161 – The wealth of regions: divergence/convergence factors in “constitutional” wellbeing indicators in an empirical analysis on Italian regions

Abstract

We test for the presence of convergence/divergence in wellbeing among Italian regions using as a reference the Italian Constitutional Law and the novel institutional taxonomy of Equitable and Sustainable Wellbeing Indicators measuring wellbeing in a multidimensional perspective. We find evidence of a weak convergence process that is however slowed down by the shock of the constitutional decentralisation reform giving more power to regional administrations. We as well document relatively more convergence in indicators depending on market forces than on regional administrations. Based on our findings, we outline policy suggestions for the optimal stateperiphery mix in terms of centralization/decentralization, diffusion and convergence of the wellbeing of regions.

Keywords: wellbeing indicators, convergence, regional development.

JEL numbers: I31, R10, R11.