Convergence in social well-being: Are Spanish regions closing the gap?

Ana Cárcaba, Francisco J. Delgado, Eduardo González and Maria J. Presno
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Ana Cárcaba: Universidad de Oviedo
Francisco J. Delgado: Universidad de Oviedo
Eduardo González: Universidad de Oviedo
Maria J. Presno: Universidad de Oviedo

INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, 2026, vol. 66, issue 66, 33-54

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.

Keywords: Quality of life; subjective well-being; convergence; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D60 H50 I30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:invreg:023678

DOI: 10.38191/iirr-jorr.25.011

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