On the Sources of Convergence : A Close Look at the Spanish Regions.

The dominant view in the recent literature on regional convergence seems to be that the evolution of regional incomes in the industrial countries is characterized by very slow but absolute beta convergence. In this paper we challenge this view on the basis of an analysis of the Spanish experience. We develop and estimate a simple descriptive growth model which allows for factor accumulation, technological diffusion and rate effects from human capital and includes fixed regional effects to convergence.