Interest Rates and Convergence across Italian Regions

Citation

Dow S, Montagnoli A & Napolitano O (2012) Interest Rates and Convergence across Italian Regions. Regional Studies, 46 (7), pp. 893-905. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2010.536760

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the evidence for economic convergence across Italian regions using trends in interest rate spreads and premia as indicators of regional credit conditions. The results indicate the presence of persistent interest rate differentials, and thus an absence of convergence across the twenty political regions, but a high degree of convergence is observed within the four macroeconomic areas.

Keywords
Interest rates; Unit root; Panel data; Convergence; Italy

Journal
Regional Studies: Volume 46, Issue 7

People

Professor Sheila Dow

Emeritus Professor, Economics