13
1997 70,7 77,8 7,1 0,28 -1,14
1998 71,1 78,6 7,5 0,57 1,03
1999 71,8 79,6 7,8 0,98 1,27
Difference 15,4 8,9
Variation 27,9 12,8
Furthermore, intuitively and observing not only the fourth and the fifth column where we
see increase taxes of the indexes of Spain and Portugal reflected in relation to Europe 15,
but observing figure 1, theIberic GDPph (pps) indexes (EU 15=100)
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Portuga
Spain
EU 15convergence speed is bigger in the period 1986-1993 (the first quinquennium of the
incorporation to the European Comunities) that in the period 1993-1999 (after the taking
of effect of the United European Market and the process of nominal convergence in
Maastricht criteria of the country group which will form the Monetary Economic Union).
Table 5. Ten years Iberian NUT II´s GDP per inhabitant (PPS) evolution. (IBERIA=100)
Variations
NUTS II 1986 1996 GDPph(pps
)
          (i)          (ii)  (iii)=(ii)-(i)  (iii)/(i) log (i) log(ii)
Norte 76,58 80,99 4,41 5,76 1,8841154 1,908431
Centro 62,49 79,04 16,55 26,48 1,7958105 1,897846
Lisboa e V.T. 118,69 114,87 -3,82 -3,22 2,0744141 2,060206
Alentejo 55,60 77,49 21,89 39,37 1,7450748 1,889245
Algarve 66,54 91,89 25,35 38,10 1,8230828 1,963268
Açores 59,79 64,90 5,11 8,55 1,7766286 1,812244
Madeira 60,24 70,74 10,50 17,43 1,779885 1,849665
Andalucía 79,13 74,24 -4,89 -6,18 1,8983412 1,87063
Aragón 113,74 115,39 1,65 1,45 2,0559132 2,062168
Asturias 105,50 95,53 -9,97 -9,45 2,0232525 1,980139
Baleares 135,47 125,90 -9,57 -7,06 2,1318431 2,100025
Canarias 103,85 96,44 -7,41 -7,14 2,0164065 1,984257
Cantabria 100,41 99,81 -0,60 -0,60 2,001777 1,999174
Castilla La Mancha 81,67 85,53 3,86 4,73 1,9120626 1,932118
Castilla  León 97,41 98,51 1,10 1,13 1,9886035 1,993480
Cataluña 123,33 128,63 5,30 4,30 2,0910687 2,109342
Extremadura 66,24 70,87 4,63 6,99 1,8211203 1,850462
Galicia 82,42 81,77 -0,65 -0,79 1,9160326 1,91259
Madrid 128,73 130,57 1,84 1,43 2,1096798 2,115843
Murcia 100,86 87,22 -13,64 -13,52 2,003719 1,940616
Navarra 127,08 127,33 0,25 0,20 2,1040772 2,104930
Pais Vasco 134,12 119,80 -14,32 -10,68 2,1274935 2,078456
La Rioja 124,83 115,52 -9,31 -7,46 2,096319 2,062657
Valencia 106,25 95,79 -10,46 -9,84 2,0263289 1,981320
Standard deviation (P&S) 25,74 20,19 Sigma Converg.(P&S) 0,1233 0,090
Standard deviation (S) 20,17 19,05 Sigma Converg.(S) 0,0874 0,082
Standard deviation (P) 20,27 15,22 Sigma Converg.(P) 0,1040 0,074
In table 5, we analyse the regional disparities and the sigma convergence of the product
per capita in homogeneous terms for the period 1986-1996 at the whole. For this, we
have calculated again the indexes, employing now one base 100 for the average value ofthe Iberic States (IBERIA = 100). As a consequence, those regions and Comunidades
Autonomas that are richer than the media its value will be bigger than 100; and those that
are less its value will be lower than 100.
If we compare, almost none of the portuguese regions except Lisboa e  Vale do Tejo, the
one that contains the capital (Lisboa) is above iberic average, being some of them as
Alentejo under it. Nearly all the Spanish Comunidades Autónomas are above the iberic
media, except some inside regions as Castilla- La Mancha, Castilla- León, Extremadura
and Galicia.
Table 6. Weighted Iberian NUT II´s GDP per inhabitant (PPS)
evolution.(IBERIA=100)
xi xii
1986 1996
log (i) log(ii) wi xi*wi xii*wi xi2*wi xii2*wi
Norte 1,88412 1,90843 3,56 6,70745 6,79402 12,637611 12,9659
Centro 1,79581 1,89785 3,96 7,11141 7,51547 12,77074 14,263
