Testing the Convergence Clubs Hypothesis among MENA Countries

Author

Department of Economics, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran

Abstract

T





his paper is to study the convergence of per capita income. Convergence clubs hypothesis is one of the forms of convergence hypotheses, implying that countries with the same initial level of economic development, technology, and government policies, tend to be similar in per capita income and thus have a tendency to cluster around a small number of poles. In order to test the hypothesis of the formation of the convergence clubs among 15 Middle East and North African (MENA) countries for the period of 1990–2015, we used a non-parametric analysis (distribution dynamics approach). The distribution dynamics of real per capita GDP showed that “twin peaks” were being formed in the MENA region.
 

Keywords

References

Azomahou, T., Ouardighi, J. E., Nguyen-Van, P., & Pham, T. K. C. (2011). Testing Convergence of European Regions: a Semiparametric Approach. Economic Modelling, 28, 1202-1210.
Bianchi, M. (1997). Testing for Convergence: Evidence from Nonparametric Multimodality Tests. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 12, 393-409.
Durlauf, S. N., & Johnson, P. A. (1995). Multiple Regimes and Cross-Country Growth Behavior. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 10, 365-384.
Erlat, H. (2007). Time Series Approaches to Testing Income Convergence in MENA Countries. Topics in Middle Eastern and African Economies, 9, 1-23.
Epstein, P., Howlett, P., & Schulze, M. S. (2003). Distribution Dynamics: Stratification, Polarization and Convergence among OECD Economies, 1870–1992. Explorations in Economic History, 40, 78-97.
Guetat, I., & Serranito, F. (2007). Income Convergence within the MENA Countries: A Panel Unit Root Approach. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 46, 685-706.
Galor, O. (1996). Convergence? Inferences from Theoretical Models. The Economic Journal, 106, 1056-1069,
Grazia, P. M., & Zelli, R. R. (2010). Mixture Models, Convergence Clubs, and Polarization. Review of Income and Wealth, 56(1), 102-122.
Henderson, D. J., Parmeter, C., & Russell, R. R. (2008). Modes, Weighted Modes and Calibrated Modes: Evidence of Clustering Using Modality Tests. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 23, 607-638.
Islam, N. (2003). What have we Learnt from the Convergence Debate? Journal of Economic Survey, 17, 309-362.
Izraeli, O., & Murphy, K. (1997). Convergence in State Nominal and Real per capita Income. Public Finance Review, 25, 555-576.
Jones, C. I. (1995). Time Series Tests of Endogenous Growth Models. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110, 495-525.
Quah, D. (1997). Empirics for growth and distribution: polarization, stratification, and convergence clubs. Journal of Economic Growth, 2, 27-59.
---------- (1996). Convergence Empirics across Economies with (Some) Capital Mobility. Journal of Economic Growth, 1, 95-124.
Rassekh, F. (1998). The Convergence Hypothesis: History, Theory and Evidence. Open Economies Review, 9, 85-105.
Serranito, F. (2010). Technological Catching-Up and Income Convergence: A Time Series Assessment in MENA Countries. Revue d’économie du développement, 18, 5-45.
Solow, R. (1956). A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70, 65-94.
Tunali, C. B., & Yilanci, V. (2010). Are per capita Incomes of MENA Countries Converging or Diverging? Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 21, 4855-4862.
Iranian Economic Review
Volume 23, Issue 2
April 2019
Pages 437-449

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics