Agricultural productivity in the European regions: Trends and explanatory factors

This paper examines the spatial distribution of agricultural productivity in the European regions for the period 1990–2000, using a twofold descriptive and explanatory approach that allows us to overcome some of the drawbacks of conventional convergence analysis. The spatial distribution of agricultural productivity is summarized in a regional typology that enables us to evaluate the distribution of agricultural productivity and trends across European regions. The various inequality indices and estimated density functions reveal a decrease in regional agricultural productivity disparities, and intra-distribution mobility appears to be relatively limited during the study period. Additionally, the results obtained from the regression analysis are in line with those obtained at the national level. Finally, our non-parametric approach permits us to assess the role of variables such as economic development, agricultural structure and productive specialization in the dynamics of the distribution under analysis.