The aim of this study is to analyze the data on both GDP per capita and HDI related to the member States of European Union for the period from 1990 to 2010 in order to verify if these data are more related to the macro-region to which each State belongs than to European area. In particular, this paper considers four macro-regions: North, Centre, East and Mediterranean. Each of the four macro-regions are characterized by a peculiar dynamic of economic growth over the temporal period here considered. The results show that macro-regional dynamics prevail on European ones when European States are characterized by low values of both GDP per capita and HDI. More specifically, the values on GDP per capita are more correlated to the macro-regional average than to the European one. At the same time, States with high values of both GDP per capita and HDI are more related to the macro-regional dynamics of HDI.

Hence, it is possible to observe that not only allows a macro-regional level of analysis to highlight socio-economic dynamics of dependence, but also to underline that some macro-regions are characterized by the prevalence of the economic component on the social one whereas other macro-regions are typified by the opposite dynamic. In fact, if the level of both GDP per capita and HDI are high, the social aspect prevails on the economic one.