Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A Regional Development Index for Portugal

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In a report from 2008 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development came to the conclusion that Portugal is a country still very much marked by regional asymmetries and in need of better regional governance mechanisms and policies. We propose a regional development index for Portugal at the NUTS III level, based on the methodology of the human development index (HDI) from the United Nations Development Programme, which will be helpful to assess the evolution of the asymmetries between regions and evaluate the need for regional policy. Results show us a country that has most of the highest ranked NUTS III regions positioned along the coastline, although some interior NUTS III regions improved their relative positions in the ranking between 2004 and 2009. In addition to the three traditional dimensions of the HDI—income, education, and health—we include two more, given their increasing importance in the literature that criticizes the HDI and suggests the inclusion of new variables—governance and environment. Results show some considerable differences when we add the environment dimension: the interior regions improve their relative positions in the ranking, but in terms of governance they change little. Results also show that there is still the need for regional policy, although the dispersion in the ranking between the best and worst positioned NUTS III regions has decreased in all dimensions except education.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The NUTS III level (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, level III) designates the sub-statistical regions that divide the Portuguese territory, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the European Council of 26 of May of 2003.

  2. Which comprised the HDI, designed by economist Mahbub ul Haq with the help of the conceptual framework of the capabilities approach of Amartya Sen’s work (Sen 1984), and published in 1990.

  3. http://hdr.undp.org/external/toolkit/contents/hdr_included.html.

  4. We follow the methodology of UNDP for the HDI in the construction of the sub-indices and in the aggregation of the dimensions to obtain the PRDI.

  5. Çolak and Ege (2013) also use the methodology for normalization of the HDI, when calculating a composite index to assess the EU 2020 Growth Strategy.

References

  • Aguña, C. G., & Kovacevic, M. (2011). Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of the human development index. Human Development Research Paper 2010/47, February.

  • Alkire, S. (2010). Human development: Definitions, critiques, and related concepts. Human Development Research Paper 2010/01, June.

  • Alkire, S., & Foster, J. (2010). Designing the inequality-adjusted human development index (IDHI). Human Development Research Paper 2010/28, October.

  • Basu, S., & Basu, P. (2005). Regional disparity in Australia: Analysis of gender development index. International Review of Business Research Papers, 1(2), 56–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burd-Sharps, S., Lewis, K., Guyer, P., & Lechterman, T. (2010). Twenty years of human development in six affluent countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Human Development Research Paper 2010/27, October.

  • Carvalho, A. C., & Matias, S. (2004). Índices de Desenvolvimento para as Regiões Portuguesas—2001. Prospectiva e Planeamento, 10, 87–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Çolak, M. S., & Ege, A. (2013). An assessment of EU 2020 strategy: Too far to reach? Social Indicators Research, 110, 659–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conim, C. N. P. S. (1998). Desenvolvimento Humano—Uma perspectiva de sistematização (1970–1995). Prospectiva e Planeamento, 3(4), 279–307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conim, C. N. P. S. (1999). População e Desenvolvimento Humano—Uma perspectiva de quantificação. Lisboa: DPP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conim, C. N. P. S., & Matias, S. (2002). População e Desenvolvimento Humano—Uma perspectiva de quantificação 1970–1999. Lisboa: DPP.

    Google Scholar 

  • de la Torre, R., & Moreno, H. (2010). Advances in sub-national measurement of the human development index: The case of Mexico. Human Development Research Paper 2010/23, July.

  • Diniz, F., & Sequeira, T. (2008). Uma possível hierarquização através de um índice de desenvolvimento económico e social dos concelhos de Portugal Continental. Interacções, 9(1), 19–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaye, A., & Jha, S. (2010). A review of conceptual and measurement innovations in national and regional human development reports, 1998–2009. Human Development Research Paper 2010/21, July.

  • Hicks, D. A. (1997). The inequality-adjusted human development index: A constructive proposal. World Development, 25(8), 1283–1298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • INE, DPPRI. (2009). Índice Sintético de Desenvolvimento Regional. Portugal: Instituto Nacional de Estatística, Departamento de Prospectiva e Planeamento e Relações Internacionais.

  • Kovacevic, M. (2010), Measurement of inequality in human development—A review. Human Development Research Paper 2010/35, November.

  • Kovacevic, M. (2011). Review of HDI critiques and potential improvements. Human Development Research Paper 2010/33, February.

  • Maddison, A. (2010). Historical statistics of world economy: 1–2008 AD. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matias, S. (2002). Tendências da Evolução do Desenvolvimento Humano em Portugal. Prospectiva e Planeamento, 8, 47–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGillivray, M., & White, H. (1993). Measuring development? The UNDP’s human development index. Journal of International Development, 5(2), 183–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumayer, E. (2001). The human development index and sustainability—A constructive proposal. Ecological Economics, 39, 101–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumayer, E. (2010). Human development and sustainability. Human Development Research Paper 2010/05, June.

