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Fitting Regional Income Distributions in the European Union

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  • Maria Grazia Pittau

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.

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  • Maria Grazia Pittau, 2005. "Fitting Regional Income Distributions in the European Union," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 67(2), pages 135-161, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:obuest:v:67:y:2005:i:2:p:135-161
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0084.2004.00114.x
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    2. Ms. Camelia Minoiu & Sanjay Reddy, 2008. "Kernel Density Estimation Based on Grouped Data: The Case of Poverty Assessment," IMF Working Papers 2008/183, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Joachim Frick & Jan Goebel, 2008. "Regional Income Stratification in Unified Germany Using a Gini Decomposition Approach," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 555-577.
    4. Breinlich, Holger & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P. & Temple, Jonathan R.W., 2014. "Regional Growth and Regional Decline," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 4, pages 683-779, Elsevier.
    5. Falko Juessen, 2009. "A distribution dynamics approach to regional GDP convergence in unified Germany," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 627-652, December.
    6. Di Vaio, Gianfranco & Enflo, Kerstin, 2011. "Did globalization drive convergence? Identifying cross-country growth regimes in the long run," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(6), pages 832-844, August.
    7. Daniel J. Henderson, 2010. "A test for multimodality of regression derivatives with application to nonparametric growth regressions," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(3), pages 458-480.
    8. Daniel J. Henderson & Christopher F. Parmeter & R. Robert Russell, 2008. "Modes, weighted modes, and calibrated modes: evidence of clustering using modality tests," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(5), pages 607-638.
    9. Gianfranco Di Vaio & Kerstin Enflo, 2009. "Did globalisation lead to segmentation? Identifying cross-country growth regimes in the long-run, 1870-2003," Working Papers 9013, Economic History Society.
    10. Battisti, Michele & Delgado, Michael S. & Parmeter, Christopher F., 2015. "Evolution of the global distribution of carbon dioxide: A finite mixture analysis," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 31-52.
    11. Amini, Shahram & Battisti, Michele & Parmeter, Christopher F., 2017. "Decomposing changes in the conditional variance of GDP over time," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 376-387.
    12. Paul Johnson & Chris Papageorgiou, 2020. "What Remains of Cross-Country Convergence?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(1), pages 129-175, March.
    13. Kurt Geppert & Andreas Stephan, 2008. "Regional disparities in the European Union: Convergence and agglomeration," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 87(2), pages 193-217, June.
    14. repec:esx:essedp:729 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Gianfranco Di Vaio & Kerstin Enflo, 2009. "Did Globalization Lead to Segmentation? Identifying Cross-Country Growth Regimes in the Long-Run," Working Papers CELEG 0902, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, LUISS Guido Carli.
    16. Hajo Holzmann & Sebastian Vollmer, 2008. "A likelihood ratio test for bimodality in two-component mixtures with application to regional income distribution in the EU," AStA Advances in Statistical Analysis, Springer;German Statistical Society, vol. 92(1), pages 57-69, February.
    17. Pittau, Maria Grazia & Zelli, Roberto & Johnson, Paul, "undated". "Mixture Models and Convergence Clubs," Vassar College Department of Economics Working Paper Series 91, Vassar College Department of Economics.
    18. Maria Grazia Pittau & Roberto Zelli & Paul A. Johnson, 2010. "Mixture Models, Convergence Clubs, And Polarization," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(1), pages 102-122, March.
    19. Shahram Amini & Michele Battisti & Christopher F. Parmeter, 2011. "Decomposing The Conditional Variance of Cross-Country Output," Working Papers 2011-18, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
    20. Longford, N.T. & Pittau, M.G., 2006. "Stability of household income in European countries in the 1990s," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 1364-1383, November.

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