Convergence Clubs in Labor Productivity and its Proximate Sources
Convergence Clubs in Labor Productivity and its Proximate Sources

Author: Carlos Mendez

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-11-05

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13: 9811586292

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Testing for economic convergence across countries has been a central issue in the literature of economic growth and development. This book introduces a modern framework to study the cross-country convergence dynamics in labor productivity and its proximate sources: capital accumulation and aggregate efficiency. In particular, recent convergence dynamics of developed as well as developing countries are evaluated through the lens of a non-linear dynamic factor model and a clustering algorithm for panel data. This framework allows us to examine key economic phenomena such as technological heterogeneity and multiple equilibria. In this context, the book provides a succinct review of the recent club convergence literature, a comparative view of developed and developing countries, and a tutorial on how to implement the club convergence framework in the statistical software Stata.

Economic Growth and Convergence
Economic Growth and Convergence

Author: Michał Bernardelli

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-06-30

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 1000407233

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There are many different types of convergence within economics, as well as several methods to analyse each of them. This book addresses the concept of real economic convergence or the gradual levelling-off of GDP (gross domestic product) per capita rates across economies. In addition to a detailed, holistic overview of the history and theory, the authors include a description of two modern methods of assessing the occurrence and rate of convergence, BMA-based and HMM-based, as well as the results of the empirical analysis. Readers will have access not only to the conventional econometric approach of β convergence but also to an alternative one, allowing for the convergence issue to be expressed in the context of automatic pattern recognition. This approach is universal as it can be adapted to a variety of input data. The lowest aggregation level study investigates regional convergence through the case of Polish voivodships, where convergence towards the leader is tested. On a higher level of aggregation, the authors examine the existence of GDP convergence in such groups as the EU28, North Africa and the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Caribbean, South-East Asia, Australia and Oceania, or post-socialist countries. For each group, the real β convergence is tested using the two above-mentioned approaches. The results are widely discussed, broadly illustrated, interpreted, and compared. The analysis allows readers to draw interesting conclusions about the causes of convergence or the drivers behind divergence. The book will stimulate further research in the field, but the research was conducted from the point of view of individual countries.

Global Productivity
Global Productivity

Author: Alistair Dieppe

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2021-06-09

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 1464816093

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The COVID-19 pandemic struck the global economy after a decade that featured a broad-based slowdown in productivity growth. Global Productivity: Trends, Drivers, and Policies presents the first comprehensive analysis of the evolution and drivers of productivity growth, examines the effects of COVID-19 on productivity, and discusses a wide range of policies needed to rekindle productivity growth. The book also provides a far-reaching data set of multiple measures of productivity for up to 164 advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies, and it introduces a new sectoral database of productivity. The World Bank has created an extraordinary book on productivity, covering a large group of countries and using a wide variety of data sources. There is an emphasis on emerging and developing economies, whereas the prior literature has concentrated on developed economies. The book seeks to understand growth patterns and quantify the role of (among other things) the reallocation of factors, technological change, and the impact of natural disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is must-reading for specialists in emerging economies but also provides deep insights for anyone interested in economic growth and productivity. Martin Neil Baily Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Former Chair, U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers This is an important book at a critical time. As the book notes, global productivity growth had already been slowing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and collapses with the pandemic. If we want an effective recovery, we have to understand what was driving these long-run trends. The book presents a novel global approach to examining the levels, growth rates, and drivers of productivity growth. For anyone wanting to understand or influence productivity growth, this is an essential read. Nicholas Bloom William D. Eberle Professor of Economics, Stanford University The COVID-19 pandemic hit a global economy that was already struggling with an adverse pre-existing condition—slow productivity growth. This extraordinarily valuable and timely book brings considerable new evidence that shows the broad-based, long-standing nature of the slowdown. It is comprehensive, with an exceptional focus on emerging market and developing economies. Importantly, it shows how severe disasters (of which COVID-19 is just the latest) typically harm productivity. There are no silver bullets, but the book suggests sensible strategies to improve growth prospects. John Fernald Schroders Chaired Professor of European Competitiveness and Reform and Professor of Economics, INSEAD