Maria Grazia Pittau

Fitting Regional Income Distributions in the European Union 

Abstract

Cross-sectional distribution of per capita (log) GDP across the European Union regions from 1977 to 1996 is analysed. Kernel density estimates reveal a multimodal structure of the distribution during the 1970s and early 1980s, and a tendency towards unimodality since the mid 1980s.

The distribution is further analysed by a mixture of normal densities. A two well-separated component mixture fits the distributions in the 1970s and early 1980s.

These two clusters tend to converge, supporting the idea of a process of catching up. In the mid 1990s, a small group of very rich regions is generated by a separated component.

Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 67, 2, 135--161, 2005.