  • Noorbakhsh, F. (1998a). A modified human development index. World Development, 26(3), 517–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noorbakhsh, F. (1998b). The human development index: Some technical issues and alternative indices. Journal of International Development, 10, 589–605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noorbakhsh, F. (2002). Human development and regional disparities in Iran: A policy model. Journal of International Development, 14, 927–949.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noorbakhsh, F. (2003). Human development and regional disparities in India. University of Glasgow Business School Working Paper Series 2003–12.

  • Noorbakhsh, F. (2005). Spatial inequality, polarization and its dimensions in Iran: New empirical evidence. Oxford Development Studies, 33(3–4), 473–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2008). OECD territorial reviews. Portugal: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2011). OECD better life initiative compendium of OECD well-being indicators. Portugal: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pagliani, P. (2010). Influence of regional, national and sub-national HDRs. Human Development Research Paper 2010/19, July.

  • Peinado, J. M., & Céspedes, G. C. (2004). Gender and regional inequality in human development: The case of Spain. Feminist Economics, 10(1), 37–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pradhan, R., & Sanyal, G. S. (2011). Good governance and human development: Evidence from Indian States. Journal of Social and Development Science, 1(1), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramos, P. N., & Rodrigues, A. (2001). Porque é diferente o PIB per capita das Regiões Portuguesas? Cadernos Regionais, 13, 5–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ravallion, M. (1997). Good and bad growth: The human development reports. World Development, 25(5), 631–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riley, J. C. (2005). Poverty and life expectancy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sagar, A. D., & Najam, A. (1998). The human development index: A critical review. Ecological Economics, 25, 249–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (1984). Resources, values, and development. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tadjoeddin, M. Z., Suharyo, W. I., & Mishra, S. (2001). Regional disparity and vertical conflict in Indonesia. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 6(3), 283–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNDP. (2013). Human development report 2013—The rise of the south, human progress in a diverse world. Technical Notes. United Nations Development Programme.

  • Wolf, H., Chong, H., & Auffhammer, M. (2011). Classification, detection, and consequences of data error: Evidence from the human development index. The Economic Journal, 121(553), 843–870.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the comments of an anonymous referee. Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes acknowledges the support from FCT Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Science and Technology Foundation), project PTDC/EGE-ECO/112499/2009 and also PEst-OE/EGE/UI0315/2011. The usual disclaimer applies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ERSAR (The Water and Waste Services Regulation Authority), Lisbon, Portugal

    Rita Silva

  2. ISCTE Business School Economics Department, BRU-IUL (Business Research Unit), Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon, Portugal

    Rita Silva & Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes

  3. CEFAGE-UBI, Covilhã, Portugal

    Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes

Authors
  1. Rita Silva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes.

Appendices

Appendix 1: List and Map of NUTS III for Portugal

  • Portugal (NUTS I)

    • Norte (NUTS II–8 NUTS III)

      • Alto Trás-os-Montes

      • Ave

      • Cávado

      • Douro

      • Entre Douro e Vouga

      • Grande Porto

      • Minho-Lima

      • Tâmega

    • Centro (NUTS II–12 NUTS III)

      • Baixo Mondego

      • Baixo Vouga

      • Beira Interior Norte

      • Beira Interior Sul

      • Cova da Beira

      • Dão-Lafões

      • Médio Tejo

      • Oeste

      • Pinhal Interior Norte

      • Pinhal Interior Sul

      • Pinhal Litoral

      • Serra da Estrela

    • Lisboa (NUTS II–2 NUTS III)

      • Grande Lisboa

      • Península de Setúbal

    • Alentejo (NUTS II–5 NUTS III)

      • Alentejo Central

      • Alentejo Litoral

      • Alto Alentejo

      • Baixo Alentejo

      • Lezíria do Tejo

    • Algarve (NUTS II–1 NUTS III)

    • Região Autónoma dos Açores (NUTS II–1 NUTS III)

    • Região Autónoma da Madeira (NUTS II–1 NUTS III)

See Fig. 3.

Fig. 3
figure 3

Map of Portugal with NUTS III

Full size image

Appendix 2: Tables for the Portuguese Regional Development Index for 2005–2008

See Tables 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Table 6 Portuguese regional development index for 2005
Full size table
Table 7 Portuguese regional development index for 2006
Full size table
Table 8 Portuguese regional development index for 2007
Full size table
Table 9 Portuguese regional development index for 2008
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Silva, R., Ferreira-Lopes, A. A Regional Development Index for Portugal. Soc Indic Res 118, 1055–1085 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0455-z

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0455-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation