The paper aims to shed light on the geography of well-being in Italian regions and explain the distance of a given region from an efficiency frontier. We build a composite regional well-being index over the period 2010-2015. Then using the index as output, we estimate a well-being generating function to rank Italian regions in terms of efficiency in attaining well-being. The rankings confirm the divide between Northern and Southern regions as regards overall well-being and efficiency. Our findings indicate that regions more dependent on external financing achieve lower efficiency scores. Current failures should not be used to reinforce selfish localism; they should rather stimulate the search for more effective policies to reduce disparities. (c) 2020 Economic Society of Australia, Queensland. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Generating well-being and efficiency: Evidence from Italy
Bonanno G.;D'Orio G.;Lombardo R.
2020-01-01
Abstract
The paper aims to shed light on the geography of well-being in Italian regions and explain the distance of a given region from an efficiency frontier. We build a composite regional well-being index over the period 2010-2015. Then using the index as output, we estimate a well-being generating function to rank Italian regions in terms of efficiency in attaining well-being. The rankings confirm the divide between Northern and Southern regions as regards overall well-being and efficiency. Our findings indicate that regions more dependent on external financing achieve lower efficiency scores. Current failures should not be used to reinforce selfish localism; they should rather stimulate the search for more effective policies to reduce disparities. (c) 2020 Economic Society of Australia, Queensland. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