Lisboa e V.T. 2,07441 2,06021 2,00 4,14883 4,12041 8,60639 8,488
Alentejo 1,74507 1,88925 4,50 7,85284 8,50161 13,70379 16,06
Algarve 1,82308 1,96327 0,83 1,51316 1,62951 2,75861 3,199
Açores 1,77663 1,81224 0,39 0,69289 0,70678 1,23100 1,280
Madeira 1,77988 1,84967 0,13 0,23139 0,24046 0,41184 0,444
Andalucía 1,89834 1,87064 14,65 27,81070 27,40485 52,79419 51,264
Aragón 2,05591 2,06217 7,98 16,40619 16,45610 33,72970 33,935
Asturias 2,02325 1,98014 1,77 3,58116 3,50485 7,24558 6,940
Baleares 2,13184 2,10003 0,83 1,76943 1,74302 3,77215 3,660
Canarias 2,01641 1,98426 1,25 2,52051 2,48032 5,08237 4,92
Cantabria 2,00178 1,99917 0,89 1,78158 1,77926 3,56633 3,557
Castilla La Mancha 1,91206 1,93212 13,29 25,41131 25,67785 48,58802 49,612
Castilla  León 1,98860 1,99348 15,76 31,34039 31,41725 62,32361 62,629
Cataluña 2,09107 2,10934 5,37 11,22904 11,32717 23,48069 23,892
Extremadura 1,82112 1,85046 6,96 12,67500 12,87922 23,08270 23,832
Galicia 1,91603 1,91259 4,95 9,48436 9,46734 18,17235 18,107
Madrid 2,10968 2,11584 1,34 2,82697 2,83523 5,96400 5,998
Murcia 2,00372 1,94062 1,89 3,78703 3,66776 7,58814 7,117
Navarra 2,10408 2,10493 1,74 3,66109 3,66258 7,70323 7,709
Pais Vasco 2,12749 2,07846 1,21 2,57427 2,51493 5,47674 5,227
La Rioja 2,09632 2,06266 0,84 1,76091 1,73263 3,69142 3,573
Valencia 2,02633 1,98132 3,89 7,88242 7,70734 15,97237 15,270
Sums (P&S) 99,98 194,76031 195,76596 380,35357 383,956
1986 Weighted Sigma Convergence (P&S) 0,09
1996 Weighted Sigma Convergence (P&S) 0,07
Sums (P) 15,37 28,257954 29,508253 52,119982 56,704
Sums (S) 84,61 166,50235 166,25771 328,23359 327,25
1986 Weighted Sigma Convergence (P) 0,10
1996 Weighted Sigma Convergence (P) 0,051986 Weighted Sigma Convergence (S) 0,08
1996 Weighted Sigma Convergence (S) 0,08
At last, we calculate in table 6, the weighted sigma convergence in the Iberic States,
Portugal, and Spain, not considering the small places of Ceuta and Melilla, and working
with area percentages as weights for every iberic NUT II. From this table, we are able to
compare the evolution of results along time between countries and bearing in mind the
less developed results of non-weighted sigma convergences.
Conclusions
1)  Some NUTS II in Spain are as huge as Portugal as a whole & some smaller than
Madeira, so sigma convergence comparisons should consider this facts.
2)   Iberic Peninsula has a pheripherical system of population, except Madrid, the capital
of Spain.
3)  In ten years in the European Communities (1986-1996) Portugal & Spain has
approched a lot to the average of the European countries and has aproximated
themselves.
4)   The more developed areas in the Iberic Peninsula, as a consecuence of population
system, are the Mediterranean Coast, Madrid and the “Eixo Atlántico”, from
Setubal/Lisboa to Porto (in Portugal) and now being extended to A Coruña (In
Spain). Another traditional developed areas are declining.
5)  Among 1986 and 1996 there has been almost no interregional change in iberic nut´s
ii population percntages.
6)  The sigma convergence or the weighted sigma convergence demonstrate a very
similar situation in iberic regional disparities among this years.
7)  But we think the weighted sigma convergence formula that we use is a more
accurated concept to mesure it.

REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN PORTUGAL AND SPAIN. (1986-1996)

http://www-sre.wu-wien.ac.at/ersa/ersaconfs/ersa00/pdf-ersa/pdf/277.pdf

REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN PORTUGAL AND SPAIN. (1986-1996)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Research Papers in Economics