European metropolitan regions: a convergence process?

Regional convergence has become a heated topic in recent decades. Most papers studying this question define regions according to normative criteria, even though this can lead to biased conclusions. In contrast, this article explores the per capita income (PCI) distribution of metropolitan regions defined by a functional criterion, the agglomerated population. Specifically, we examine the external shape and internal movements of the PCI distribution in a sample of 235 European metropolitan regions over the period 1995 to 2006. The results describe a process of income convergence among these regions.