INTRODUCTION
Most research on regional convergence focuses on income dynamics. Economic convergence is a long term process through which income or other economic indicators tend to equalize (Abreu et al., 2005; Lim, 2003;Mossi et al., 2003; Rey and Montouri, 1999; Rey and Janikas, 2005). Generally, the analysis of spatial convergence has focused on income indicators while ignoring other dimensions of socioeconomic well-being. Social indicators are a complement to analyze spatial patterns and can sometimes give a more comprehensive view about how a region behaves. Particularly in developing countries, the analysis of social indicators such as educational performance, life expectancy or per capita caloric intake of food can more realistically represent the performance of a region (Baumol et al., 1994). In developing countries where most regions are considered low income areas and show a similar economic performance, social indicators may reveal more insights into the...