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Have Collapses in Infrastructure Spending led to Cross-Country Divergence in Per Capita GDP?

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  • Francisco Rodriguez

Abstract

This paper explores whether the post-1980 decline in infrastructure investment in developing countries is a source of growing disparities in world per capita GDP. I start by reviewing the literature on the infrastructure-productivity link, arguing that a balanced reading of previous studies points to a significant effect of infrastructure provision on productivity. I then empirically study whether retrenchments in infrastructure provision have played a role in growing disparities using a data set of country-level infrastructure stocks for 121 countries since 1960. Cutbacks in infrastructure investment appear to be at most a minor cause of growing divergence in per capita incomes.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs in its series Working Papers with number 52.

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Length: 22 pages
Date of creation: Jul 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:une:wpaper:52

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Keywords: infrastructure; public capital; convergence; productivity; economic growth;

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Cited by:
  1. Pablo Guerrero & Krista Lucenti & Sebastián Galarza S., 2009. "Trade Logistic and Regional Integration in Latin America & the Caribbean," IDB Publications 9331, Inter-American Development Bank.
  2. José Antonio Ocampo & Rob Vos, 2008. "Policy space and the changing paradigm in conducting macroeconomic policies in developing countries," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), New financing trends in Latin America: a bumpy road towards stability, volume 36, pages 28-45 Bank for International Settlements.
  3. Rob Vos & Marco V. Sánchez & Cornelia Kaldewei, 2008. "Latin America and the Caribbean’s Challenge to Reach the MDGs: Financing Options and Trade-offs," Working Papers 68, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.

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