Does crisis affect convergence process? The case of the Spanish provinces

We study the possible existence of convergence across the Spanish provinces, paying special attention to the influence the recent international crisis has had on this process. To this end, we have taken the traditional per capita GDP as well as the multidimensional index of human development as a reference. Our results show that the convergence pattern has been clearly modified by the crisis; the differences are greater in 2014 than in 2007. Nevertheless, a greater effect of the crisis has not been observed on predominantly urban provinces, in contrast to what other authors have found in the case of Europe.