And World Bank research found that the main reason for this is low economic potential: lagging regions have poorer institutions, a lower share of skilled workers, and limited access to markets. www.bportugal.pt  2  Interestingly, Portugal had a contrasting experience in the recent past.
An empirical study from Universidade do Minho shows that, between 2008 and 2015, inequality among the Portuguese regions in terms of real GDP per capita actually decreased by 12%. This is an encouraging performance compared to European peers, especially when compared to those that were implementing financial assistance programmes during that same period.