ANALYSE EXPLORATOIRE DES DISPARITES DANS LA DISTRIBUTION DE L’EDUCATION ET EVALUATION DU PROCESSUS DE CONVERGENCE SPATIALE DES REGIONS EN ALGERIE

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse spatial disparities in the field of education and to test a possible process of convergence of the Algerian regions. In order to refine the description of the geographical dynamics of educational inequalities in Algerian regions, we use the techniques of Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (Anselin, 1996), namely Moran statistics and LISA. The results show the existence of strong global and local spatial autocorrelation and a strong heterogeneity in the distribution of education; they also show that educational inequalities are not randomly distributed in space, but rather concentrated in contiguous areas characterized by similar attributes. For its part, the hypothesis of the β-convergence model is confirmed, which clearly shows that there is a catch-up process in the wilayas that were initially the least unequal. In this respect, it is becoming advisable to envisage a territorial targeting policy that would limit the gaps between regions, in particular specific regional development policies that aim to reduce spatial divergence, and thereby promote convergence between the most efficient wilayas and the lagging wilayas.