Convergence in social well-being

Are Spanish regions closing the gap?

Authors

Ana Cárcaba Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Oviedo, Spain. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7487-0031
Francisco J. Delgado Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Oviedo, Spain. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5086-7011
Eduardo González Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Oviedo, Spain. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1091-815X
Maria J. Presno Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Oviedo, Spain. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8691-4027

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.38191/iirr-jorr.25.011

Keywords:

quality of life, subjective well-being, convergence, Spain

Abstract

The literature on Quality of Life (QoL) and Subjective Well Being (SWB) highlights the idea that economic indicators, such as GDP, do not provide an accurate account of the real progress of societies. We study the evolution of social progress through several social indicators for the 17 Spanish regions during the period 2008-2020. In searching for patterns of convergence, we apply the club convergence approach. The data available point to the existence of three clubs for the indicators considered: material conditions and QoL. Therefore, there are no signs of global convergence. The analysis of the data also reveals that some of the richest regions in terms of GDP (Madrid and Cataluña), achieve only moderate results in terms of quality of life. Some policy recommendations arise from comparing the evolution of well-being and GDP per capita.

Author Biography

Francisco J. Delgado, Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Oviedo, Spain.

Subdirector Departamento de Economía. Universidad de Oviedo

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Published

2025-10-23

Issue

Publicaciones Online

Section

Artículos

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