Regional Economic Disparities in Colombia

This paper advances the analysis of regional income convergence inColombia, through the use of the income data recently estimated for the departments,the main subnational political units. The results show a polarization process betweenBogotá and the rest of the departments. The preponderance of Bogotá during the periodanalyzed is also discussed: its per capita income is more than double that of thenational average, and more than eight times the per capita income of the poorest department,Chocó. Persistence in the departmental per capita income ranking is observed:Bogotá is always ahead, while the departments in the periphery are in the last places.The findings lead to the conclusion that it is necessary to design policies to correctthe significant disparities in per capita income between Colombian regions.

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