Spatial and non spatial approaches to agricultural convergence in Europe

The paper starts from the critiques to the Barro-style methodology for convergence analysiswith the aim of reviewing the econometric approaches for testing spatial effects in convergenceprocess related to both cross sectional and panel data regressions, a framework that is appliedto a sample of 80 regions of the EU-15 at NUTS-2 level over the time period from 1980 to 2007.The empirical analysis compares results from approaches and, at the same time, providesempirical evidence from techniques that are now widely recognised in the understanding ofregional growth and the influence of space but never or rarely applied to the agriculturalcontext. Results point out the complexity of the process of agricultural regional convergence inEurope that cannot be adequately captured by the non-spatial growth regression models thathave dominated the research and policy debate in this field. Evidence for convergence andspatial dependence emerges especially when estimations refers to spatial panel models whilethe effects of spatial heterogeneity and the existence of convergence clubs come out from thegeographically weighted regression approach. The paper represents a point of departure forfurther researches in this field whose most important directions are underlined.