Convergence of GDP per capita in advanced countries over the twentieth century

This study compares GDP per capita levels and growth rates across 17 advanced economies over the period 1890–2013 using an accounting breakdown and runs Phillips and Sul (Econometrica 75(6):1771–1855, 2007) convergence tests. An overall convergence process has been at work among advanced economies,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEmpirical economics Vol. 59; no. 5; pp. 2509 - 2526
Main Authors Bergeaud, Antonin, Cette, Gilbert, Lecat, Rémy
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2020
Springer Nature B.V
Springer Verlag
Subjects
Capital intensity
Comparative studies
Convergence
Econometrics
Economic models
Economic theory
Economic Theory/Quantitative Economics/Mathematical Methods
Economics
Economics and Finance
Employment
Finance
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Humanities and Social Sciences
Insurance
Management
Per capita
Statistics for Business
Technology
Working hours
GDP per capita
Productivity
E20
Global history
O47
Technological change
N10
Convergence
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Summary:This study compares GDP per capita levels and growth rates across 17 advanced economies over the period 1890–2013 using an accounting breakdown and runs Phillips and Sul (Econometrica 75(6):1771–1855, 2007) convergence tests. An overall convergence process has been at work among advanced economies, mainly after WWII, driven mostly by capital intensity and then TFP, while trends in hours worked and employment rates are disparate. However, this convergence process came to a halt during technology shocks, during the two world wars and since the 1990s, with the convergence of advanced economies stopping far from the level of US GDP per capita.
ISSN:0377-7332
1435-8921
DOI:10.1007/s00181-019-01761-x