ANALYSIS OF TERRITORIAL ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH INSTITUTIONAL VARIABLES: A MULTILEVEL SPACE LEVEL FOR THE ECUADORIAN CASE.

THE DEBATE ON SUBNATIONAL IMBALANCES AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF THE COUNTRIES IS VALID IN THE ACADEMIC AND POLITICAL AGENDAS OF THE WORLD. PREVIOUS STUDIES ACCOUNT FOR A MARKED TERRITORIAL INEQUALITY IN ECUADOR, CHARACTERIZED BY A PECULIAR ECONOMIC CONVERGENCE, WITH UNBALANCED GROWTH PROCESSES IN TERMS OF PUBLIC POLICY (MENDIETA & PONTAROLLO, 2016; 2018; MENDIETA & SZELS, 2016). ALONG THESE LINES, THE PROJECT INCORPORATES NEW METHODOLOGICAL ADVANCES FOR THE ANALYSIS OF TERRITORIAL ECONOMIC GROWTH AND CONVERGENCE (DÍAZ-DAPENA ET AL., 2018; 2017; DONG & HARRIS, 2015; DONG ET AL., 2015). THROUGH THE INCORPORATION OF MULTILEVEL MODEL LAG BAYESIAN, WHICH GRANT QUANTIFICATIONS TO DIFFERENT TERRITORIAL DISAGGREGATIONS, PROVINCES AND CANTONS, IN THE SAME MODEL; APPROACHING THE CONTRIBUTION OF EACH AGGREGATION IN DIFFERENT PERIODS OF TIME, ALLOWING TO DISCOVER CERTAIN PATTERNS THAT CAN BETTER EXPLAIN THE PROCESS OF TERRITORIAL ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE COUNTRY. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT PROPOSES TO EXTEND THE ANALYSIS OF SUBNATIONAL GROWTH AND CONVERGENCE TOWARDS INSTITUTIONAL VARIABLES, SUCH AS PERFORMANCE, EFFICIENCY OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS, AND THEIR POLITICAL, FINANCIAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS, AND THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT. WHICH TURNS OUT TO BE NEW IN LITERATURE. THUS, THIS PROJECT IS AMBITIOUS IN TWO WAYS: FIRST, BY THE GENERATION OF KNOWLEDGE BY INCORPORATING A NEW METHODOLOGY IN THE TERRITORIAL ANALYSIS, AS WELL AS THE INTRODUCTION OF VARIABLES BEFORE NOT INCLUDED IN SIMILAR STUDIES. SECOND, DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF RAISING MORE EFFECTIVE PUBLIC POLICIES LEADING TO THE REDUCTION OF TERRITORIAL ECONOMIC DISPARITIES.

XVIII UNIVERSITY COMPETITION FOR RESEARCH PROJECTS