Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Convergence Revisited

  • Published:
Journal of Economic Growth Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The recent literature on convergence has departed fromthe earlier literature by focusing on the shape of the productionfunction and the rate at which an economy converges to its ownsteady state. This article uses advances from the recent literatureto look back at the question that originally motivated the convergenceliterature: what will the distribution of per capita income looklike in the future? Several results are highlighted by the analysis,including the suggestion that there is little reason to expectthe United States to maintain its position as world leader interms of output per worker.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abramovitz, M. (1986). “Catching Up, Forging Ahead and Falling Behind,” Journal of Economic History46, 385–406.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barro, R. (1991). “Economic Growth in a Cross-Section of Countries,” Quarterly Journal of Economics106, 407–443.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barro, R., and J. Lee. (1993). “International Comparisons of Educational Attainment,” Journal of Monetary Economics32, 363–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barro, R., and J. Lee. (1996). “International Data on Education,” Mimeo, Harvard University.

  • Barro, R., and X. Sala-i-Martin. (1991). “Convergence Across States and Regions,” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 107–158.

  • Barro, R., and X. Sala-i-Martin. (1997). “Technological Diffusion, Convergence, and Growth,” Journal of Economic Growth2, 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumol, W.J. (1986). “Productivity Growth, Convergence and Welfare: What the Long-Run Data Show,” American Economic Review76, 1072–1085.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benhabib, J., and M. Spiegal. (1994). “The Role of Human Capital in Economic Development: Evidence from Aggregate Cross-Country Data,” Journal of Monetary Economics34, 143–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, A.B., and S.N. Durlauf. (1996). “Interpreting Tests of the Convergence Hypothesis,” Journal of Econometrics71, 161–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, A.B., and C.I. Jones. (1996a). “Comparing Apples to Oranges: Productivity Convergence and Measurement Across Industries and Countries,” American Economic Review86, 1216–1238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, A.B., and C.I. Jones. (1996b). “Technology and Convergence,” Economic Journal106, 1037–1044.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bils, M., and P. Klenow. (1996). “Does Schooling Cause Growth or the OtherWay Around?,” Mimeo, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

  • Easterly, W., M. Kremer, L. Pritchett, and L. Summers. (1993). “Good Policy or Good Luck? Country Growth Performance and Temporary Shocks,” Journal of Monetary Economics32, 459–483.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eaton, J., and S. Kortum. (1994). “International Patenting and Technology Diffusion,” Mimeo, Boston University.

  • Evans, P. (1995). “How Fast Do Economies Converge,” Mimeo, Ohio State University.

  • Hall, R.E., and C.I. Jones. (1996). “The Productivity of Nations,” NBER Working Paper No. 5812.

  • Islam, N. (1995). “Growth Empirics: A Panel Data Approach,” Quarterly Journal of Economics110, 1127–1170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C.I. (1995). "R&D-Based Models of Economic Growth" Journal of Political Economy103, 759–784.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R.E. (1988). “On the Mechanics of Economic Development,” Journal of Monetary Economics22, 3–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mankiw, N.G., D. Romer, and D. Weil. (1992). “A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth,” Quarterly Journal of Economics107, 407–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mincer, J. (1974). Schooling, Experience, and Earnings. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pritchett, L. (1996). “Where Has All the Education Gone?,” World Bank, Policy Research Working Paper No. 1581.

  • Psacharopoulos, G. (1994). “Returns to Investment in Education: A Global Update,” World Development22, 1325–1343.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quah, D. (1993). 'Galton's Fallacy and Tests of the Convergence Hypothesis,” Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 95, 427–443.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quah, D. (1996). “Convergence Empirics Across Economies with (Some) Capital Mobility,” Journal of Economic Growth, 1, 95–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solow, R.M. (1956). “A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth,” Quarterly Journal of Economics70, 65–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Summers, R., and A. Heston. (1991). “The Penn World Table (Mark 5): An Expanded Set of International Comparisons: 1950–1988,” Quarterly Journal of Economics106, 327–368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, A. (1992). “A Tale of Two Cities: Factor Accumulation and Technical Change in Hong Kong and Singapore,” in O. Blanchard and S. Fischer (eds.), NBER Macroeconomics Annual. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford University, USA

    Charles I. Jones

Authors
  1. Charles I. Jones
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jones, C.I. Convergence Revisited. Journal of Economic Growth 2, 131–153 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009762900799

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009762900799

Search

Navigation