Trends in Mediterranean Inequalities 1950-2015

Abstract

This article is aimed at analysing the trends of economic, social and institutional inequality among the Mediterranean countries in the period 1950-2015. After the examination of the inequalities in GDP per capita among and within nations, we present a human development index (HDI) that includes a measure of democratic achievements. Main result is that inequalities in income, after the rise from the 1950s onwards, declined from the start of the twenty-first century. Inequalities in HDI, instead, constantly diminished in the period under examination, while a process of democratization occurred. On the whole, despite the convergence among Mediterranean countries, economic inequalities are much deeper than those in social indicators.

Key words: Inequality, Human development, Political regimes, Mediterranean economies.
JEL: O47, I3.

Trendovi u mediteranskim nejednakostima 1950-2015
Cilj rada je analiza trendova ekonomske, socijalne i institucionalne nejednakosti mediteranskih zemalja u periodu 1950-2015. Nakon ispitivanja nejednakosti u BDP-u po glavi stanovnika između i unutar zemalja, predstavljamo indeks ljudskog razvoja (HDI) koji uključuje merenje demokratskih dostignuća. Glavni rezultat je da su nejednakosti u dohotku, nakon porasta od 1950-ih nadalje, smanjene početkom dvadeset prvog veka. Nasuprot tome, nejednakosti u HDI-ju su se kontinuirano smanjivale u ispitivanom periodu, pojavom procesa demokratizacije. U celini, uprkos konvergenciji mediteranskih zemalja, ekonomske nejednakosti su mnogo dublje od onih u socijalnim pokazateljima.
Ključne reči: Nejednakost, ljudski razvoj, politički režimi, mediteranske ekonomije.