A development index for the Greek regions

Abstract

There has been a growing consensus in recent years that development is a multidimensional concept that embodies the enhancement of several aspects of human life and, as a result, it is too complex to be captured by single indices. Composite Indicators have increasingly been recognised as useful tools in the measurement of this concept. In the absence of rigorous and comprehensive empirical studies in Greece on this topic, the paper assesses and reveals the developmental transformations of the regional economies at NUTS 2 and 3 levels in the period 1991–2011. In this way, this study provides a more comprehensive and integrative perspective of regional development in Greece presenting empirical evidence not only from a country with large and persistent regional inequalities but also from a cohesion country of the European Union for which regional policy has been of critical importance in the last decades. Moreover, the study adds to the literature shedding light on an under-researched topic; the importance of spatial heterogeneity in the construction of Composite Indicators. The results reveal a heterogeneous regional pattern of development for the Greek case. The findings can be used by policymakers as a way to better understand and improve the regional development process.

Harnessing Spatial Heterogeneity in Composite Indicators through the Ordered Geographically Weighted Averaging (OGWA) Operator

“…On the contrary, researchers agree that the Spatial BoD and the GWPCA operationalize the concept of spatial heterogeneity. Seven out of ten articles mention the Spatial BoD (Fusco, Vidoli, and Sahoo, 2018; Fusco, Vidoli, and Rogge, 2020; Artelaris, 2022) and the GWPCA (Saib et al, 2015; Trogu and Campagna, 2018; Cartone and Panzera, 2021; Cartone and Postiglione, 2021) simultaneously with the terms “composite indicators” and “spatial heterogeneity” 1 . Only Doeffinger and Hall (2021) mention the Multiscale analyses among the 10 articles 1 that simultaneously mention the terms “composite indicators” and “spatial heterogeneity”.…”

“…This concept of heterogeneity is even stronger when the units' geographical location is considered (Fusco, Vidoli, and Rogge, 2020; Cartone and Postiglione, 2021; Artelaris, 2022). This idea is based on the principle of the disparity of the latent characteristics that define the multidimensional phenomenon in each of the spatial units (Fusco, Vidoli, and Sahoo, 2018).…”

Social Investment Policies and Territorial Inequalities

“…6 https:// www.europarl.europa.eu/ doceo/ document/ CRE-8-2017-11-13-ITM-019_ EL.html phenomena. Today, the construction of Composite Indicators at the regional level is probably one of the most interesting areas of research, mainly because of the need for better territorial policies (Artelaris, 2021). As a result, several Composite Indicators have been constructed to measure territorial cohesionusing, however, different numbers of dimensions and variables and producing different results.…”