The economic changes of recent decades have had a varied impact on the different regions that make up Spain. While some previously prosperous rural areas and smaller metropolitan cities are now facing job losses and slow income growth, larger metropolitan areas have seen more dynamic behavior.
In addition to economic factors, demographic changes have also had varying impacts on different regions. These transformations have led to significant disparities in inequality and well-being indicators when viewed from a municipal perspective.
The Alternativas Foundation’s VI Report on inequality in Spain provides data on these differences. According to the report, municipalities with higher well-being indicators, measured through factors such as income, health, education, and labor market opportunities, are primarily found in Madrid and Barcelona, as well as some locations in the Basque Country, Galicia, and isolated cases like Zaragoza or Logroño.
However, many of the locations with lower well-being indicators are located in the south of the peninsula and the Canary Islands. It’s important to note that these indicators do not always correlate with an egalitarian distribution of income. Inequality is actually higher in large cities compared to rural areas.
Looking at the municipal map of inequality in Spain, we can see that Madrid and its surrounding areas stand out for their high values along with parts of the Mediterranean coast and islands. On the other hand, most of the Cantabrian coast sees lower values. These results raise important questions about why these disparities exist.
The new economic geography has provided various theoretical frameworks to understand how economic processes affect territorial differences. One key factor is how companies and workers’ location influences access to large markets.
