MORE SIMILAR AND LESS EQUAL - ECONOMIC-GROWTH IN THE EUROPEAN REGIONS

This paper examines the growth process of 109 European regions using a new data base. Applying various statistical tools, it concentrates on per capita income and labor productivity. The main results are the fo llowing: There has been a clear process of aggregate productivity conv ergence across the European regions over the 1980s. At the sectoral le vel, there has not been convergence in agriculture, while the industri al and services sectors show beta-convergence. Most crucially, the reg ional dispersion in per capita income has remained almost constant so that the differences in wealth conditions of the European citizens are still extremely high.