Social Progress in Spanish Municipalities (2001–2011)

This paper proposes a methodology for the assessment of social progress in the biggest Spanish municipalities between years 2001 and 2011. We follow recent descriptions of QoL to elaborate a measurement framework composed of eight dimensions, for which 16 subindicators are elaborated from information collected using different data sources. Weight constrained Data Envelopment Analysis is used to estimate QoL composite indicators in both periods and to compute a Malmquist index of social progress, which assesses the evolution of the indicators during the decade. The results evidence positive social progress with an average improvement of about 5% during the decade. While the Central-Northern regions still show the highest levels of QoL, the Southern regions (including the islands) dominate the improvement trend. We then decompose the Malmquist index into a catching-up effect and a frontier shift effect. Positive catching-up is measured in almost all the regions. The worst performing municipalities in 2001 experienced the largest catching-up effects, a trend that contributes to territorial convergence. The frontier shift also shows a positive trend.